RICHFIELD, Ohio -- Larry Nance Jr. may be new to Cavaliers roster this season, but he has been a role model to his little brother Pete Nance for a very long time.
"I always looked up to my brother and what he was doing," Pete explained. "Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps and hopefully people look up to me just like I look up to him."
Pete was a star basketball player at Revere High School and plans to continue his athletic career at Northwestern next season. But he is leaving behind a legacy that that is not only reflected in the numbers he put up in box scores, but the character he showed in the hallways.
Pete met his friend Christina Petras, who has Down Syndrome, in sixth grade.
"We just became best friends in cooking class it was," he recalled." We were in the same home ec (economics) class. So that's kind of how it all started."
"After he started talking me in sixth grade. He gave me this basketball," Christina said.
Christina's mother Melanie added, "It made us feel wonderful cause we worried about moving here and how people would accept her and then you have someone well known at the school accept her, others are going to be nicer and accept her as well and they have just been buddies since. It's been really nice."
Pete taught Christina how to play basketball and now the two go one-on-one on the court.
"It's the best thing I ever had," Christina explained. "Playing basketball with him makes me go into tears because he has always been so sweet.
"He makes me feel special and he actually helped me develop a lot of confidence," she said.
Christina even introduced Pete to some of her friends through Empower Sports, a nonprofit that provides sports for people of all ages with special needs.
"I really love Christina and I love working with those type of kids," Pete explained. "I just thought it would be really fun to put on those type of games that I have done with Empower Sports."
As Pete continues to pursue his own career on the court, he already has one fan who believes in him.
"He is going to be an NBA star in the future. I know it," Christina said confidently.
And as he aspires to be a role model, similar to his older brother, Christina believes that mission has already been accomplished.
"Oh my God. He is the best role model in the entire world," She said. " He is too genuine, too caring and even more relaxed and ever more, he is an outstanding person."
