Sisson, who will soon become Jamestown Community College men's  basketball coach, is then escorted to the back of the building, and he hops on an elevator to the 10th floor where the gymnasium is located.

Once inside the bandbox gym, he gets his first look at Mike Bush. Sisson isn't yet sure what the rest of his Jayhawks team is going to look like, but he is smitten with the point guard from Harlem.

"When you look back at the whole thing," Sisson said a year and a half later, "you don't know why all this stuff happens, but it worked out great."

It's been almost, well, picture perfect.

— — —

Bush is one of three returning starters on Sisson's 2016-17 team, which is 13-7 heading into Saturday's game at Genesee CC. In a shade over 28 minutes per contest, Bush is averaging 13.8 points, 4.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds.

"He got it early," Sisson said. "Some guys come up here and don't quite get it and they struggle. He just got it. I put a lot on his plate and he's been the starting point guard for two years. I scream at him more than anybody, but he's pretty steady."

Last season, the Jayhawks — led by Sam Joseph, Kyle Taylor-McLeggan and Rakim Lesane — advanced all the way to the NJCAA Region 3 Division II championship game where they lost a close decision to Monroe CC.

"(Bush) got to be around three guys who signed Division II scholarships," Sisson said. "He got a chance to mimic and watch and learn. We always used to call him 'Little McLeggan,' because wherever you saw Kyle, you saw Mike."

Kaye Young, coordinator of The Learning Center on campus, took notice.

"Michael and Kyle McLeggan … are two of the best examples of successful student-athletes that I have worked with in my 35-plus years of working with athletes," she said. "Kyle was a mentor for Mike."

Bush was apparently a good judge of character, because the lessons he learned from McLeggan, an honor student, are paying off in a big way off the court, too.

"After I finish playing basketball completely, I want to teach kids (art)," Bush said, "because we don't have enough teachers to make school fun. … I want to teach kids life goals and what they have to do to succeed. It's all about making the next generation better. That's the best feeling for me."

— —-

Upon his graduation from Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Harlem, Bush's basketball options were limited. In fact, his only offer was as a walk-on at Sullivan County CC, an NJCAA Division III school in Sheldrake, New York.

So Bush took the 2014-15 school year off and lived with his sister.

When he wasn't working on his game, he was working at an Abercrombie & Fitch, which was located at 55th Street and Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

"It was rough, I'm not going to lie to you," he said. "It was (that way) for the simple fact that I knew I was supposed to be doing something else, but I was sitting there folding clothes for people. … That got to me. I was really depressed. I just kept telling my co-workers that I wasn't supposed to be here.

"Even though I was straight out of high school, I had to grow up real fast. It was a cycle."

In the process, though, Bush found a passion outside of basketball — art.

"I went to a friend's house and he put me on to painting," he recalled. "At first, I was drawing, but he was like, 'No, bro, you need to start painting."'

And although Bush was initially reluctant to trade a pencil for a brush, he finally gave it a try and he started getting better and better.

"It kind of prepared me to come (to Jamestown CC)," he said.

It's been the perfect marriage ever since he first visited the campus in May 2015 at the behest of former men's coach Mike Cordovano.

In the nearly two years since, Bush, according to Young, has provided "a perfect example of how community colleges are designed to allow students to develop their academic skills, explore options, pursue individual interests and position themselves for success at a transfer institution, in the workforce, and in life."

Young added: "When Michael came to JCC, he knew he wanted to develop his art interests and skills and play basketball. He wasn't sure how to go about accomplishing those goals. At JCC, small class sizes have allowed him to develop close connections with the art faculty who guided him through the process of determining how he wants to use his artistic talent."

In conjunction with The Learning Center staff, Young noted that Bush received the help to develop solid academic skills and interactions with other college personnel that have allowed him to excel both in the classroom and on the basketball court.

"(Jamestown CC) means a lot," Bush said. "I've learned a lot about basketball and art. "I've been trying to put it into one word, but I can't. … I told the freshmen (on the basketball team) that the opportunity is there for the taking. You just have to do what you have to do. The decision is up to you."

— — —

Bush has been working on a large abstract painting since last summer,  one he plans to enter into JCC's art show in the spring. Photographs of some of his other work are stored in his cell phone. When someone asks to see them, he's happy to oblige.

"I used basketball to get me into school for free," he said. "After that, if I'm able to play pro ball, I'll play pro ball, but I really want to give back to kids who come after me."

When Sisson was asked how he would describe a figurative portrait of his point guard, he didn't hesitate.

"He's just a really good young man, and it doesn't have anything to do with basketball," he said. "The people who have been in his background have done a good job.

"He's been a wonderful Jayhawk. I can walk around campus and I'll get the same sentiment from other people. Because of that, he's going to affect the next group … and it become infectious."