Kevin Ware, Luke Hancock, and Jesus

One reader this morning asked if I caught the exact words of Kevin Ware—the Louisville player who gruesomely broke his leg against Duke last week—when CBS’s Jim Nantz probed for the secret of his team’s NCAA championship success Monday night.

With his teammates surrounding him on the victor’s podium, Ware said, “We are brothers, and brothers glorify the Word,” a reference to bringing glory to Christ. And while some might confuse a winning shot with glory, I suspect Ware was referring to the way Christian brothers show what difference God makes in situations of duress.

My compliments to Adam Himmelsbach of USA Today for telling such a story. Secular publications today typically ignore prayer, but Himmelsbach reported what Louisville forward (and the Final Four’s most outstanding player) Luke Hancock did when Ware was lying on the floor with a bone sticking out of his leg:

“Hancock thought back to last summer, when he suffered a gruesome shoulder injury in a pickup game. … So as Ware lay there in the first half of the Cardinals’ NCAA tournament victory over Duke on Sunday, scared and alone and stunned, Hancock ran to him. He held Ware’s hand and told him they would get through this together. He told Ware he would say a prayer for him.

“Ware didn’t respond at first, because he was in shock. Hancock took a deep breath, closed his eyes, clenched Ware’s hand and started the prayer. ‘Lord, watch over us and let Kevin be OK during this tough time,’ he began. ‘The Lord does everything for a reason, and He will get us through this.’

“Hancock said he did all he could to keep from breaking down. … Hancock gently patted Ware’s chest several times. … ‘I wouldn’t want to be alone in that situation, and I don’t think he wanted to be alone. … I just thought if I could talk to him and tell him he’ll be all right, it might help.’

“It helped more than Hancock realized, more than he could imagine. Ware said that before Hancock arrived, he was scared. After Hancock touched him and calmed him, he knew he would be fine. … He said Hancock’s presence allowed him to refocus and regain his strength. … He began telling his teammates to win the game, to win it for him. He said it over and over.”

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.