HEAT Guard Ray Allen’s biggest impact usually happens with his timely three-point shooting. But recently, his most important play was a big-time assist to 13-year old Jack Henry on February 26th. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Allen held a special meet-and-greet with Henry who lives with cystic fibrosis.
“Just to meet him, it was just awesome. It was the greatest thing ever,” said Henry. Even though he hails from Iowa, Henry idolized Allen and has even shaped his own jump shot to mirror Allen’s. “I talked about shooting a little bit. I told him that if he doesn’t grow to the height that he likes, then we just have to make sure we work on your release,” said Allen. “You have to get that ball out into the air a lot quicker than you would otherwise.”
Henry also attended the Kings/HEAT game later that night and met up with Allen after game. Allen took his new friend on a tour of Gatorade Championship Alley and the HEAT Locker Room, while introducing him to all the HEAT players.
ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA:
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The Southern Florida Chapter is celebrating 28 years of granting wishes to local children. They have grown from granting two wishes in 1983 to granting 537 wishes in fiscal year 2011. For more information, please visit their website at www.sfla.wish.org.