Jacob Aune released from hospital
Linn-Mar High School basketball player Matt Lassen was being treated in the Intensive Care Unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Saturday after hitting his head on the floor during a home game against Iowa City West Friday night.
Lassen was taken by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids Friday night for initial treatment and a CAT Scan, then transported to Iowa City for further treatment in the ICU unit.
Scott Mahmens, Linn-Mar's director of athletics, confirmed Lassen has experienced hemorrhaging and swelling as a result of the injury.
"They're keeping an eye on him," said Mahmens. "He's awake, he's talking to people. I think with medication they're hoping to control the hemorrhaging and swelling."
Lassen was involved in a collision under the basket while guarding an Iowa City West player. There was contact and Lassen fell, hitting his head on the court. The play continued and Marcus Paige of Linn-Mar accidentally fell on top of Lassen, who apparently hit his head on the court again.
Mahmens said Lassen has received visitors in Iowa City, including members of the Linn-Mar and Iowa City West basketball teams. Lassen committed to play college basketball at the University of Albany (N.Y.) on Thursday and was injured the next day.
Cedar Rapids Prairie senior Jacob Aune also suffered a head injury Friday night during his home game against Cedar Rapids Washington. Lassen and Aune suffered their injuries approximately an hour apart.
Aune banged heads with a Cedar Rapids Washington player during the third quarter, fell to the floor and was taken by hospital to Mercy Hospital. The game was delayed 30 minutes due to the mishap.
"The same paramedics that picked up Matt were the same ones that picked me up," Aune said Saturday afternoon in a telephone interview from his home.
Aune said he suffered a "pretty good concussion" and still had a bad headache Saturday afternoon. "I have to get up slowly," he said, with no sudden movements.
Aune will not be allowed to practice or play until he sees his family doctor on Friday. He will not be allowed to play in Prairie's game Friday night, but is hopeful of resuming full activity on Saturday.
Aune had already scored 16 points in Prairie's 63-35 victory over Washington when he was injured in the third period.
"The last thing I remember, I was going in under the basket and then I hit something," he said. "I watched the film of it this morning and it looks like I kind of got shoved into a Wash kid.
"And from what the film looks like, my head hit his head. And that's the last thing I remember. I don't remember hitting the floor."
Aune fell to the floor and at some point lost consciousness for a brief period.
"According to our training staff at our school, it looked like my head kind of whiplashed on the floor," he said. "They said I was out for like 20 seconds or something like that, once they came to me."
He briefly lost the feeling in his legs, then could feel pinching. "I had this really bad pain in my neck and in my head," he said.
Aune had a CAT scan, MRI and X-rays at Mercy Hospital Friday night and was released at approximately 12:30 a.m. Saturday. "Everything checked out well," he said.
Aune knows Lassen and has competed against him in basketball for many years. He sent Lassen a message Saturday morning but had not received a response as of 2 p.m. Saturday.
"It sounded like he was out cold for quite awhile," said Aune.
Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson said Friday night that Lassen probably would be sidelined until after Christmas with a concussion. Robertson and members of the Lassen family could not be reached for comment Saturday.
Aune has suffered a series of athletic mishaps this school year. He broke his big toe playing basketball in October, had severe breathing problems when he ran in the district cross country race and now has suffered a concussion.
His father, Craig Aune, is the band director at Prairie High School and has jokingly suggested that his son should have stuck with music instead of focusing on sports as a senior. "He's mentioned that a couple of times," said Jacob.
Aune played the drums and bassoon from the 6th grade through the 11th grade and performed in the Prairie marching band, wind symphony and jazz band until this year.
He was recruited by Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Drake and Iowa State for cross country, but is leaning toward playing basketball at Simpson, Wartburg or Coe.
