Herren cautions Saugus students on drug woes

SAUGUS – Former Boston Celtics point guard Chris Herren went from a life of million-dollar contracts and BMWs to becoming a heroin addict living on the streets smoking old cigarette butts.Herren finally was able to get clean after a 14-year battle with drugs and on Monday he spoke to a packed auditorium at Saugus High School to tell his story.?There has been nothing more rewarding in my life than traveling around and speaking and telling my story, and trying to have an effect on one kid,” said Herren, who was born and raised in Fall River. “That?s my goal ? to try to reach at least one.”Looking back, Herren remembered an assembly he attended while a freshman at Boston College where a former player in the National Football League spoke about drugs, much like Herren does today.?I said, ?What he?s going to say doesn?t pertain to me. I?ll never, ever turn out to be a junkie,?” said Herren. “I walked into the assembly and I sat in the back and goofed around and told jokes, and I could care less what he said. In my career ? the thing I remember most is that assembly, because I had no idea what could have happened if I paid attention.”Ironically, Herren said it was that very night he tried his first line of cocaine and it was all downhill from there. Herren continued to party, resulting in a string of failed drug tests.?I had no idea it was going to take 14 years to put down that dollar bill,” said Herren.Herren was kicked off the team and had his scholarship taken away. But the next year he made the team at Fresno State in California as a sophomore, where Herren said he had the best year of his college career.While his playing improved, his drug use only got worse.The Denver Nuggets drafted Herren in the second round of the 1999 draft. Herren went back to Fall River and bought a house and a car, and started a family with his wife and newborn.But it didn?t last long. The summer after his first NBA season, Herren paid $20 for 40 mg of Oxycontin.?I had no idea that one decision was going to lead to a nightmare,” said Herren. “I had no idea that $20 I spent that afternoon was going to lead to $25,000 a month. I went back to training camp a full-blown junkie in four months.”Herren was traded to the Celtics shortly after, where he said right after his introductory press conference, he ran into the parking lot to buy Oxycontin.In his sixth game as a Celtic, Herren got the nod that he would start that night. Five minutes before tip off, Herren found himself in the TD Garden parking lot waiting for his drug dealer in the rain wearing his warm-up gear.?My first memory as a Boston Celtic is standing on a street corner waiting for dope,” said Herren.Herren?s season ended after he broke his collar bone and tore his rotator cuff. The next year he signed a summer league contract with the Dallas Mavericks. After a handful of games, Herren said he was offered an $8 million contract. But he chose drugs instead.?Eight hundred milligrams or $8 million,” said Herren. “I was about to board the bus, but I turned around and walked away and said, ?Thanks for the opportunity.?”Herren then drove to Fall River to buy Oxycontin, missing his last opportunity to play in the NBA.Herren bounced around to various teams overseas, including teams in Italy and Poland. But his drug problem only got worse as he eventually started shooting heroin after finding a drug dealer in Italy. He was only 24 at the time.His time in Europe didn?t last long and he returned home broke. In 2004, Herren was arrested at a Dunkin Donuts in Portsmouth, R.I. after overdosing on heroin and crashing his car.Herren was picked up by a team in Turkey but, again, his drug problem got in the way. After living on the streets in Modesto, Calif., Herren returned home to Fall River, where he would hang out in front of the local convenience store, drinking vodka and taking used cigarettes from the ashtray to smoke because he couldn?t afford his own.?For three years my kids went to bed hungry,” said Her