A basketball player in the Bronx was inspired to refocus his life after suffering a devastating loss.

Wings Academy senior Tommy Thomas was in school last April when he got a phone call that his aunt who raised him had passed away.

"I kind of sensed that she had something wrong, but she just wasn't telling me," says Thomas.

Thomas' aunt Eloise Harris had suffered a stroke and by the time he got home, it was too late.

"It was like I almost didn't have a heart, like, I didn't know what to feel, I didn't believe it," says Thomas.

Thomas says even though the basketball season was over, his teammates went out of their way to be there for him.

"It's the little things like texting me, making sure that I was OK, even when it looked like I was fine, they keep me going, they're my support system," he says.

With the death of his aunt, home life for Thomas became much more difficult. Thomas lives with his brother Daquan, who works at Panera Bread to provide for him and his brother. 

"We both had to look at each other and was like this is all we got, so, now, our motivation to do things is more. We're more dedicated to what we do, so, even if he has to put in more hours at work, he's willing to do it because he knows, this is all we got," says Thomas.

For Thomas, it's re-dedicating himself to basketball, while always having his aunt's memory on his mind.

"If I don't give it my all, then I don't really want it and then seeing her pass, I know she wanted me to give it my all, like she wanted me to put 100 percent into everything I do, so, when I think about that, it just makes me go harder."

It’s something that Thomas hopes will pay off with a basketball scholarship to college, where he wants to major in business.