CHICAGO _ This is how it begins: Two buddies watching TV on a spring night in 2016.
The McDonald's All-American Game is on ESPN, and Chad Christensen is awed by what he sees.
Lonzo Ball fires a baseball pass that Josh Jackson slams down at the United Center. A pull-up 3 by Markelle Fultz. A beastly dunk by Malik Monk.
"Man, these dudes are freaks," Christensen remarks.
"Yeah," replies his friend, Daniel Palka. "I remember playing in that game."
"What? No way!"
"Yeah, dude."
A bit later, Palka shows Christensen his phone. It's open to the Wikipedia page for the 2010 McDonald's All-American Game.
Lo and behold, two lines above Kyrie Irving on the East roster is Daniel Palka, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound guard from Greer, S.C. Under college choice it says, "Georgia Tech (Baseball)."
The next morning Palka and Christensen report to work at the Twins' minor-league camp in Fort Myers, Fla.
"I walk into breakfast," Palka says, "and next thing you know, everyone thinks I was a McDonald's All-American."
