by Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Kodi Justice views the world through a unique lens.
"There is a noticeable confidence and strength about Kodi, how he carries himself both on and off the court," Sun Devils men's basketball coach Bobby Hurley said. "He is really comfortable with who he is as a kid and as a player."
Justice traces the roots of that strength to a battle he still fights today. The Sun Devils junior men's basketball player suffers from dyslexia, a common learning disability that makes it difficult to read, write and spell because the brain rearranges letters, words or numbers. Justice was diagnosed with the condition in third grade and he has carried it his entire life, but he was loath to admit it until his sophomore year at Dobson High School in Mesa.
"A few people knew, but I didn't want most people to know," Justice said. "I was always nervous about what they would think. When people have challenges in life, a lot of times, you see people poke fun at them or attack them. Reading out loud was a struggle for me. When you are younger, kids thought it was funny when you messed up a word so it messes with your confidence in school."
Justice has always been a good student and that is not surprising. Dyslexia does not foster lower learning ability; it just makes learning more of a challenge.
"When I got to junior high it really hit me hard," he said. "It was a struggle for me to get caught up and I never really did. I always had to work harder or stay later to find a way to get through the tough times with reading.
"I just couldn't see things right. I was at Fry's once shopping and my total was like $10.63 but I kept seeing $10.36. I always saw numbers or words backwards. I knew what it said but it always came out differently. For some reason, my brain couldn't process it and see it or say it the right way."
Justice has always worked with a tutor or attended a class to help him manage dyslexia. As he got older, he grew more accepting of the condition, more open to talking about it, and less willing to make concessions for it.
"You have this help where you can get extra time on tests but I wanted to be treated like every other student," he said. "We live in a world where everybody is battling something. I don't want to take the extra time. I make sure I put in the extra time before the test so I know my studies."
Justice believes dyslexia fostered a better work ethic in all facets of his life because he always had to push harder to keep pace. Dobson coach Rick McConnell was one of many in the dark about Justice's dyslexia, but he witnessed the fruits of that condition.
"Kodi was an extremely hard worker with a great attitude and this real positivity about him," McConnell said. "He was always willing to buy into whatever you were doing and then tackle it head on."
That approach served him well when he suffered a broken foot midway through his freshman season at ASU that sidelined him well into his sophomore year -- Hurley's first as coach.
"I had the same injury that ended Yao Ming's career, but I got lucky because I'm not a 7-6, 290-pound center so there was less stress on it," he said. "Sitting out for eight months watching your team play and feeling like you could have changed some of the results was tough, though. I struggled some days. I was so bummed sometimes I was not even able to get out of bed.
"But there was a light at the end of the tunnel and I knew what I was working for. I knew I would take advantage of not being able to walk. I was going to eat well, work on my upper body and I put on like 12 pounds and got quick. As soon as I got the boot off I was running and keeping on the weight and I felt good."
Justice also had the unique support of a coach who had been through a horrific injury and understood what it took to come back.
"I learned from my own mistakes and having this competitive drive to get back to the court as quick as you can," said Hurley, who was injured badly in an auto accident that derailed his NBA career. "Sometimes it isn't the right thing to do. If I could have done it all over again, I might have been a little more conservative about how I handled my thing. I don't know if that gives me a different perspective than other coaches, but if a guy's hurt and is at risk to re-injure it, always err on the side of caution."
Justice admits that while he was injured, the coaching change made him anxious about his place in the program, but Hurley saw a lot on film that convinced him the 6-foot-5, perimeter player could help the team.
"I saw some things that were very appealing to me in terms of what I look for in a player," Hurley said. "I like his feel for the game and his shooting and his ability to pass. He gets satisfaction out of being creative so I thought there was a lot to work with there."
While he was in high school, Justice heard from many people that he didn't have the skill level to play Pac-12 basketball. He just viewed that opinion as another challenge on the list of obstacles he had to overcome.
"I feel like I've picked up so many things that can help me, not just on the court but in life," he said. "There are always going to be things that knock you down but you have to get back up. You can't roll over and give up. You have to stand up to the challenge and almost say, 'what's the next thing you're going to throw at me?' I'm ready."
"I was always nervous about telling people about my dyslexia but I built a good circle of people around me and when I finally told people they were like 'no big deal, you're still Kodi to me.' That made it easier for me and I learned that it was actually a positive so now I embrace it. It's just a part of who I am."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Kodi Justice views the world through a unique lens.
"There is a noticeable confidence and strength about Kodi, how he carries himself both on and off the court," Sun Devils men's basketball coach Bobby Hurley said. "He is really comfortable with who he is as a kid and as a player."
Justice traces the roots of that strength to a battle he still fights today. The Sun Devils junior men's basketball player suffers from dyslexia, a common learning disability that makes it difficult to read, write and spell because the brain rearranges letters, words or numbers. Justice was diagnosed with the condition in third grade and he has carried it his entire life, but he was loath to admit it until his sophomore year at Dobson High School in Mesa.
"A few people knew, but I didn't want most people to know," Justice said. "I was always nervous about what they would think. When people have challenges in life, a lot of times, you see people poke fun at them or attack them. Reading out loud was a struggle for me. When you are younger, kids thought it was funny when you messed up a word so it messes with your confidence in school."
Justice has always been a good student and that is not surprising. Dyslexia does not foster lower learning ability; it just makes learning more of a challenge.
"When I got to junior high it really hit me hard," he said. "It was a struggle for me to get caught up and I never really did. I always had to work harder or stay later to find a way to get through the tough times with reading.
"I just couldn't see things right. I was at Fry's once shopping and my total was like $10.63 but I kept seeing $10.36. I always saw numbers or words backwards. I knew what it said but it always came out differently. For some reason, my brain couldn't process it and see it or say it the right way."
Justice has always worked with a tutor or attended a class to help him manage dyslexia. As he got older, he grew more accepting of the condition, more open to talking about it, and less willing to make concessions for it.
"You have this help where you can get extra time on tests but I wanted to be treated like every other student," he said. "We live in a world where everybody is battling something. I don't want to take the extra time. I make sure I put in the extra time before the test so I know my studies."
Justice believes dyslexia fostered a better work ethic in all facets of his life because he always had to push harder to keep pace. Dobson coach Rick McConnell was one of many in the dark about Justice's dyslexia, but he witnessed the fruits of that condition.
"Kodi was an extremely hard worker with a great attitude and this real positivity about him," McConnell said. "He was always willing to buy into whatever you were doing and then tackle it head on."
That approach served him well when he suffered a broken foot midway through his freshman season at ASU that sidelined him well into his sophomore year -- Hurley's first as coach.
"I had the same injury that ended Yao Ming's career, but I got lucky because I'm not a 7-6, 290-pound center so there was less stress on it," he said. "Sitting out for eight months watching your team play and feeling like you could have changed some of the results was tough, though. I struggled some days. I was so bummed sometimes I was not even able to get out of bed.
"But there was a light at the end of the tunnel and I knew what I was working for. I knew I would take advantage of not being able to walk. I was going to eat well, work on my upper body and I put on like 12 pounds and got quick. As soon as I got the boot off I was running and keeping on the weight and I felt good."
Justice also had the unique support of a coach who had been through a horrific injury and understood what it took to come back.
"I learned from my own mistakes and having this competitive drive to get back to the court as quick as you can," said Hurley, who was injured badly in an auto accident that derailed his NBA career. "Sometimes it isn't the right thing to do. If I could have done it all over again, I might have been a little more conservative about how I handled my thing. I don't know if that gives me a different perspective than other coaches, but if a guy's hurt and is at risk to re-injure it, always err on the side of caution."
Justice admits that while he was injured, the coaching change made him anxious about his place in the program, but Hurley saw a lot on film that convinced him the 6-foot-5, perimeter player could help the team.
"I saw some things that were very appealing to me in terms of what I look for in a player," Hurley said. "I like his feel for the game and his shooting and his ability to pass. He gets satisfaction out of being creative so I thought there was a lot to work with there."
While he was in high school, Justice heard from many people that he didn't have the skill level to play Pac-12 basketball. He just viewed that opinion as another challenge on the list of obstacles he had to overcome.
"I feel like I've picked up so many things that can help me, not just on the court but in life," he said. "There are always going to be things that knock you down but you have to get back up. You can't roll over and give up. You have to stand up to the challenge and almost say, 'what's the next thing you're going to throw at me?' I'm ready."
"I was always nervous about telling people about my dyslexia but I built a good circle of people around me and when I finally told people they were like 'no big deal, you're still Kodi to me.' That made it easier for me and I learned that it was actually a positive so now I embrace it. It's just a part of who I am."