Tim Abruzzo has always been thankful for a lot on Thanksgiving.

He is thankful for his loving family, the support of his Navy basketball teammates and the members of the military currently serving overseas protecting our country and don't get to spend time with their loved ones on Thanksgiving.

But on this Thanksgiving, Abruzzo is also thankful for just being able to get back on the basketball court to play the game that he loves.

"I'm just thankful to be healthy," said Abruzzo. "I know how quickly it can all be taken away from you. I'm thankful for being able to play this game, for being with my teammates and for just getting back to the basics of playing basketball and having fun."

This past Sunday afternoon in Alumni Hall, Abruzzo got back to playing Navy basketball for the first time in 20 long months, and did so in remarkable fashion, scoring nine straight points in a 70-second flurry.

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On October 8, 2014, Abruzzo tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a drill in a preseason practice.

"It was a one-on-one close out drill, which we do pretty much every day," said Abruzzo. "I drove middle and tried to do a reverse layup off my right leg, so I planted in the middle of the paint and as soon as I planted, I went right down. I kind of heard the pop. I knew right away it was bad."

The injury happened as Abruzzo was moving into a bigger role in Navy's lineup entering his sophomore season.

Abruzzo broke in to Navy's rotation for the final 11 games of his freshman year in 2013-14 and averaged 21.7 minutes during the final three games. The sharpshooter was 13-of-36 on 3-pointers as a freshman and his .361 percentage ranked as the sixth-best by a freshman in program history.

Additionally, returning starter Kendall Knorr was beginning the season sidelined with a knee injury, further increasing Abruzzo's opportunity for increased playing time.

However, that opportunity was lost as he soon learned he would miss his entire sophomore season due to the ACL tear.

"Everybody would tell me that I would be back better than ever, but my biggest thought was whether I would be back at all," Abruzzo said. "A lot of people tear their ACLs and they all come back differently.

"I did have some fear on my mind. I was on the brink of hopefully getting a lot of playing time and playing a big part for the team when it happened. I was afraid that even if I did make it back, would I be able to get myself back to the point where I could make an impact on this team again?"

Abruzzo spent the next five weeks "prehabbing" his quad so it would make rehabbing his knee easier after surgery. He had surgery on November 14, the same day his teammates took #18 Michigan State to the wire in the inaugural Veterans Classic at Alumni Hall.

The road to recovery can be lonely for a player on a team sport. When the rest of the team embarks on a multi-day road trip, the injured player must stay back to do his rehab on his own.

"You have to have that self-motivation and that drive," said Abruzzo. "Somebody else can only push you so hard, you have to be able to push yourself."

It is a long process to recover from an ACL surgery and it is bound to have its ups and downs.

During one individual workout in May, Abruzzo became frustrated with his progress and where he was in the recovery timeline. He wasn't able to make the same cuts during the drill that his teammates were and he stormed off the court and went into the training room to see last season's athletic trainer, Brian Bradshaw.

"I remember thinking that I wasn't ready yet and that I couldn't do it," said Abruzzo. "I was heated about it. Brian calmed me down and told me to take it all one step at a time. He reminded me I was only 5-6 months away from surgery and that I still needed to ease back into things.

"That was a big turning point for me. I was a little frustrated because I wanted to be doing everything that all the other guys were doing out there. But I needed to realize that I was still right in the middle of my ACL rehab and I just needed to stay with it."

The Navy medical staff and Abruzzo's coaches and teammates remained fully supportive of him during the recovery process and another important source of support that he received during his recovery was from his parents, Joe and Lisa, and his sister, Lauren.

"I am so thankful for my family," said Abruzzo. "I feel like they knew all along that I would be back better than ever, even when I didn't think so. I know everybody thinks they have the best parents in the world, but I definitely do, and my sister has been my best friend since the beginning. I could miss 100 shots and they'd still think the next one is going down. They are my biggest supporters."

Abruzzo's knee continued to improve throughout the summer and into the fall preseason. He wore a large knee brace for the first couple of games before getting clearance from Navy's Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Adam Pecina to trade the bulky brace for a sleeve.

All of Abruzzo's hard work came to fruition when he made his season debut on Sunday, November 22 against Goucher, taking the court for the first time since a Patriot League Tournament game at Colgate on March 3, 2014.

He made his first appearance with one minute left in the first half, getting his feet wet by playing the final two possessions of the half. Navy head coach Ed DeChellis then inserted him back into the game with 13:30 remaining in the second half with the Mids leading by 11 at 43-32.

On his first possession back in the game with Navy on defense, Edward Alade blocked a shot and Abruzzo raced down the left wing. Nourse Fox led a 3-on-2 fastbreak and dished to Abruzzo who took one hard dribble and then attacked the rim, making the layup and drawing a foul. Abruzzo calmly knocked down the free throw to cap the three-point play.

"Being able to get out and run like that was just like the fastbreak drill that we do in practice every day," said Abruzzo. "I definitely needed that to get myself going and then being able to shoot a free throw kind of let me get my stroke back."

Goucher came down the court and missed a shot and as Navy ran ahead in its transition offense set, Abruzzo had his hand out calling for the ball before he even crossed the half court line. Fox passed him the ball and he stepped into a 3-pointer from the right wing and buried it.

"I saw the opening and I knew at half court nobody would be there defensively," said Abruzzo. "So I put my hand out to let Nourse know I was open and I let him make the decision on if he wanted to give me the shot or not."

Not a bad showing of confidence for a player who hadn't seen the floor in over 20 months. And he wasn't done yet.

Goucher went down and missed another shot and on Navy's ensuring offensive possession, Alade threw the ball to the left corner where Abruzzo was spotted up for another 3-pointer. Swish.

It was his first action in over 20 months and he poured in nine points in 70 seconds on three straight possessions. Navy's lead grew from 11 to 20. What a way to make a comeback.

Three days later in Navy's next game at UMBC, Abruzzo again came off the bench to provide a lift for the Mids. He knocked down a pair of free throws in the first half and connected on a timely 3-pointer in the second half to slow a UMBC run and help send Navy to its third straight win.

"It's been good to get back in there, getting my feet wet and playing some meaningful minutes," said Abruzzo. "It took awhile, 20 months is a long time, but I am so thankful to be able to be out there again."