Jonah is athletic – quick, intense – but playing against two players on the Grand Canyon University men’s basketball team is a bit intimidating for the 13-year-old. Those guys, after all, are huge. So, it helps when your teammate in a game of two-on-two is a Phoenix Suns legend – Dan Majerle.
Behind-the-back passes and a few long-range three-point shots by Majerle, now the GCU coach, put Jonah in a position to succeed. And, most importantly, enjoy himself.
“It was nice meeting Dan Majerle and playing with him,” Jonah says with a smile after playing with the Majerle and GCU guard Isiah Brown, forward Gabe McGlothan and center Alessandro Lever.
Jonah loves playing sports – football is his favorite.
“I like exercising,” he says. “I like working out.”
Jonah adds that he would rather do pull ups, push up and sit ups than play video games or watch television.
He also admits that he likes sports better than seventh grade. But, he does well in class.
“I’m an honor roll student,” he says.
In addition to being a good student, Jonah is “a natural born leader,” says group home manager Chelsie [name spelling CQ] Bowman. He often steps in to help calm and comfort other children in the group home, she says.
Jonah would thrive in a two-parent household where he would benefit from a strong male role model, Bowman says.
“Jonah attends church weekly and he is looking for a family in which he can continue to grow his faith,” Bowman adds
Jonah says he wants to be part of a family that is active and funny, but he isn’t too particular beyond that.