Whenever Juwan Durham feels in a funk during his long recovery from his second knee injury, he looks up motivational videos.

He's found some uplifting gems.

"You've just got to tell yourself positive things," Durham said recently. "I watch my motivational videos on YouTube as well to get me through my slumps. There's like a bunch of workout videos and I'll see guys like (motivational speaker) Eric Thomas, Ray Lewis and Rocky quotes in movies and stuff like that, and interviews where they're talking about just staying positive and just working hard all the time."

Durham, a member of UConn's talented incoming recruiting class, has endured more than his share of frustration and pain on the road to Storrs.

After recovering from his first ACL surgery in the spring of his junior year at Tampa Preparatory School in Florida, the 6-foot-9 forward suffered the same injury in his other knee last fall, forcing him to miss his entire senior season.

At first, it was a devastating blow.

"Wow, I can't believe this just happened again," Durham said of his reaction. "You're in a dark place. But just the type of person that I am and the enthusiasm that I have and the confidence that I have, I just told myself that I'll be fine.

"It's all a mental game."

Durham's upbeat attitude has helped him get through his ordeal. Tampa Prep coach Joe Fenlon has watched Durham fight his way back and never saw him hang his head.

"He's a kid that's got an unbelievable positive attitude about everything...," Fenlon said on Monday. "To him, it was just another roadblock. He keeps his eyes on the prize. He doesn't live in the moment."

After his second injury, Durham worked even harder to improve his game despite his physical limitations during his recovery and served as a shining example for his Tampa Prep teammates.

He ended up turning a negative into a positive.

Durham extended his range on his jump shot to well beyond the three-point line and polished his ball-handling skills.

"His individual skill set has improved since he's been hurt," Fenlon said. "It's mainly he hasn't been able to use his athleticism. He spent countless hours just working on his jump shot. He couldn't cross over or go left to right, everything had to go straight forward. It gave him a chance to slow down."

Durham is determined to be ready to go for the upcoming UConn season. His playing status is uncertain at this point.

Since arriving in Storrs earlier this summer, he's continued to make progress. He's doing strengthening exercises, agility, ball-handling and shooting drills.

"I'm just taking it day-by-day and working out with the athletic trainer and just getting in the gym and working my butt off...," Durham said. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to play right now, but the way things are looking it's going in the right direction."

Durham said he learned his lesson from rushing back from his first knee injury, which happened in the final game of his junior season. He rose in the recruiting ranking while averaging about 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game. According to Fenlon, Durham is unselfish, team-first player blessed with adept passing skills, an assortment of offensive moves as well as being a disciplined defender and effective shot blocker.

The next step in his comeback is a big one. Durham realizes he's making a significant leap, going from a long layoff to playing on the elite Division I level for the first time.

Durham remembers his first conversation with UConn team trainer James Doran after arriving on campus.

Doran asked him if he thought he'd be ready to play this season.

"Of course I said, 'yeah,' because I want to play and have that fire and tenacity in me," Durham said. "But I also have to be smart about it because I can't rush back."

Coach Kevin Ollie is taking a wait and see approach with Durham. A decision on his future will likely be made sometime this fall.

"I just want him to get healthy," Ollie said. "I want to get him out on the court and then we'll evaluate the situation as it goes. ... If he's not ready, we're going to red-shirt him.

"... We want to do what's best for UConn and what's going to give us the best opportunity to win. Not only that, but do what's best for the player. If he mentally can't go, or he's having problems about having confidence out there, we can't allow him to go out on the basketball court. We want to really get his input, too, on how he's feeling."

Durham appreciates that the UConn coaching staff stuck with him after his second injury. He plans on rewarding them for their faith in him.

"That's part of the motivation for Juwan as well," Fenlon said. "He wants to reward them for their commitment to him. They stood by him through the whole thing. He's that kind of guy and will work hard for you."

g.keefe@theday.com