Want to see what practicing hard and not giving up can accomplish? Watch this viral video of James Montgomery III receiving a surprise basketball scholarship from his college coach. The phone call to his mom and sister shown afterward will lift your spirits even higher.
Montgomery received Division I basketball scholarship offers out of high school in Los Angeles, but he wanted the academic big-time as well, according to the video.
So Montgomery, an honor roll student, attempted to walk on at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., while studying mechanical engineering. He failed to make the team as a freshman and wound up practicing with the women's squad to stay sharp, he explained in a 2012 interview posted on Northwestern's website. With a good word from the women's coach, Montgomery landed a non-scholarship spot on the men's team as a sophomore and eventually got playing time.
He has scored 17 points as a benchwarmer over two seasons, the second of which saw the firing of coach Bill Carmody.
Enter Chris Collins as the new coach. As the Oct. 22-posted YouTube clip shows, Collins has clearly been impressed by Montgomery in a short time.
You will be impressed, too.