Jamal Crawford gives cool assist, helps teenager Jack Gallagher with school project

The Clippers have been the gift that keeps giving back for Jack Gallagher. 

Chris Paul invited 14-year-old Gallagher, who lost his mom Lisa Elaine Gallagher to cancer in September, to a Clippers game in Detroit in November. He did so after seeing an inspirational Youtube video Gallagher made requesting him to write his mom's initials "L.E.G" on his shoes.

Paul did that and gave Gallagher a few pair of his shoes, including the ones he wore that night. 

Gallagher went in the locker room, met players, broke the victory huddle and then met the team for a game in Cleveland earlier this year, too. 

Gallagher has kept in touch with the Clippers, Paul and Jamal Crawford. Gallagher and Jamal Crawford were messaging during the Super Bowl, and Crawford, who's from Seattle, is a huge Seahawks fan.  

Recently, Gallagher aced his Walnut Creek (Pennsylvania) eighth grade English class project, which he did on NBA Cares. He got an A+, actually. Students were required to interview someone with knowledge of the subject, so he asked Crawford and Crawford obliged.

"I direct messaged him, and he said yes," Gallagher told FoxSportsWest.com. "I told him I had to ask him a few questions, and I talked to him for an hour or two. He gave me all these answers. The teacher didn't believe me when I said it was an NBA player."

Mike Gallagher, Jack's dad, said NBA commissioner Adam Silver sent a letter after he saw the video, too.

Gallagher's connection with the Clippers has been chronicled nationally, and E:60 has been following the family since November for a feature that will run on ESPN.

Fox Sports West televised Gallagher's first meeting with Paul in November, showing heartwarming videos of Jack Gallagher meeting Paul and hanging with players in the locker room. When Paul gave the teenager his shoes, Gallagher cried. They were tears of emotion and joy. 

The Clippers took a few minutes out of their day, and they've continued to do so, and it's meant the world to the Gallaghers. 

Mike Gallagher said he has kidney disease and will eventually need a transplant. He said his son has been afraid he might lose his dad, too, but he's gained more confidence and inspiration since his association with the Clippers. 

"This has truly changed his life," said Mike Gallagher, Jack's dad. "He went from being afraid and scared to much more independent."

Jack Gallagher said Aiden Morrison, a boy who lives about 90 minutes from him, has messaged him. He lost his father, and the two have struck up a friendship and have helped each other navigate this difficult journey.

During the presentation of his project, Gallagher cried when telling the story of his shoes, which he passed around the class. That's one of the cool things about Gallagher. He's not putting those shoes in a glass box in his house for safe keeping. He loves to share the thrill of Chris Paul's shoes with everyone.

The day before that Cleveland game in February, he received a LeBron James jersey that was signed and he got a letter from James as well, telling him to stay strong and never quit. He passed around the jersey as well.

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He's not afraid to show emotion, and his videos have been an inspiration to others. 

"Even his teacher said most 13-year-olds would be totally embarrassed to break down in front of classmates," Mike Gallagher said. "As soon as he picked up Chris's shoes, he lost it."

Gallagher has found comfort in others, too. He's a celebrity of sorts wherever he goes, especially at basketball gyms. An opposing coach asked to see the shoes, and so do kids. That's why the Gallaghers print and travel with pictures of Paul to hand out along with their story. 

"I like to share with people because I thought it was really cool I got his shoes," Jack Gallagher said. "I did my project on NBA Cares and how they help and how they did all the stuff for me ... (My classmates) thought it was really cool when I told them I'd hand them around."

Gallagher turned 14 on March 2, and he said he got to order the new Chris Paul Pearl Pack shoes online in his favorite color, white with light blue trim. They're expected to arrive in the mail on Monday. 

Gallagher dreams of making it to the NBA, and he's taken tips from Paul and incorporated more assists in his game. Mike Gallagher said his son averaged nearly 10 assists per game. He's now about to start his AAU season on Bayside Ballers. And this summer, he hopes to attend Chris Paul's basketball camp in San Diego. 

When the Gallaghers went to the Cleveland game, Jack had another in-person visit with Paul. Mike said he was impressed because that was the game the Clippers were whistled for five technical fouls, including the one on Paul that was assessed by referee Lauren Holtkamp and the ensuing controversy over Paul's reaction. 

"I thought the last thing he'd want to do is deal with Jack, and at the end of the game out comes a PR person asking for Jack," Mike Gallagher said. "Jack went back with Chris. He came out of that emotional and I asked him what that was all about. He said Chris Paul wanted him to meet his wife (Jada). I've never known Jack to show this much emotion. But now he gets emotional talking about Chris, Jamal or his mom."

The Gallaghers are hoping to attend a Clippers game in Los Angeles someday and become an NBA player.

If that doesn't work out, Gallagher has another NBA job in mind: equipment manager. And It's a line of work you don't usually hear on a career wish list for teenagers. But then again, Jack Gallagher is appreciating all the little things. 

"That'd be awesome," Jack Gallagher said, who got to watch Clippers employees in action. "You'd get to travel with the team and being in L.A. that would be a dream job if I'm not in the NBA."

Whether he plays in the NBA or not, he has a strong connection to the sport and players. And even got one to help with a homework assignment.

Jack Gallagher's CP3 story from Mike Gallagher on Vimeo.