“My granddaddy coached a peewee basketball team, and that’s where I got started. I was three years old, and after the first game I played in, I never wanted to leave the gym. I think it’s just in my blood. I played all through elementary, middle, and now high school. Recently, I hit the floor really hard during a game and broke my pelvis, but I didn’t know it was broken at first. It was hurting real bad, but when you’re out there, you’re in a different zone, the crowd energy, the energy everywhere, you just forget about it. I think that’s what I live for: energy. I thought it was just a pulled muscle, so I finished that game and played 7 or 8 more before the third doctor I saw decided it was fractured. I’m out for another 4-6 weeks, but I’m still at every game, wearing my suit and tie, sitting on the sidelines, and cheering the team on. That’s what Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and other NBA players do when they’re injured. I cheer everybody on and tell them, 'You can do it! You’re good, you’re good! Play harder! Way to go!' The coach has to point out what’s going wrong, but I don’t. Also, I can see things from the bench that I would never see if I were playing. It’s a different perspective.
“When you lose a game, it burns, but you learn from it. The coach shows you what you could have done better and then points out what you did right. You might lose the next game, but it won’t be because you make the same mistake.
“Everything you want to be good at takes practice. Like in class, you can’t say to yourself, 'He reads better than I do, so I won’t read at all.' No. You practice and get better at it. If you work, success will find you. It’s all about preparation. If I know I shot a hundred free throws the day before the game, then when game time comes, it’s going to be like, 'All right, no pressure. Let me shoot these free throws and knock both of them down.' But if I don’t practice, then I’m thinking, 'What am I going to do when I get to the line?' Your thoughts turn into fear. You have to practice to be prepared. I do something every day to get ready. That goes with anything. You have to work for it. My daddy makes me work for what I get, and that’s something I’m going to pass on to my own kids someday. Basketball isn’t just for now. It’s for life.”
“When you lose a game, it burns, but you learn from it. The coach shows you what you could have done better and then points out what you did right. You might lose the next game, but it won’t be because you make the same mistake.
“Everything you want to be good at takes practice. Like in class, you can’t say to yourself, 'He reads better than I do, so I won’t read at all.' No. You practice and get better at it. If you work, success will find you. It’s all about preparation. If I know I shot a hundred free throws the day before the game, then when game time comes, it’s going to be like, 'All right, no pressure. Let me shoot these free throws and knock both of them down.' But if I don’t practice, then I’m thinking, 'What am I going to do when I get to the line?' Your thoughts turn into fear. You have to practice to be prepared. I do something every day to get ready. That goes with anything. You have to work for it. My daddy makes me work for what I get, and that’s something I’m going to pass on to my own kids someday. Basketball isn’t just for now. It’s for life.”
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