Fleming Co. boy facing challenges gets ultimate assist

FLEMING COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - It’s a lesson about sportsmanship that goes beyond the hardwood.

A video from a basketball game this past weekend is going viral. It shows a Fleming County player handing the ball to an opposing player from St. Patrick School in Maysville. After a few tries, the opposing player makes the shot.

Logan Applegate could tell Declan Teitelbaum doesn’t get a lot of playing time on the varsity team. So when he saw Declan take his shot and miss, he was there to help him rebound.

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, and Declan Teitelbaum has given it his best shot over his 13 years of life.

“He’s had a lot of challenges and has always kind of had the cards stacked against him, and for him to literally have a shot, that’s really cheesy to say, but for him to have a shot was just beautiful,” said Declan’s mom Eileen Teitelbaum.

Declan has had health challenges, illnesses, and allergies that have sometimes kept him from being a normal kid. But that’s never stopped him.

“I don’t try to fight it or back down. I just go with the flow, I guess,” Declan said.

On Saturday, Declan’s school was playing Fleming County. With a few minutes left in the game, the 7th grader checked in, and what happened next has gone viral.

“They’re saying, ‘Declan Teitelbaum’and it was kind of silent,” Eileen said. “And then, ‘It’s in!’ And the whole gym was screaming.”

It took a couple of attempts, but Declan made the layup, with the assist from an unlikely teammate.

“There was about a minute left in the game, and I thought, I’ve seen this kid; he’s a little bit smaller than everybody else,” said Fleming County player Logan Applegate. “Obviously, I didn’t know the circumstances that he’s gone through, but I just seen him, and I thought, ‘Heck, give this man a shot.”

And what a shot it was. Right before Declan’s birthday.

“I remember thinking like a week in advance, ‘Oh man, I gotta get that shot before I turn 13!” Declan said.

The two and their families are now bonded forever, thanks to a play not drawn up during a timeout but from just being a good sport.

“For him to do that in that moment, without being prompted, just shows what kind of young man he is and what kind of kindness he has in his heart and values and sportsmanship, and how he was raised,” said Logan’s coach Buddy Biggs.

“I can look at him now like a brother,” said Logan. “I can talk to him now, and it’s like somebody you’ve never met. You feel so close in such an instant.”

It may not have been a buzzer-beater or even a game-winner, but for these boys and their families, it’s a victory.

“It just makes me feel like I’m playing for something more than just playing,” said Logan.

It was also a big game for Logan. He was the lead scorer in that game. But stats didn’t really matter to him as much as that memorable moment, adding give Declan and his family that moment is what’s important.

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