BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University head men's basketball coach Tic Price believes his responsibility to his players, and their parents, is more than to help his athletes become better players. He is also trying to help develop better men.
 
"If our athletes graduate from Lamar University just as better players, we've failed as coaches," said Price. "Obviously, we're in the business of winning, but they're called student-athletes for a reason. They come to Lamar to get an education, and with that we need to be providing life skills to better prepare them for the real world."
 
It is the "providing life skills" part of Price's message where former Port Arthur Jefferson and North Texas star Damon West comes into play.
 
"I believe it's foolish to choose to learn from your own mistakes when you have others around you who have made those same mistakes ahead of you. Why not learn from them," stated West in front of the LU coaches and players at McDonald Gym Friday afternoon. A statement that seems so obvious, and yet, rarely followed.
 
"I'm here today because I hope you can learn from my mistakes, and avoid them," said West. "I was once like you – sitting where you're sitting – my whole life ahead of me. I was a football player at North Texas. I was fortunate from the standpoint that I had a strong family life, parents who were there for me."
 
West, who was a former quarterback at Thomas Jefferson High School, went on to play football at the University of North Texas, but his career ended quicker than he expected. A shoulder injury against Texas A&M during his redshirt sophomore season followed by an achilles injury cut West's career short.
 
"I didn't handle the situation well, but years before the injury I laid the ground work for bad decisions by getting involved with alcohol," said West. "Don't be fooled by what you see on television, alcohol is addicting and it is a gateway drug."
 
It was that "gateway" that led West to other drugs, which eventually led to a decision that would find West in a pair of handcuffs facing a trial that would eventually lead to a 65-year sentence. West was convicted for engaging in organized crime as part of a burglary ring in Dallas. It was the moment of his arrest that things began to change for West.
 
"The moment I had to call my parents and tell them what was happening was awful," said West. "I knew I was talking with my dad, but I had never heard him sound this way. It didn't sound like him at all. Before I got off the phone my mom reminded me of a poem that I had hanging in my room as a child – Footprints in the Sand. My mom told me that I need to get my life right with God."
 
West went on to explain the meaning of the poem. A man and God were walking along a shore and he would see moment of his life, but noticed during the darkest, most troubling parts of his life he saw only one set of footprints instead of two. When he asked God why He abandoned him during the darkest moments of his life God replied by saying "I never left you. When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
 
"Prison is not a place you want to be," said West. "I'm not standing here today because I made it through prison on my own. I had great support from my family, but through my darkest times I can look back and see that God was carrying me through this."
 
West was paroled after serving seven years and three months of his sentence. Following his message, West allowed time for questions to be asked, but he did so in a unique setting. West requested that all coaches to leave the room, while just he, Officer Marcelo Molfino and the players remained in the room.
 
"At times young people forget that actions have consequences," said Price. "I met Damon a while back and he let me know if there was ever anything he can do to help to simply ask. With our student development program we try and have different speakers every month. I couldn't think of a better person to come speak to the team.
 
"I want our guys to learn what not to do. Here is a young man who had the world in the palm of his hands. He made some mistakes along the way and when he got to prison he had to fight to survive. The beauty of it all is through his faith and belief in Christ he was able to turn it into a positive. I wanted my guys to hear the good, the bad and the ugly and they got that today," added Price.
 
West also included a lesson the Cardinals can use when competing on the court. He stated that it's not always important that you win all of your fights, but make sure you never quit fighting in life. Sports, like life, don't always seem fair. There will be times when the ball doesn't bounce your way, you feel the calls are going against you and maybe even your fans have headed for an early exit. It is in those times when student-athletes must choose to fight through adversity.
 
-LU CARDINALS-