March 28, 2006

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University men's basketball player Grant Dykstra, who survived a life-threatening childhood accident that nearly cost him his right arm, has been named the winner of the 2006 V Foundation Comeback Award.

The award is given annually to a college basketball student-athlete who has accomplished a personal triumph in the face of true adversity, be it a health, life or moral dilemma. It is presented by The V Foundation for Cancer Research and ESPN in honor of late basketball coach Jim Valvano, whose battle with cancer inspired the creation of The V Foundation.

In his memorable speech at ESPN's inaugural ESPY Awards announcing the creation of The V Foundation, Valvano's "Don't Give Up. . .Don't Ever Give Up!"® motto created a legacy from which the Comeback Award has been created.

"I am honored to present the Comeback Award to Grant Dykstra," V Foundation CEO Nick Valvano said. "Through his amazing determination and perseverance, he embodies the spirit of this award. Grant has worked hard and overcome physical adversity to achieve his dreams on the basketball court. His passion, courage, strength and perseverance inspire others to follow their dreams as well."

"We are thrilled Grant has been honored with this award, and we are extremely proud of his accomplishments," said Western coach Brad Jackson. "His courage, determination and faith embody everything that the award represents. For him to play at the level he has the past four years is a phenomenal achievement for anyone, but given the severity of his injury it becomes astounding. The manner in which he has competed and represented himself, his family and his teammates has been both remarkable and exceptionally inspirational."

Dykstra, a 6-foot-4 senior forward from Everson, Wash. (Lynden Christian High School) is Western's career scoring leader with 1,844 points, and was a consensus NCAA II All-American this season, earning first-team honors from Daktronics and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, second-team from Basketball Times and third-team from Division II Bulletin.

Dykstra's right arm was mangled in a grain auger when he was two and required 16 surgeries over the next 10 years and countless hours of physical therapy to regain strength and movement in the arm, which is five inches shorter than his left. He taught himself to shoot a basketball left-handed and learned to dribble with either hand.

"To win an award named after Jim Valvano, that alone says a lot," said Dykstra, who graduated on March 17 with a degree in business administration and finance. "It's amazing, that people would view me as an inspiration as they did him is remarkable. But it isn't just about me. There are so many friends, family, coaches and administrators at Western, who have all done so much for me. It's my story but I couldn't have done it without everybody else."

This season, Dykstra averaged 20.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.0 steals, setting a school record for 3-point makes with 101 as the Vikings went 23-7 and reached the West Regional final of the NCAA II National Tournament. He shot 50.6 percent from the field, including 43.7 percent from 3-point range and 84.5 percent at the free throw line. His 3.4 3-point makes a game ranked ninth nationally in NCAA II, and he was 16th in 3-point percentage.

Dykstra was the Daktronics West Region Player of the Year for 2005-06, being the only unanimous choice and repeater on the regional all-star team. He also earned first-team GNAC all-star honors for the second straight year and was named to the West Regional all-tournament team.

Dykstra was the recipient of the United States Basketball Writers Association Most Courageous Award in 2005. He started every game of his four-year career, and in addition to his scoring mark, finished fourth in school history in career assists with 404, sixth in rebounds with 576 and seventh in steals with 210.

Dykstra was one of the comeback award finalists for the third straight year. The other 2006 finalists were Tammy Frazier from Cheyney University, Tiffanie Hager from University of Rio Grande, Brittney Kroon from Seattle Pacific, Leon Powe from California-Berkeley and Jamie Vick from Saint Vincent College. More than 50 student-athletes were nominated for the honor.

"I never expected that I would I get it," said Dykstra. "The candidates who are finalists are all so deserving. I figured Leon Powe would win with what he's done, but all of them have great stories that deserve to be told. I'm just honored mine can be told again."

Dykstra is the first non-Division I student-athlete to win the award. Past recipients are Purdue's Katie Douglas (2001), Western Michigan's Kristin Koetsier (2002), Arizona State's Justin Allen (2003), Texas' Jamie Carey (2004) and Washington's Kayla Burt (2005).

The announcement will be made nationally on ESPN, Thurs., March 30, during halftime of the NIT Championship game, which tips off at 4 p.m. PT.

The V Foundation honors Viking with Comeback Award

Today, The V Foundation for Cancer Research and ESPN will name Dykstra as the 2006 V Foundation Comeback Award winner.

DOUG PACEY, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

"Don't give up. Don't ever give up." Jim Valvano, March 4, 1993

Grant Dykstra sees this as another opportunity to tell his story. Many in Whatcom County and around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference already know the Western Washington University basketball player's tale.

Now, so will the rest of the country.

Today, The V Foundation for Cancer Research and ESPN will name Dykstra as the 2006 V Foundation Comeback Award winner. Another announcement will be made at halftime of the NIT Championship game Thursday night on ESPN.

"With these kind of awards, it's a chance to tell my story," said Dykstra, 23, who recently completed his senior season as a basketball player at Western.

When Dykstra was 2 years old, his right arm got caught in a grain auger. He was playing hide-and-seek with about a dozen cousins near a hay mound on his family's farm when he wandered off by himself.

"They freaked out when they found me," said Dykstra, who doesn't remember the accident. "My mom was milking in the parlor at the time and one of the kids ran down and said, 'Grant's hurt, Grant's hurt.'

"She immediately turned to follow him and all of a sudden she had something come over her - the presence of God or angels pulling her back, saying 'Hey, go back and turn off the grain auger switch.'

"They never said I was caught in the grain auger, they said I was hurt. My mom had seen the switch before but she had never turned it on or off in her life. That was the first time she ever flipped the switch and it saved my life.

"I was being pulled in and next was my shoulder and then my head."

Dykstra lost partial use of his right hand - he can't form a full fist - and the arm is a five inches shorter than his left. Over the next 10 years, he had 16 surgeries.

He has been nominated for the award twice before. Though Dykstra's story hasn't changed, his accomplishments have piled up.

The Lynden Christian High School graduate and Everson native ended his WWU career as the school's all-time leading scorer.

He started every game in his four seasons and was named to all four Division II All-America teams this season, becoming the first Viking in school history to earn consensus honors.

"As I look back at his four years, he did so much," WWU coach Brad Jackson said.

"But the biggest thing that stands out to me is his development. The severity of his injury is very significant. You think about what he went through to get where he is today and there's a lot of respect there."

When Jackson recruited Dykstra, who was the Class 2A Player of the Year his senior season, he was one of the only college coaches that thought Dykstra could play Division II basketball.

"His arm was never an issue to me," Jackson said. "I had watched him play since the fourth grade and he was always one of the best athletes. There was no reason to think he wouldn't be at the college level."

Knowing that GNAC coaches thought he couldn't hack it spurred Dykstra even more.

"I kind of came to Western to prove a point, especially to those coaches who told me I couldn't do it," he said. "I bet if you asked them now they would agree that I could play."

They sure do.

In the last two seasons, GNAC coaches have voted Dykstra a first-team all-conference forward.

Maybe Western's most decorated basketball player, Dykstra's basketball career is over.

He says he had options to play overseas, but with a 21-month-old son, Griffin, and wife Tara due on April 12 with another baby, the decision to work 9-to-5 was easy. A business finance graduate, he began this week at the Whatcom Educational Credit Union in Bellingham.

"If it was just my wife and I, I would play overseas in a heartbeat," Dykstra said. "But I have responsibilities and priorities."

Dykstra is the only Division II player to win the award in its six-year history. Among the finalists he beat out was California All-American Leon Powe.

Last year, the United States Basketball Writers Association gave Dykstra its Most Courageous Award, which included a trip to the Final Four where he saw his boyhood team, the North Carolina Tarheels, win the national title.

"It's like everything was meant to be," he said. "I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I've had a great life - look at everything I've accomplished. There's no need to feel sorry for me.

"My accident happened for a reason. God wanted me to play basketball and basketball is my tool to tell my story so others can learn from that."