On a day that the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Lakers 109-95, clinching the Pacific Division title and the first season sweep of the Lakers since Donald Sterling purchased the team, Matt Barnes found something more important to recognize.
In his ninth season, Barnes is having his best. An NBA journeyman to this point, Barnes has settled in and has found a home with these Clippers, the team he began his up-and-down career with all the way back in 2003.
He’s averaging a career-high 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds off the bench, and will likely be a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year honors. Without him, the Clippers would likely have not clinched the Pacific Division with such ease, and surely have not swept the Lakers, his former team. So with so much to celebrate as this NBA season winds down, why is Barnes more concerned with college football and a seven year-old boy?
Jack Hoffman, a young boy who has battled brain cancer for the last two years, was given a handoff on fourth-and-one from standout Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez. Hoffman, standing in a smaller sized replica version of Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead — who will be drafted later this month — stood confidently with his hands clenched on his knees.
After taking the handoff he needed a little guidance from the All-Big 12 star to get going, but once he found his way, he was gone. Hoffman took it 69 yards to the house in Saturday’s annual spring game, sprinting ahead of and outrunning the entire Cornhuskers defense in front of over 60,000 screaming fans.
Sports are just a game, but they’re often far more than that. On a day when Matt Barnes had everything else to celebrate, he was inspired to pay tribute to Jack Hoffman, who is currently on a break from a 60-week schedule of chemotherapy.
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.