Column:

Wheelchair basketball deserves NCAA's respect

When people see the game for the first time, they're awestruck.

By Mark Levitt

Published Feb. 19, 2009

The National Collegiate Athletic Association sanctions 33 different sports for male and female student-athletes. One of the most popular is men's basketball.

These gifted men play with a leather ball 29.5 inches around. They use a basket 10 feet high. If they get fouled, they shoot a free throw from 15 feet away. All of this is done skillfully, with each player using two working legs.

Not included in the list of NCAA sanctioned sports is wheelchair basketball.

MU started its wheelchair basketball program back in 2004 when coach Steve Paxton arrived on campus. The program has since grown, winning a team record 12 games this past season.

There is no offensive lineman, wrestler or shot putter on campus who is stronger than the players on Paxton's team. No, they may not be able to run, they may not be able to jump, some of them may not even be able to stand up, but these people are athletes.

Last year, the Tigers' season ended with a loss on March 13 to eventual national champion Illinois in the first round of the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. The remainder of this year's campaign has yet to have been played out.

"It was a tough year for us but an important step for our program," Paxton said, referring to the 2008 schedule.

Junior guard Casey Adams echoed the feelings of his coach, whom he refers to as "his leader."

"We're still a young, upcoming program," Adams said. "This year is going to be the one year we can use to get to where we want to be."

With John Gilbert, a member of Team USA's national team, returning to the Tigers, and a great recruiting class leading the way in 2009, Missouri is well on its way there.

There, of course, refers to the place all coaches in all sports want their teams to be.

"We want to win a national championship," Paxton said.

Knowing Coach Paxton, I have no doubt he will.

At age 16, Paxton was injured in a car accident that left him paralyzed. Rather than letting the tragedy beat him, he continued playing the game he loved.

Paxton played wheelchair basketball at Wright State University before creating the squad here at MU.

His kids here have yet to receive the recognition they deserve. Maybe they don't get the accolades because the game isn't physical enough. Maybe because there is no way a basketball game played below the rim can be entertaining, but Adams still urges people to give it a shot.

"Wheelchair basketball is a fun game to see with all of the falls and the hits and the people falling out of their chairs," Adams said. "When people come to see it for the first time they are just awe-struck."

While I am sure the NCAA would admit this is a touching story about tough kids with big hearts, I do see reasons why it doesn't recognize it as one of its sports. For one, they play with a ball that is only 29.5 inches around. Their baskets are never raised past 10 feet. If a man runs over one of them leaving tire marks across their forehead, they have to scoot rather than walk to a foul line that is 15 feet away.

Sound familiar?

The label of "disabled" can limit people. But with the NCAA zeroed in on the dis-, instead of focusing on the abilities of these extraordinary people, the association is only limiting itself.