LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Senior Night is an event any athlete dreams of enjoying.

duPont Manual High School boys basketball senior Davis Randle is no different, even if his was different.

"I definitely did not envision this," Randle said. 

On Thursday night, Randle joined his Manual teammates for a Senior Night game against Fern Creek High School. While these moments typically focus on saying goodbye to seniors, this one was more of a hello again to Randle. He had not been on the court with the Crimsons for two years.

"Going from dunking the basketball to not being able to walk, that's a big jump," Randle said.

He is battling osteosarcoma, which is a type of bone cancer. Doctors diagnosed him in December 2023 after the typically fast runner and high-energy player was complaining of knee pain while noticeably slowing down in practice. 

"He kept talking about his knees, but both of us are tall," Randle's mother, Danielle, said when reflecting on what to do ahead of a doctor's visit. "They thought it was jumper's knee. They thought it was growing pains. 

"He came out from practice one day and he was just like, 'I have this knot on my knee that I haven't had.'"

Randle went to a specialist the week before Christmas and came back with the cancer diagnosis. His days of playing basketball and enjoying the teamwork of the game with his close friends were going to end.

"It was hard to watch basketball at first," Davis Randle said. "It was just hard to hear about it."

"We were in disbelief at first," his father, Mitchell, said. "You wouldn't think that someone with so much potential — so young and with so much talent — that something like this could happen."

But Davis Randle was not going to dwell on it. He started helping his dad, who is the head basketball coach at Stuart Middle School, to stay connected to the game he loves. 

"It feels good helping somebody else," Davis Randle said. "I want to come back one day and just see at least two of my players doing it big, like doing it real good. That's the goal."

For his recovery, one goal was trying to fix his knee. He underwent a knee replacement on his right knee, where you can still see a long scar down that leg. 

"He took that fight head on," Mitchell Randle said. "He keeps pushing. He goes to physical therapy. He takes his medicine. He doesn't complain."

"What we've learned throughout this is we've just got to take it day by day," Danielle Randle said. "Because, for me, looking too far ahead is very overwhelming. What are we doing today? Are we making it today? We're fighting today."

His fight has been an ongoing inspiration for this Crimsons basketball team. Manual has kept him on its official roster.

"Everybody is just feeding off his strength from being able to see what he's going through," Manual head coach Miquel Coleman said. "... whatever minor thing you're going through is going to be nothing compared to what he's going through."

"Davis has always been one of those glass-half-full type of people no matter what the situation may be," Mitchell Randle said. "He has always been very optimistic about everything. I think with this cancer battle, sometimes, I still can't believe how optimistic he's been."

The support system surrounding him wanted to ensure Senior Night would be filled with the smile he seems to always have on his face. So the Crimsons and Tigers came up with a game plan ahead of the Senior Night game. Not only was Davis Randle going to suit up for Manual again. He was going to start.

"The kid can experience what he needs to experience," Coleman said. "We were all for it — both coaches."

He had a display of the memories throughout his career and a Senior Night poster. His name and number 34 rang out over the gymnasium speakers during pregame introductions. 

"Just getting back to it made me a little emotional," Davis Randle said. "Just doing the small stuff, like warming up with the team, that hit a little different."

But the game plan right after tipoff would be different too. Coleman laughed about Davis Randle changing the plan, as he did attempt to shoot from three to start the game, which is what he wanted to do. Still, he caught a pass and put away a layup. 

"It felt good. It was refreshing," Davis Randle said. "It was just like a breath of fresh air."

"There's our boy," Danielle Randle said, wiping away tears while revisiting the moment. "He's in his element. That's what he loves."

He came back in later in the fourth quarter to try again from long range. When his threes didn't fall, he took another layup and checked out of the game, laughing with the teammates he has cherished these four years with.

"I really appreciated the teamwork of the game, just being able to play with friends," he said. "That was my favorite part. I probably missed that the most."

Afterward, he walked arm in arm with his parents to be recognized during the team's Senior Night ceremony. Manual beat Fern Creek, 90-58, but the real winners were everyone who worked together to ensure Senior Night was still a dream this young man could enjoy.

"It's the best one ever," Coleman said. "It's the best one ever, because that kid got to come out there and play in that game and experience something that he grew up looking forward to."

"As much as he has fought to be here, we are happy that he was given this moment tonight because he deserves it," Danielle Randle said. "And he has worked so hard to fight and be healthy as possible to be able to participate tonight. So it was all for him, and it was worth it."

Davis Randle enjoyed every minute of it. And he wants it to serve as a lesson.

"As a show of resilience, I want people to be motivated by it and inspired," Davis Randle said. "If I can get through this, you should be able to get through a lot."

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