National Post (National Edition)
Felix knows how to conjure a comeback
When Carrick Felix stands in front of his audience as a motivational speaker, he begins by sharing the personal snapshots of his life. The teachers who said he’d never graduate high school and the bullies who persisted because how easy it was to pick on the then pipsqueak. The nights sleeping in his car while a student-athlete at Arizona State University and the night he almost lost basketball.
The last story goes like this: Felix was playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors, the minor-league affiliate of the NBA’s Golden State franchise. He had already been cast aside by two other teams, missed substantial time in his young career due to injury and it was about to get worse. Just before taking off for a dunk, Felix planted his foot and felt his left kneecap snap in two.
“I swear it was like a life-flashing moment,” Felix said.
The injury led him on a tour of self-discovery in which he reinvented himself as an app developer in Silicon Valley, as well as the Tony Robbins for school students or college athletes. This week, though, Felix can once again call himself an NBA player.
On Sunday, Felix defied the odds as a non-guaranteed training camp invitee and made the Washington Wizards’ final 17-man roster, completing an improbable two-year comeback from his fractured left patella.
“I’m happy for him,” coach Scott Brooks said. “He’s one of those players you want him to have success.”
After most Wizards’ practices, the 27-year-old Felix is the last player on the court. Even the mundane routine of free-throw shooting sparks the megawatt smile on his face. It wasn’t always this way — Felix once hated basketball.
An Air Force family, they bounced between states. While his two older brothers found stability in basketball — with mom Beverly coaching — Felix was five-foot-five with skills that lagged behind his peers. Instead, he loved skateboarding and would much rather jump over a box than practise his jump shooting.
“He was short for a long time, I didn’t think he was going to grow,” said Beverly, who from her sideline perch could hear the joking from the stands.
Before his sophomore year, Felix sprouted in height and with this growth spurt, his passion for basketball developed as well. After junior college, Felix earned a scholarship to play at Arizona State and his life changed during his fourth season. Felix was going to be a father to a little girl.
“Do I leave (school) or stay to take care of her?” Felix asked himself.
Focus and decision making can be a struggle for someone diagnosed with ADD. And Felix became overwhelmed and took the difficult path. He continued to play basketball, but gave every dime of his studentathlete stipend to support the mother of his child. Broke and virtually homeless, Felix spent parts of the season couch-surfing and living out of his car.