ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico senior guard Senque Carey can't help wondering if he'll ever again shoot a jumpshot.

	Senque Carey, center, talks about suffering a spinal cord injury Monday. His girlfriend, Nadia Steed, left, and his legal guardian, Nelson Washington, look on.

Carey, a senior from East Palo Alto, Calif., suffered a spinal cord injury Nov. 25 in the Lobos' game against Northwestern State and is still unable to move his legs.

Carey expressed confidence Friday he'll walk again and will play again before the end of the season, but he acknowledged there are times when his thoughts turn to "what if."

"I don't want to think about it, but I do sometimes when I'm by myself," he said during a news conference last week at University of New Mexico Hospital. "Of course, you've got to think about what if I can't play basketball. I'll be fine. Right now, I'm just worried about standing up."

Carey was in attendance in a wheelchair for New Mexico's game Monday against Northeastern. He was released from the hospital to attend the game, then returned to the hospital.

Dr. Bob Schenck, an orthopedic surgeon at UNMH, said earlier this week it's too early to determine if Carey will regain the use of his legs. Schenck also said Carey had a pre-existing narrowing of the spine.

With his girlfriend, Nadia Steed, seated next to him, Carey spoke of his plans to return to the court.

"I feel it's only a matter of time before I'm back to myself," Carey said, "but it's going to take time. I've been playing basketball my whole life ... but right now the most important part is to be able to live a normal life."

Carey, who transferred to New Mexico from the University of Washington two years ago, was injured while taking a charge with 7:41 left in the first half of the game against the Louisiana school. He lay on the court virtually motionless for 10 minutes. Medical personnel placed a neck brace on him and he was carried from The Pit in a stretcher.

The game, which New Mexico won 60-56, started badly for the Lobos, who found themselves down 27-15 when Carey went down.

"Coach had already burned a timeout because we weren't mentally into the game," Carey said. "I had an opportunity to take a charge. I took the charge and I kind of fell back on my hands and snapped my neck back."

Schenck has said the sudden snapping of his neck likely caused the spinal injury.

"I thought I had separated my shoulders because my arms were burning," he said. "As I was laying there I was trying to move my arms and couldn't move them. I was trying to move my legs and couldn't."

Carey regained feeling in his hands and arms within hours after being taken to the hospital. He said Friday he has some feeling in his hips now and that, coupled with how fast he regained feeling in his arms, feeds his optimism.

"Right now it's on the up because of how fast the feeling came back in my arms," he said. "I've got movement and muscle sensation in my hips, so that's a good thing."

Carey felt good enough Friday to pay a surprise visit to his teammates at practice. He and Steed sneaked out of the hospital and she drove him to The Pit.

"We were going to go to the (hospital) cafeteria and decided The Pit wasn't that far away," said Steed. "He really needed to get out."

Carey said he wanted to see his teammates before they left for Las Cruces, N.M., and a game against rival New Mexico State. A year ago, Carey scored a season-high 16 points against the Aggies and his back-to-back 3-pointers sparked an 11-0 run that gave New Mexico a 66-64 victory.

"I told them to bring me back a win," Carey said.

Carey suffered a similar injury at the end of his junior year at California's St. Francis High School. He lost feeling in his legs for a couple of days, but was able to resume playing within days.

Carey has been inundated with cards, flowers, e-mails and phone calls. Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown called.

"He told me to stay confident and get back on my feet so they can watch me play," Carey said.

New Mexico State coach Lou Henson also called Carey and the Aggies plan to have a moment of silence for Carey prior to the game Saturday.

"I know how interested the community is in Lobo basketball ... but I'm surprised how much the whole community, the state and the country have embraced Q," Steed said. "It's just overwhelming in a good way."