For decades, Rockford, IL made national headlines - rampant unemployment, gang violence and murders became commonplace. When Fred VanVleet was just five years old, his father became another statistic. Fred Manning was a troubled but talented basketball player. One night during a drug deal in an inner city apartment, he was shot to death.

Eventually, his mother Sue met and start dating Joe Danforth, a local Rockford police officer and single father of two. As he did in his job, Joe brought the strong arm of the law to Fred’s life, which included 4 a.m. wakeup calls to bring him and his brothers down to a nearby parkade to run stairs, or to the local YMCA to play hours of basketball. Tough love to keep them off the streets.

W5's Peter Akman sits down with Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet about his rough journey from Rockford to the NBA.