“I think Blue is my color,” Cedric Coward posted on Instagram. Well, we’re pretty sure Duke fans feel the same. After all, Jon Scheyer is again building his team prioritizing size, speed, and skill. So when the Blue Devils landed the 6-foot-6 top transfer who shoots 55.7%from the field and 40% from deep, it just made the whole plan even sweeter.

This will be his fourth school. From Willamette University (DIII) to Eastern Washington, then a stop at Washington State and now the Blue Devils, he has shown nothing but excellence. But what was supposed to be his big final season in college turned into a nightmare. An injury that could’ve wrecked him… if it weren’t for the rock-solid people in his corner.

Who are Cedric Coward’s Parents? And how did they help him get through his injury phase?

Cedric Coward’s parents are Shanel and Ray Moore. He grew up in Fresno, California, and went to Central High School. His dad’s a a professional drummer, and while we don’t know much about his mom publicly, we do know she’s his rock.

It all went down in late November. Coward had just met with his coaches and Washington State’s athletic trainer to get his MRI results. A few days before, he’d taken a nasty hit in practice. “You kind of get a sense of like, damn, it’s probably something I don’t wanna hear,” he said. He was right. The scan showed an articular cartilage tear. He asked the trainer if he could come back later in the season. The answer was not likely.

At that point, Coward was balling. In just 6 games in, he led the Cougars with 17.7 PPG and was grabbing 7 rebounds a night. But forget stats…the real heartbreak was that the team was headed to a multiteam event in Palm Desert. His mom, dad, girlfriend, and grandfather were all driving in to see him play. And he hadn’t told anyone about the injury yet.

But now, there was no option so he called his mom. No answer as she was on another call. So he decided to tell his father first. “He talked very slow,” Ray said. Shanel later recalled. “Cedric answered the phone via FaceTime, and he’s crying,” Shanel said. She recalled how he was sitting in the stairwell trying to have a private conversation because he didn’t want to have his teammates looking at him.  “His emotional state was one I hadn’t seen since he was a very little boy.”

Then came surgery.  Turns out, it wasn’t just cartilage. He also had a jagged rotator cuff and a partially torn labrum. Shanel was by his side in L.A., staying with him the whole week — from pre-op nerves to 1 a.m. pill reminders. “Even though I’m 6-6 and 21 years old, I’m still her baby,” Coward said.

“I just wanted to ensure he was going to be OK,” Shanel said. “I know that he has people around him and things like that, but there’s no type of care that you can get better than your mom’s care.” She even recorded a video of him waking up after surgery. And when he saw it, he realized just how long the road ahead was (four to six months of recovery). But he wasn’t crushed. He’d already cried it out. His parents were there, and that made all the difference.

Ray, who was traveling for work, couldn’t be there in person. But on the phone he was there. “That’s how he was raised,” Ray said as he saw his son calm, collected, and ready to fight.  Cedric soon adjusted to the new reality. “The more I see it as just another obstacle, the less of one it feels like,” he said. That acceptance has been the biggest factor in his recovering journey. 

But, it’s worth noting that as he fought through it all, some of the credit for his strength and resilience goes to his grandfather, too. 

Who was Cedric Coward’s Olympian grandfather?

You know, for all the talent Coward has, he might not be the most accomplished athlete in the family. It will always be Maxie Parks — Cedric’s grandfather. A Olympic gold medalist. Back in 1976, Parks ran the anchor leg in the 4×400-meter relay for Team USA in Montreal. 

Not only did they win gold, but Parks also competed individually in the 400 meters, finishing fifth overall. He ran at UCLA, and even now, at 71, he’s still a legend in their hometown of Fresno. “He’s gotten to where I want to go: the highest level,” Coward said. For him, that highest level is the NBA.

The baller grew up seeing Maxie almost every day. And that his granddad believed in hard work. At five, Coward caught his first fish with him and Parks made him reel it in solo. Later, they’d practice casting in the street from the back of a truck before heading out to real fishing spots.  Preparation and repetition before actually jumping in was what Parks wanted to teach his grandson. And those lessons stuck.

Now, Cedric’s carrying those values with him. While his name might not be climbing NBA mock drafts yet due to his near season-long absence from the court, don’t count him out. He’s likely withdrawing from the draft and heading to Duke…ready to run it back and boost his draft stock, just like the fighter he was raised to be.