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It's about more than basketball for wheelchair athletes

Andrew Dye/ The Herald-Sun

Triangle Thunder player Chris Rivera (left), sets up for a pass around Rollin Bobcats player Chris Baker’s stiff defense in the final day of the Jerry Stackhouse Pro-Am tournament at McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium on Sunday.

BY KEITH UPCHURCH : The Herald-Sun
kupchurch@heraldsun.com
Aug 10, 2009

DURHAM -- Members of the Triangle Thunder wheelchair basketball team moved like greased lightning across the court at N.C. Central University on Sunday, handing their opponents -- including former All-Star Jerry Stackhouse -- an embarrassing defeat.

But it was all in good fun as the Triangle team displayed astonishing upper body strength and skill during two back-to-back games at McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium during the final day of the Jerry Stackhouse Pro-Am League tournament.

The first game matched them with a wheelchair team from Lumberton, the All Heart Tornados. With four minutes left, the score was tied at 29-29, but the Thunder rolled to a 32-29 victory to thunderous applause.

The next game pitted wheelchair players against able-bodied ones who also played in wheelchairs, including Stackhouse, who lost the ball and was scored against repeatedly by his wheelchair opponents.

The final score: 28-9.

In an interview after the game, Stackhouse said playing from a wheelchair is much harder than it looks.

"But it's a lot of fun," he said. "You can't take for granted that you can get around on both limbs. Those guys who do it all the time -- they're really good.

"People are born with limitations and things happen throughout the course of life that leave you with limitations, but they're not letting that stop them," Stackhouse said. "They continue to get out there and be active, and we're happy they're part of what we're doing here in this community."

Triangle Thunder player Andrea Woodson-Smith, 37, of Durham, said the speed of the players "was tremendous." She said the caliber of wheelchair players has increased during the 10 years she's played.

"I was a Division I basketball player with dreams of playing in the Olympics," she said. "And when that dream diminished and wheelchair basketball came about, then I just went with it. I love to play basketball."

She said the aerobic workouts she gets from basketball are important.

"The social aspect of it is also very important -- probably more important for the disabled population than for the able-bodied population," she said, "because then you're able to share stories because you have similar disabilities."

Another Thunder player, 35-year-old Kevin Bailey of Raleigh, coaches the team and loves it.

"I had a spinal cord injury in 1996, and got involved in wheelchair sports," he said. "Basketball was my love growing up. I was a gym rat. So as soon as we got a team together, I was all about being there and playing."

Akeem Hassell, 19, also from Raleigh, is the youngest member of the Thunder. He's also the captain of the wheelchair youth team.

"I like speed and shooting," he said. 'And I like the exercise and being social with all my teammates."

Ashley Thomas, executive director of Bridge2sports, a nonprofit that provides opportunities for those with disabilities to play sports, said being athletic pays dividends.

"In the long term, those who have been active don't have the secondary health issues like diabetes, heart issues, being overweight," she said. "Team sports also develop character, and when you see these kids with character, it came from playing on a team. So, it works."

Thomas said she's seen remarkable transformations in those with disabilities who embrace sports.

"You see people who went from hopelessness to hope," she said. "The person changes, and they go forward in a positive way in life. It's one of the greatest things anyone can see happen."