SNOQUALMIE, Wash. — Last Valentine’s Day, the love of Lattimore Ford’s life broke apart.

In one sweeping sequence, Ford was left helpless and hopeless by himself, wondering if he’d ever be the same.

But 11 1/2 months later, that burning love — basketball — has returned stronger and brighter than ever.

Fully recovered from a gruesome left-knee injury that, at first glance, appeared to be career-threatening, Ford is back playing for 4A KingCo champion Mount Si, trying to reclaim his standing as the most explosive and well-rounded player in the class of 2026.

Can he get there?

“Each game, I am getting better and better,” said Ford, who along with the rest of the top-seeded Wildcats meet No. 8 West Valley in a round-of-16 game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Issaquah High School. “I am putting the state on notice — it is going to be scary when I am 100 percent.”

Once the Washington Huskies’ top in-state recruiting target, Ford and the Wildcats were playing North Creek in the playoffs when the bouncy 6-foot-6 forward split two defenders and shook loose on a breakaway toward the opposing basket midway through the fourth quarter.

He was going to bring the house down, and took off just inside the free-throw line for a one-handed jam when one of the trailing defenders came charging in and undercut him as he was mid-air.

Off balance and pirouetting, Ford landed awkwardly on the baseline. His left knee absorbed most of the blow — and in a way it is not designed to bend. It left the teenager with a serious injury.

A few weeks later, Ford underwent complete reconstructive knee surgery, leaving him on a path of great unknowns.

“I never cried one time thinking about it — everything I lost and the multiple things that got affected, including my basketball dreams and my life, in other ways,” Ford said. “I was always believing I was going to come back and be better than ever, stronger than ever. I was going to work harder than anyone else.”

By late spring, at Ford’s three-month checkup, the surgeon marveled at how quickly the basketball standout was regaining strength and stability in the knee.

“The doctor said his leg was at the level of six months (after surgery) in terms of strength,” Mount Si boys coach Jason Griffith said.

At the end of the summer, Ford and his family decided to leave Mount Si for North Carolina where he would enroll at Combine Academy with hopes he could rehabilitate his recruiting exposure as well.

That lasted a month before Ford returned to the Wildcats. But because he left, he would have to file an appeal to a District 2 eligibility board to be able to play WIAA basketball again in 2025-26.

Circumstances were adding up — enough to where Griffith gave it a “20 percent chance” he would be able to return to the team.

“And once he got denied (eligibility) at the district level, I thought there was no chance,” Griffith said.

Essentially, the team moved on in December, and began building momentum toward a long winning streak with the roster it had, led by Boise State signee Brady Hennig.

But in mid-January, after filing an appeal at the state level, Ford was granted eligibility by the WIAA and rejoined the team.

Griffith immediately scheduled a private sitdown meeting with Ford and assistant coach Cole Westover to explain how the current team was settling into a nice groove heading into the final few weeks of the regular season — and how they envisioned him fitting in.

“We went over his demeanor … and how he might have to be more of a leader by example,” Griffith said. “We talked about playing time and explained why he would not start when he came back.

“We broke it down, and then he looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, I got it.’ He took it in such a mature manner.”

And, starting with his season debut Jan. 23 against Renton, followed by an efficient team-leading scoring effort in a top-five matchup Jan. 31 against Lake Washington, Ford was quickly e-establishing himself as an important piece in the team puzzle.

But, then the KingCo game Feb. 6 against Hazen in which Ford reminded folks how explosive he was by receiving an alley-oop pass and elevating over a crowd for a rim-rattling dunk.

Yes — after a long road back — Ford has regained his footing.

“It has definitely been a journey, but I am blessed for all the people who have helped me out,” Ford said. “Being off the court, it has made me such a better player, and a better person.”