A Great Escape

Seth Long understands that overcoming his problems doesn’t guarantee future success. After all, happy endings are for fairy tales.

But on Thanksgiving, the 6-foot-6 senior basketball player from El Segundo had much to be grateful for.

There’s his grandmother, who took him in last January after he had moved close to a dozen times since his parents divorced when he was 10.

“I love living with her,” he said.

There’s his coach, Rick Sabosky, who drove him to Santa Cruz last month to be examined by an orthopedic surgeon, who diagnosed Long’s knee injury as a torn posterior cruciate ligament, gave him a rehabilitation plan and acquired a donated knee brace that will enable Long to return to play next week.

“I’m grateful I can play again,” he said.

There are his basketball teammates, who have become more than just friends.

“They really did become my family,” he said.

Most of all, Long is grateful for believing in himself. He has a 3.9 grade-point average, a loyal girlfriend, aspirations to study sports medicine at Pepperdine and total love for the game.

He remembers the excitement of his first dunk when he was a sophomore.

“I got a breakaway, and I just went up and threw it down,” he said. “You feel like a million bucks. It was so cool. My teammates had never seen me get up, and it was amazing.”

Two summers ago, he saved his money from a variety of jobs to spend $200 on a portable basketball hoop for his backyard. From 4 to 9 every night after homework, he’d practice and practice.

“I worked that hoop to death,” he said.

Sabosky has come to admire Long even though he’s the sixth or seventh man on his team. He sees a 17-year-old who refused to lose focus on school and basketball when he could have been distracted and disheartened by family issues.

“The kid is such a wonderful young man,” Sabosky said. “He cares about other people.”

Long went to Oakhurst Yosemite High as a freshman, attended El Segundo and a school in Dallas as a sophomore before coming back to El Segundo last year. His father lives in Hawaii. His mother lives in Texas with his two younger sisters. He said he speaks with them by phone and is trying to rebuild relationships.

“I learned you can’t stay bitter at people, because it’s not worth it,” he said.

Through his tough times, Long said basketball always served as his escape.

“That’s why I love playing,” he said. “You just get into a zone and forget about everything. I take out my aggressions on the court. I’d come to school, smile a lot, play basketball. I knew someday I’d be out of all this. I needed to keep going so I’d have something when I was on my own.”

Long is a good dunker, has a medium-range jump shot and is a tireless worker. He recalls enjoying every moment of his time last season when El Segundo finished 21-8.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life, playing with the guys, going to” the playoffs, he said. “That’s why I’m looking so forward to this season. It’s going to be fun.”

Long said his grandmother, along with an aunt and uncle, has provided strong support. He’s living his life with the idea that his best days are ahead.

“I’ve come out wiser and can deal with people better,” he said.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.