The first time I saw Kevin Houston play basketball was about 15 years ago in the Empire State Games. I had heard about him, of course — his nation-leading 33-point average his season season at Army, his 2,325 career points, still an Academy record — but I was still unprepared for what I was about to see that day.
Houston, pushing 30 years old, was spectacular. He was schooling major Division I players from other regions, absolutely schooling them, and I was taken at how he could do it. He couldn’t jump. He wasn’t all that quick. He looked, as my old friend and New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro once said, like the last person you’d choose for a pickup game. But he could shoot off the dribble or off the screen. He had a great handle. And if an especially stingy defender wouldn’t let him get off his shot, he’d whip a pretty pass to a teammate for an easy bucket.
Soon I got to know Kevin a little bit, and quickly realized he’s as good a man as he was a player. My calls often were answered by his wife, Liz, his high school sweetheart, and you could always tell how supportive she was of him.
Recently I heard that since 2003, she’s been battling a disease called scleroderma, a chronic degenerative disorder accompanied by widespread vascular deterioration and tissue loss. The disease has forced her to use a wheelchair. The disease has no cure, but Liz has been fighting bravely. Kevin and their three children, and friends, have rallied behind her.
They will hold a fundraiser to help offset some of the costs of daily care and make their home more handicap accessible. The event will be held at 7 p.m. March 1 at the Pearl River Elks Lodge in Nanuet. Tickets are $75, walk-ups welcome. There will be a silent auction, a raffle, food, drinks and entertainment.
For more information, e-mail info@friendsoflizandkevin.com, or go to their Web site at www.friendsoflizandkevin.com.
We are all neighbors no matter how far the land spreads. And one of our neighbors needs a hand.
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Liz and Kevin Houston: Time to give them an assist
The first time I saw Kevin Houston play basketball was about 15 years ago in the Empire State Games. I had heard about him, of course — his nation-leading 33-point average his season season at Army, his 2,325 career points, still an Academy record — but I was still unprepared for what I was about to see that day.
Houston, pushing 30 years old, was spectacular. He was schooling major Division I players from other regions, absolutely schooling them, and I was taken at how he could do it. He couldn’t jump. He wasn’t all that quick. He looked, as my old friend and New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro once said, like the last person you’d choose for a pickup game. But he could shoot off the dribble or off the screen. He had a great handle. And if an especially stingy defender wouldn’t let him get off his shot, he’d whip a pretty pass to a teammate for an easy bucket.
Soon I got to know Kevin a little bit, and quickly realized he’s as good a man as he was a player. My calls often were answered by his wife, Liz, his high school sweetheart, and you could always tell how supportive she was of him.
Recently I heard that since 2003, she’s been battling a disease called scleroderma, a chronic degenerative disorder accompanied by widespread vascular deterioration and tissue loss. The disease has forced her to use a wheelchair. The disease has no cure, but Liz has been fighting bravely. Kevin and their three children, and friends, have rallied behind her.
They will hold a fundraiser to help offset some of the costs of daily care and make their home more handicap accessible. The event will be held at 7 p.m. March 1 at the Pearl River Elks Lodge in Nanuet. Tickets are $75, walk-ups welcome. There will be a silent auction, a raffle, food, drinks and entertainment.
For more information, e-mail info@friendsoflizandkevin.com, or go to their Web site at www.friendsoflizandkevin.com.
We are all neighbors no matter how far the land spreads. And one of our neighbors needs a hand.