A few weeks ago in Las Vegas, a basketball player I’d just interviewed for a story walked by my spot on press row. I caught his attention for a brief exchange.

“It’s not often that I tear up during an interview,” I told Kyle Collinsworth.

The former BYU star, who’s trying to earn a spot on the Dallas Mavericks, simply responded, “Parker is a special kid.”

He really is.

Parker Young is an 11-year-old who had the pleasure of hanging out with Collinsworth for a couple of days during the NBA Summer League. I chatted with them while interviewing Collinsworth after his final game of the summer. Parker was on Cloud Nine, smiling while shadowing the basketball player.

Parker, who’s battling bone cancer (Ewing sarcoma) and has a cute, bald head to prove it, kept smiling the whole time. [Read more…]