Evanescent Basketball
In many ways he was much like the other boys. Clad in oversized basketball tees, baggy basketball shorts and matching baby-blue Melo’s, it was hard to tell the boys apart. Just like the rest of them, he absolutely loved the NBA and you could tell right away. If their attire wasn’t an automatic give-away, then their self-proclaimed English names were sure to convince you that they were basketball fanatics. When Jordan and the other boys realized that I followed the NBA too, they immediately surrounded me in a tight circle and bombarded me with questions.
“Who’s your favorite player?” “Who’s the best player in the NBA?” “Have you ever been to a real NBA game before?” The only time when the boys were not inundating me with basketball related questions was only when they were scarfing down food during meals—even then, I could tell they could barely contain themselves—food was only temporarily, basketball it seemed was life itself.
Through the course of the week I realized how different Jordan was from the rest of his friends. Sure, he loved basketball more than anything in the world; but I noticed that there was more to him than basketball. In retrospect, I now know that I was right.
For one thing, he was much quieter than the rest of the boys. When the rest of the boys were raucously laughing and being typical 14-year-olds, he was calm and collected. I remember on one particular occasion I told the boys to quiet down. He gathered the guys and told them to pipe down. While his words didn’t prove to be particularly effective, I noticed that he continued to lead by example. When I think about the pain that he suffered in his last moments, and his willingness to accept Christ as his Savior, I am not surprised at all. For a typical 15-year-old it should be shocking, but Jordan was not a regular kid.
I still remember the first time I took the guys out to play ball. As we trekked out to the courts in the midday heat of Sichuan, I could tell they had been looking forward to this time for a while. It didn’t matter how hot it was outside, we were going to play basketball. I gave the guys a few pointers and ran some drills with them. As I offered more pointers, some of the boys grew a bit impatient. They just wanted to play. I remembered what it was like being a 14-year-old, so I just let them play. As I stood off to the side and let them have some fun, I noticed Jordan. He was one of the more fundamentally sound players, but I didn’t notice him because of his skills, instead I was impressed with his focused effort in applying what I taught him.
For the most part the boys learned basketball on their own and it showed. In China, unless you are abnormally tall for your age-level or show some extraordinary potential, there simply aren’t many opportunities to hone your game. Earlier I had showed them the footwork to a layup. From the right side, right foot, then left foot in stride and then take off. I saw Jordan as he was practicing with the rest of the boys. Right, left, jump. Focused. Determined.
It’s hard to think that Jordan isn’t around anymore. He’s not having fun like a regular 15-year-old boy and following his passion for basketball. He’s not going to grow up, go to college, and start a family. It’s hard to accept that. But, Jordan was just not a regular kid. I hear that his last hours were painful. He fought blindness and excruciating pain, but he heard the Gospel out, accepted it, and was baptized in his last moments. When they asked him if he remembered the camp last year, he muttered “记得.” (I remember) I’m going to miss him, but now he’s in Heaven with the Lord and I’m sure he’s having a heck of a time right now. Jordan, 我也记得你！Gonna miss you bro!
1 year ago