LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — At the Catholic High School gym, all eyes are on a young man and a gentle giant.
Big Joe Kleine, a former NBA star with the biggest heart around, met up with 13-year-old Brandon, who had lots of questions.
"So what are the basketball players you know? Lebron?" Brandon asked.
"I had to tell him that 'yes, I knew him, no, I'm too old to have played with him,' 'why not?' 'I'm too old,'" Kleine laughed.
There were lots of laughs at the gym no one could help but smile when Catholic High School's resident German Shepherd came to say hello.
Titus, like all of us, loved Brandon. It's hard not to.
"If you had a dog, it would be fun, but you don't have to have one," Brandon said, explaining what kind of family he wants. "Probably a TV, a video game system, bed, clothes, that's it."
Brandon is up for adoption.
"I wanna be adopted because I thought about what would happen if I didn't get adopted. It would be kinda rough," Brandon explained.
"You just don't know how lucky you got it until you experience talking to kids who are dealing with things we couldn't, at 13 years old, comprehend," Kleine said.
That's why Joe Kleine does this. He sits with him, listens, and shares a part of his life with a child who needs someone to care.
"Taking five minutes to shoot ball with a young kid can really help him, uplift him, give him something to look forward to," Kleine explained.
From one-on-one to hands-on demonstration, it was everything to Brandon.
"It can be hard if people find out in school you are one," Brandon said.
One. As in, a child in foster care that's up for adoption.
Brandon is a teenager who loves his Jordans, food, and red and black are his favorite colors. He's a kid who felt important here at this high school gym, even just for a moment
"I would like to be adopted," Brandon said.
Thanks to Joe Kleine and the Catholic High Rockets for being so welcoming.