Jill Harrington Hanzalik and NBA commissioner David Stern
This isn’t the kind of story we normally post in this space, but I wanted to share it nonetheless. It is a sports story or, perhaps, maybe it more so a life story. Regardless, it is a story I want to tell.
The call came in about 9:00. We were eating dinner. Lauren’s cell phone was buzzing, the caller I.D. read “Jill-work”. It was her best friend and a call from her usually was followed by an extended conversation that could last longer than a round of golf.
Not tonight.
She didn’t want to be rude and wasn’t going to answer. I told her it was fine. Dinner was almost over and I could tell she wanted to talk. “It’s fine. Really. Go ahead, answer.”
Lauren answered. Within thirty seconds she was in tears. Sobbing uncontrollably. It wasn’t Jill on the line.
You have never heard of Jill Harrington. Those of you that have followed ACC and SEC basketball closely for the past several years probably remember her brother, Adam. Adam Harrington began his college basketball career at N.C. State, where he played for one season before transferring to Auburn.
Adam was an above average player. He was a 6-5 shooting guard with a sweet stroke that quickly helped him make a name for himself in the ACC. He became the first freshman in N.C. State history to lead the Wolfpack in scoring. As a wide-eyed freshman he went in to Cameron Indoor Stadium and dropped 26 points on Duke. He played so well his first season that he was named to the All-ACC Freshman team.
Adam had some baggage though. Despite his success at State he decided to transfer to another school. Rumors flew about why he was leaving and there were some that thought Adam was trolling around with hat in hand. The questions didn’t stop when he landed at Auburn.
