Nostalgic

Flight

"I'll throw it down your throat like Barkley..."

Chuck D - Rebel Without a Pause

Three weeks ago I had an opportunity to interview a former NBA player that with one dunk carved out a place in history.

Attrition

When my editor at Sneaker Freaker emailed me and asked if I would be interested in interviewing Dee Brown about his famed Reebok Pump sneakers, and the 1991 NBA Dunk Contest, I not only replied yes...I emphatically reveled in the opportunity. I love basketball, and history was one of my best subjects as a child, so to combine the two is like having cake and eating it too!

I wouldn't be within my rights to post the story I wrote, however I thought it would be fitting to show the quotes that didn't make the final edit. I found it extremely interesting that Brown had a scholarship off from my beloved Temple University...had he gone to school in North Philadelphia, instead of Jacksonville University...I would have been a fan long before he set foot on the court, that one night in February, 1991.

Below is the final score on our court side conversation:

So Temple University and the legend John Chaney was looking at you?

“Yeah Temple was…I had like 10 schools looking at me after the Sunshine State Games, its like the Empire State Games in New York. Its like a junior Olympics type of event and I broke the scoring record, and I was playing against all the top players…Mr. Basketball, and other top players in the state, and I was grinding them up, and then all of a sudden I had like 10 scholarship offers the next day. But I said no because I wanted to stay home. Everything with me has been like the underdog, because it made me work hard, and made me more humble. My whole life, you can look at the whole story…its funny, I’ve always been the underdog, got overlooked, and had to wait to get it done.”

I was inspired back in the day by the play and flair of Dee Brown, and after interviewing him recently...I was sincerely inspired by his words, and story.

"There is no substitute for hard work..." - Coach John Wooden

The Wizard

Pauley Pavilion

A beautiful mind

Life lessons

I've been scared and battered.

My hopes the wind done scattered.

Snow has friz me,

Sun has baked me,

Looks like between 'em they done

Tried to make me

Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin' -

But I don't care!

I'm still here!

Langston Hughes - Still Here

I graduated from Temple University. However the cherry and white wasn't my first, or second choice for school. Its a bit of a long story, so in short, I was 16 entering my senior year of high school, so when I began to apply for college, I needed my mother's stamp of approval because I was a minor.

The only school that mattered to me was UCLA. I'm a big sports fan and no school has a tradition and history like the Bruins. My problem wasn't picking a school, or grades for that matter, it was convincing mom to let me go 3,000 miles away from home. Without much discussion the decision was made, as the happy medium between UCLA and Howard was none other than Temple.

Now don't get me wrong...I LOVE TU, and I have had the opportunity to live my dream of being on television because of my education, friends, and college family. So while I cheer for the Owls, I have kept a special place in my heart for Yook-LA!

Like my alma mater the University of California Los Angeles has a legendary basketball coach, and I have learned a great deal from them both. For obvious reasons the personal friendship/relationship that I have with Coach John Chaney is something that I could never put a price on or explain. He is a father to all those that have played and worked under him. Coach John Wooden has impacted my life as well, even though I didn't play for him. In fact, I've never met the man, but his teachings and example have helped me in basketball and life.

Coach Wooden has several principles for the game of life, called the pyramid of success. The following are the ones that mean the most to me:

• You must have faith; faith is believing that things will turn out as they should
• Be quick, but don't hurry
• Failing to prepare...is preparing to fail
• There is no substitute for hard work
• There is nothing stronger than gentleness
• You must maintain self-control
• Be loyal to yourself, and all who are depending upon you...keep your self respect
• You must have patience; good things take time
  

The first time I visited the city of angels, I wanted to see all the sights from the HOLLYWOOD sign to Rodeo Drive. However the one place I wanted to go more than anything was UCLA, and the famed Pauley Pavilion where the greatest college basketball program in the world has played for over 40 years.

The school is in Westwood, right next to Bel Air, and Beverly Hills. Walking on that campus was surreal. Not because I always wanted to go there, but because compared to the east coast, THIS is what college life is all about. In a word, WOW, the campus is beautiful, as are the people, and weather. Maybe someday I can attend grad school or film school at the school that for me, never was. In the meantime, its a dream and a fantasy.