By Austin Meek (Register Guard-Eugene, OR)

December 22, 2015

An hour before tip-off at Matthew Knight Arena, Bryant King is immersed in his routine: arranging chairs, setting out clipboards, making sure everything is in place for Long Beach State’s pregame shoot around.

Then a basketball bounces his way, he dribbles it twice with his cane, tips it to himself and throws it back in one smooth motion. That ordinary act, not so ordinary for him, left the coaches at Long Beach State in awe the first time King showed up at their gym.

“Bryant is an inspiration to our guys every day,” coach Dan Monson said. “The fact that he can go out there and run and get balls, can go and rebound and do the things he does in practice, it’s like, ‘OK, how can anybody be tired?’”

Six months ago, King was walking across the stage at Matthew Knight Arena with his diploma from the University of Oregon. That was a major accomplishment in itself, considering he was a year removed from his third kidney transplant.

King walks with a cane and has a prosthetic leg, the result of a condition called caudal regression syndrome that affects fetal spine development. He was born with one kidney, a curved spine and a right leg that had to be amputated because it was so much shorter than the left.

Friday night, King was back at MKA as a graduate assistant for the Long Beach State basketball team, which played Oregon and lost 94-73. Being part of a Division I program was a dream he’d had since high school, when he served as a manager with the basketball team at Marist.

“There was something about basketball that really inspired me to push myself and keep going,” he said.

King tried to catch on as a manager at Oregon State after high school, but it didn’t work out. He had to leave OSU in 2011 when his second transplanted kidney began to fail.

King moved back in with his family and took classes at Lane Community College before deciding to enroll at Oregon. The whole time, the symptoms of his kidney failure were getting worse.

Three times a week, King drove himself to a clinic in Springfield for three hours of dialysis. He had trouble walking because of the water weight he’d gained and couldn’t read a textbook without his vision going blurry.

In June 2014, King underwent his third kidney transplant. His older brother made the donation, just as his father and uncle had done before.

“It’s a family affair, giving me a kidney and helping me pursue my dream,” King said.

With his health stabilized, King finished his degree and started sending emails, looking for a school with an opening for a graduate assistant.

Long Beach State was among those that responded. King interviewed over the phone with Jason Tilton, the school’s director of basketball operations, and was offered a spot as a volunteer.

King didn’t mention his disability during the interview.

When he showed up for his first practice, one of the team’s assistant coaches called Tilton, worried that their new grad assistant wouldn’t be able to handle the job.

“He called me back an hour later and said, ‘I feel terrible, because this guy can do it,’” Tilton said.

Watching King chase down basketballs with his cane is an example to everyone, Monson said. Coaches aren’t afraid to throw him into a drill if they need an extra passer or rebounder, and King has figured out how to accomplish those tasks without causing the team to miss a beat.

“Everything is a little more difficult for me,” he said. “I’ve adapted to being able to do things with one arm — making a pass, rebounding with one arm, making sure that my disadvantages don’t make an impact on the players.”

King hopes his latest kidney transplant will give him 20 or 30 years of good health, but there are no guarantees. All he can do is eat well, take care of himself and try to make the most of his healthy years.

King’s ultimate goal is to coach basketball at a Division I program. That will be a tough road, but no tougher than the one he’s already walked.

“This is just one step in that dream, getting here and being a part of a great program at Long Beach State and hopefully taking that next step,” he said.

For him, every step is a victory.

“Everything is a little more difficult for me. I’ve adapted to being able to do things with one arm — making a pass, rebounding with one arm, making sure that my disadvantages don’t make an impact on the players.”

Bryant King

Long Beach State

Graduate Assistant Coach