Duke basketball walk-on Brennan Besser is set to embark on a pretty ambitious off-season plan. Besser will spend nearly 70 days riding a bike from Seattle to New York. He’s calling the campaign “Walk On! America,” and is doing it for a fantastic cause.

Besser’s 23-year old sister Jacqueline is nonverbal, doing most of her communication through a tablet. She is one of many Americans who have developmental disabilities. Besser wants to raise money for that community, and “shine a light” on the issues facing so many families.

Along the way, he plans to hold basketball camps in various cities across the nation. He is looking to enlist various big-name Duke alumni to assist in those camps.

Besser aims to raise around $1 million on his trip. From ESPN:

“Basketball, even though it’s a game that we all love, serves, really, as a vessel for the leadership coaching that [coach Mike Krzyzewski] teaches us,” Besser said Thursday. “The bike, I know that this is exciting … but it’s really just a vessel for the broader message.” Besser’s roughly 70-day journey — called “Walk On! America” — starts May 16 and will wind more than 3,400 miles across the United States. At most stops along the way, he hopes to hold basketball clinics or other events with the goal of generating $1 million to support charities that help the intellectual and developmental disability community.

Brennan Besser aims to hit 50 cities along the way, before wrapping up in New York in mid-July.

The walk-on has drawn serious praise from his legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K spoke about his importance to the team.

Krzyzewski describes Besser as a “one-of-a-kind walk-on” because “the spirit he brings is infectious on this team. “Nothing he does surprises me, because almost everything he does is not about him,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s about his talents, his emotion and his effort to help others. This is a terrific thing that he’s doing this summer and he’ll accomplish so much for so many people.”

We wish Besser luck on this amazing journey. Hopefully he accomplishes everything he sets out to do across the country this summer.

[ESPN]