Everything in life happens for a reason.
When York College senior basketball player Mike Buffalo went to the York Community Center one day, he never realized a chance meeting with a kid who just wanted to see him dunk a basketball would change his life.
Mike loved the game of basketball and he saw himself after college hoping to take his game to the next level. But something happened and he couldn't really explain why his passion and his desire for the game he had loved suddenly no longer existed.
"I went to the Community Center one day and I ran into this kid named Morgan Conner and he asked me if I could dunk the basketball," Buffalo said. "It's kind of my nature to do that for kids, because when I was growing up I wanted to see players do that too. The whole experience was kind of humbling to have this kid look up to me."
Buffalo said that when he came to York College from New York, via a Virginia Military School, he was expecting to play a lot and see a lot of time on the court, but things didn't work out that way. He told his coach Delton Deal that he no longer had the desire to play the game.
"I didn't hold any grudges against the coaches. I know that things don't always work out, but I just didn't have the desire to play the game anymore. I told the coach, don't put me in the game because I just won't give the effort he needs to see. I just gave up on the game of basketball."
But the friendship between Mike and Morgan continued to grow. He started to work out with him and helped him do some drills — and started doing them himself. "I started to do the drills myself and for some reason the passion and the desire returned to play the game. I can't explain what happened and why I started to feel this way again. Maybe I started to see myself in him and I started to realize again all these dreams I had."
"My team returned and I told my coach I wanted to play again. It was rough because I still wasn't getting a lot of playing time, but since I am a senior, on senior night I got to start and played about 36 minutes. I put on my best performance of the year — 28 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Morgan and his brother were in the gym that night and it was then I realized that he was the reason I was playing the game again. If it hadn't been for that day at the community center and me meeting Morgan, I probably wouldn't have gone back to basketball. I am positive he's the reason. He gave me my life back."
Buffalo will return to New York following graduation and continue working on his basketball skills, hoping to catch the eye of a scout. He will graduate with a degree in business administration and following his basketball days has plans to stay in the sport as a career.
"I just feel that I owe Morgan so much. The sky is the limit and anything is possible."