Jason McElwain: What a story!

The amazing story of Jason McElwain.

I had seen a snippet of this video the other day but only saw a kid hitting a three pointer and the crowd going nuts. I had no idea about the backstory. I searched around to find out more about it, and was simply amazed.

This kid is a 17 old senior who had always been the trainer for his basketball team. Never played a game. Never even dressed out. The coach allowed him to dress out the last game of the season as a reward for his dedication to the team. No intention of putting him in. But with 4 minutes left in the game, the coach put Jason in the game. What happened next is the stuff of movies.

Jason scored 20 points in 3 minutes, including 6 consecutive 3-pointers!

What's even more amazing?

Jason is autistic.

Here's a kid who is in Special Education classes, who has probably been made fun of a lot his whole life. But one person - a coach - treats him with respect (and obviously the teammates do as well), and look what an amazing thing can be done.

For me, with a cousin who was mentally retarded but had a story very similar to the movie Radio, and with a son who has special needs but is a beautiful little boy, I simply am mesmerized by this video. At the same time, I want to stay away from it because every time I watch it I cannot see it well due to the tears.

It may not have the same impact on all of you, but for those with special needs individuals in their lives, you know exactly what I am talking about.

Oh, and by the way, Magic Johnson and Columbia pictures have signed the movie rights to this story. I just hope they do it justice.