Great Nick Fazekas story

Here's a wonderful November 2008 article on the Fazekas family, including some details on how Nick Fazekas ended up in Reno.

You think Nevada's Nick Fazekas has come out of nowhere? His family story makes it seem more like a miracle
Tim Keown
ESPN

Say they dropped you into a seat at a college gym and told you to pick the best player on the court just from the pregame warmups. That means you'd have to judge solely on appearance, and in that case one of the last guys you'd choose would be the long and loose white kid who runs the floor as if his shoes were three sizes too small.

But what if you knew the kid's story? What if you could unwind the strands of DNA that decode the strength and fortitude hidden inside him? What if you found out the roots of this strength, two generations back, traveled through hell and back? What if the journey went beyond grace and form and took you somewhere deeper?

It might change everything if you knew how the kid got to the court. Because he'd surely look different once you heard about his grandfather, who wangled his way out of a POW camp in Moscow in 1947 after wrapping a gasoline-soaked rag around his calf to fake an infection. What if you learned that that was just a piece of the tale?

In fact, the only way to start the story of Nick Fazekas is to look back nearly 60 years, to a young Hungarian soldier named Albert. His story, frankly, is far more interesting than his grandson's. That's no knock against the kid. Albert's tale is operatic, while Nick's is merely admirable. Ultimately, of course, the two are connected...

Go here for the remainder.