Former NBA Player Talks Drug Addiction During Presentation At JHS

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JAMESTOWN – A former NBA basketball player spoke with students at Jamestown High School on Thursday about his battle with drug addiction in an effort to prevent youth from going down the wrong path.

Now 14-years sober, Chris Herran struggled with substance abuse for years while playing for the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.

Herran, speaking directly with local students, worked to connect with them by taking a different approach to discussing how young people get hooked on drugs.

“I think we put so much focus on the worse day, we forget the first day,” said Herran. “We are always talking about how many people are dying, how many overdoes, and what they look like at the end of their drug use, we need to start connecting the first day, where it begins, because that’s where kids can identify.”

Hosted by Collaborative Children’s Solutions, the plan to bring Herran to Jamestown has been in the works for a few years. In addition to the school assembly, local families were also able to hear from Herran during an evening discussion as well.