Gonzalo Duran-Chaparro is a poignant example of how a caring mentor and a sport like basketball can keep a kid off the streets and out of trouble.
Duran-Chaparro, a junior and the leading scorer for the South Medford High junior varsity basketball team, was expelled from Jackson Elementary School in the sixth grade for using marijuana and taking it to school.
A year later, he dropped out of McLoughlin Middle School for three months.
"I was hanging with a bad crowd and making some bad choices," says Duran-Chaparro.
Then he ran into Tom Cole, the director of Kid's Unlimited, a west Medford youth organization that runs after-school academic and extracurricular programs. Cole, a basketball enthusiast and coach, took Duran-Chaparro under his wing. He taught him a lot about hoops, but even more about life.
"I was taking a bad road and he turned me the right way," says Duran-Chaparro. "He taught me how to respect myself and others."
Duran-Chaparro returned to school and eventually put together his own seventh-grade YMCA team. His grades shot up right along with his self-esteem.
By the time Duran-Chaparro was an eighth-grader, he had turned from borderline gang member to McLoughlin poster child. He earned straight A's in the classroom and was chosen the school's student of the year.
A little guidance, direction and a positive pursuit such as basketball was all it took for Duran-Chaparro to shine. Kid's Unlimited became like a second home. Cole mentored him in basketball and life skills; others aided him with his math and English.
"We see a lot of kids like Gonzalo," says Cole. "When both of the parents are working, the kids often go unsupervised, and we all know what that can lead to."
Duran-Chaparro's father, Rafael, works long hours planting trees and fighting forest fires. His mother, Isabel, works the night shift packing cans at Bear Creek Corp. Neither made it past the fourth grade but have found a better life since moving from Queretaro, Mexico, 15 years ago, when Gonzalo was 2.
Rafael and Isabel don't understand what their son sees in sports and think he should be working when he's not in school. Gonzalo manages to hold down a part-time job at Kid's Unlimited, working mostly weekends but also an occasional weekday when he can squeeze in a few hours between school and hoop practice.
Like most teenagers, his choices sometimes still lack sense. Last May, after obtaining his driver's license, he sped down a Medford street and failed to make a corner. He plowed his car into a telephone pole. He and his two passengers — who weren't supposed to be in the car because of a state law passed in 2002 that requires new drivers to drive alone for the first six months after gaining their license — suffered minor injuries.
Duran-Chaparro knows it could have been much worse. There could have been serious injuries. Or fatalities.
But he still paid a price. He hurt his left shoulder, which still bothers him. He lost his driving privileges for 15 months. And he was fined $3,000 for reckless driving and another $500 for violating the young driver passenger law.
Much of the money he earns at Kid's Unlimited — as much as $100 per month — goes for the careless decisions he made last spring.
The step back hasn't stopped his momentum going forward, however. He's excelling academically at South Medford — he earned a 3.8 grade-point average the first quarter — and his hoop skills have continued to blossom.
He's averaging 16.8 points per game for the South JV squad and had 23 in a season-opening win over Crater. And that's playing no more than three quarters as he swings up to varsity as its 10th man.
"He's really strong with the ball," says South Medford JV coach Jamie Hammericksen. "He can take a lot of guys off the dribble, but until this season, he never shot the ball very well from the outside. But that's changed. He's really worked on it."
Hammericksen says Duran-Chaparro continually came to his home room during the off-season begging to let him in the gym.
"He was down there anytime he could get in," says Hammericksen, "and I know he's been in gyms all around town. Gonzalo is a complete gym rat."
Duran-Chaparro admits he struggled at first to fit in during organized practices and games. He didn't turn out until his eighth-grade year at McLoughlin.
"There are a lot of things you can get away with in street ball that you can't do in practice or a real game," he says. "And it was hard at first running plays, learning how full-court presses work and that kind of thing."
But Duran-Chaparro eventually got the hang of it and began to excel as a freshman. This year, he entered a strength and conditioning class at South to get stronger and faster.
"He's a great success story," says Cole. "You can give kids advice and encouragement, but ultimately, they're the ones making their own decisions."
Gonzalo's parents have never seen him play, but he's got plenty of fans at Kid's Unlimited, along with the teachers and coaches who have watched him turn from a wayward youth into a prospering, productive person.
SOUTH MEDFORD has never sold out a regular-season boys basketball game, but that could change this season now that Kyle Singler has firmly established himself as one of the top high school players in the nation with a full ride to Duke. All 300-plus reserved seats to Panther games have been sold out, coach Dennis Murphy says. The gym's capacity is about 1,800.
The 6-foot-9 Singler erupted for 32 points in South Medford's 80-60 season-opening win over Mountain View last Friday, then had 31 the following night in an 83-54 victory over Bend.
A big crowd is expected Friday for the Panthers' home-opener against Canby. South Medford is ranked second and Canby seventh.
Canby features 6-foot-10 Clint Chapman, who has a full ride to Texas. Chapman spent his early years in Medford and attended South Medford as a freshman before his family headed north.
RESERVED SEATS FOR the Les Schwab Invitational can be purchased at South Medford High for $40. The prestigious 16-team tournament will be held Dec. 27-30 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.
Along with South Medford, entrants include Oak Hill Academy, ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today; No. 6-ranked Wheeler High of Marietta, Ga.; and defending state champion Lake Oswego.
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