BURNABY, B.C.—The bullet that nearly shattered his ankle and foot didn’t stop him, the liver disease he fights to this day couldn’t hold him back.
The same is true for the family tragedies and lost loved ones. As a five-year-old, he watched as his nine-year-old brother died of a brain tumour. His beloved grandmother is gone. His extended family is non-existent.
It has all combined to instill in Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll a strength of will few possess, a fight that he will never give up, a sense of purpose that goes far beyond the NBA.
“I want people to understand my story,” Carroll said after a training camp practice here this week, “understand what it took for me to get here.