I am a big basketball fan and this is the best basketball success story I came to hear of in years, if not in my whole lifetime:

J-Mac is Basketball’s new hero.

J-Mac’s exploit is like a story from an inspiring basketball movie. But this is not an ordinary story. This is real life. It is more than just a single person’s or a team’s triumph. All it took was four minutes. Four measly minutes for J-Mac to transform from a high school basketball varsity’s team manager into a worldwide inspiration.

What is so special with that? and Who is this J-Mac?

Jason McElwain or J-Mac is no Kobe Bryant (the L.A. Lakers cager who scored 81 points this year). Jason is a high school senior from Greece Athena High School in New York State. Until that fateful game when he scored 20 points and tied a school record with six 3-pointers, the 5-foot-6 kid was Greece Athena’s do it all guy for the varsity team- on the bench. He kept the stats, ran the clock, and handed out water bottles. He was Greece Athena High’s assistant coach and spirit leader.

He was added to the roster by coach Jim Johnson so he could be given a jersey and get to sit on the bench in the team's last game of the year. J-Mac got the chance when his team was by double-digits with four minutes go to. Jason McElwain missed his first two shots, but then sank six three-pointers and another shot, for a total of 20 points in 240 seconds.

Seems like an ordinary feat?

By the way, Jason is autistic. Yes, you read it right. He is a child with autism. His accomplishment though not extraordinary for most of us, have brought hope and inspiration to all autistic children and their families.

Dr. Catherine Lord, a professor of psychiatry and the director for the University of Michigan's Autism and Communications Disorders Center said; "There are thousands of Jasons out there, carrying the net for the soccer team, keeping statistics for the baseball team, playing the drum for the school band. This serves as a reminder to give these kids a chance whenever possible."

It was not the 3 point shots he made that had impact but the circumstances beyond it. He was a success because the team, the school and the community accepted him for who he was.
This could spearhead researches and educational interventions around the world that would help children with autism.

After the game of his life, Jason's next goal: to graduate.

Go J-Mac!