Jimmy Gavin Perseveres Through Disease, Tragedy To Fulfill NBA Dream

Jimmy Gavin’s path to the NBA included a tragedy, disease and perseverance. His journey, full of ups and downs, has been one for the ages and it’s all paid off.

Winthrop guard Jimmy Gavin’s path to Division I basketball was probably the most unlikely, but he accomplished the unthinkable. Now, Gavin is one of many NBA Draft hopefuls hoping to hear his name called on June 23, the night of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Fulfilling his dream hasn’t been easy, thanks to a disease, a tragic event and attending four different universities.

Gavin’s love for the game of basketball came at an early age. He was always playing at the park and in recreational leagues growing up. His dream was to play Division I basketball and make it to the NBA.

Gavin’s career began as a freshman in high school at Prospect High School in the Chicago suburb of Mt. Prospect, Ill. As a sophomore, Gavin’s career would come to a halt as he was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.

Crohn’s Disease causes inflammation of the lining of your digestive tract, which leads to abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition among other symptoms, according to Mayo Clinic. Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. also has Crohn’s Disease.

Due to his battle with Crohn’s Disease, Gavin never played varsity basketball, which made his dream of playing Division I basketball, let alone in the NBA, a long shot. In terms of his basketball playing days, Gavin felt as if there wasn’t anything he could do.

"“I always expected and dreamed to play Division I basketball and play in the NBA,” Gavin said. “I never thought I’d play another competitive game.”"

He started feeling better towards his senior year of high school, but he still didn’t play varsity basketball at Prospect. He did begin playing at the park again, it was something to get back on the court. After graduating from Prospect, he was off to Mississippi State.

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As a freshman in Starkville, Miss., there were no thoughts of playing basketball. Gavin chose Mississippi State because he wanted a fresh start.

During the spring semester of his freshman year, Gavin had just finished a quiz when he found that his parents had left him text messages and missed calls.

Gavin’s younger brother Jack, a volleyball player and honors student at Prospect High School, had been killed in a car accident.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Jack Gavin was the passenger in a car that skidded on a patch of ice and hit a tree. Jimmy would return home to be with his family before finishing his freshman year in Starkville.

Gavin, like most college students, had no plans or any idea of what he wanted to do. He ended up withdrawing from Mississippi State and returned home to refocus on his dream, playing in the NBA.

Following months of training, Gavin earned a preferred walk-on position at Bradley University. He scored 13 points in 28 minutes in 10 games in his one season with the Braves, but his experience was different than being a walk-on.

"“I never thought of myself as a walk-on,” Gavin said. “I just continued to work on my craft. I was on a mission and nothing would stop me from where I wanted to go.”"

His first year as a collegiate basketball player was cut short as he underwent surgery for Crohn’s Disease, which has been in remission ever since. But you wouldn’t know he was battling a disease unless you heard it before meeting him.

Bradley University is where I met Gavin for the first time. We had several classes together and to me, he was just another basketball player. But we sat next to each other in a statistics course and I had the privilege of getting to know Gavin, the person.

I knew he had Crohn’s Disease, but had no idea about his brother until years later.

As I got to know Gavin, there was one thing that was evident and it was his perseverance and willingness to work hard to earn everything, with nothing being given to him. That continued as he transferred to Wisconsin-Parkside.

"“I put myself in a position to get on the court as fast as possible,” Gavin said of his transfer to UW-Parkside. “I figured that I couldn’t continue to improve until I got playing time.”"

Gavin was grateful for the chance that head coach Luke Reigel took on Gavin, who had not yet proven that he was worthy of a scholarship. Reigel gave him a full ride and allowed Gavin to develop as a player.

While at Parkside, Gavin earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology. On the court he scored 1,000 points in two seasons and continued to progress towards his dream.

Jimmy Gavin was successful in taking another step in his career, where he brought his brother Jack with him by writing his initials on his shoes before each game.

His success at Parkside led him to taking another step towards the NBA by transferring back to a Division I school.

"“I wanted to follow my dream and I felt that Winthrop would give me the best chance to develop my skills for the NBA,” Gavin said of his decision to leave Parkside and play at Winthrop University."

Lots of NBA teams could use Jimmy Gavin from Winthrop rt now, got great one v one skills, deep range, lefty s curry in the making
— Evan Turner (@thekidet) January 15, 2016

Gavin took full advantage of the spotlight while at Winthrop. He is a shooter, a very efficient one.

He had a 63.0 true shooting percentage and a 59.3 effective field goal percentage. He was fourth in scoring in the Big South, averaging 18.7 points per game, and made the most three-pointers in the conference with 94.

If a player is taking 15.2 shots per game, he better be efficient. His slash line was .478/.410/.828 and he has in-the-gym range, which is why he has drawn some comparisons to two-time MVP Stephen Curry.

Gavin has taken advantage of every opportunity that he’s had. In a game against NC State, he scored 38 points. In the Big South Tournament, he elevated his game and scored 25 points per game.

"“We’re going to play a lot of good players … (but) I’ve got a hard time thinking we’re going to play anybody as offensively dangerous as Jimmy Gavin,” NC State head coach Mark Gottfried told the Associated Press."

Gavin played in some big games in his one season at Winthrop. Perhaps there was none bigger than his first game of the season, where his whole family was attendance and he left a ticket for his brother Jack.

He took the Big South by a storm and earned first team All-Big South honors. He led the Eagles to the championship game of Big South tournament, but the Eagles ultimately fell short. He would be honored again by being selected to the Big South All-Tournament Team.

"“The awards are a testament to perseverance and an opportunity,” Gavin admitted. “It’s an acknowledgement to the hard work that I’ve put in.”"

But Gavin hasn’t reached his ultimate goal yet.

Gavin, 23, compares to another left-handed point guard. Gavin’s 2015-16 season at Winthrop is similar to Goran Dragic’s 2013-14 season with the Phoenix Suns.

Gavin 2015-16

Season	School	Conf	G	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PTS
2015-16	Winthrop	Big South	32	33.8	.478	.410	.828	2.9	3.0	0.8	0.1	2.1	18.7

Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table
Generated 6/14/2016.

Dragic 2013-14

Season	Age	Tm	G	MP	FG%	3P%	eFG%	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PTS
2013-14	27	PHO	76	35.1	.505	.408	.561	.760	3.2	5.9	1.4	0.3	2.8	20.3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/14/2016.

Despite the comparisons to Curry and Dragic, Gavin has made it clear that he isn’t focused on emulating his game after another player. Like his entire career, Gavin just wants to continue to get better.

That’s what Gavin’s focus has been since his season ended. He held a pro day where all 30 NBA teams were in attendance, most notably the Minnesota Timberwolves new head coach and president of basketball operations, Tom Thibodeau.

Gavin has spent time training in Santa Barbara, Calif., and in Chicago. He’s been a part of private workouts with the Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic and Golden State Warriors.

As he meets and talks to teams and executives around the league, Gavin will be able to tell them about his battle with a disease that took the game away from him and how he persevered through it to get back to the game he loves.

He’s overcome a tragedy that has fueled him to fulfill his dreams while taking memories of his brother with him.

His genuine spirit and humility makes for the perfect character a team looks for off the court and in the locker room. His game and work ethic speaks for itself, and he’s got game. Gavin has had a unique path to the NBA and is determined to fulfill his lifelong dreams.