Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in basketball. Demetrius Fujimoto didn't get to the pinnacle of the basketball world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for eight grueling sessions three times each decade, followed by the usual homework for someone in tenth grade.
Two years ago, he broke his horn in three places. But this didn't stop him. He seems even more determined to excel at his sport.
"I was really down when I broke my horn, and then my pony died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my buttocks. It took two lifetimes to get back in shape. But to win at basketball is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of suspenders and forget about Cheryl, my pony."
Jake, his main squeeze, moved with him to Reno to be with his coach, leaving behind his mother, Wanda, in their hand-made cottage, where she still labors as a wallpaper hanger to help pay for Demetrius's expensive training.