EARLY DREAMSSince I was 7, I had dreamed of playing in the NBA. After my junior year at the University of Houston, I was projected to go as high as the first or second round of the NBA draft. Then I decided to stay in school. During one of the last practices before the season began, I was finishing a layup when a teammate ran underneath me. I landed awkwardly and a bone in my foot snapped in half. There were complications, and an infection. Doctors saved my foot, but they said I&rsquo;d never play in college again&mdash;or the pros. But my mom always said, &ldquo;If God has something planned for you, regardless of the obstacles you encounter, it will happen.&rdquo; I did everything to get back in shape, and got signed by the Sacramento Kings.LEAP OF FAITHTo walk into an NBA locker room and see a jersey with my name on it was my lifelong dream come true. Then, right before the season, one of the big men fell onto my knee during practice. I tore my articular cartilage. My career was over. I was angry at God. I prayed and begged him, &ldquo;Your will be done, not mine. What would you have me do?&rdquo; Maybe a day later, while I was still laid up from surgery, this idea came to me: Create another Nike, but have it be faith-based. Have messages on the products that glorify God. Use athletic apparel as a platform to share the faith. People laughed at me. They didn&rsquo;t see the vision. But Steph Curry put in seed money. So did Anthony Tolliver.EYE ON THE BALLMainstream sporting-goods stores said they couldn&rsquo;t carry us, because it was faith-based. Big Christian retailers wouldn&rsquo;t&mdash;they said it was too expensive. That became a blessing: We&rsquo;ve focused on e-commerce and social media, where the world is going. Last year, a Christian retailer that had turned us down came back. In three and a half months, we did $2.4 million with that retailer&mdash;then it went out of business. But we&rsquo;re on pace to be where we were last year. Sometimes, you don&rsquo;t understand the storms you&rsquo;re going through until you come out the other side. I understand now why my journey has led me to this.

An Athlete's Second Act

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