McKissic living a hard-earned dream
wanted that, too, but my momdidn’t have the money. That’s not an excuse. It was just instant gratification. Looking back, it was very immature.”
McKissic paid for his mistakes. He was put on probation for two years. He had community service to complete. Playing basketball at Northern Idaho no longer was an option, so he signed to play at Edmonds (Wash.) Community College. He averaged 16 points per game his first season, but then his career took another detour.
Mostly because he had failed to take care of all his legal obligations, he had to quit the basketball team. His mother moved back to Indiana. Then, on Halloween night, he learned a close friend, Devin Topps, had been killed.
Away from the game
In all, McKissic was away from basketball for two years. He estimates he stayed in 10 different places, never once having a bed “to call my own.” At one point McKissic said he and a friend slept in a car parked in the lot of a 24-Hour Fitness.
Despite the struggles, McKissic still hung on to his basketball dream. He told his mom: “I’m going to get back. I’m going to play Division I basketball.” He went to an Edmonds CC academic adviser and said, “OK, I need a map of what I’m going to need to do. I don’t care what classes I need. I’m going to take them, and I’m going to pass them.”
Because he no longer received financial aid, he worked various jobs — at a Pizza Hut, at a furniture store — to help pay for classes, holding him over until his scholarship eventually was reinstated.
Last season McKissic averaged 22.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, but because he had only one year of remaining eligibility, Division I schools were hesitant to offer him a scholarship. He initially committed to Detroit but backed out in hopes of a better opportunity. West Virginia appeared interested but also cautious.
McKissic e-mailed his highlight video to 100 schools three different times. He owned up to his previous mistakes. He waited. Finally, ASU showed interest. “A buddy of mine called about him,” assistant coach Stan Johnson said. “He told me he was really talented but that he only had one year (of eligibility). I went and checked out his stuff, and I thought, ‘Wow, this guy’s a freak. He’s really athletic, he’s big and strong.’ But I decided it wasn’t going to work, so I cast it aside. … A couple weeks later, I thought, ‘Hey, let’s check on this guy,’ so I went back and started to do some background work, just trying to figure out who he was.”
Extra research
Because of McKissic’s background, Johnson did more research than usual. He talked to a dean of students. He contacted the coach McKissic originally had committed to play for at Northern Idaho.
“But none of those conversations were more than important than the conversations I had with him,” Johnson said. “He was just so sincere.”
McKissic spent last summer completing his coursework, 25 credit hours that included courses such as pre-calculus, world humanities and bio-anthropology. Once he got to ASU, he started working on his game.
In addition to ASU’s practices, McKissic started a two-hour workout that included conditioning (20 minutes), dribbling (20), layups (20), free throws (20) and perimeter shooting (60). His goal was to get up 1,000 shots a day. He often had his girlfriend rebound.
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I feel like I deserve to be here. I feel like nothing can go wrong, and if it did, I’d find a different path. That’s how it’s been, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”
ASU senior forward
“When I decided to come back I felt like the only way I was going to be as good as I wanted was to get in the gym,” McKissic said. “I just feel like if I can do that every single day, I got control of my destiny.”
McKissic started ASU’s first four games but since has moved into a sixth-man role. He is a better passer than the coaching staff expected and has started to become a presence on the boards. The only thing missing is his scoring. At times, McKissic — averaging 4.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists — seems reluctant to attack.
“It’s just a matter of him getting comfortable in this environment on this team, learning this system, playing at this level for the first time,” Sendek said.
McKissic is proud of what he’s accomplished but not satisfied. Not long ago he was labeled a troublemaker, and maybe deservedly so. But he used his mistakes as fuel to turn around his life, to put himself in position to reach his goals, both on and off the basketball court.
“I don’t have a nervous bone in my body,” McKissic said. “I feel like I deserve to be here. I feel like nothing can go wrong, and if it did, I’d find a different path. That’s how it’s been, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”