Teen with rare affliction ‘a lights-out shooter’
You should see him dribble, you should see him shoot.
Evan MacNamara’s underhand baskets from beyond the three-point line, a two-handed crossed-wrist lift that begins between his knees, both amaze and dismay his opponents.
And he’s making those shots and dribbling around the competition despite a rare affliction called arthrogryposis, a lifelong condition that starts in the womb and prevents the muscles and tendons from keeping up with the rate bones are growing.
It can affect practically every joint in the body and hinders range of motion.
MacNamara, a 15-year-old student at Sullivan Heights Secondary in Surrey, has spent his life having his limbs and torso stretched and massaged, and having reconstructive surgery on his bones and feet.
“If you’d told me when Evan was born that he’d play basketball, I’d have laughed in your face,” his mom Michelle said.
“I was shocked and amazed when he began playing.
“When he was young, they’d stretch his joints until he was screaming. It was quite the ordeal and he was just a baby.”
Evan credits his buddy Austin Swedish with getting him involved in hoops.
He’d watch his friends play, he said, and one day his best friend decided it was time Evan joined them.
“He taught me,” Evan said. “I liked the pace of it.”
When he began high school, Evan made the Grade 8 team.
Flustered defenders didn’t know what to make of his unorthodox underhand shooting and would usually wind up hitting his arms on their way up, fouling him.
“That’s just kind of the way I started shooting,” he said.
Michelle — Evan’s dad Kelly died of a heart attack five years ago — said she wasn’t aware a Special Olympic team in Surrey existed until two years ago.
Joining the Surrey team has opened an exciting window for Evan.
At the North Shore March Madness tournament, Evan’s team qualified for the 2017 provincial Summer Games, a precursor to the 2018 Worlds in Nova Scotia.
Evan, out of 300 players, was named a tournament all-star, won a player-ofthe-game, won the shooting competition for his division and was named most inspirational player, Jordynn Denness, one of his coaches, said.
“Not only is Evan’s shot amazing, but he’s an ace defender and my best point guard,” she said.
“He almost never misses the basket, he’s a lights-out shooter.
“And you just look at him, he’s an awesome dribbler.”
“Not only is Evan’s shot amazing, but he’s an ace defender and my best point guard.” — Jordynn Denness