• Milwaukee Bucks player Michael Redd and his wife spoke about their faith at UWM.
• Focused on abstinence and relying on God through hardships.
• Students pleased that famous athlete willing to be honest about flaws and difficulties and share his faith
• Redd spreads his message to other NBA players, hopes they listen

Off the court and off the cuff, Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd and his wife Achea Redd spoke candidly about the importance of faith and living purely last week at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Tom LaCombe, a sophomore and leader for Campus Crusade for Christ at UW-Milwaukee, ran the event. As a Bucks season ticket-holder, he was able to approach Michael and ask if he and his wife would speak at the university on their faith. Michael agreed, and LaCombe estimated that there were about 400 people in attendance. He has scheduled another session with Michael at UWM in March.

"I'm pumped," LaCombe said. "I can't wait for round two."

The couple opened by telling the audience they would be very honest about their struggles in living their faith and staying abstinent until they were married.

"We're gonna keep it real tonight," Achea said.

Michael, the son of a preacher, was baptized before he went to college, but he said he lost his way after he left for school. The pressure of being a student-athlete and the temptation from his friends and fans to sin was too much for him.

It took several attempts before he was able to live his life as a truly "saved" Christian, he said, but it still wasn't easy.

"I said, 'God, I don't want to be broken no more," he said, and he used a prayer King David prayed in the Old Testament after God had punished him for adultery. "Create in me a new heart, and renew the spirit within me."

Frustrated with the single life, he asked God to introduce him to his future wife.

"He hooked us up," he said.

Before he was introduced to Achea, whose father is also a preacher, a friend told him she was a faithful person.

Michael jokingly responded, "That's all good, but is she fine though?"

The two met, fell in love and got married, but staying abstinent was a big challenge. They had sexual feelings for each other that they had to control, but they encouraged others to also stay abstinent despite societal influences.

"You can make it and it can be done, regardless of what society tells you," Achea said.

Achea also spoke about her battle with depression as a teenager. At age 17 she began taking anti-depressants and fought her own lonlieness and shame. After a year, she said she was listening to a gospel song in her car and had to pull over because she was crying too hard to see the road.

"I was just so broken and just so tired of dealing with the drama I was going through," she said. "I said, 'God, I commit my life to you. Whatever it takes I give it to you, because I can't do this by myself, cannot live this life by myself. Without you I will die'."

From then on, she said her life was brighter and happier.

Michael used the example of a piggy bank to explain how God works through suffering. As value accumulates within you, he said, God needs to break you, shake you and empty you to get that value from you. He said the conflicts in his life have helped him become a better person.

Michael's career on the road complicates life for the Redds, but both said their relationship with Jesus helps them overcome temptation and distrust. Michael said as his maturity grows so does his moral strength. For Achea, she trusts that the Spirit within Michael will work through him.

Michael said he has given witness to other big names in the NBA, like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

"All you can do is plant the seed," he said. It's up to them to let it grow.

Betsy Vanderloop, a UWM freshman, said the event was a success.

"I'm definitely growing in my faith from here," she said.

UWM sophomore Rebecca Grosse said she was pleased with how honest the Redds were.

"We're college students," she said. "No one's that honest with us."