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Dementia is stealing Carl Scheer’s memories, but not his all-star basketball legacy

Carl Scheer is 82 years old, and he is having a pretty good day.

Scheer has dementia. The man who invented the all-star dunk contest and who ran the Charlotte Hornets during their glorious first season now is a permanent resident in a Charlotte nursing facility.

For decades, Scheer boasted one of the sharpest minds in basketball. Now that mind is betraying him.

On some days, Scheer doesn’t talk a lot. On others, like this one, he talks more.

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I greet him at the nursing facility, sit down by his wheelchair and ask how he’s doing.