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SOU�s leading scorer makes his return after throat virus By Don Hunt ASHLAND � Tom Chipps woke up on the morning of Sept. 2 feeling a bit ill and was so hoarse that he didn�t have a voice. Just a bad cold and a case of laryngitis, the Southern Oregon University basketball standout surmised. But when 10 days went by and nothing improved, Chipps visited an Ashland doctor. A couple dozen antibiotic pills and another week still didn�t give Chipps his voice back, and so he went to an ear, nose and throat specialist in Medford. Finally, he was correctly diagnosed: An extremely rare virus had attacked and paralyzed his right vocal cord. "They say it�s a one-in-a-million condition," says Chipps, who returned to action last week and will make his first start for the Raiders Monday at McNeal Pavilion against Simpson College of Redding, Calif. "It was real scary there for a while, mostly because no one knew what the problem was. "It robbed me of my energy and I couldn�t talk � all I could do was whisper." Chipps was scheduled to fly to Winston Salem, N.C., on Dec. 12 and undergo surgery. A doctor at Wake Forest University who specializes in vocal cord research was set to perform the procedure that involves taking pieces of the good vocal cord and bonding them into the bad one. But on Nov. 18 � 2 1/2 months after first feeling ill � Chipps suddenly had his voice back. "Every morning when I�d wake up, I�d try to say something," he says, "and all I could do was whisper. But on this day I actually made some sound." The surgery was canceled, Chipps gradually got better and he returned to practice on Nov. 27. Before the season began, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior shooting guard would become SOU�s all-time leading scorer. All the former Marist High star had to do was average about seven points per game. Considering he hit at an 18.2 per-game clip last season, accomplishing the record seemed inevitable. Because he�s missed five full games and most of five others, Chipps will now have to average about 11 per contest to surpass Ryan Harbert as the Raiders� all-time point producer. But the record is about the last item on Chipps� mind these days. "I�m just really thankful that I�m able to be out on the court right now," he says. "All I want to do is get back in shape and help this team any way I can." The 22-year-old Chipps is also grateful toward his mother, Theresa, a former diagnostic technician at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene. Theresa Chipps did a lot of research on the Internet and it was there that she obtained information on her son�s condition and located Dr. James Koufman, the Wake Forest specialist. Theresa Chipps also came to Ashland and spent several days with her son. "I�ve got very supportive parents," says Chipps, whose father, Jim, owns a plumbing business in Eugene. "I�ve never been sick like this in my life and it was really frightening. You don�t think it�s any big deal at first, but then you realize it might be serious. Then you get the CAT scan, the X-rays, the blood work and all that stuff and they still don�t know what�s wrong. "I�ve always been a very positive person, but I was pretty down there for a while." When he felt up to it, Chipps went to the early practices and shot around. But the virus had zapped him of his energy. "I�m one of those guys who likes to work out every day and it was real frustrating to have to sit around," he says. "I climbed Pilot Rock one day and had to rest every five minutes. "There for a while, the most exercise I got was walking to my classes." Chipps admits he�s still not in good shape and his rhythm and timing on the court have yet to return. He registered seven points in 14 minutes during the Raiders� last game, an 81-55 loss to Lewis & Clark last Monday. "He missed four or five drives to the basket that he would have converted last year," SOU coach Brian McDermott says. "He doesn�t have his rhythm yet. It�s an intuitive thing that just takes some time on the court." Going against a tough non-league schedule that has included losses to Division I schools Portland and Colorado State and to a Division II Humboldt State squad that is 7-0, the Raiders have posted a 5-5 record. McDermott thinks his team, which features three new starters to augment Chipps and Shavon Haynes, has the potential to match the 1998-99 squad that went 22-9, won the Cascade Conference and advanced to the NAIA national tournament for the first time since 1968. McDermott can hardly wait to watch a healthy Chipps and high-leaping forward Chad Paris, a former South Medford star who has been nursing some ailments of his own, in action at the same time. But the coach knows it may be another couple weeks before the pieces of the puzzle mesh together. Call it the voice of reason. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.