DAYTONA BEACH, FLA -- Give Jalen Willis a basketball and a hoop. 

That's it. He's good to go to work. 

Whether it's on the main floor at Mainland High School or in his backyard, the shooting guard is perfect his craft.

“I’m just envisioning the payoff of everything and getting better when I come out here every single time,” Willis said. 

Every shot gets him one step closer to the end goal. 

“NBA. That’s really just been my dream," Willis said. "I really talk about it a lot with my dad on a daily basis. I just feel like that’s where I want to be.”

“The stuff he does is amazing," said Keith Willis, Jalen's father. "I don’t think he knows how good he is because he’s good.”

Jalen is one of the best players in Volusia County. The ball and the hoop give him a chance to reach his dream. 

His mother, Kim Willis, gave him much more. 

“We call him our miracle baby. He wasn’t supposed to be born," said Keith Willis. "The doctors had told my wife that she would never have kids with lupus. She didn’t have any problems. He just came out a month early. He was 3lbs 2 ounces when he was born. Right then you knew it was a miracle.”

For Jalen's entire life Kim battled lupus. No matter the circumstance, she always made it to her miracle baby's games. 

“She wouldn’t allow me to see her sad, mad," Jalen said. "She always made sure she had a smile on her face."

Even on the night of May 13, 2016. Shortly after Jalen said goodnight to Kim, she called Keith to say she was having trouble breathing. 

“Normally when I say let’s go to the hospital or the emergency room, she’ll give me a little fight or whatever," Keith said. "I said let’s just go to the emergency room and get it checked. She said ‘okay.’ That struck me odd.”

What was expected to be a routine trip down the road to Halifax Medical Center, within a few hours quickly took a turn. 

“There’s no more brain activity," Keith said. "She’s crash so many times but her heart is still beating. If she crashes again would you like us to resuscitate her? I said no we’re done with that.”

“As soon as I walked in the door my dad just hugs me and is like ‘she didn’t make it,'" Jalen said. 

Kim Willis died in the morning hours of May 14, 2016. 

“My whole mindset was like what’s next," Jalen said? "I really didn’t know what to expect.”

“I thought he would backtrack a little bit but he’s just flourished," Keith said. 

Through all of the pain, Jalen's dream chase is still in progress. Loss drives his end goal. 

“Every morning I wake up, it’s for her," Jalen said. "Everything I do is for her. Every move I make is for her.”