For Guard and His Fan, Strength in a Number

"Look, Dad, just like me," Max said. "Number 22."

Adam proceeded to tell his son about Michael Flowers, the hard-nosed Badgers guard who never lacked for energy or effort. When Max took interest in Michael, Adam thought about the basketball class in which Max was enrolled, about how proud Max was when he came from class one day with his very own No. 22 jersey.

All the medications Max was taking were robbing him of the strength he needed to shoot the ball. He watched his friends casually make shots and wondered why he couldn't do the same.

So, Adam told Max that if he worked as hard as Flowers, those baskets were sure to fall eventually.

The following week, before his basketball class, Max told Adam he was going to be just like Mike -- Flowers, that is. Soon after, Max was able to make baskets with ease.

Adam told the story on a Wisconsin basketball message board, where Flowers's family and friends first learned of Max. Soon after, Adam and Flowers began exchanging e-mails.

Max's schooling and treatments kept the Basses from attending any Wisconsin games last season, so this season, they were determined to give their son a chance to meet his hero. Max's mother, Jamie, is a Texas alumna, so a December trip to Austin for the Badgers game against the Longhorns was arranged.

After Flowers made a three-pointer to beat Texas, the Basses were crying as they made their way down to the court, where Adam approached a man wearing a No. 22 Wisconsin jersey. Ted Flowers was standing courtside with his sister, Angela Kier, waiting for his nephew -- her son -- to come out of the locker room.

"He thought I was Michael's father," Ted Flowers said. "He introduced himself and asked. I said no, but introduced him to Angie. Adam was crying and stuff, and I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Then he tells me the story."

Adam told Ted about his son, Max, and about the influence Michael had had on Max's life. He told about the leukemia, how difficult the past few years had been, how much better the future looked now. After Adam was done, he took Ted and Kier over to meet Jamie and Max. Ted could not get over how strong the kid looked.

"I had been going through some difficult times myself last year, and the courage and determination I found in Max has helped me," Ted said. "If he can deal with that, then what I'm dealing with is nothing by comparison."

Ted doesn't want to talk about his personal struggles. He says it was a difficult time in his life and wants to leave it at that.