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a way they could absolutely dominate me or just completely take advantage of a weakness they would do it. They didn't look down on me." The kid who dribbled the basketball every- where from lunch to bed found an outlet to show off his game with wheelchair bas- ketball at the age of 14. There were reserva- tions at first. "I saw it in a negative light," he says. "That's me being in a wheelchair so I can't imagine what some people think sometimes when they hear wheelchair basketball." Scott played juniors in the National Wheel- chair Basketball Association. He led the Mich- igan Thunderbirds to an undefeated season, captured two national titles and MVP honors. Pretty soon Scott witnessed how far wheelchair basketball could take him. As an 18-year-old, he made the 2004 U.S. Para- lympics team, representing the country in Athens, Greece. David Kiley is considered a wheelchair basketball pioneer, and he remembers his first matchup with Scott. It was a day he knew his time was up. "I came in with a big rep and he was on me like a glove," Kiley says with a slight chuckle. "I was older in my game at that point and it was then that I knew Matt was really going to be special as he grew more into his game. He does things in his chair that I've seen no other human do. He can be going full speed and get clipped and barrel rolled and come up without miss- ing a beat." Young players are always told to use the game for a better education and life. But there are only 12 college programs that offer competitive wheelchair basketball programs. Turning down a full scholar- ship offer from the University of Texas- Arlington, Scott went against the grain and opted for comfort at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. "In high school you get offered a full ride that's a huge deal," Scott says. "I met with the coach at University of Wiscon- sin Whitewater. Really hit it off well with him. I really felt like he could un-tap the potential I was trying to un-tap. So I turned down that full ride. My mom was in tears. She couldn't believe it. It was the best deci- sion of my life." Scott led the school to three national championships, pouring in 13.5 points and 3.1 steals per game as a senior. His four- year collegiate performance garnered an ESPY award nomination for best male ath- lete with a disability. This also prompted Nike to call on his services for a motiva- tional commercial. Scott is now perhaps the most recognizable face in wheelchair basketball. Kiley says he's probably the highest-paid American player overseas. Fresh off making the na- tional team for the 2012 Paralympic Games, the 26-year-old Scott is heading back to Is- tanbul, Turkey for his fourth season across the pond with the Galasaray club. But it's more than his signature chiseled frame and tenacious defense. It's a smile that exemplifies the beauty of the human will, a smile Audrey Scott remembers from her baby boy fighting the odds of life. "Matthew was a very special child," Au- drey Scott says. "Every time he was in the hospital he had this reputation of having a tremendous smile. He's always smiling." "He's got an infectious smile and an in- tense game approach," Kiley says. "I think it's an amazing blueprint that he's made on the sport of wheelchair basketball that a lot of juniors and young adults have been inspired by. He's been a difference maker as far as how our sport is received." Sure he wants to win a second European championship next season. A gold medal in London would also be nice. But Scott knows his life journey is deeper than basketball. "I'm out here to make my family proud," he says. "There are so many people that are supporting me. There are so many people in my corner. I gotta make them proud. It's so many people looking up to me. I gotta give them something to look up to." Somewhere out there a kid can only dream of running the length of the court and elevating like their pro heroes. But they don't have to be like Mike. Being like Matt is not so bad. "Some of the things that I've done, I don't think I would have been able to do that if I didn't have a disability," he says. "Use the things that are given to you. Don't look at it as far as having a disability. There are still op- portunities. We should all just go after them." 29