David Andrews, age 18, wears number 40 on the Germantown High School basketball team, just outside of Memphis, TN. Much like the Knick’s Jeremy Lin, Andrews spent quite a bit of time warming the bench during his team’s games before ever getting to play in one.
Andrews has Down syndrome, and his mother had asked coach Wes Crump if her son could join the team his brother was already on. She thought maybe he could get a sweat suit and hang out with the other players on the bench. But Andrews soon proved that he had much more to offer the team.
The Germantown Red Devils already had a pretty good record for the season. In the fourth game, the team had a wide enough lead that Crump decided to put Andrews in. When Andrews got the ball, he took a shot from the corner and scored three points. He did the same thing again later in the game.
When Andrews shoots three pointers, he makes them 40 percent of the time. That makes him statistically better than most NBA players, including LeBron James. After that first game, Crump made sure to put Andrews in the rest of the season. He even started a game. The Red Devils went on to win the county championship.
“Down syndrome people come in wide spectrum of disability,” Andrews’ father told ABC News. “Some are talkers and some are walkers … David is clearly a walker.”
Whether he is leading the pre-game chant or “swishing threes,” Andrews is clearly an inspiration to his team.
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