Personal Narrative: How Basketball Saved My Life

I will never forget the day where something as simple as basketball saved my life. It was February 4, 2014; it was the worst day of my life. My brother from another mother was gone faster than the brain could process.

His body on Earth, his soul, in Heaven.

Keen yet frightful, petrified but somewhat curious, I chose not to know the reason behind his passing even though we were so close. With my right hand man gone, I needed relief- and quickly. Basketball came to the rescue. I will never forget when I randomly threw up the game ball in my twin brother’s basketball game and swished it from half court. As I heard the crisp yet perfect sound of contact between the ball and the net, my mind jumped for joy; it was the first time in light-years in which my brain thought about something other than suicide.

It is amazing how running drills like shooting and dribbling, rebounding and passing, jumping and running take on a soul after you turn them into a daily routine. If I practiced everyday, if I studied strategies, and if I gave it my all, I knew I could overcome this ill-fated and irreversible event. I will never forget the day where basketball saved my life.

The more I played, the happier I became.

Stemming from my emotional upbringing, I knew basketball is what I wanted to pursue for three hundred sixty-five days a year. The Hoosiers, national champions in 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, and 1987 prompted me to pursue my career at Indian University. With a highly respectable national reputation and legendary head coach, Tom Crean, I knew Indiana University would be a paragon school.

As an undergraduate student at Indiana University, I strive to serve as one of the men’s student basketball managers. Working alongside head coach Cread, assistance coaches, and players will give direct experience of what to expect in the