The Texas Longhorns Women’s Volleyball Team took the entire NCAA by storm after winning back-to-back national championships. While Madisen Skinner was the foreground star for Texas, it was actually Asjia O’Neal who set the stage for her teammate. 

Had it not been for O’Neal’s perfect services, scrambling Nebraska’s defense would’ve been a Herculean task. While she was the puppeteer who dismantled the Huskers, there was a time when she couldn’t even control her own body much. Shockingly, however, she was greatly helped by music giant Drake. because of whom she didn’t just come back to court, but also won two NCAA Championships.

When Drake gifted courage to the Texas Longhorns player

Texas Longhorns middle blocker Asjia O’Neal was born with a leak in the valves of her heart. This was a very significant problem, as it made her heart pump and operate at an unnecessarily elevated level for very low physical output. To get rid of this, O’Neal went through an open-heart surgery at the age of 12, only for the problem to return seven years later.

The Texas Longhorns player found herself in the operation theater for a second surgery. Although her experience as a 12-year-old girl was a blur, she still carried some fear from the previous operation. This necessitated the need for courage for the middle blocker, and Drake was right there to help her find that.

According to The Players Tribune, Asjia O’Neal said, “When it was time for me to do my EKG, blood work, stress test, and everything else to prepare me for surgery… I remember them rolling me in for surgery and asking me what music I wanted to listen to.” 

The Texas Longhorns middle blocker further said, “The last song I heard before I blacked out was “Started From The Bottom” by Drake. That was my surgery song and before I knew it I woke up back in the ICU.” While Drake did help Asjia O’Neal brave her operation, she still had to go through rehab and recovery.

Enduring constant struggle to play volleyball once again

Asjia O’Neal had to go through several weeks of rehab and recovery, during which she couldn’t even lift anything heavier than 10lbs for a week. This also involved almost zero physical activity for about six weeks. But O’Neal was ready to endure all this to play for the Texas Longhorns.

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Doctors asked Asjia O’Neal to either have a non-mandatory surgery once again or switch to a less tedious sport like cricket. O’Neal didn’t even see this as a choice and said yes to the operation immediately. As a result, she doesn’t just have two natties to her name today but has also become a pro volleyball player.

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