Only in America

From CBS News:

Autistic Teen's Hoop Dreams Come True

It was the stuff of Hollywood, but it was real.

Senior Jason McElwain had been the manager of the varsity basketball team of Greece Athena High School in Rochester, N.Y.

McElwain, who's autistic, was added to the roster by coach Jim Johnson so he could be given a jersey and get to sit on the bench in the team's last game of the year.

Johnson hoped the situation would even enable him to get McElwain onto the floor a little playing time.

He got the chance, with Greece Athena up by double-digits with four minutes go to.

And, in his first action of the year, McElwain missed his first two shots, but then sank six three-pointers and another shot, for a total of 20 points in three minutes.

"My first shot was an air ball (missing the hoop), by a lot, then I missed a lay-up," McElwain recalls. "As the first shot went in, and then the second shot, as soon as that went in, I just started to catch fire."

"I've had a lot of thrills in coaching," Johnson says. "I've coached a lot of wonderful kids. But I've never experienced such a thrill."

The crowd went wild, and his teammates carried the excited McElwain off the court.

"I felt like a celebrity!" he beamed.

(Picture: Eric Sucar, The Daily Messenger/AP)

See the movie here. George W. Bush did so, too.

President Bush, right, stands with autistic high school senior Jason McElwain at Greater Rochester International Airport in Rochester, N.Y. Tuesday, March 14, 2006. McElwain, the manager of Greece Athena High School's varsity basketball team, was added to the roster by the coach so he could receive a team jersey and get to sit on the bench in the team's last game of the year. McElwain also got some court action and sank six three-pointers and another shot for a total of 20 points in three minutes. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)