Cancer survivors share court with NBA’s elite

Justin M. Bowen

Cancer survivor Armando Corral talks with Chauncey Billups of the Denver Nuggets during an event put on by Impact Sports and the Make-A-Wish Foundation Wednesday.

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009 | 1:50 a.m.

Make A Wish Goes One on One with NBA Stars

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Memphis Grizzlies star Rudy Gay didn't intimidate Armando Corral in a one-on-one basketball game Wednesday.

Corral, a 17-year-old Durango High senior, looked Gay in the eyes before hitting a long jump shot at Impact Sports Academy to cut it to a one-point game.

“I’m going to have to stop taking it easy on him,” Gay said. “He’s got game.”

Gay ended up winning the matchup, 9-7, but Corral didn't seem to mind the loss.

Corral and Erica Nichols, a 5-year-old Summerlin resident, played with a number of professionals in an event put on by Impact and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“It’s really special,” Erica’s mother, Shanna Nichols, said. “When I told my mother-in-law, she said, ‘they are doing it during school?’ I said, ‘yeah, but when will she ever get this chance again? She can make up school.’”

Corral followed suit in skipping school for the occasion. That’s not all the two had in common. Both Nichols and Corral were celebrating their recovery from cancer.

Nichols is in remission after battling leukemia for the past three years. Doctors diagnosed Corral with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last November, but he said he's now healed.

“I’ve started feeling better and better,” Corral said. “You start feeling more loose. I can do a lot more stuff now.”

That must include spending three hours competing against the likes of the Denver Nuggets’ Chauncey Billups, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Sebastian Telfair, the San Antonio Spurs’ Roger Mason and others.

It could be great preparation for Corral, who played basketball at Durango his freshman and sophomore years. Before his junior season last year, however, Corral felt lumps on his neck.

He saw a doctor and got a biopsy. That’s when he got the news. There would be no more basketball. Corral had cancer.

As Corral went through chemotherapy and other treatment, keeping track of his favorite NBA player, LeBron James, and his favorite team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, helped him through.

Now, he’s considering returning to play basketball for Durango for his senior season.

“I’ve got to get in shape first,” Corral said.

Although Erica has never played basketball competitively, the game also has accompanied her fight. Dick Vitale invited Shanna to share Erica’s story at the 2008 Dick Vitale Gala for Cancer Research in Sarasota, Fla.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino and Florida coach Billy Donavan both were so touched that they invited the family to attend one of their team’s home games this season. Shanna said she was still figuring out when they could make the trips.

Erica made new basketball friends Wednesday when she posed for pictures with Gay and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Marreese Speights.

“We’re going to have to start following basketball,” Shanna said. “It’s a little different when you know the people.”

Likewise, Corral said the Cavaliers might not be alone anymore. After playing one-on-one with both Gay and Telfair, he might have new allegiances for the Grizzlies and Clippers.

Corral gained a fan of his own in Gay.

“He surprised me,” Gay said. “He shot really well. He’s spent some time in the gym.”