As a child, Daniel’s peers often did not select him for their teams when playing sports. On his first basketball team at a local park, he took one shot all season. He missed everything. In response, Daniel decided to focus on basketball. He practiced day and night. In 9th grade his team won three games and lost 23. He continued to practice. By his senior year in high school, he was named one of the top players in Southern California and his team won the Southern California (CIF) Small Schools Division championship. His school, Chadwick, won 60 games and lost 3 during his final two years of high school.

He went on to play at Columbia University. In his first game as a freshman, he played before 27,000 fans at Syracuse University.

Daniel has used basketball to build bridges with young people around the world.

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