Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Act of sportsmanship gives Texas high schooler shot at glory

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/act-of-sportsmanship-gives-texas-high-schooler-shot-at-glory/

From CBS News (with video)

EL PASO, Texas -- Coach Peter Morales of the Coronado High School Thunderbirds in El Paso, Texas, makes no qualms about it: he has a favorite on this team.

Team manager Mitchell Marcus has a developmental disability, but he far surpasses everyone here when it comes to love of the game.
"He's just an amazing person that our basketball team loves being around," Morales says.
Mitchell's mom, Amy, says he's always been that way.
"Mitchell always had a basketball, that was always what he wanted for his birthday," she says.
And because basketball is that important to him, on the last game of the regular season, the coach told Mitchell to suit up.
"I was very happy," Mitchell says of what it was like to put on the team's uniform.
Just wearing a jersey was enough for Mitchell, but what he didn't know -- what no one knew at the time -- was that the coach planned to play him at the end, no matter what the score.
Morales says he was prepared to lose the game.
"For his moment in time, yes," he says.
With a minute-and-a-half left -- Coronado leading, but only by 10 -- Coach Morales put in his manager.
"And I just started hearing, 'Mitchell, Mitchell,'" Morales says.
But here's where the fairytale fell apart. Although his teammates did everything they could to get Mitchell a basket, each time they passed him the ball, he either missed the shot, or, like on their last possession, booted it out of bounds, turning the ball over to the other team with just seconds left.

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