Kendell Harris has had many obstacles placed in front of him in his life. He could have stopped trying and became a victim of his circumstances.

Instead, he chose to face adversity head on. He chose to succeed.

Harris is a 5-foot-10 wing for the Thomas Jefferson boys basketball team. Stat sheets don’t tell much of his story.

He doesn’t threaten a double-double each game like teammate Darius Anderson. He doesn’t have the height of teammate Alex Sommerfeld. He doesn’t exude the shot blocking ability of teammate Tarence Taylor.

But the stat sheets won’t tell you that he used to wake up at 4:30 a.m. just to ride the bus so he could make it to school on time.

They don’t tell you how late he stayed up the night before because he had homework to do and about the three buses he took to get home after practice.

They don’t tell you that his address changed multiple times in a couple months.

They may not even tell you just how much of a nightmare he can be to opposing players when he’s guarding them.

“I come from a broken family,” Harris said. “Before my parents got divorced, we were a happy family. My dad has custody of us now.”

Harris has four brothers and two sisters. Three of his brothers are on his mom’s side, while the other siblings are on his dad’s side. Most of them are spread throughout different cities in between King and Pierce County.

“Even knowing that I have all of this family, sometimes I feel like I’m alone,” said Harris. “At the house, it’s just me and my dad.”

A few years ago, their family car broke down. With Harris’s dad out of work, they were unable to fix or replace it. Since then, the bus has been his main source of transportation.

To make matters worse, the living situation has not been stable for the two of them. Within the last few week’s Harris has lived in at least three locations.

Usually the changes in address aren’t so frequent, but they are often enough that he refrains from using the word “steady.”

“We’d live in a home for maybe a year at the most,” Harris said. “But then something would happen and we would end up homeless. We had to live with my grandparents, who live in Renton. That was when I was waking up at 4:30 a.m.”

He no longer has to wake up at 4:30 a.m. like he did during his sophomore year of high school, but he is still riding multiple buses to get to school. Over the winter break, he had to take three buses to get to basketball practice.

His teammates and coaches have helped him out for most of his time at Jefferson. They provide rides, bus fare and lend their ears when he needs to talk about what he is going through.

“To me, it’s not just a sport,” Harris said. “I’ve known a lot of these guys since about the fifth grade. It’s more like a family. I keep them updated because sometimes I’m a little lazy in practice or I’m not in a good mood. It’s because of what I’m going through. It’s a safe environment to let them know. They help me in anyway possible. I can count on them for anything.”

It’s taken him some time to open up to others, especially coaches. He’s a quiet person, but he’s definitely not shy. He believes that taking the time to analyze situations and listening to people is much more important.

He’s developed a strong bond with many of his teammates.

Players like Anderson and Taylor have become close to him. As African-Americans, he says that they experience some of the same every day struggles Harris has gone through, though they do not share his full story.

Zach Henry may be his best friend on the team, despite coming from almost completely different backgrounds. They’ve become so close that Henry’s parents have told him that their spare bedroom is “Kendell’s room.”

“It helps having a variety of friends,” said Harris. “It’s good knowing you aren’t alone.”

These past few years, his relationship with his coaches has also become stronger. He’s become even more appreciative of the small things they do for him, such as getting a ride to the bus stop after practice from Jefferson junior varsity coach Tom Norris.

“I have known Kendell since he was in seventh grade,” said Jefferson head coach Kyle Templeton via email. “At that time he was living in West Seattle and commuting to Totem every day. Getting to know him through the years, I have started to put a bit more of the puzzle together, but he is reticent to share.

“He doesn’t want anyone’s pity or sympathy. He wants to be treated the same way as everyone else. Sometimes I have to really press him about what he needs – food, clothes, basic necessities – whatever it may be, because he isn’t going to ask me. This year he has started to tell me if he needs help with something. And he is the most gracious kid on the planet.”

The support has also spread to the teaching staff. Rebecca Friedman, Harris’s AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) teacher has become such an integral part of his life that he calls her family.

She became aware of his situation prior to his sophomore year when his football coaches came to her. He had failed a couple of classes his freshman year after a period of turmoil. Since then, she’s been helping him achieve his goal of going to college.

“I’ve come to learn that Kendell has had a very disruptive home life,” Friedman said. “It was really surprising because of how he’s always looking forward to the future. Someone told me this student was worthy of a second chance and I’m going to work as his advocate.”

Through AVID, Harris has visited multiple college campuses in the state. He’s going to apply to both Central and Western Washington University. The University of Puget Sound has also become a possible destination for him.

Recently, they took a trip Gonzaga University, but he decided it was not the place for him. Friedman said the lack of diversity at the school was a bit of a turnoff for him.

Washington State University is his preferred college. Even in the freezing cold, with snow blanketing the campus, he loved the school and believed that they had a great support system.

He’s hoping to major in psychology and minor in philosophy. The events in his life piqued his interest in the topics.

“I want to see him continue to be an outstanding young man,” Templeton says. “I want him to go away to college and get his degree. He is a kid that can single-handedly lift his entire family out of their poverty cycle.”

Friedman said that the work he has done in AVID and in his personal life has been impressive. She knows that his story is different from hers and many other student’s she has encountered, but has seen that he will never make his life about how hard it is for him. He has learned to utilize his strengths and she’ll take no credit for it.

She has also noticed that his writing on college applications has made him stand out more as well.

“By the time kids are seniors, they can turn out good paragraphs, but a lot of the time, they’re pretty formulaic,” said Friedman. “He has a clear individual voice that I haven’t had in my teaching career. Has a very unique way of telling his story.”

On the court, Jefferson has had a bit of an up and down season. They have struggled to beat opponents above them in the standings.

Harris said he knows that they are better than their record reflects and is hoping for a state tournament run. He’s also hoping to do even more for the team from an individual standpoint.

He’s the team’s best defender, according to Templeton. His athleticism and strength are reminders that basketball was not his first choice for sports.

“I honestly think he is just scratching the surface of his athletic ability,” Templeton said. “He realistically could have been a varsity starter and possibly star in almost any sport he wanted: football, wrestling, track. He’s just a naturally gifted athlete. I really wish he would have played football last season. He is a heck of a basketball player, but I think football might be his best sport.”

“I’m a football player at heart,” Harris said. “I stopped playing my sophomore year. I had a bad experience.”

He’s come to love basketball because he believes that he can relate it to his struggles off the court.

“You’re not always going to win in basketball and you’re not always going to win in life,” said Harris. “But if you persevere and push through those walls, then something good will come out of it.”

“Kendell is one of the best kids I have ever been around,” said Templeton. “I am so proud of everything he has already accomplished, but I also have huge hopes and expectations for him in the future.

Templeton said he sent Harris a text message on Christmas, which he “believes with all of his heart.”

It read, “Merry Christmas buddy! I have such respect for you as a young man. The things you have to go through on a daily basis, the way you carry yourself and how responsible you are – it is really impressive. You’re a great kid Kendell and you’re gonna be a terrific man! You’re the type of person that can change the world. Don’t forget that. Lets have a historic 2016. Love ya buddy.’”

Harris is optimistic about his future, but even he will admit that sometimes it can be difficult for him to remain positive.

“My dad has been going through some health issues lately,” Harris said. “His legs are swollen up to his knees and I think that’s because of kidney failure. So, the thought got put in my head that my dad might not have a lot of time left.

“It seems like every passing year it gets harder and harder for my family and we start to drift further apart. Sometimes I feel like I might be the last one standing when it’s all said and done, but I take that</span