Aurora University basketball student-athlete Larry Welton was well on his way to a masterful 40-point game one evening this past fall. But he didn't know it until the stats keeper made mention of it deep in the second period of play.

With 10 minutes left in the game, Welton had contributed 32 points. As time ran down, he sank a few more shots and knocked down a couple of free throws to make the 40 and complete a 105-84 victory over Beloit College November 30.

In an era when defenses are complex and defenders are skilled, such offensive gems are rare, and from a freshman rarer still. But, what makes Welton's effort truly extraodinary is that he had just spent two years away from the game while he successfully battled cancer in his legs.

During his junior year of high school, Welton sought medical attention because he was having pain in his knee. After submitting to numerous tests, doctors returned with a diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a type of bone cancer.

Welton underwent chemotherapy treatments for about a year and a half, causing him to miss his senior season of basketball at Thornwood High School in Chicago. Although he credits his mother, along with his doctors and nurses, with keeping him motivated throughout the ordeal, he admits there was a time he didn't believe he'd ever make it back onto the court.

"I told my mama, 'I'm not going to be able to play basketball. I'm never going to be the same.' I had lost so much weight. I thought I was never going to play again because I was never going to be the same person," Welton said. "But my mother kept telling me I'd be able to play again once I got better."

Welton's mother was right. A steady improvement also helped him begin to accept that a comeback was indeed possible.

"Everybody kept telling me positive things and everybody kept praying for me," he said.

Beyond the full recovery that was clearly within his grasp, there was more good fortune on the horizon. Welton knew nothing of Aurora or head coach James Lancaster's program coming out of high school. He was introduced to the university through another student-athlete at the school, liked what he saw and ended up applying for and earning admission.

Lancaster wasn't there the day Welton visited, but he knew the name because a fellow coach referred the freshman. The two eventually connected.

Although cleared to play, Welton attended classes at the school during the 2003-04 academic year, but did not compete. Instead, he spent the year regaining his strength and skills as well as concentrating on his academics.

Cancer-free and healthy, Welton finally made his collegiate debut on November 19 of last year. The moment was memorable not only because he was back on the court playing basketball for the first time in nearly two and a half years, but also because the Spartans' opponent was Illinois Wesleyan University, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation at the time.

"I was playing in front of this big crowd. It was my first game. I was real nervous. It showed, too, because after the first half I was 0-for-7 from the field," Welton recalled.

The nerves settled in the second half and Welton finished the game with 13 points and five rebounds. Since then, he has made finding the bottom of the basket something of a habit as evidenced by the 40-point effort against Beloit, which came just five games into his college basketball career. As of mid-January, Welton has two Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference men's basketball player of the week honors to his credit, and is averaging 22.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.36 blocked shots per game.

What has impressed the coach most about Welton's comeback is his humility and love for the game.

"He so enjoys being a part of the team. You really see that in the way he smiles and when he's on the court. He just loves having the ability to be out on the court competing, and I think having that love taken away from him for two years has really added to that perspective," said Lancaster.

Welton said the entire experience has taught him never to take anything for granted. The head coach believes it is a lesson the rest of the team can learn from one of their own.

"They could learn the lesson from him not to take anything for granted and to treat every game and every practice like it is your last and just really enjoy having the ability to play the game," Lancaster said. "Obstacles are going to come up in your life. But that's what they are -- obstacles. It's how you handle them."

These days, Welton is focused on continuing to hone his skills.

"I just want to get better every day. Come in. Work hard. Do what coach tells me to do and try to get better every day," he said.

Inspired by his mother, who is a teacher, and a desire to be a positive role model for kids, Welton has chosen elementary education as his major field of study.