Ex-basketball star Chris Herren talks recovery at IVCC

Former NBA player Chris Herren appeared Wednesday to Illinois Valley Community College to tell local students about his recovery from substance abuse.

Herren, 49, was a standout high school basketball player from Massachusetts heavily recruited by top Division I programs but steadily succumbed to drug abuse. Despite many failed collegiate drug tests, he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets and briefly played with his hometown Boston Celtics before his off-court issues derailed his career.

Herren is clean 17 years and tours the country urging young people to steer clear of drugs and to embrace healthy lifestyles to avoid getting drawn into dangerous circles.

Herren appeared Wednesday at the invitation of La Salle County State’s attorney Joe Navarro.

Prior to his IVCC presentations, Herren spoke to Shaw Loocal News Network about his mission to help others overcome addiction.

Q. So, Chris, you’ve done a lot of these talks. How many days out of the year are you on the road? And is it exhausting?

A. I do probably around 200 talks a year. Typically, I travel Monday through Thursday, sometimes Tuesday through Thursday. You know, I kind of dialed it back for myself and my family a few years ago. For the first 10 years, I was out Monday through Friday. So the question is, is it exhausting? It is.

Q. Does it also sustain you? Does it help you with your outreach?

A. Most definitely. It helps me more than it hurts me, but I’m not going to lie and say that it doesn’t ever wear me down. There’ve been times where I’ve had to protect my recovery and say, “I’ve got to dial this back.”

Q. Have you ever circled back to a venue that you had visited before and been approached by someone who said, ‘Thank you. Your testimony got me clean.’?

A. Oh, definitely. That’s the most beautiful part about all of this. I opened up a treatment center seven years ago in Massachusetts and the majority of people 30 and under have heard me speak in high school. So, every time someone’s checking into my treatment center, they’ll say, ‘Hey, you came to my high school eight years ago, 10 years ago.’

Q. Let’s talk about the families, the people who are waiting and praying their kid will make a recovery. What advice do you have for those hoping for a breakthrough?

A. I believe in intervention. I have family members who struggle, and the majority of the conversations are about seeking help. I often say, ‘Don’t support addiction, support recovery.’ And if you’re willing to support recovery, then that’s got to be the conversation.

Q. Does that mean sometimes there has to be tough love?

A. Absolutely, but it’s I think it’s at their discretion, right? Not everybody has the same family, not everybody has the same pain and suffering. So, sometimes, you just got to go off how you feel.

Q. Looking back, what might have changed things for you? What was missing from your youth experience that might have made the turn-around faster?

A. I never had an intervention. I had public interventions, where I’ve fallen publicly, but, you know, in hindsight, I look back at my family and there was never a family intervention. And I’m not saying that could have helped. But what I do believe is getting out in front of this early. And I wish I wish somebody challenged me to be better when I was 16, 17, 18 years old.

Q. Let’s look ahead. Obviously, society needs to change. We have too many people that are hurting and sick. What would you like to see happen the next five, 10 years that might reduce the incidence of addiction?

A. I would love to see health and wellness, substance use, mental health, a core class in our school systems. I think kids should learn about that as soon as they walk in the door. I think if social studies and geography and history and a foreign language are required, that should be part of the curriculum on a daily basis.

Q. One last question. When you look back at the tape and, obviously, you were a phenom, what it’s like seeing your old self? What goes through your mind?

A. It’s tough. I’m going to be honest with you, right? Because those years were extremely difficult for me. Probably the toughest part of my life to look at was probably the Boston Celtics, when that should have been at the peak of my athletic career. It’s the time of my career that I really still struggle with looking at to this day.