Autistic teen turns basketball phenom

GREECE, N.Y. - The story line was already compelling enough: Autistic team manager makes varsity basketball debut in final home game of senior year. Crowd goes wild as he checks in.

But Jason McElwain's coach upped the ante, asking God to let the young man come away with one basket. What happened next, according to Coach Jim Johnson, "was divine intervention." McElwain scored not one, but seven baskets - including six three-pointers - in Greece-Athena High School's 79-43 win over Spencerport Feb. 15. He led all scorers with 20 points, even though he didn't enter the game until midway through the fourth quarter. The shocking performance, as well as the wild post-game celebration in which fans and players engulfed him, has been replayed on media outlets everywhere. The video can still be accessed on Internet news sites by typing "Jason McElwain" into a search engine. In the weeks that have followed, the star now known to the world as "J-Mac" has logged numerous television, radio and newspaper appearances. A movie and a book deal are in the works. He's even exchanged hugs, handshakes and banter with President George W. Bush. "My life changed a lot in four minutes. All the attention is making me a busy man," the 17-year-old said with a big grin. What wasn't captured on video are the challenges J-Mac faced growing up with autism - a brain disorder that hinders one's ability to communicate, form relationships and respond appropriately to the environment. J-Mac, like many autistic people, experienced a severe language delay. According to his mother, Debbie, he also is learning-disabled. While the general public considers Feb. 15 a watershed night for J-Mac, his mom goes back to an equally important moment - when her boy, already past his sixth birthday, uttered his first words. "It was on a Thursday afternoon, and he was watching 'Sesame Street,'" she said, and the words "Big Bird" slid out of little Jason's mouth. Debbie McElwain told the Catholic Courier, the official publication of the Diocese of Rochester, that her son began to improve rapidly after that, but he still had much to overcome. "When he was severely autistic, he had no social contact whatsoever," she noted. She added that it's also been a struggle to have J-Mac accepted in various scholastic and social venues. He has often been the target of bullying. J-Mac, who with his family belongs to St. Mark Parish in Greece, now talks quite smoothly, though not at great length. His social circle has expanded greatly, largely because of athletics. He is a fine cross-country runner and took his role as basketball manager seriously, serving the junior-varsity team as a sophomore and the varsity team as a junior and senior. In the near future J-Mac plans to get his high-school equivalency degree and attend Monroe Community College, majoring in business. He obviously knows how to shoot a basketball, but at 5 feet 9 inches tall and a mere 130 pounds, he could not make the cut on a very good team. He stayed on as manager, practicing with the team all year long and cheering on the Trojans from the bench, always donning a dress shirt and tie. "When you see a kid that dedicated, you want to see him rewarded," Johnson said. Thus, he had J-Mac suit up for the last home game with a possibility - but no guarantee - that he would play. Word got around to the students, and many showed up that night with cardboard cutouts of J-Mac's face pasted to wooden sticks. The fans shrieked and waved their placards en masse as J-Mac entered the game. "I got so choked up. I could start feeling the tears well up, and when he made his first basket, then the tears started flowing," Johnson said. Teammates kept feeding him the ball, enabling him to launch 13 shots. He made seven. His six-for-10 three-pointers tied a school record. The surge happened so quickly that J-Mac can't recall any specific shots: "I just remember making them all." J-Mac's final basket came just before the game-ending buzzer. Seconds later, he was mobbed by a sea of schoolmates who hoisted him on their shoulders. A Greece-Athena student videographer, Marcus Luciano, captured the event. The footage was shown on Rochester television stations and quickly made the climb to national news outlets. On one morning alone, he was featured on ESPN, CNN and "Good Morning America." His feat was shown two nights in a row on the "CBS Evening News." President George W. Bush, who had a scheduled visit to western New York, asked J-Mac to meet him when he landed at Greater Rochester International Airport. "He said, 'Can I call you J-Mac? You can call me George W,'" J-Mac recalled, laughing. Among phone calls Coach Johnson received was one from pro basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who expressed interest in having a production role in any movie project about J-Mac. In late April Magic Johnson flew in to meet J-Mac and seal his part in a movie deal with Columbia Pictures. Debbie McElwain said the publicity has "destroyed our private lives." But she said it's worth the disruptions to know her son will reap a sizable financial reward for having his story told on film and in print. Meanwhile, J-Mac is enjoying the spotlight as he willingly signs autographs for anyone who asks. "This is the best time of my life, right here," he said. "He walked through the door. He showed he can excel as a normal person," Debbie McElwain said. "This is something Jason can be proud of for the rest of his life."

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops