There are “feel-good stories,” then there are feel-great stories.
The latter will take place Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
That’s when 15-year-old Patrick McSweeney, a sophomore at St. Xavier High School who is battling leukemia, will suit up for the Bellarmine University men’s basketball team in its exhibition game against the University of Louisville. Tip off is set for 12:30 p.m.
McSweeney will score the first basket in the game.
“He’s going to blow by Terry Rozier, go by Chris Jones and score a layup,” Knights coach Scott Davenport told ESPN.com. “We’ll just be sure to tell Montrezl Harrell not to block it.”
Davenport, who has known McSweeney for a couple of years, and his son Doug, who is the Director of Video Operations for UofL, went to McSweeney’s home Wednesday to deliver the good news.
“When you find out from Coach Davenport personally that you’re going to be in a play in the UofL vs. Bellarmine game at the YUM Center.#sweet,” McSweeney tweeted Wednesday night.
McSweeney was originally diagnosed with leukemia when he was 5 and he’s had three recurrences of the disease. He got hooked up with the Knights (the 2011 NCAA Division II national champion) two years ago through Team IMPACT, a national organization that tries to “improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team” by matching kids with local college athletic teams.
McSweeney’s appearance for the Knights comes one week after Lauren Hill, a freshman for Division III Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) who has inoperable brain cancer, scored four points in her team’s win over Hiram College.
