<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span class="template"><span class="body"> Mario West is well aware that it's a bit unusual for the entourage of an NBA player to include an 8-year-old nicknamed "Boo Boo."</p> West, though, is most certainly not your usual NBA rookie.</p> He's anything but. He still lives at home in Douglasville, with his parents, Gerald and Angie, and his biggest cheerleader/critic, 8-year-old Chandler West.</p> The former walk-on at Georgia Tech made the Hawks' roster on sheer hustle, hard work and an unwavering faith that a man who toils relentlessly without fail would be justly rewarded.</p> West beat immeasurable odds to land the 15th and final spot on the Hawks' roster. He won't be a millionaire, the minimum salary for a player who makes the team the way he did is $427,000. He probably won't even play every night; a defensive specialist such as West sees spot duty on most teams.</p> But he's here, living the dream that millions of little boys around the world wake up from every morning.</p> "This was my dream, but I'm here because of so many other blessings," West. "My little sister, Chandler, that's my Boo Boo, my sweetheart; she's probably more excited than anybody. She'll stay up late and go over the box score and let me know what I need to work on. She'll let me have it in a heartbeat. But that's just the type of loving family and support system I've always had, from high school to Georgia Tech and to this day."</p> He'll find he has a similar support group in the Hawks' locker room. His teammates were prepared to go to management on his behalf if they thought there was a chance West wasn't going to be kept on the roster.</p> Turns out it wasn't necessary.</div></p> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</p> </span></span></p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Universe)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Great story.</p> </div></p> </p> It really is. I like these stories a lot, because it shows that hard work gets you far, and when you keep working, anything is possible.</p>
