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You should have seen it.
I’m flying down the court in NHTI’s Goldie Crocker Wellness Center and the pass hits me perfectly in stride. I pull up and knock down the shot.
It was my only two points of the game, but they proved to be crucial in a big rally that resulted in a huge win. Now, I don’t think I mentioned that I was playing said basketball game in a wheelchair. Don’t worry; I didn’t break my leg tripping over one of Sophie’s toys or twist my ankle shoveling all that snow before my debut in NHTI’s 13th annual Wheelchair Basketball Benefit in honor of Zech DeVits.
Last year I covered the game, and it looked like a grand ol’ time, so this year I wanted in. To be perfectly honest, I had never been in a wheelchair before, let alone while trying to make my way up and down a basketball court.
So when I somehow ended up in a corner of the gym during warm-ups without the necessary experience to make it out, there was a momentary sense of panic. I couldn’t be that guy who just didn’t get it. What would all my fans think? Luckily, I didn’t have any there, and I also eventually got the hang of it.
I was part of the NHTI faculty team, but no one even asked what I taught or did at the school, which was disappointing beause I had this whole fake backstory ready to go and never got to use it.
Anyway, I asked to join the team without any real idea of the rules or how to coordinate dribbling and rolling. In case you didn’t know, I’m not the best dribbler even when that’s my sole focus. So I started the game on the bench, finally getting in about halfway through the first quarter and for a while I felt like a 4-year-old playing soccer, constantly chasing the ball, but never actually being part of the action.
My first shot attempt was a brick, but I was not alone as our team went scoreless over the first 12 minutes. My second shot ended with the same result and shot No. 3 didn’t hit anything. It wasn’t even close. Then in the fourth quarter with the team in full rally mode, I hit a little wheeler (also known as a runner when you play with your legs) near the right hand block.
They were my only two points, but it matched my high school career output when I was a bench warmer on the freshmen team. That’s when I knew my NBA career dream was officially over.
My final shot was another air ball, but it didn’t matter. I had contributed to the team’s win.
Now, the format was a little different. Our team played the entire game, while the other side switched out squads from the three campus dormitories every quarter. And after shoveling for what seemed like 24 straight hours the day before, let’s just say my arms were a little sore going in and a lot sore coming out.
But it was for a good cause. What started out as a fundraiser to fix up DeVits’s wheelchair-accessible van way back when has turned into something that helps numerous NHTI students with disabilities get the proper technology to aid in the learning process.
And who knows? If I practice a little in the offseason, maybe they will ask me back and even give me the opportunity to earn a starting spot.
A guy can dream, can’t he?
