Matt Wixon

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NEVADA ­ By the time B.J. Dale was a sophomore at Community High School, he was already a star quarterback and an even better basketball player. At 6-3 and 200 pounds, he was a big fish in the small pond of Nevada, 10 miles east of Wylie.

Dale was bigger than most power forwards in Class 3A and had the quickness and ball-handling skills of a guard. He could score in the post, take the ball to the basket and drain 3-pointers. He once scored 38 of Community's 65 points in a playoff win.

Dale played at a small school, it was true. But he seemed to have the tools that could take him from a small town to a big-time college program.

Fast forward to this month, however, and Dale had no idea if he would play anywhere. As graduation approached, Dale didn't have any scholarship offers.

Finally, Dallas Baptist offered one two weeks ago. It wasn't the big-time program that Dale once expected to be his college basketball home, but Division II Dallas Baptist would give him a chance. And Dale accepted with great relief.

Relief that, despite what happened at the start of his junior year, Dale would still get to play college basketball.

On Oct. 3, 2007, Dale hopped in his white Mitsubishi Galant and headed home from school on a two-lane stretch of highway. He closed in on a slow-moving car in front of him and veered to his left to pass.

Fortunately, that's all Dale remembers. He has no memory of the truck that was speeding toward him in the oncoming lane. He has no memory of trying to steer back into the right lane, of losing control of his car, or of the truck smashing into his passenger-side door.

Dale also doesn't remember waking up in the hospital with a broken collarbone, partially collapsed lung, bruised liver and a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Even the days that followed are foggy for the Nevada Community senior, who suffered for weeks with the aftereffects of a concussion.

"I remember bits and pieces," he said. "I remember asking my mom for ranch dressing with my food. Apparently I did that a few times. That's what they tell me."

Something else he asked about a few times:

"When can I play basketball again?"

The answer:

Not until after his junior season, which wiped Dale out as a recruit.

"Your junior year is when you're supposed to put yourself on the radar," Dale said, "and I wasn't on the radar."

He wouldn't have looked good on the radar, anyway. During the four-month gap from the accident to getting cleared to run, Dale got out of shape and picked up the nickname "Fatboy." Community coach Mike Swigert wasn't sure if his former star would play college basketball.

"This time last year, I didn't know," Swigert said. "He was dragging his leg around and about 20 pounds overweight."

Dale, now 6-4 and 225 pounds, is still trimming down. He received only light interest from recruiters this season, despite averaging 23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks per game.

But in the North Texas Basketball Coaches All-Star game last month, Dallas Baptist coach Blake Flickner saw Dale. He saw a player with an unusual combination of strength, explosive athleticism and skill.

"The more we learned about him, the more excited we got," Flickner said. "I don't think he's maximized his potential at all. He's got a lot of room for growth."

Dale agrees, and not just because he missed his junior season. Before the accident, Dale was a lazy guy. Now he's a motivated one.

Dale's a thankful guy, too. The day of the accident, he offered his younger sister a ride home from school, but she didn't need one. A few minutes later, the impact of the accident crushed the passenger door all the way to the driver's side.

The driver of the truck suffered a broken nose, Dale said.

Dale has scars on his shoulder, where the door smashed into him, and on his knee, where he had surgery to reconstruct his patella tendon. But he said he feels back to normal, and he also feels lucky.

He feels lucky to have a chance to play college basketball. And lucky to be alive.

"After I was back to being myself and I had recovered from the concussion, people showed me what my car looked like," he said. "It's amazing that I'm still here."