Syracuse's Howard Washington Reveals He Had Stroke Before Medical Redshirt

Syracuse guard Howard Washington said Tuesday a stroke he suffered September 26 was the reason for taking a medical redshirt this season.

Washington told the harrowing story to Mike Waters of Syracuse.com and also described the situation in the following video:

While it was widely believed Washington took a medical redshirt this season due to an ACL tear he suffered in January 2018, he said that he was cleared to return from the knee injury and that the decision to redshirt was based entirely on the stroke.

Washington recounted he felt odd after he walked out of a class in September, and before long, the right side of his body went limp. He called team trainer Brad Pike and managed to get out the words "help" and "quad," which was enough for Pike to get him rushed to the hospital.

The Buffalo, New York, native also explained what caused the stroke:

"They got the test results back, and they see that I have two clots in the artery going up the left side of my neck to my brain. They had caused the stroke. The clots were on the left side of my brain, which is why I'd lost everything on the right side of my body. Even the muscles on the right side of my face had been sagging."

The surgery was successful, and Washington was put on blood thinners. Once he was able to stop taking the blood thinners, Washington returned to the court in time for Syracuse's first game of the 2018-19 season against Eastern Washington on Nov. 6—just 33 days after he suffered the stroke.

Washington played seven minutes in the game and said, "I knew I was OK." He went on to play in two more contests before he took a medical redshirt.

As a result, Washington can return next season as a redshirt sophomore.

He has played in just 21 games in two seasons, but there are high hopes for him, as he was the No. 14 combo guard in the country and No. 3 player from the state of New York in the 2017 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.

Most importantly, Washington is once again healthy, and he said he is "very blessed to be here."