Former Dallas Mavericks summer league player embodying hope - 2007-11-11
By Kevin Sherrington
The Dallas Morning News
One day at basketball practice, Ray Johnston realized that most of his select high school players had skills, but few had plans.
For some of his players and most anywhere, basketball would not be a way out. So Johnston figured it was up to him to find a way for a few.
His solution: Working through the Heroes Organization and Foundation, Johnston will host the "Prepare for College Fair" on Saturday at Gilley's from 9 a.m. to noon.
A team of volunteers, corporate sponsors and representatives from SMU, Brookhaven College and the SAT college board will lead a hundred male high schoolers, mostly sophomores and juniors from Dallas ISD, through a hands-on seminar.
They'll learn how to apply for college, register for the SAT and, in a nice practical touch, practice interviewing for jobs.
And if it sounds like a tough assignment, helping at-risk inner-city kids find a future, then you don't know Ray Johnston.
Maybe you remember his story, though: Three years ago, doctors wouldn't have given you much for his future. A former Alabama point guard and member of the Mavericks' summer league team, Johnston lapsed into a coma after being diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of leukemia.
And that was maybe the least of it: kidney failure, heart fibrillation, seizures, blood clots, pneumonia. Two, maybe three times, he was as good as dead.
Even when he woke up after two months in a coma, a miracle at that, his recovery was far from over.
Twice since his original diagnosis, the cancer has come back. When it returned in December, doctors told Johnston it was time to call in the cavalry.
On Feb. 28, he underwent a bone marrow transplant. Doctors set 100 days as a goal.
Make it that long without any recurrence, they told him, and he had a decent shot at making it.
Now on Day 256, Johnston marks his progress in increments. He's working out now and no longer needs a cane.
Next on his list: He'd like to meet the donor that made the transplant possible.
"I'm hoping he has four season tickets to the Mavs," he jokes.
Johnston doesn't have any trouble getting tickets. He's practically the team's mascot.
Now 28, he continues to inspire the Mavs and anyone else privileged enough to witness his recovery. In the course of his amazing story, he's lost seven toes, his spleen and his ability to lead a fast break.
But not his hope. He still has that, for himself as well as underprivileged basketball players.
The Heroes Foundation found the right guy to run its basketball operation. Johnston can teach them basketball – four will sign national letters of intent – and he offers a path to a better future.
Of course, it's up to the players to take it. But it helps when you know who you can follow.
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