The text messages motivate Christian Collins to keep inspiring others.
One told theUSC-bound forwardabout three family membersbattling cystic fibrosis— the same disease afflicting him.
“The fact that they all have it, it’s sad to hear,” Collins told The California Post on Friday, “but also the fact that I’m inspiring him to keep going with his family and things like that, it was great.”
Thefive-star prospectfrom St. John Bosco High in Bellflower regularly receives messages from those who have a more severe form of the genetic condition. His is so mild that he said it doesn’t impact him on the basketball court.
“I kind of sometimes forget I have it, to be honest,” Collins said, “because I don’t like to make it something where it’s kind of like an excuse. So I just keep performing the way I’m performing, and I don’t even worry about it too much, to be honest.”
Watching Collins compete reveals no sign of a condition that can cause chronic coughing, wheezing and lung infections, among other symptoms. At 6 feet 8, he’s an explosive wing player who is part of aheralded freshman classthat also includes 7-foot twins Adonis and Darius Ratliff, the sons of former NBA All-Star Theo Ratliff.
All three players converged on El Camino College in Torrance on Friday to play in the Jordan Brand Classic. For perhaps one of the last times, they would be on opposite teams before uniting on campus this summer.
“I was definitely excited for that,” Collins said, “two 7-foot twins that can shoot, can post up, can rebound — it’s a great thing to see and a great thing to have on your team.”
Collins will have his own family member on the roster; he’s cousins withguard K.J. Lewis, who is transferring in from Georgetown after spending the previous two seasons at Arizona. Collins didn’t participate in Lewis’ recruitment because he didn’t know Lewis was considering becoming a Trojan.
“I was excited,” Collins said of his reaction when he found out his cousin would join him at USC. “I texted him and he texted me, and we were just talking about it and whatnot.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
