Kansas basketball inspired this KC-area teen — and he did the same for Jayhawks
Kansas’ championship parade down Massachusetts Street included an honorary member of the team Sunday — and someone who earned his standing with the Jayhawks at Boot Camp months ago.
JP Bemberger, a 17-year-old from Lenexa battling Ewing’s Sarcoma, was part of Sunday’s celebration while riding in a car alongside KU director of basketball operations Fred Quartlebaum. Two years ago, he was matched with the KU men’s basketball team through Team Impact, a national non-profit that pairs children with serious illnesses to college teams.
Bemberger, though, did more than hang around with the Jayhawks; he decided he wanted to participate with them as well.
When invited to watch KU’s Boot Camp conditioning session back in September, Bemberger told Quartlebaum he’d rather be a part of it. Up to that point — after getting a cancer-free diagnosis in 2020 — he’d spent little time out of his wheelchair while rehabbing from his cancer treatment.
Two weeks later, though, Bemberger showed up ready at 6 a.m. When KU’s players completed their sprints, Bemberger stood from his wheelchair, using his walker for support as he slowly took one step at a time.
KU’s players began to see this, then started cheering him on. Bemberger made it to half-court, then three-quarters-court.
“The guys and the coaches are rallying behind him, like, ‘Oh my God, did we just witness this?’” Quartlebaum said. “’He couldn’t walk two weeks ago.’”
Bemberger made it from one end to the other ... then picked up his walker to turn it around. Then, with KU’s players beside him, he strode the length of the floor again, achieving a true up-and-back.
“He completed Boot Camp, so he’s with us,” KU guard Ochai Agbaji said. “So that’s basically how we see it.”
“He physically did something that was unbelievable,” Quartlebaum added, “and we witnessed it first-hand.”
Bemberger was plenty involved with KU’s NCAA championship run this past month as well.
Team Impact provided travel for Bemberger and his family to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Chicago, where he participated in KU’s pregame film and scouting report sessions. There were times when KU coach Bill Self would stop those to ask Bemberger questions about the next foe, just to make sure he was paying attention along with everyone else.
Once KU won with Bemberger in attendance, Quartlebaum was pretty sure what would happen next.
“You know how Coach is. He’s pretty superstitious,” Quartlebaum said with a laugh.
So Bemberger and his family were heading to the Final Four in New Orleans, keeping their schedules clear to ensure they could be with KU coaches and players for those morning video gatherings.
Seth Rosenzweig, CEO of Team Impact, reported this week that Bemberger was the program’s first to be linked up with a women’s or men’s basketball national champion.
Bemberger, a junior at Shawnee Mission Northwest, said building relationships with KU’s basketball players had helped push him forward. Over the last two years, he’s become especially close with guys like Mitch Lightfoot, David McCormack, Christian Braun and Agbaji while making it a habit to text them after games.
“It was a huge inspiration boost honestly, just pushing me to do more in therapy,” Bemberger said. “Always having someone to just talk to. And then obviously, it’s cool to know Bill Self.”
Quartlebaum said the motivation has gone both ways.
After Bemberger’s Boot Camp showing, KU players became interested in his progress, with Quartlebaum providing players with text and video updates. Cancer’s most significant toll was taking away Bemberger’s ability to walk, but rehab offers hope for improvement ahead.
For instance, Bemberger uses a wheelchair at school but only a walker at his house. He also has started training on treadmills while holding onto the sides, working toward a long-term goal of attempting to walk across the stage at next year’s graduation.
“He’s an example of a Bill Self player,” Quartlebaum said. “Even though he’s unable to perform athletically, his manner of grit, of toughness, of determination, of discipline, of ‘Don’t feel sorry for me’ — he fits that whole characteristic of a Jayhawk for Bill Self.”
Bemberger’s connection to KU was partially predestined. His name — “Jonathan Phog” — is a reference to KU basketball history and legendary coach Phog Allen; JP’s father, Tom, made a promise with two friends during his KU college days that their first-born sons would receive that middle name.
Bemberger made his own imprint on Jayhawks basketball history over the past few weeks, with Quartlebaum saying he’d been “a great inspiration in so many ways for the Kansas basketball team.”
“It’s a perfect match,” Quartlebaum said. “He fit everything and bought into what really matters, and we love him. And he loves us.”
Bemberger participated in basketball before his diagnosis. And growing up, he said playing for KU was always a dream.
That added to the significance Sunday. Bemberger was a part of the procession being recognized for a national championship.
After earning his status with KU’s players by showing his strength on the Boot Camp floor.
“That was a really special moment for him,” Agbaji said. “And us too.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2022 at 4:28 PM.
