Former Celtic Chris Herren to speak at CHS

Twenty years ago, Chris Herren was a local basketball hero with a seemingly limitless future in front of him. A three-time all-state selection for Durfee High School in Fall River, Herren became a national media darling in the early 1990s and was recruited by several of the country’s top Division 1 programs.

But even as he furthered his basketball career, going from Boston College and Fresno State to the NBA and eventually to his hometown Boston Celtics, Herren was falling deeper into the abyss of drug and alcohol addiction — a sickness that derailed his career and nearly cost him his life before he hit rock bottom and finally accepted help in the summer of 2008.

Now sober and determined to help others avoid the perils of addiction, Herren will bring his inspiring story of hope and recovery to the Canton community on Wednesday, March 27, in the Canton High School auditorium.

Herren will first share his message with the entire CHS student body at 12:30 p.m. and will return to do another presentation for the general public at 7 p.m.

“His story is engaging and powerful, and it will resonate with every listener — especially the students,” said CHS Principal Derek Folan. “It is a story about his battle with addiction and struggling to regain hold of his life. But it also is a story about the human condition and the impact of our decisions. It is a story about redemption and family and loyalty. It is a story about resilience in the face of our flaws and failures.”

The subject of the ESPN documentary “Unguarded” and the bestselling memoir Basketball Junkie, Herren’s story is both a cautionary tale and a heartening one, and he willingly shares it with local audiences “in the hopes of reaching just one person and making a difference in their life.”

Once a poster child for wasted talent and untapped potential, Herren, according to his biography, has managed to stay clean and sober for the past four years and has “refocused his life and dreams to put his sobriety and family above all else.”

He has also returned to the sport he once loved — this time as a player development instructor and founder of Hoop Dreams with Chris Herren, Inc. Since the summer of 2009 he has trained over 200 basketball players of varying ages and ability levels, including some of the region’s top male and female prospects.

He is also the founder of the Herren Project, a nonprofit organization that educates at-risk populations on addiction and helps people take the first step in their recovery through partnerships with local treatment and rehabilitation centers. Most recently, Herren launched Project Purple — a promotional campaign inspired by a group of high school students that encourages schools, sports teams, and other groups to wear purple and “stand up against substance abuse.”

Herren also continues to share his story with audiences all over New England and beyond, garnering rave reviews from school administrators, parents and kids for his honesty, directness, and overall positive mindset.

“We want students to make good decisions and take responsibility for their actions,” Principal Folan said. “We want our students to be healthy and safe. Chris Herren’s presentation will hammer home those themes in an amazing story.”

Next Wednesday’s presentation at 7 p.m. is free and open to the public. For more on Chris Herren, go to www.basketballjunkie.net/about.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=19620

Posted by Jay Turner on Mar 21 2013. Filed under Uncategorized. Both comments and pings are currently closed.