Memorable trip to Duke for Hudson Catholic's Sellers

From left, Keith Sellers, Antonio Sellers and Felicia Harris Sellers enjoy a laugh after Antonio spoke to media at the recent "Make-A-Wish" presentation at Hudson Catholic

At first, the “Make-A-Wish” sponsored trip to Durham, N.C. was supposed to be just for tickets to see the Duke-North Carolina game for Jersey City resident Antonio Sellers.

The Hudson Catholic basketball star, battling the effects after several surgeries to combat brain cancer, received the gifts of his “Wish” from New Jersey Chapter of “Make-A-Wish” President and CEO Tom Weatherall, at a special assembly inside the Joe “Rocky” Pope Gymnasium at Hudson Catholic.

A week later, Antonio, his mother Felicia Harris Sellers, his father Keith, his good friend and Hudson Catholic teammate Zion Cruz and other family members made the drive down to North Carolina before Antonio’s beloved Duke Blue Devils took on their archrival Tar Heels.

Can anyone even fathom the thought if there were quarantines and shutdowns before the Sellers family made the journey south? It would have been so disappointing, so heartbreaking and brutally unfair.

But they were able to make it to Cameron Indoor Stadium for the pep rally on Friday night and the game on Saturday night.

And it’s safe to say that the trip far exceeded anyone’s expectations of the “Make-A-Wish” request.

“It sure did,” said Felicia Sellers, who was the New York Metropolitan Writers’ Association’s Player of the Year in 2002, leading the Peahens to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title, a league that the former Felicia Harris won Player of the Year in both the regular season and MAAC Tournament. “We knew that we might meet some people, but they took us in like we were family.”

Before they made the trip to Duke, it was unclear whether the Sellers family was going to meet with the legendary man simply known in college basketball circles as “Coach K,” namely Duke’s Hall of Fame mentor Mike Krzyzewski, and the players on the team.

Well, “Coach K” more than simply embraced Antonio and his family. He took them all in. Krzyzewski addressed the 5,000 or so attending the pep rally, telling them all about what is called “the Duke Brotherhood.”

“Anyone who plays for Duke is welcomed into the Duke Brotherhood,” Coach K said. “Well, the players all agreed that Antonio could be adopted into the Duke Brotherhood tonight.”

“That wasn’t part of the plan,” Felicia Sellers said. “It was really nice and showed they cared for Antonio. They all went out of their way. It wasn’t all about basketball.”

Krzyzewski told the “Cameron Crazies” that he had worn a special pin on his lapel on his suit jacket for every game since 2002 in honor of a 7-year-old boy named Rory Deutsch who was battling brain cancer and eventually passed away from the hideous disease. Since that time, the Rory Deutsch Foundation has raised more than $8 million to be used for brain cancer research

Well, Krzyzewski took the pin off his lapel and gave it to Antonio.

The crowd then chanted “Antonio, Antonio, Antonio,” as Keith Sellers wheeled his smiling 15-year-old son off the floor in his wheelchair to the rhythmic clapping and dance gestures to the upbeat tune “Everytime We Touch,” by Cascada.

“It was just great for me,” Antonio Sellers said. “I was just happy, because I had never been there before. It was better than I imagined.”

A day later, it got even better for Antonio, who sat in the third row behind the basket with his father. The two were spotted talking about the game as former Duke greats like Carlos Boozer and New Jersey native Alaa Abdelnaby came up to greet him.

After the Blue Devils won the game, 89-76, Antonio was on the floor with his victorious Brotherhood. There were pictures taken with Antonio and the players, like Vernon Carey, Jr,, who had a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds and Tre Jones, who had 21 points and 11 assists.

The players, Antonio’s new Brotherhood, presented Antonio with the game ball. As it turned out, because of the growing concern involving the coronavirus COVID-19, it was the final game of the season for Antonio’s Blue Devils.

Duke did not get the chance to play in either the ACC or the NCAA Tournaments. Jones has already declared his intentions to leave Duke and become an NBA player next season. Carey has not announced his plans for next year.

Just imagine if that trip wasn’t made right there and then?

“It was so great,” Antonio Sellers said. “I only cried once. The team and Coach K, they were so great to me. They took care of me and my Dad. And Duke won.”

Sellers knew the importance of the game.

“We had to beat them,” Sellers said, already using the possessive pronoun. “We just had to. I loved it after the game. I gave Coach K two hugs. It was just great for me, my Mom, my Dad, my friends.”

And before Antonio left Cameron, the “Crazies” gave him one more salute, chanting “Antonio, Antonio, Antonio,” once again.

“After we won, they were all calling my name,” Antonio said. “That was really cool.”

The trip wasn’t over yet. On Sunday morning, the Sellers family met with some of the top neurosurgeons in the world that work at the Duke Medical Center, to discuss Antonio’s prognosis and prospects of recovery.

“It was more enlightening and educational,” Felicia Sellers said. “They told us about different options that we have. We told them about what we had already been through.”

All in all, it was a great trip for the entire family.

“It was a moment with a lot of unexpected moments,” Felicia Sellers said. “I got to relax a little, because I saw Antonio smile and be happy with his friends. He was doing something that he always wanted to do. Some of it was a little overwhelming at times, but it was still a relief to see him so happy.”

Every single picture taken, every video recorded, had Antonio flashing that bright, wide smile. For a teenager who has endured so much since his diagnosis a little over a year ago, seeing the smiles on his face was so heartwarming and invigorating.

“It was just how everyone treated us, how the whole coaching staff went out of their way, people like Debbie K (the coach’s daughter), who took us all over the school,” Felicia Sellers said. “They embraced our family and we felt so comfortable with them right away. They opened up and showed us where it all happens. It made the trip so much more than basketball. We’re going to remain in touch. We made friends for life.”

All totaled, it’s a weekend that Felicia Sellers and her handsome 15-year-old son won’t soon forget.

“It was amazing for me,” Felicia Sellers said. “I appreciate everyone who had a part in it and made it all possible.”

And to think, the entire trip became possible with one simple phone call from an old sportswriter to a long-time friend of almost 50 years and an old Little League teammate who has never once forgotten his Jersey City and St. Paul’s of Greenville roots. Seeing that boy smile was so very much worth it. – Jim Hague