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Sports of The Times: Junior College’s Second Chances Become Dead Ends

VALHALLA, N.Y. — They were an island of misfit toys, the players on the men’s basketball team at Westchester Community College. And on the old video, their joy during their shining moment was unambiguous.

They won the National Junior College District 3 championship on March 8, 2014. Keith Thomas, 6 feet 8 and 23 years old, had nearly tossed away his life, in beefs and depression and loss. Now he was the national junior college rebounding champ.

Giovanni McLean, a wizard of a dribbler from the Bronx, whose nickname was Batteries Not Included, had bounced from one high school to another.