Photos by Mike Maddock David Roth is congratulated by Cardinal Newman head basketball coach Kevin Rose after David drained a 12- foot jumper from the baseline against Hammond. Tuesday, February 10 was no ordinary Senior Night at Cardinal Newman School. The Cardinals were hosting rival Hammond and had a chance to clinch the region championship. As is the case on Senior Nights around the country, seniors start, whether they have played much throughout the year or not.

Cardinal Newman was no exception.

So, when the starting lineup was announced, five seniors took the floor. This was no big deal, as the Cardinals usually field a lineup with four seniors. But the fifth senior this night was a big deal.

Coach Kevin Rose had David Roth, the student assistant, suit up for the game and be introduced in the starting lineup. In 2005, David was center on the basketball B- team as an eighth grader. He was always tall for his grade. As an eighth grader, he stood about five inches taller than most boys in his class, many of whom he was just getting to become friends with at Cardinal Newman. But he also has always been thin. No matter how much he put away at meals, he never seemed to gain much, if any, weight.

Cardinal Newman's David Roth shoots a free throw after a technical foul was called against Hammond. Something was amiss, and on the way to a tournament one week, his parents took him to Wake Forest for a battery of tests. That was when they found out that David had Marfan Syndrome, a disease in which the connective tissue of the body is defective and does not act properly. In David's case, it meant an enlarged aorta, which put a swift end to his basketball days.

"It was really tough because sports and athletics were always such a big part of my life and a big part of who I was," says David. "It was really saddening and shocking."

Nevertheless, David went to the tournament and broke the news to his teammates. There, the team and the parents were very supportive and began the process of helping him relinquish such a big part of his life. His mother, Cardinal Newman teacher Beth Roth, says the parents of some of his friends, both old and new, were really wonderful in picking up his spirits.

David Roth warms up dur ing halftime of the game between Cardinal Newman and Hammond. David also relied on his faith to get him through the rough patches. He is a very faith- oriented young man who knows "that one day Christ will return to make all things new and to wipe every tear away...we take heart having a savior who is not far off but one that suffered with us to the point of death so that we can have fellowship with God."

And so, with this mindset, David began other activities to replace the athletics. He learned how to play the mandolin. He has been involved in the Cardinal Newman student government since ninth grade and was accepted into the National Honor Society in his tenth grade year, serving as its treasurer this year. He does many activities in his church, and he began the Ultimate Frisbee club team at Cardinal Newman two years ago.

But athletics never strayed very far. He couldn't play basketball or soccer, nor could he run cross- country, but he decided to help out his friends and teammates as best he could. He signed up to be a student assistant, first on the JV squad, then on the varsity squad the past two seasons.

To honor David's sense of commitment, Coach Rose gave him jersey number 42 and told him to get out there. The ovation when he was announced was louder than any ovation has ever been in that gym.

"It was kind of surreal," says David about getting on the court. "It was very exciting and kind of emotional. It meant a lot to be out there on the court I miss so much and with the guys I grew up playing ball with. It was really a taste of all the greatness of the game for me. It wasn't all about me either, it was about paying homage to a great sport."

As for the reaction from the crowd, "The Cardinal Newman community is really a great community... not only my peers, but coaches, administrators, teachers, and everyone really is expected to be there for each other." And it showed on Tuesday night.

The outcome of the game, Cardinals winning 62- 49, was an afterthought. As for David's performance: he played for 32 seconds in the first quarter, and then was put in to shoot a technical free throw in the third quarter. He missed, but had to stay on the court because no time had gone off the clock. Cardinal point guard Zach Hrovat took the inbounds pass and got David an open look at a 12- foot jumper from the baseline... nothing but net. That ovation was even louder than for his introduction.

David is planning on attending Clemson University in the fall.