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Jamal Johnson pulled down the window shade, hoping to catch a quick nap on the flight from Newark to Tampa. ‘JJ’ to everyone who knew him, he hadn’t hesitated when Duane and Erin had called to see if he could do them a favor. He and Duane had been friends since they had been on the high school basketball team together at St Cecilia’s. JJ, who was a year older than Swish, had been captain of the team his senior year, when the two of them led St Cecilia’s to the number two ranking in the country. He’d been one of the top recruits in the country and decided on Notre Dame with the goal of going pro, but an injury his freshman year had crushed his dreams.
Devastated by his injury, it was only the love and support of his family and friends like Swish that had gotten him through the initial
