Joseph Charles is a heck of a basketball player, but as good a player as he is, he is an even stronger person. After overcoming a lot of odds by making it out of Sunset, LA to play college basketball Dodge City Communuty College in Dodge City, KS, but Joe has overcome a near death experience as well in tragic accident back on October 24th of 2008. Below is a story done by Travis Webb of KATC 3 in Lafayette on the miraculous comeback of Joe. Joseph Charles is one of the hardest working players we have ever seen and came across. He has overcame so much and he will be a great asset to coach Brady Trenkle and the Dodge City Community College basketball team. After a two year stint at Dodge, expect Joe to have accomplished some great things at DCC as well as making his dream come true of being a Division 1 basketball player. The Louisiana Basketball Report wants to thank everybody who has helped Joe along his way whether it be the coaches at Carencro, Coach Steve Rachal from Acadiana Prep and Isaac Fontenot-Amedee who visited Joe when he was in the hospital, to the Louisiana D-1 Ambassadors organization and Coach Max Ivany of the Texas D1 Ambassadors as well for helping Joe get back to an elite player or to his high school coach Roy Young at Beau Chene. Everybody was instrumental in Joe's success. Good luck at Dodge City Joe, they are getting a great kid.
Please Play the video Below to See his Story by Travis Webb KATC 3 in Lafayette, LA
Take a long, hard look at the 5-foot-9 kid playing starting point guard for Beau Chene high school. Watch him play.
Observe how he flies up and down the court with free will, often generating a fire-like spark his teammates feed off. How he scores, penetrates and passes with ease.
Then imagine that two years ago, in a matter of minutes, all that was almost stripped away from him.
You'd never know that same kid, Joseph Charles, is fresh off the road of recovery from a two and a half year break, which almost ended his basketball career.
How'd it happen?
One October night, Charles was headed to Beau Chene to watch the game he loves most — basketball.
Minutes later, a serious car accident leaving him with a punctured lung, among other injuries derailed those plans. He never made it.
The repercussions from the accident left the then high school sophomore with two choices. He could either spend seven months in a halo, which would help his neck heal. Or risk surgery, a move that could have potentially left him paralyzed from the neck down.
Charles chose the halo. In turn, the decision helped the speedy guard make a swift recovery and avoid neck surgery.
He said his time in the halo provided him some much needed time to get things right.
"Sitting in the halo made me think what I wanted to do with life," Charles said. "I got back in school, started hitting the books and playing basketball."
Charles' comeback bid has been nothing short of his signature style on the basketball court: hard and fast. But it wasn't always that way.
At one point during his recovery, Charles said he had given up. He didn't want to play basketball anymore. Then, one day, he picked up a ball and played around.
Jumpers began to fall. Charles noticed he still had it.
From there the rest is history.
"I just got back on court and started working hard again," Charles said.
It was during this time he thought of all the trips he made to watch Beau Chene basketball games when he was unable to play. During that seven-month span, he watched and began plotting his return.
Why Beau Chene?
"All my family members came here," Charles said. "When my uncle (Kentrail Charles) was here he brought them to the top 28, so I'm trying to do it again."
Before enrolling at Beau Chene at the beginning of the school year, Charles spent his freshman year at Carencro, before transferring to Acadiana Prep midway through his sophomore year.
Then, the car accident came just months before he was to first suit up for Acadiana Prep. He never played there.
"It just made me realize that I shouldn't take things in life for granted," Charles said. "Life's short. You have to go at it and get it."
Since then he's lived by those words.
And first year Gators coach Roy Young is satisfied with his floor general. He said he is fortunate to have the levelheaded senior. He also tabbed him the team's scoring and emotional leader.
"The fact that I was new and he was new probably benefited both of us," said Young, who neither knew Charles nor had any knowledge of his accident before this school year.
"Technically the only basketball he's had the past few years is AAU ball. That's a totally different game. That's the biggest transition he's had to make. I think he's making it fairly well."
Take another long, hard look. It's safe to say he's making it fairly well.
One of my top players from the summer with my Louisiana D-1 Ambassadors travel team, Joseph Charles of Beau Chene HS is averaging 21.2 ppg, 6 rpg, 5 apg and 4 steals early on in this 2009-10 high school season. Charles had an outstanding summer as he was named one of the top players from the Memphis River City Showdown Event and the Memphis Select Classic tournament as he led our team to a runner-up finish. In the two events Joe went head-to-head with some of the top players in the country. Some of the players include Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford and Tarik Black, all of who signed with Memphis. Mardracus Wade who signed with Arkansas. Casey Prather who signed with Florida, Austin Hollins who is headed to Minnesota, Will Triggs who is headed to Austin Peay and the list also includes a top 10 junior in the country in Adonis Thomas. Against this competition Joe averaged an outstanding 18.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.3 apg., 2.1 steals and an excellent stat of 1.2 turnovers while playing 28 min. a game out of 32.
A 5’10’’ point guard for the Louisiana D-1 Ambassadors, Charles can get it done in a variety of ways. Charles was most effective when driving to the basket, finishing with a lay-up, pull-up jumper, or a teardrop. Not limited to just driving and scoring, Charles also hit from outside and created opportunities for his teammates.-Clark Merriam ESPN's Memphis Roar.com
Joe is in his first season as senior at Beau Chene after transferring from Acadiana Prep in Opelousas. Previously Joe played and started at Carencro as a freshman and sophomore before heading to Prep. This is also Joe's first season playing since his sophomore season. While attending Acadiana Prep last year, Joe was involved in a terrible car wreck in October of 2008 in which he broke his neck, I believe his 6th vertebrae. After the wreck Joe spent 6 months in a Halo in which his neck was stabalized with a screws in his forehead and neck and made immovable. After having the Halo removed in March, Joe was back to playing in May as he joined Coach Max Ivany's Texas D1 Ambassadors squad in Alabama for the Crush Elite Main Event tournament sponsored by rivals.com. Joe helped lead the team to a tournament title along with current Memphis frosh DJ Stephens and BRCC freshman William Nelson. Also on the team that weekend were San Fransico signee Cody Doolin, Northern Colorado signee Paul Garnica(San Antonio's soon to be all time leading scorer), and Lamar signee Demetris "Cleveland" Smith. In what was Joe's first time playing in a game since the wreck he showed a lot of rust but you could obviously see the talent that he had as he made several great passes, played very good defense and finished well attacking the rim.
After the event Joe really caught my eye. For the entire summer we went to work really hard on his game in June, July and August. Four days a week we were in the weight room at 6 a.m. and hitting the gym for two 2 hour sessions working on ball handling, shooting, quickness, fundamentals, conditioning and just learning how to play the game the right way, also spending late nights playing pick-up sometime until 2 in the A.M. After 4 weeks of working with me we were off to Memphis for the two tournaments up there. In the first event, Memphis Select Classic, Joe played great defense getting several steals and rebounds along with good offense. In the pool play games in which we won by an average of 34 ppg, Joe avg. onl 8 ppg appx. Once the bracket play got started and the stage got bigger, the better Joe played. In our first bracket game against Team Rameybasketball.com Joe finished with 28 points and six 3's as he willed us to the win over a team that featured 4 players 6'8" or better. As the bracket play continued, Joe continued his play at a high level as he finished the semi-final game with 18 and the finals with 23 and four 3's. It was definitely a feel good moment for me and Joe as well who came to me several times and said
"Coach, thanks for all your work you put in with us, I hate doing it, but it is obviously helping me for sure." Joe told me while sitting down at dinner one night.
I remember them words everyday. To think that this is a kid that just a few months ago was in a Halo and 8 months ago was in the bad car wreck. This kid has overcame so many obstacles and adversity that he deserves everything good that is coming his way.
In the past few months Joe has had to overcome a lot of personal problems outside of basketball. After dealing with these things and working hard in the classroom, Joe is on his way to getting what he wants, a Division 1 Scholarship to play basketball. Joe currently has close to a 3.0 GPA and is taking the ACT at the next testing date. While his team is only 3-4 at Beau Chene, those losses have come by an average of 4 points. On a team that didn't make the playoffs and won a handful of games last year, Joe has clearly made them a district contender this season. As the season continues, Joe will only get better and get more experience. As he does, watch out because he will be a player that will be a steal for any school that he signs with.
Joseph Charles is a heck of a basketball player, but as good a player as he is, he is an even stronger person. After overcoming a lot of odds by making it out of Sunset, LA to play college basketball Dodge City Communuty College in Dodge City, KS, but Joe has overcome a near death experience as well in tragic accident back on October 24th of 2008. Below is a story done by Travis Webb of KATC 3 in Lafayette on the miraculous comeback of Joe. Joseph Charles is one of the hardest working players we have ever seen and came across. He has overcame so much and he will be a great asset to coach Brady Trenkle and the Dodge City Community College basketball team. After a two year stint at Dodge, expect Joe to have accomplished some great things at DCC as well as making his dream come true of being a Division 1 basketball player. The Louisiana Basketball Report wants to thank everybody who has helped Joe along his way whether it be the coaches at Carencro, Coach Steve Rachal from Acadiana Prep and Isaac Fontenot-Amedee who visited Joe when he was in the hospital, to the Louisiana D-1 Ambassadors organization and Coach Max Ivany of the Texas D1 Ambassadors as well for helping Joe get back to an elite player or to his high school coach Roy Young at Beau Chene. Everybody was instrumental in Joe's success. Good luck at Dodge City Joe, they are getting a great kid. 
