Javarez Willis was trying to get a date. Instead, he found God.

Willis, who committed to Texas Tech basketball on Monday, is currently enrolled at the Christian Life Center Academy. He said he preaches every Wednesday at the school’s religious services, thanks to a renewed faith he credits to a girl he once asked out.

“She was a hooper, and she was pretty good at basketball,” Willis said. “She said she didn’t want anybody to break her focus, and I thought she was talking about basketball. But she was talking about God.”

Willis and the girl agreed to exchange lessons: he’d help her with her basketball if she helped him renew his religious faith. They never dated, but became close friends.

When Willis enrolled at Christian Life, he began talking to the pastor about inspirational quotes and favorite Bible passages;  the future Red Raider said he reads the Bible for about an hour every night. The pastor soon invited him to speak at the school’s weekly service.

Now Willis does it every week. While he enjoys sharing his beliefs, he doesn’t plan to become a minister himself.

When it came time to choose a college, Willis said he felt like the staff and players at Tech had the kind of positive attitude he wants to surround himself with.

But he laughs about how he found his faith.

“God used a girl to get to me,” he said.