Former NBA player talks to IU students about substance abuse

Chris Herren, a former NBA player, spoke to an audience replete with IU student athletes Tuesday.

Herren, who was featured in the ESPN documentary “Unguarded,” told his inspirational story of overcoming substance abuse in the Heinke Hall of Champions in Memorial Stadium.

Herren delivered his message to what he said was his most preferable audience.

“Where I want to be most is in front of student athletes,” he said.

For an hour, Herren recounted his life story to a jam-packed audience. In high school, he drank and smoked marijuana. As his life progressed, so did his drug use, and he jumped from cocaine to oxycontin to heroine.

At Durfee High School in Fall River, Mass., Herren was an All-America basketball star and had the opportunity to attend any college. He chose somewhere close to home: Boston College.

During his first semester at the university, Herren’s head coach brought in someone to speak to the team about substance abuse. 

At 18, Herren said he had no interest in hearing about it.

“I heard way too many speakers about substance abuse, and it’s a waste of time,” Herren said. ”All I do is drink and smoke. That’s where it begins, and that’s where it will end ... at 18-years-old. I truly believed I was above it.”

Directly after one of these talks, Herren returned to his dorm room.

When he opened the door, his roommate and a woman, both freshmen student athletes, were snorting cocaine.

Herren turned to exit the room, but the woman spoke.

“Come back. It’s not going to kill you,” Herren said he recalled her saying.
That was the first time he did cocaine.

“At 18-years-old I promised myself, one line, just one time. I had no idea that one line would take 14 years to walk away from,” Herren said.

The following day, Herren had his first drug test. “I walked into my first college drug test knowing I was going to test positive for marijuana and cocaine,” he said.

After fracturing his wrist in his first college basketball game, Herren was out for his freshman season. With basketball temporarily out of his life, he indulged in partying and drugs.

“I jumped into partying, had to fit in. I figured they wouldn’t test me because I wasn’t playing. I was wrong,” Herren said. After failing three more drug tests, Boston College decided to rescind his scholarship and send him home.

Even after Hall of Fame basketball coach Jeff Tarkanian gave Herren a second chance to play at Fresno State, he continued to abuse drugs.

“That monster stayed with me through Fresno State,” Herren said, but despite his battle with drugs, he still performed well.

In 1999, he was selected 33rd in the NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.

“When I walked into that locker room with the Denver Nuggets, I had guys like Chauncey Billups, Nick Van Exel, Antonio McDyess, who pulled me aside and said ‘we’ve seen your story ... that’s not going to happen here,’ Herren said. It was under that veteran leadership, he said, that he was able to stay out of trouble.

After the season, Herren returned to Fall River, where he purchased his first oxycontin pill for $20.

“I had no idea that the $20 I spent that day ... would turn into a $25,000 a month oxycontin habit,” he said.

Herren’s career continued and finally peaked when he was offered the position of starter for the Boston Celtics.

But Herren said he doesn’t remember the night his dream came true.

“All I remember about that night was chasing around that little yellow pill that cost me a 20 dollar bill,” Herren said.

After his last season in the NBA, Herren played in Europe. At 24-years-old, Herren shot heroine in his veins for the first time.

It wasn’t until basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, who had struggled with an alcohol addiction, paid for Herren to enter a treatment center that he started to get better.

After concluding his story, Herren offered to assist anyone in the audience that struggled with addiction through his foundation, “Purple Project.”

Herren’s message resonated with the predominantly student athlete audience.

“I thought he had a real good message,” said junior captain and starting linebacker David Cooper. Not only did Cooper appreciate Herren’s message, but he also understood the dangers of drug abuse.

“It could potentially affect everyone in this room,” he said.

Head football coach Kevin Wilson said it was important to have his team in attendance.

“We have to continue to educate our guys on and off court on social activities and behaviors ... we have to educate guys on how to do the right things.”

Follow reporter Javonte Anderson on Twitter @JavonteA.