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One day, while at Robert Morris University, where he studied Communication and was the star of his basketball team, Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, Indiana, 1991) came up with a disturbing package with the White House seal. "I panic. I come from a bad neighborhood, I stole some things when I was young ... I said: 'Oh my God, I'm going to jail' ». However, when he opened it, he found "a beautiful letter from Michelle Obama . " "Made me cry. It is one of the most important things that have happened to me in my life, ”says the escort of Montakit Fuenlabrada, threatens this Sunday (12.30 pm, Movistar Plus) of Real Madrid at the ACB.

When she learned of her terrible life adventures, the then first lady also surrendered to the spirit of overcoming Karvel, a guy who escaped her destiny. "Basketball saved my life," he acknowledges in an inspiring conversation at Fernando Martín . A sports star flourished in the most inhospitable of the environments, dodging poverty, with so many obstacles that give for a book, the one that tries to write.

Karvel remembers a happy childhood, but too short. Reality shook him crudely. «My childhood was amazing. He had two little sisters, lots of cousins. We had a great time. Then I started to grow and understand things ... », he recalls. And his story is tinged with insurmountable obstacles. « I never met my father . In that sense, I never had a man who set an example for me. When I was 13, my mother went to jail. For a long time I was alone. It was very hard".

"I would be dead or in jail"

Her mother had become pregnant with Karvel precisely at that age and at 16 she already had two children. Drug addict, had to traffic to survive . «He is not a bad person, but he never finished school. She has no education, so it is difficult for her to find a job. Besides, they were bad times in the city. I was just trying to have everything we needed, ”continues the small scorer, author of 25 points on the first day of the ACB against Burgos, who arrived in Fuenlabrada after touring Italy (Andrea Costa Imola), Germany (Eisbaren Bremerhaven) and France : Last year he signed 12 triples in a match with the Gravelines.

Q.- Who did you turn to then?

A.- My sisters have a different father. He didn't love me. I stayed with a friend, with an uncle, with another ... People would let me stay, but they always told me: "Karvel, you have to find your way." I decided it was time to do things for myself. If I had to sleep in the street, I would sleep in the street. I was ashamed, I hid, I didn't let people see me . I slept under a bridge. To eat, I had a small supermarket near the school ... it doesn't make me proud, but sometimes I went and stole, I took food. Also from the school cafeteria. I am not a bad person, but I had no choice.

Karvel had hit bottom, but didn't lose hope. The baskets were his redemption. First, with the help of his grandfather and then, already in high school, the man who rescued him, his coach, Gerald Jackson. «It was like a father who taught me many things, to be a man. He had a similar story. I saw that he had been able to survive and now he had a good life, I could do the same ». Without too many places to go, the institute's gym, indoor baskets, was a great refuge. It made me stay away from problems, from doing stupid things . It protected me, it was like heaven to me, freedom. That's how I started to get better and better, pulling and pulling, ”he says.

Q.- If it weren't for basketball, where would I be now?

A.- I would like to have confidence in myself to say that I had also found the way, but I really don't know. Basketball gave me education, made me travel the world, meet new experiences that changed me as a person. That's a hard question. It is possible that I was still at home fighting or, perhaps, dead or in jail , like many of my friends.

Q.- What is the most important lesson you learned?

A.- There are many people with problems, but there are many ways to survive. There is always a way to be better. I often think: "If I was able to survive all that, I am not scared of Real Madrid or difficult training ." It makes everything in my life easy.

Q.- Why do you like to call yourself 'The best kept secret'?

R. - Because people see me play and think: «It is small, it is not a base, it is not an escort, we do not know what it is». Nobody gave me opportunities, for how I am or for the small university I come from . But I think the story of my life is amazing and my basketball is very good. No one knows until he knows me. It's something for me, to keep me focused, alert, with my head on my shoulders, hungry.

Karvel speaks daily with her mother, "my best friend", but never from the past. Just think in the future, with your feet on the ground: «I want to explore my potential. If my roof is where I am now, great ». Because if your example helps someone, "it will be better than anything you can do on a basketball court . "

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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