PEQUANNOCK — Jeremy Hawthorne watched the basketball drift through the hoop. He pumped his fist, then flexed both biceps.
As Pequannock High School's first points went on the scoreboard Thursday night, Hawthorne put his head down and tried to wheel himself back up the court. This game was already going far better than it had a year ago.
Hawthorne, a Golden Panthers senior, had scored the first basket at last year's fundraiser game against the Brooklyn Nets wheelchair basketball team, a squad of athletes with disabilities that plays games across the tri-state area.
A year ago, the Nets refused to back down. Hawthorne had Pequannock's only basket of the first half in a crushing loss. Last week, in their second annual charity game, Golden Panthers students and faculty showed they had learned a thing or two, eking out a 64-63 win on Thursday night.
Of course, the Nets spotted their hosts 10 points per quarter and each Pequannock basket counted double. Senior Brandon Martinez made the most of it, sinking a 6-point shot with about five seconds left in the third quarter. The Golden Panthers bench leaped to its feet.
The hosts still went into the fourth down one – before getting those valuable 10 extra points.
"I thought it would be easy. It was not. I definitely worked up a sweat," said Martinez, who said he had never played basketball before but caved to peer pressure.
"The lack of mobility, especially the legs, it's difficult. I can only imagine what they go through."
Pequannock raises awareness and money
Organized by Jimmy Jeffreys, a Pequannock High School and New Jersey Nets wheelchair alumnus, the game raised money for Pequannock Municipal Alliance. High school principal Rich Hayzler, who took a turn on the court alongside his son, plans to use the funds to bring in a mental health guest speaker.
The first wheelchair exhibition raised about $1,000. Hayzler hoped to bring in about the same amount this year.
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"I want our kids to know what it's like to overcome adversity," he said. "(This game) gives our kids an opportunity to experience it."
The wheelchair basketball players had the same goal. It also gave Jeffreys an excuse to get back on the court at his alma mater.
Born without legs, he nonetheless wrestled at Pequannock, and also participated in wheelchair basketball and road racing competitions. Now 57 and a cartoonist who teaches graphic design at Sussex County Community College, Jeffreys had played the 2002 wheelchair basketball season in Australia and had been part of the New Jersey Nets wheelchair team until it folded in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The Brooklyn Nets' NBA team, which left New Jersey before the 2012-13 season, had sponsored both squads.
The Nets participate in the third division of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, spending many weekends on the road. They went 3-2 at a recent tournament in Rochester.
"They're so fast in the chairs and their arms are so strong," said Pequannock senior Sophia Erichsen, who plays volleyball and softball. "The way they pass the ball around, it's so much harder than it looks."
Bringing basketball back from Brooklyn
Nets coach Joe Mendez, 70, hopes to bring wheelchair basketball back to New Jersey – specifically the team's former home at Hackensack Middle School. But Jeffreys was the only Nets player from the Garden State present at the fundraiser. The rest of the small roster – five starters and two subs, unlike the waves of Pequannock students and faculty – come from New York City.
Mendez brought six extra wheelchairs, and the Golden Panthers switched out their players every three minutes. Steering the chair proved challenging, since using only one hand caused it to spin. Wheelchair players must push off no more than twice, then dribble, or be called for traveling.
Standing basketball players are also trained to use their legs to give more oomph to their shots.
"The first thing you've got to do is learn how to push the chair, and you've got to be able to handle the ball," Mendez said, noting that most of the rules of wheelchair basketball are the same as the standup game. "All different types of disabilities can play. In able-bodied basketball, what's the first thing that goes? Your legs. We don't have to worry about that."
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One in four Americans live with a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 12% of those people have limited mobility, including difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
More than 3 million Americans use a wheelchair full time, and the World Health Organization's estimate is 80 million people do so worldwide.
"We treat them as equal competitors. We're all humans, right?" said Hawthorne, a sprinter and vice-president of the senior class. He plans to try out for the basketball team this week.
"Our school provided a welcoming environment," he said. "We're trying to do this for charity, and make sure people of all backgrounds are represented."
And, he added, "It was good to get a little revenge on them."
Jane Havsyis a storyteller for the Daily Record andDailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis,subscribe today.
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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Brooklyn Nets wheelchair team, Pequannock HS compete for a good cause
