TUCSON, Arizona — Arizona Wildcat basketball players Caleb Love, Kylan Boswell, and Keshad Johnson took the floor of the Diamond Children's Medical Center to help battle the opponent known as cancer.
Their three-point stroke can't help, but on this day, a stroke of a brush can. The players and cancer patients are painting white sneakers that the coaches will wear when they take the court on Thursday night at Oregon State. It's Arizona's Coaches vs Cancer basketball awareness game.
"Knowing that you can put a smile on kids faces, especially with what they are going through, is amazing for me," said guard Caleb Love.
"It shows how gratetful you are for your personal experience," said guard Kylan Boswell.
"This sneaker is going to be more than just a design," said forward Keshad Johnson.
Some of the Nike sneakers turned out more abstract than others, with patients as young as sixteen months old holding paint brushes.
"It gives us extra courage, too," said Johnson. "Everybody is going through something. To see people with smiles on their faces gives you a reason not to pout or take a day for granted."
The Wildcats will use the sneakers as inspiration when they take the floor.
"Let's put a smile on their face, and let's do it for them," said Love.
