The hometown kid Josh Adams last stepped foot into the Denver arena when he was in high school practicing for a show. He told Nuggets.com that it was only for 30 minutes, but he remembered it well. He remembers being nervous, being intimidated and being in awe. At that time, he thought to himself, "It would be a dream come true If I could play for the hometown team."

Flash forward to 2016 and this time Adams is wearing a blue Nuggets' uniform during a pre-NBA draft workout. But now, even after years of developing emotional toughness on the court with the University of Wyoming Cowboys, even after the grind of shooting crucial, down-to-the-wire, last-minute plays, he looks around the Nuggets home and still finds himself in awe. He's a hometown kid in a hometown dream.

Adams said he was glad to be back in Denver. He has worked out with 13 teams so far, including the Nuggets. But Denver isn't just another team on the list. Adams told Nuggets.com that he is a fan of the home team players and loved the fact he was able to flaunt the Nuggets' jersey during the work out. But this "blessing" is just part of the grind during the pre-NBA draft. The draft is June 23, 2016.

But just as in the game, the draft also puts him as the underdog. He tells Nuggets.com he takes it day-to-day giving his 110 percent. Because this, like all of Adams' challenges, is just another test to his mental toughness.

Piece by Piece. Play By Play.

For many of us, our drive is that thirst to win, that hunger to succeed. But for Adam's, his drive is to not have to look back at those past mistakes, those failures.

"Losing is a near-death experience, you've got to hate to lose more than you love to win," Adams tells NBA.com. Today was one more day of fighting, being the under dog, being in awe of your hometown dreams and being afraid of failure.

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