College Basketball Player Gives Up Starting Spot To Teammate To Honor His Late Dad

Jaizec Lottie is a senior and star player on the Flagler College basketball team. He has started 39 straight games, but decided to give up his starting spot to his teammate, Jax Bouknight, to honor his late father.

Jax, a freshman, has basketball in his blood. His dad, Kevin, played college basketball at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and went on to coach youth basketball.

He is the one who taught Jax how to play, and they would be outside in the driveway playing every single day.

Not only did he help Jax become a great basketball player, but he also helped him become the person he is today.

Sadly, Kevin passed away in 2019 after battling cancer for a decade.

Flager’s recent game at Georgia College was on the third anniversary of Kevin’s death, and was the first anniversary that Jax was not able to be at home for.

Jaizec and Jax have grown close this season, and Jaizec knew that Jax was upset. He wanted to do something special for him to cheer him up, since he knew this day was so much bigger than basketball.

“I wanted to give him a moment that he and his family would never forget,” Jaizec told Humankind.

That’s when Jaizec spoke to their basketball coach, Chad Warner, and asked if he could be benched to give Jax the starting spot, the first of his college career, to honor his father.

Coach Warner happily agreed, and Jaizec told Jax the idea before the game. At first Jax said he didn’t want him to do that for him, but Jaizec insisted.

To put the cherry on top, Jax’s first start ended in a victory for Flagler!

Hear more of this touching story in the video below:

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