Harrah special needs athlete gets his shot
HARRAH — Jaden Barnes knows his sweet spot.
The 16-year-old practices every day, slashing to the paint, catching a pass just below the free throw line and firing away.
“He can shoot,” his mother Stacey McConnell said. “He just loves basketball and wants to play so bad.”
Barnes is a special needs student at Harrah High School and an absolute basketball junkie. He’s been a team manager all season but somehow always finds his way into practice drills and layup lines, says Harrah coach Chad Rochelle.
“Jaden eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball,” Rochelle said. “He is absolutely a part of our team.”
So on Saturday night, in front of a packed house at Harrah, Barnes got more than a chance to come in and take a shot. He started for the Panthers against the Bethel Wildcats, getting the full varsity experience.
Barnes was introduced in the starting lineup as he ran through a tunnel of his teammates, his name ringing out over the public address system.
Harrah won the tip, and senior guard Brock Drew brought the ball down the floor to set up the offense.
There’s probably no player on the team that Barnes has grown closer with over the past two years than Drew.
Drew said he immediately took to Barnes after meeting him through the school’s Special Olympics program. The two work together, and Drew said Barnes loves anything to do with basketball.
“He’s always asking people what their basketball number is,” Drew said. “He comes to practice every day so getting him out there on the court was just awesome.”
But Barnes was not satisfied with just getting out on the court.
Earlier that day he had competed in a Special Olympics game and had not shot the ball as well as he wanted.
This was his chance to make up for it.
He slashed to the paint, just below the free throw line where Drew hit him with a pass. Barnes squared up and fired a rainbow that splashed down straight through the hoop.
The gym exploded in celebration.
Barnes ran back down the court, high-fiving teammates and readying himself to set up on defense.
After Bethel made a layup, Rochelle called a timeout to let Barnes have a standing ovation.
He high-fived all the opposing team members and went and hugged Bethel coach Bryan Jennings.
Turns out, the moment was special for Jennings as well.
After coaching Harrah for 17 years, Jennings stepped down last year to work as the school’s physical education teacher while working on a master’s degree.
While he was the P.E. teacher last year, Jennings said he worked every morning with Barnes in the gym putting up thousands of shots over the course of the year.
When Rochelle asked Jennings if he wanted to be a part of giving this moment to Barnes, Jennings was thrilled.
“Neatest kid I’ve ever been around,” Jennings said. “He brings a happiness every day to everyone he comes into contact with, whether it’s a hug or high five, Jaden makes an impact on everybody.”
Seeing her son out on the floor with all the other boys was hard to put into words for McConnell.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” she said. But it made me feel so good to see him so loved by so many people. I’m just so glad we have this community.”
Rochelle said he oftens uses Barnes as an example to his players of what “true heart” looks like. While Jaden might have more excuses to get down on himself or reasons to quit, he’s there every single day putting in the work to play the game he loves.
“Just appreciating this time they have on this team,” Rochelle said. “What they get to do everyday is something Jaden lives for. He probably loves it even more than them and doesn’t get that opportunity.”
For Drew, getting to be a part of Barnes’ moment is something he says he’s most proud of this year.
“That’s an assist I’ll never forget.”