User:Engl101kilpatrick

Chris Herren

Childhood
Christopher Albert Herren was born on September 27, 1975 and grew up in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts. He was one of four family members, a father, a mother, his brother, Michael, and Chris. Fall River, Massachusetts is not a luxurious town by any means and neither was Chris's childhood. Chris had a tough childhood and was surrounded by many distractions in the town of Fall River.

He and his brother were constantly having each other's back and protecting one another. Early in Chris's life he showed a special talent in the sport of basketball. Ever since he was a young boy he had been playing basketball and was known for his skills. Michael Herren, Chris's brother, was a standout basketball player at Durfee High School. Chris had a tough time dealing with the pressures of potentially being better than his brother and had to deal with the pressures of making it big all throughout his childhood.

High School
Chris Herren attended Durfee High School in Massachusetts from 1991-1994. Chris spent much of his high school career on the basketball court. He scored 2,073 career points. He was the Massachusetts Player of the Year in 1992, 1993, and 1994. He was named the New England Gatorade Player of the Year in 1993 and 1994. He was also named a McDonald's All-American in 1994.

Chris had received interest from many colleges and received multiple scholarship offers. However, Chris also struggled at times with all of the pressure that came with this success. People and friends often looked at Chris for all of the answers and looked for him to be the high scorer in every game of basketball he played.

College
Recruited highly out of high school, Chris chose to attend Boston College because he enjoyed the basketball program and because it was close to home. His first day of college he walked into his dorm room with two women waiting for him, doing cocaine. The women asked Chris to do a line of cocaine and he refused at first, but they pressured him into it. As soon as he did the line, Chris was immediately hooked, as he later stated. Chris only played one game at Boston College before he got injured and tested positive in a drug test for cocaine. Chris received many critics and he had to deal with many people who were disappointed in him. Chris went to rehab and cleaned himself up. When he came out, he ended up falling deeper and deeper into cocaine and drug addiction.

Herren left Boston College after one year and transferred to Fresno State Universityin California to play for Coach Jerry Tarkanian. Chris sat out his first season at Fresno State due to transfer rules. He played from 1996-1999. Throughout his career at Fresno, Chris averaged 15.9 points per game, 2.0 assists per game, 1.3 steals per game, and 5.9 rebounds per game. He started all three years at Fresno State as a point guard. Chris ranked fifth in the nation in assists in 1998-1999, and 2nd in the schools career assists with 465. He also notched 138 career steals which ranked him 7th in the schools all-time list. However, throughout his years at Fresno, Chris was still battling alcohol and drug addiction.

Professional Career
Chris was drafted by the Denver Nuggets as the 4th pick in the 2nd round of the 1999 NBA draft. He was the draft's 33rd overall pick. He played one season with the Nuggets, playing in 45 games. While at Denver, he average 3.1 points per game, 2.5 assists per game, and 13.3 minutes per game. Chris was traded the following year to the Boston Celtics.

Chris was now back in his home town, which he himself called it a "death sentence." Chris was now surrounded once again with his friends and drug dealers that he knew. While with the Celtics, Chris stumbled into drug addiction once again with drugs such as Oxy-contin and Heroin. Chris recalls shooting up Heroine before all basketball games because that was the only way he could function and avoid getting dope sick. Chris left the Celtics after one season and continued playing basketball in the Euroleague. He played in Turkey for one season in 2001-2002, and China the following year from 2002-2003.

Troubled Years
Chris had been arrested five times since the year 2004, when he first made headlines for overdosing in a drive-thru of a Rhode Island Dunkin' Donuts. His brother, Mike, had also been arrested multiple times on account of drug possession and assault. His brother's most recent arrest occurred in the year 2007, when Mike was found hiding in a hotel bathroom with cocaine during a prostitution and drug raid.

Current Life
After completing intensive rehabilitation programs, Herren has been drug-free since June 4, 2008 and sober since August 1, 2008. In June 2009, Herren launched Hoop Dreams with Chris Herren, a basketball player development company to mentor players on and off the court. Herren has written a book with Providence Journal columnist Bill Reynolds entitled Basketball Junkie: A Memoir, documenting his career on and off the court. Basketball Junkie was released in May 2011. Herren is the subject of the ESPN 30 for 30 DocumentaryESPN "Unguarded", which aired November 1, 2011.