"I've been to hell and back," said Herren. "I lived the life that most people, a lot of people, don't get a chance to come out of, straight up. By the grace of God and the help from a plethora of people, I was able to come out of this.
"My financial situation is today. For today, it's fine. Am I comfortable and happy with it? Do I aspire for more? Absolutely. But like I said, from where I've been, it's a lot better."
Herren's hard fall from hoop legend to addict started when he was at Durfee High School in Fall River.
He averaged 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists as a senior in the 1993-94 season. The 1994 Massachusetts Player of the Year once scored 63 points - still a record - in an AAU game for the Boston Amateur Basketball Club.
Herren, a 6-foot-3-inch combo guard, was a McDonald's All-American and the focus of a book, "Fall River Dreams." He was featured in Sports Illustrated and mentioned in the same breath as prized Georgetown recruit Allen Iverson.
Through it all, Herren lived in a family that he says wasn't "Leave It To Beaver," but wasn't bad, either.
Celtics assistant executive director of basketball operations Leo Papile, who coached Herren with the BABC, said, "At his position in that era, in 1993 and 1994, there was no one better in the nation in high school as a combo guard. He could run a team, tough as nails, shoot the long ball, he had great instincts and feel for the game. He could run pick-and-rolls. He had an NBA résumé."
Said Herren, "What do you think your ego is going to be when you're a McDonald's All-American and you're in Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone magazine and you have a book written about you? Your ego can go a lot of ways."
Herren opted to go 35 miles up Route 24, signing a letter-of-intent with Boston College. But his Eagles career ended shortly after it started as he suffered a season-ending broken wrist in his debut against Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo Nov. 25, 1994.
"BC was a good idea," said Papile. "But when he got hurt, it went up in smoke."
