Seven weeks earlier, a night after playing in the Jordan Brand Classic, Aaliyah went to a party. She was shot by an unknown assailant too many times to be sure how many times. Doctors counted 18 holes where bullets burrowed through her arms and legs, shattering bones and bursting a blood vessel. She can't put weight on her legs. She can't grip a pencil to write.

But one lesson Aaliyah Gayles has learned in her 18 years of life is this: A life without basketball isn't really living. She doesn't know who shot her. She doesn't know how long it will take her to brush her own teeth. She doesn't yet know how much pain she'll have to endure to take a single step. But from this bed in this rehab center, she is resolved. She will play basketball for the USC Trojans.