Accident Fails to Stifle John Flowers’ Spirit

John Flowers came to see Cal State Northridge play basketball Friday night against Arizona State.

Someday, he hopes, Matador players might return the favor.

Injuries he sustained in a car accident 16 months ago have taken away his legs. But not his love for basketball.

The former Northridge recruit has renewed his playing career, albeit from a wheelchair. He has joined the Wheelchair Suns, a team sponsored by the Phoenix Suns.

“They kept calling me and saying, ‘Just come out and look and watch,’ ” Flowers said from his perch in the Arizona State Activities Center. “When I did, they got me out there with them and I said, ‘Hey, this is pretty fun.’ ”

Flowers, who is from nearby Glendale, Ariz., was a top scorer at Phoenix College, a player so talented that Northridge made him its first out-of-state basketball recruit in the spring of 1992.

The car accident occurred a few months later, in August, only a few days before Flowers was scheduled to leave for Northridge.

Although he never played for the Matadors, Flowers’ plight struck a sentimental chord with Jacques Hay, a Northridge booster, and his son, Josh. Together, they organized a fund-raising effort that resulted in some $15,000 in contributions that helped the Flowers family defray medical costs and other related expenses.

Twice last season, Flowers was flown to Northridge to watch the Matadors play. The team lost both times, a streak that continued against Arizona State.

Flowers will see the Matadors play again on Feb. 26 when he is flown in for another benefit during Northridge’s home game against Alabama Birmingham. He also will be the guest of the Clippers for their March 31 game against the Suns.

In the meantime, he is concentrating on becoming a top wheelchair player, and also attending Glendale (Ariz.) College, where he is learning computer skills.

When he learns to get around better with the help of his prosthesis and a cane, Flowers hopes that he might be able to transfer to Northridge.

“That’s still the plan,” he said. “I just need to be able to get around a little better.”