BY BRITTANY JENNINGS // APRIL 11, 2012 //  

Chris Herren, a boy from Fall River, Mass., had big dreams. He played guard at Durfee High School and was a star on the court. He later scored 2,073 career points, was Boston Globe’s Massachusetts Player of the year in 1992, and was inducted into the Durgee Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Before any professional fame, Herren attended to Boston College, but transfered to Fresno State University where he was ranked fifth in the nation for assists in 1998-99. He was 2nd on the schools career assists with 465 as well as 7th with 138 career steals. He had it all as a college athlete.

In 1999, he was the 2nd round pick in the NBA draft and went on to play for the Denver Nuggets from 1999-2000, then played for the Boston Celtics from 2000-2001. Herren has a Career-high of 18 points for the Celtics against the Dallas Mavericks on 4/6/00. The star also played in Europe for Turkey and in China until 2003.

Herren will be at Curry tonight, Wednesday April 11th at 7:00 P.M., in the Student Center Gymnasium.

Many may think that becoming a professional athlete is a perfect life, but for Herren it wasn’t. He struggled with substance abuse for most of his career, and every year it seemed to get worse. Alcohol abuse turned into cocaine adiction and eventually heroin, the worst of all.

A turning point in Herren’s life was when he was found unconscious with a heroin needle hanging from his arm in the driver’s seat of his car. He attended rehab and has been drug and alcohol-free since August 1, 2008.

In May of 2011 his memoir, Basketball Junkie written with Bill Reynolds, was released. There was also a film documentary on ESPN about Herrens addiction.

Herren will be at Curry tonight, Wednesday April 11th at 7:00 P.M., in the Student Center Gymnasium.

I encourage all students and faculty to attend this event. Herren lived a life of incredible highs and lows. Herren turned around in triumph and has been sober since 2008.

This event will be sponsored by R.A.G.E., Alcohol & Drug Awareness, Residence Life & Housing, Student Activities, Athletics, First Year Studies, and Fitness & Recreation.