Get Inspired: College Hoopster Defies Age and Reason

Ken Mink stands out on his Roane State Community College basketball team. Then again, a guy with thinning grey hair who is 50 years older than any other player on the court usually does. Meet Ken Mink, a 73-year old (that's not a misprint) guard who decided he had unfinished business to attend to on the court.

The last time Mink had played at that level was 1956 at Lees Junior College in Kentucky. He was expelled for an incident he claims he did not commit and since spent four years in the military after which he worked as a newspaper editor for 38 years. He had always kept active and played ball throughout the years and then one day he decided he could still play.

Mink sent letters to dozens of area community colleges hoping for a chance to make the team. Coach Nesbit was intrigued and invited him out for a tryout. Now a full-time student balancing History and Economics classes with daily 2 hour practices and games, Mink is completing an improbable comeback. He even has a couple of points to his credit this season - calmly sinking 2 free throws after being fouled (by someone who will never live it down). Mink is still 8 shy of his cumulative goal of 10 points.

It's never too late

While it may be unrealistic for most of us to make a comeback of that magnitude in our 70's, it just goes to show that it is never too late to work towards something special - something challenging.

It also gets me thinking about encouraging people who have maybe put off a sport or activity they loved in their youth or early adulthood to start up again. There is nothing like recapturing the exhilaration of reconnecting with something you love to do.

Here's a video of Mink in action.