Autism, Opponents Can't Stop H.S. Senior From Scoring Binge

They say truth can be stranger than fiction. But it can also be warmer than fiction.

The story of Jason McElwain ought to be splashed on the front page of every newspaper sports section, firmly implanted and linked on every blog and website, and talked about all over the dial on those sports radio call-in shows that are usually filled with blowhards -- on both sides of the telephone line.

McElwain is a senior at Greece Athena High School in Greece, N.Y. He is autistic. So, instead of being a player for the varsity basketball team, he functioned as the team manager -- keeping stats, handing out water bottles, sitting at the end of the bench in a white shirt and tie. He did all that to be close to the game -- a game he couldn't pursue competitively due to his autism.

But that changed last week.

Jason's coach, Jim Johnson -- touched by the young man's dedication and spirit, despite his terrible disappointment in not being able to play -- decided to let the 17 year-old suit up for a game, the school's home finale.

Jason proceeded to go on a scoring binge that would have made Isiah Thomas -- with his 16 points in 90 seconds in a playoff game -- blush.

Jason drained six three-point shots. He scored 20 points. And he did it in four minutes.

Kobe Bryant's got nothing on this kid.

"I ended my career on the right note," Jason told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. "I was really hotter than a pistol!"

Um, how about hotter than lava, son?

Twenty points in four minutes? In his only game? That's off the hook, as today's kids would say.

Jason couldn't even speak until he was five years old. As is often the case with children who are autistic, social skills can be lacking. And Jason was no exception. But he latched onto basketball, and for four dizzying minutes last week, basketball latched right back.

According to the AP story, Jason entered the game with Athena leading big. He missed his first three-pointer. Badly. Then he missed a layup. But as Jason's dad, David said to the local newspaper, "The thing about Jason is he isn't afraid of anything. He doesn't care what people think about him. He is his own person."

So Jason kept shooting. And he kept hitting. His next triple was nothing but net. He rained five more of them down on Athena's opponent, and would have had another, but his toe was on the line and that shot only counted for two.

Fans at the game came prepared with rumors of Jason playing swirling around the school. One section of students held up signs bearing his nickname "J-MAC" and cutouts of his face placed on Popsicle sticks.

Marvelous.

Athena won, 79-43, and Jason's teammates mobbed him and carried him off on their shoulders.

"It was as touching as any moment I have ever had in sports," Coach Johnson told the Daily Messenger of Canandaigua.

Too bad nobody carried Coach Johnson off the court. He was the other hero that night.