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Spider is a victim of the system. As a society, we have failed Spider and countless other student-athletes because winning has taken precedence over principle. Then again, it's easy to blame coaches and teachers, but they're often caught in a "Catch 22" situation. A guy like Spider may not have graduated from high school had it not been for the carrot that basketball offered to do the bare minimum in school. He probably got away with skipping school and turning countless assignments in late. As a result of the enabling and coddling, reality didn't set in for Spider until he was a 20 year old college student.

The home is often ignored in the context of these issues. Spider lives with his father, unlike the Bubblees I've become familiar with. His mother isn't around, however. He lives with a stepmother. Spider was allowed to play basketball even though his grades sucked. It could be that his father punished him in other ways. Four years into this, I've learned that most of my players don't respond to a soft approach. There are guys who only respond to screaming and threats. My belief is that they became accustomed to the harsher tactics at home. Instead of pulling Spider from basketball, maybe his parents beat him or tried threats to correct the problem.

Conjecture aside, what I do know is that he was diagnosed with ADHD (not ADD) three years after graduating from high school. Every year I work with a handful of guys who have undiagnosed learning disabilities. I'm not an expert by any means, but when I talk to a guy and his eyes start darting all over the place within minutes, it's obvious to me that something more is going on. I've worked with guys who could not learn simple plays months into the season. One guy told me he had a cognitive learning issue, but that's one out of countless players who were puzzled by what I'd consider to be relatively simple concepts.

The doctor who evaluated Spider called me to offer his assessment. I learned a lot about ADHD during that conversation. For instance, he told me that people with ADHD are typically less mature than people who don't have it. The reason I cut Spider loose three years ago was because I was so annoyed with his childishness. I had no clue that he was just exhibiting symptoms of somebody with an undiagnosed learning disability.

Doctor: He's a classic case of ADHD. It didn't take long for me to make that assessment. Were you the one who suggested that he get tested?
Me: I did. By no means am I an expert, Doc. It just seemed to me that more was going on with him. Unlike some of the guys I work with, I get the sense that he's sharp. He can think critically. I just felt like there was a barrier.
Doctor: Actually, your assessment was spot on. I administered an aptitude test and his results were strong. Given the results of that test and his academic performance through high school and college, I think it's fair to say that he was fairly hampered by the ADHD.
Me: Did he mention something about his difficulties with math? That's actually what triggered my conversation with him. He got a D in our lowest level math course this past summer, after failing it the previous semester. He says math is a serious area of weakness.
Doctor: I didn't test for that. A lot of times people with ADHD struggle in math and it has nothing to do with some other disability. The problem is math requires time. He probably couldn't focus when he attempted to do homework. As a result, he probably didn't do the homework which is needed for reinforcement. If you don't do your math homework for a few years it becomes foreign.
Me: I never thought of that. That makes a lot of sense.
Doctor: That's the tricky thing with ADHD. It's the attention time that's low. The kid is easily distracted. The kid then acts out in class and from there it leads to a host of other issues. Are his parents involved much?
Me: To some degree. His father paid for his classes out of pocket this summer. The two classes cost over $1000, but he's been getting Fs here for awhile so I don't know how far the support goes.
Doctor: I see. It just amazes me that this kid went this long with a very obvious case of ADHD and nobody ever caught it. How'd he graduate with those grades???