June 16, 2022 • 50 mins
We caught up with UCLA Basketball alum and 2005 NBA Draft pick (54th) Dijon Thompson about his unconventional basketball journey, growing up the son of a single mom, and how his life changed when his stepdad entered the picture. Dijon opens up about his early influences, his high-school recruitment, and why he chose UCLA over UConn, Syracuse and Arizona (a nice tidbit in the pod about his visit to Zona). Dijon also shares why he is at peace with where he was drafted, why his game didn't mesh in Mike D'Antoni's "seven seconds or less" system, playing for Lakers legend Michael Cooper in the G-League, his career overseas, and transitioning back into the "real world." #allball
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is kJ Live with Chris Johnson. Allen and Chris
is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and
entertainment in the strain. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now
TEO thing the kJ Live Today's guests from the show.
(00:25):
There's a former u c l A. Bruce who was
named first Team All packed ten in the two thousand
and five He was drafted in the second round with
number by the New York Knicks. He spent thirteen seasons
or something like that playing overseas as a bona fide pro.
One of my favorite dudes, Dijon, Welcome to kJ Live.
(00:46):
What's up? But thank you man, I appreciate that one.
You said, you said my name actually right to end
it off, man, De john that's you know, it's that
he gets dragged out a lot lately. But you know this,
m but appreciate, appreciate the welcome. Welcome to be here, man,
No doubt, man, no doubt. Man. I've had a lot
of cats on on the show since I started doing this,
(01:08):
a lot of our U c l A brothers as well,
and we kind of kind of dive into the background
of the person and you know, find out the journey
that made the man who they are. UM. I want
to educate our audience on you and sort of just
start in your childhood and where you're from, what neighborhood
you grew up, be like, where were you born at? Um?
(01:29):
I grew up in Englewood. UM spent some some time
growing up with my great grandmother. She stayed off of
eighth Adam Vernon. UM My mom and they kind of
went to Crenshaw and then they moved out to Pasadena
area and graduated from your and then we came back
down to the Crenshaw to the Englewood area, and that's
(01:50):
kind of where I grew up. My mom and dad
they worked at North ropp And Grooming at the time,
it was tr W and then they went to North Grooming.
So that's how I was able to get the permit
and found my way into Redondo Beach in the high
school area. But um, I grew up in the l
A area Inglewood. Yeah, like a lot of us. Bro
like a lot of us. What a lot of people
(02:11):
don't realize about the l A area is south central Inglewood.
Wats all that's like ten fifteen minutes from each other.
Inglewood South Central is really close. It's like you hit,
you go, you know, Hyde Park, hit a couple of backstreets,
and you right over, you know, in the thick of things,
and you might be in the sixties hood over here
and then you you hit, you hit the cut you
over here in the in the in the bloodhood, like
(02:32):
the hell's going on? Was there anything as far as
the gang activity? And I know you're a little younger,
younger than I am, because the gang stuff was real
huge for us and we were growing up. Was the
gang or the streets? Was there any a lord of
that when you were coming up in Inglewood? Uh? Yeah,
I mean, like you said, it didn't go nowhere. I
mean it was always around growing up. You know, you
(02:56):
just have vivid memories. Even we stayed on Cranshaw at
the time time and it's doing the riots. You know,
it's growing up during that time, and it's it's funky
around there. And I mean game is an't going nowhere.
You always grew up in it and growing up in
that l a, it's it becomes second nature. Really, I
mean you numb to it. You see it. You you
you know where to go, We're not to go but yeah,
(03:18):
it's it's always around and I was down the street.
Like you said, when did uh who start to become
something that you figured out and you wanted to do. Seriously,
that's crazy because I don't really have the that traditional
like I grew up with the ball or you know,
I was always playing basketball. That wasn't necessarily to me. Yeah,
(03:39):
I was always playing basketball at schools and parks and stuff.
But my family wasn't really an athletic family. I had
maybe had an uncle that played some baseball, um, but
I was really the first generation as far as you know,
taking basketball or sports um to another level, so that
that background wasn't there. Everything was green from me and
(04:01):
I was just learning on the fly type of things. So, um,
it was just playing at school and um, probably about
the sixth grade, fifth grade, you know, you got your
your your peers or your friends saying we in this
league and why you're not playing? And why am I
not playing? You know, And at that time, you know,
my mom was single parents. She ain't had time to
(04:22):
do all that, you know, So it was just at
the school and that's it. But you know, once my
stepdad came along, um, it was way more time for that. Uh,
you know he was able to take me to everything
and really get involved and dive into it and really
get a liken to it. Oh man, how old were
you when your stepfather came into the picture? Ah? Man,
(04:45):
he was there from the beginning. Um so so as
you could remember what school, what what elementary school or
what like park? Like I was talking to um Stays
Bowsman and I know you know who Stays is, and
he was talking about how he came up at jesse
O and so it was called Sportsness Park and then
he was at St. Andrew's and hooping with all this
what park did you come up back? So that's crazy,
(05:07):
Like it's like like I don't have that that story
to where I was always out like that, you know,
like basketball, it came alik and it was like natural.
But you know, I will go to the park. I
go to Holly Park down the street. That okay, yeah,
that's bad. Nads go to Holly Park. You know, you
(05:28):
wasn't really allowed to go to Raleigh, so it was like, well,
just stopped at Holly Park. So I wasn't going to
Riley Park and Gardenia. It was always Holly Maybe simmar
On Park because my uncle stayed like literally like right
around there. So I was in that area. When at
what point or how old were you when you kind
of knew that you were better than do when you
played against I'm like, when did it sink into you?
(05:50):
For me? Like I started to get that bug like
four fifteen years old, I started, you know, giving dudes
numbers and feelings that about myself. How old were you?
What age was that? Oh man, it's probably about ninth grade,
you know, I started. I started to really get on
that circuit that that real circuit with the with the
(06:11):
killers is that, you know, the ninth grade I'm playing
with that with Sports Express, they brought me on Who's
on your team? Who's on your team? I got guys
like Brandon Heath, uh, we got Chad Bell, Yeah, we
had Chuck Hayes, my guy, my desk though Lefty Yeah yeah,
(06:32):
we had a mom Marcus Williams uh wait with Marcus
left lefty, Lefty, Crenshaw, Craig Man, Yeah, squad. It was fun.
It was fun. So around that time you start, you
start measuring yourself against this type of competition and got
against guys that have you know, grew up in the gym,
(06:54):
you know, and it's like all right, I can hang
you know, I'm still fresh, still learning, Like, oh, these
guys are fine around here, but I kind of I
adjust to quit learning on the fly. Like I said,
who did you kind of hold yourself to like the
standard of that type of guy? Like when we were
coming up in my era, it was like Charles O'Bannon, Chuck.
(07:14):
It was like everybody was, you know, trying to rock
with Chuck. Chuck was the man was there? Who who
in your era was that kind of like that guy? Man,
that's a good question, Like I was a weird one. Man.
Like it's like basketball was just like I just like basketball. Um,
like you said, ninth grade year, Like that motivation starts
(07:35):
coming you. I went to high school like a damnime.
Marcus Moore he was our point guard, Andrew's on these
guys were at the time they were getting letters. You
see him walking across the lunch quad with letters, Nike shoes, everything.
I'm like, man, I need all of that. How do
I get to that level? Like how I I need
(07:55):
all of that? I need them letters, I need all
of that. So to answer the question, like for somebody
to meet looking at somebody growing up like I really didn't.
Basketball was just basketball to me, and I'm just hoping,
like it's just fun. Where did you like find or
draw upon for your competitive spirit, like the competitive side
of things, because you know, as hoop is man, we're
(08:16):
not just go let people bust our asses. And I
know you might have not been at the park, but
I'm sure when you did go to the park, you
was trying to win. Where did you Where did you
get that con headed a spirit from that made you elite? Uh,
that's that's that's my mom and my dad really, I
mean it's yeah, it's it's once you start something, you're
(08:37):
gonna do it at your best and give it your best.
And it's that that's where that competitive is come in.
And it's uh, just the streets. You know. I've always
always played and had friends that were older than me.
You know that that was kind of my I never
really played with people my age. It was always hanging
out with people older than me. So I'll go around
(08:58):
the corner with my friend Troy and was older than me.
He had handles. He kind of baptized me. It was
just like, damn, I need to I need to step
it up a little bit. So it was it was
always with my older friends being around them and and
and kind of learning the ropes like that that's the
best way, man, uh, because I kind of like you, bro,
I didn't grow up in the gym as all them
dudes that we ended up playing with either. You know,
(09:20):
you know how everybody knew each other when they was younger.
Now I came in late fifteen sixteen, it was calling
me the fat boy with the curly top, the fresh
the fresh prince of bel air, you know what I'm saying.
But what I had was a lot of experience playing
against my dad one on one. Broh. So imagine back.
So when you say you had your cousin or the
home around the corner that was beating up on you,
(09:42):
my dad was doing the same thing. He was trying
to make a comeback to the league. So he used
me as the one on one, like, what's up with
your ones? I gotta guard him. I gotta do all
that when I'm fourteen and fifteen, and so the leve
of physicality he induced me to it just made it
so that when I played against dudes my age, I
just was not tripping on nobody. And that's why that
older that that's where that playing against older dudes thing
(10:04):
comes in. Sometimes you ain't gotta play on the circuit
as long as you're getting that good work. And it's
that like you you got it. Yeah, I was always
finding some good bump. I mean yeah, yeah. So your
your recruitment. Um, you have ver Dondall Union. Were you playing?
Who was that Reggie? Reggie Mars? Was Jim Nielson? Okay,
Jim Neilson was there? You big? I remember andrews On
(10:25):
from hoop my hoop Master's days. He played with Josiah
or his brother. I forgot who which one it was.
He had a brother, right, it's a couple of them.
But anyway, Um, your recruitment, so you got a nice crew.
You kind of you know, getting off a little bit. Um.
Who are some of the schools that were looking at
you early on? That kind of got you excited. I
(10:48):
had this weird, if like factuation with Syracuse. I don't
Syracuse just had that that that that notoriety at the time,
you know, in the nineties, and you know, North Carolinas
was like I gotta go to Syracuse. I like the Orange,
I like the jerseys. Jerseys was sweet, you know. And
then once you start, once I started to get more
deeper into basketball, I'm like snow like I'm from l A,
(11:11):
like snow like I ain't I'm not going there, like
nah off the snow like nah like because because I
didn't really go nowhere, I didn't really travel nowhere like
basketball took me everywhere, like I probably want to travel.
I probably have been. You know somebody from LA that
has never been nowhere anywhere. So um so yeah. Fox
(11:34):
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot
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s R to listen live in Syracuse. And then so
senior year came down to Yukon Arizona, and U like
my top three schools okay, okay uh, Jim can who
(11:58):
Calhoun came to it, came to my house to home visit,
loved him, loved you. Colma East Coast is saying I
ain't really been nowhere. And then at that time it's
like it's not for me. I've been Gordon damn all right, cool,
So Arizona, I go to my trip on Arizona loved it.
(12:21):
Richard Jefferson's my host. End up hanging out with Gilbert
probably the whole time. Hey, what would your visit like?
You and r J, y'all two light skins. What was
y'all getting off in Arizona? Don? I can't imagine what
Listen been the same. He's been the same. He's been
the same guy as you see him now. Man, he's
the same guy. J Don like J from Phoenix down
(12:46):
the street, you know, just like, Hey, it's Tucson, you
know this Arizona, trying to show me the way. And
then you know you come across guild. Who's Gilbert the
same Gilbert? Come over here with me, young Feller, were
gonna I'm gonna show you the rope. So ended up
hanging out with Gilbert more than than than Richard. But
you know, it was it was fun. I had. I
had a really good time, really good trip. Um Andrew,
(13:08):
who I played with, was a freshman going into his
freshman year at that time, so I had a little
comfort there for my high school teammate. Um, it just
was in l A. It just wasn't l A. Ludolson
was amazing, Like if they was in l A. I
probably have sawn there, But it just was in l A.
What was it about? It wasn't the thing you didn't
want to leave home. Man, You're so comfortable just in
(13:29):
your surroundings in l A that leaving l A just
kind of not frighten you, but it kind of gave
you a little pause, kind of like, man, I ain't
trying to dip from the city. Is that how he
went down for you? A little bit? A little bit?
But I mean you grew up in l A and
you still you see the prestige that you see l
A god and you still you see the banners and everything.
I mean that spoke for itself. And you got laugh
(13:51):
coming in and you know, talking and seeing the family
and being at every game and you know, being live.
I mean it was it was an easy sale for me. Yeah,
when back in that era of lab Man, when you
say being laugh Steve Laughing, who was just named the
new head coach at University of San Diego and who
we both played for, we can both testify to that
(14:14):
this guy is one of a kind. He's one of
the probably know in my opinion, just as far as
his ability to speak and work a room and you know,
sell somebody's mom on trusting that person with their child
for the next four years. Like please, it doesn't get
too much better than that, I say, laugh Caliparie type
of dudes, man, like those dudes that come from the
same cloth. So so so you got a laugh so
(14:36):
laugh got you. Who was your other guys that came
in with you as freshman? Uh? Came in with another
Actually I wasn't saying they were all Los Angeles natives
Man Bosman, Yeah, um, Andre Patterson. Yeah. That was that
was our crew right there. That was a nice crew. Man.
(14:57):
That was a nice crew. Long. You guys were long,
very athletic. Uh. One thing that could be said for
probably every team that played at u c l A
under lab and all that, at least one team or
two teams twice, you were pretty much underachieved. We didn't
live up to our potential as a as a team,
as a as players. When do you attribute those lapses
(15:21):
two back at U c l A. I've always tried
to figure that out because we would have so much talent, man,
and the summertimes you probably ran and what gets the
pros with the us A crew and y'all probably was
getting a lot of wins and looking great. What was it? Man?
What happens? What happened to U? C l A. As
far as the underachieving part, that's a good question, man.
It's UM. I think it comes down to just building
(15:43):
teams and everybody's standing there and you know, you've got
guys is leaving year after year and new guys coming in.
That it's it's hard to build that camaraderie and that
that uh, that grid, that winning, that winning mentality. So
I think that's uh, I kind of where it hurt.
(16:03):
When I was playing. Um, I played with two coaches,
so it was Lave for two years and then been
Holland for two years, uh the next two years. So
that coaching change could be, um a monkey wrench in itself. UM,
just because it's just new. It's different, uh, two coaching styles,
um Ben Holland coming from the East Coast and coach
Lave more West Coast style and more free oriented. UM.
(16:27):
So that that that was just a little different. It
just kind of just throws you off your your your
you know, what you're used to and what you're seeing
for the first two years. So I can say that.
I mean it's just just keeping the team together. Building
a team, a good group of guys that's gonna stay
together for the you know, for four years, three years,
or however long it takes. Yeah, man, building a program,
(16:49):
building the culture, it takes time, and take guys sticking around,
Like we had guys that stayed off four years back then.
So you know it was Ed and Tires and George Zedek.
Those are our guys. Those are our saying. We won one.
We won one, and there was no doubt with the
talent you guys had, um because coming there, So wait,
you weren't there for Moisa and Dan? Were you? I
(17:11):
was there for Dan, not Moisa. So I had Matt
Campono Yeah yeah and really rest in peace, Billy Billys
in peace. Um. Yeah, I had a lot of older
guys there. Yeah, good team. We lost on Sweet six
team that year. Yeah, was you see l a everything
you thought it was gonna be. I don't know what
(17:35):
it was gonna be, you know, Like I was so
green with the basketball. I was learning on the fly,
like I I didn't really have that that um, I
guess experienced sort of supportive experience, you know that that
could just be like okay, look out for this took
out for that. It was ill learn on the fly.
(17:55):
So UM, I don't know what. I didn't know what
to expect. It was it was fun like I enjoyed
every minute of it. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't if
I had to go back and change school, I wouldn't.
I still choose you, so it, yeah, I would to Um.
I had a few schools that were, you know, knocking
down my door. Washington State with Calvin Sampson, Arizona State
(18:16):
with Bill Freeder, um Cornell out in the Ivy League.
But you know, nothing nothing. I'm glad I went to
u c l A. But I kind of wonder what
my life would have been like had I went to
like a Utah and played for Rick Majeris and had
the rock in my hand, you know, not running. You know,
do you sell a high posts and where you could
kind of develop a little more and handle and things
(18:38):
like that. I always think about it, but you know,
not really tripping on it. Uh. You know, hindsight is
always twenty. If you were all packed ten, Uh, you're
last year U c l A. And now take me
through the draft process. So you're coming, you're projected. Well,
I don't know where they had you. But I know
that at your size, your height, your skill set at
(18:59):
that time, uh, you seem pretty primed to you know,
to do well in the draft. Now you get picked
fifty second round. How take me through the workout process
for you, the pre draft process. If you can remember
and talk about the moment that your name got called.
(19:21):
I always tell people that was probably like that whole
process was I hated that process. Like I hated that
whole process. It's um, I don't know that my my nature,
my style of play and going going out workout after workout,
having to like prove yourself. Yeah, I could do it,
(19:42):
but that that wasn't my thing. I'm more of a
gamer like I. I like to show my my my
game throughing just game play, so that you having to
fight every every trip, every work I was like, damn,
these guys is hungry. But I think we'll kind of
threw it off a little bit. My senior year, I
played the four p Uh that's just where we needed
to I need to be for the team to to thrive,
(20:05):
or that was only position that that was open at
that needed feeling. So I played. There was a stretch
for so going into the draft. In that pre draft process,
like I was going against a lot of fours in
my work, and I'm just like, that's not but it's
not my position. But you know, I was able to
do it and it was successful at a little bit.
But these guys are a little bit heavier than me.
(20:26):
You know, on against like Ryan Ghnes, it's like twenty
pounds te five pounds more heavy than me, thirty pounds
Jason Max. Still, I'm like Jason Max sill these guys
on the block. I can't do nothing with this man.
These guys was physical. Who's that time? The game was
more physical. It was who's your agent? D who's your agent?
Real quick? Who's your agent? At that time, I was uh,
(20:47):
I had signed with Todd. I was with Todd. It
was it was his first go around with the Life
Sports Agency. So the year before that, Trevor had went
to the draft. He had Trevor and then I had
I was going to go to the draft my junior years.
So we both me and Trevor went to pre draft together.
Trevor stayed. Then I went back to school. Wait, um,
(21:08):
I went through my whole senior year, had a better
senior year, which I was like, yeah, you go ahead
and Trav like worked out for him, um, but end
up going back to school and doing the pre draft thing.
But Todd was my agent when I signed, and so
Todd had so I guess I was supposed to have
Todd on him last week. I guess I'll ask him
when he gets on. I'm asking why the hell he
sent you the pre draft workouts with force and didn't
(21:31):
have no god dang shooting guard workouts. And that's that's
for another discussion. I'm gonna asked Todd on my own
because I want to get the bottom of that, because
that will make no damn sense. But but Dijon, it's so,
it's so funny how we have a lot of parallels.
So you just talked about your pre draft experience and
have playing before right to stretch four. So my whole
senior year, Bro, I played the stretch four. And I'm
not tall as you, so I'm bigger, but I'm not
(21:52):
as tall as you. I'm six five playing the stretch four.
So I and then when I get to the pro
situation in Arizona and Chicago and all that, they me
in the in with the twos, So I was I
wasn't like I would have been. I would have rather
have been in with the Force. But they put my
they put my big slow. I was too forty six
five to forty. I'm trying to stay in front of
(22:12):
you know, Earl Boykins in them, you know, I mean
it was just it wasn't Anthony Carter. You don't remember
a Carter, but please he's coming in along. I'm like,
I'm just trying to guard. And you know how it
is once you when you play a position for an
extended period of time at a very high level, like
a four, when you try to translate the that skill
(22:32):
set that you have been used to playing into the
end into the pro setting where guys have been playing
their natural positions and this, and that you're gonna always
be at a disadvantage. I'm really um, Actually, the fact
that you got drafted after working out against Force, it
really says a lot about probably how you stuck out
and how you how you showed up in those workouts. Yeah,
(22:55):
I mean I definitely did the best thing I could
um in those workouts. UM My trainer, you know, Rico Hanes, Uh,
he definitely prepares you, um those type of workouts. Pro workouts,
and and that was what ten fifteen years ago. You know,
people are just now starting to see Rico now, but
he was doing that ten twenty years ago the workout,
(23:17):
so and it was probably harder than like he's probably
lighted up now because he's can't move as much as
and you know, getting older like we all. But they
were tough. They prepared me. I was. I was definitely
prepared in all the workouts. Um it just the way
the game was, the game, the way the game evolves now.
I think if I was playing now to be a
(23:38):
little bit better for me to stretch forward, it's not
really a stretch Forward's best players out there. Yeah, you'd
be a three, three and D guy, you know, they'd say,
or I mean if you, I mean, it's a lot
of guys that are playing and flourishing in the NBA
right now that I can see somebody with your skills said,
because you have the skill set that that's the most value.
But we do both. Do that jumper, that that pro
(24:00):
deep ass jumper. Okay, that jumper put me in a
game right now, my jumper I am pulling like these
motherfucker's is pulling everybody pulling d it's all good to
pull from be now. Remember remember we had to be
edited because we could always shoot from there. But then
you had to get a look if we pulled up,
people looking at you, mad at you. And so I
(24:22):
try to tell folks, man, it's a totally different game now,
and it's not. It's not just because of what guys
can do or where they can shoot. It's the attitude
towards a five to seven dribble combo, a dude just
playing ice ball. It's the attitudes by the coach and
the other teammates that has changed the most of my opinion.
Think about how we let everybody get this off. Now,
(24:43):
remember you, man, that some of these shots broke, I'd
be wanting to fight. I would have been wanting to
fight these You're like, man, what you're doing? God, where
are you showing that? Nowadays it's like good shot, bro
good shot. Let me ask you this though, and be
be to percent honest. Being a second round pick by
(25:04):
the next number fifty four, were you satisfied? Were you
happy with that? Or were you like disappointed that you
spent a large portion of your life probably wanted to
be a first rounder. Now you get draft in the
second round. What were your emotions, Like, I remember, like
it was yesterday. It was sitting in Todd's office. Uh,
family was there. It was stressful. It was just like damn,
(25:28):
you know, it's it's it's like everybody's draft experience. You know,
you're saying you're about to get drafted. Here that that
pig past, You're like, all right, the next couple of pigs,
and you start, you know, you start going down the
list and the opportunities. The window starts closing. But once
I heard that name, it was like a big relief.
Oh we it was like yeah, you know, even though
(25:50):
it's fifty four, I was like, yeah, it was. It
was a great feeling. Honestly, it was a great feeling.
And it was just like it's time to get to work.
You know, it's talking to work. It was. It was
a chip on my should, it was. But I was
happy that I was happy to get drafted. One out
sixty players in the world to get drafted, man, And
and I tell myself now, just like one out of
(26:10):
sixty one sixty man, your name called so bro, make
no mistake, that is that is amazing. That is an
amazing accomplishment to be drafted to have your name on
the board, for an organization to believe in you enough
to invest the draft pick in you. Okay, because I
didn't get drafted. I'm sitting on the board. I'm sitting
(26:32):
watching the thing, and you watched the whole thing. My
stomach heard, you know, the tears is flowing. It's like dang.
So any So, everybody that comes on here that has
been drafted or anything like that, I always talk about
this because I love hearing it. I love hearing people's
perspective on whether or not they were happy some people.
Some people were you know, weren't happy with their second
round pick, like you know, told me wasn't too happy
(26:53):
with that. Hey dog, I'm sure we're first round. You know,
I should have boats after my first few year. So
we get into all that type of conversations. So if
it's good to hear that you were rolling with the
four pickers, I know that we were. Um, what do
you remember what stands out the most about your first
NBA training camp as a rookie. God, So I got
(27:14):
drafted by New York, but I was traded to Phoenix.
So my first year was in Phoenix and training camp
was at Tucson. It was at you have a So
I was like, all right, cool, I know this arena.
I didn't play here for years. I know the baskets,
I can you know, I'm cool. But that Phoenix system
(27:34):
man with Steve Nash, that eight seconds, seven seconds or less,
you get in that, You're like good. They are flying
up and down this court. Like it was hard to adjust.
It was really hard to adjust to to really get
in that mold, to just throw up anything up there
on that just throw up the shot, just get it up.
And that wasn't my style of game. Like in your mind,
(27:56):
you like anybody wants to play in that style, but
that's not for everybody. Everybody don't have that mindset. Everybody
don't have that conscience. So it was it was difficult
for me. You know. It was times to where it
was like yeah, I could hang, I could ball. Had
moments where it's like I stood out, but it was
it was tough. It was tough to really crack that
D'Antoni lineup, and that was and that was gut wrenching,
(28:19):
you know, to get to to experience that um because
they sent me down to the D League. That they
sent me down to the D League. My my my
rookie year, and I was like, damn already. So let
me just break this down. So, how many games into
the season before D'Antoni and them sent you down to
(28:42):
the G League. It was off top, It was off top.
It was Yeah, it might have been kind of more
so off top because the D League was starting to
get developed in it was they were still trying to,
you know, get that implemented and acclimated. So it was
they were still testing it out, so they needed players.
So it was like perfect, boom, send them down there.
So it wasn't long. So it was after training camp
(29:04):
and then had to do a D League training camp.
I was like, oh, I just came from training camp.
I gotta do another one. So this is word coach Cooper,
Michael Cooper, he was my coach at the and he
was like DT. He's like, I know, you just did
training camp. He's like, I ain't gonna kill you like that. Man.
He's like, you gotta do some stuff, but I ain't
gonna kill you like that. That's wrong. Cool. So he
(29:27):
looked out for me and I was. I loved it
down there, man. I played probably about two or three
games Max killed him and they called me right back
up and I was like, yes, play Like yes, Nah,
let's sit right back on this bench out like let
me go back down the album Querty Like it was
(29:47):
fun down there. We had Tony Bland, I had Joe
jip Ed. You came down and played like I had
my l a guys down there with me. So it
was fun for me and he was winning. Coach Cooper,
I loved it. So when you you go down to
the G League, who did you come back up? Phoenix?
What they called you back up because somebody got hurt
(30:08):
and they needed a roster, a roster spot to field,
or they wanted you to come in and actually play,
and you did. Did you get into the opportunity to play?
Is what I want to get at. I didn't get
the opportunity to play. I think somebody was sick. Bar
Bolsa made it got sick or cold or something, so
they needed an extra body up there. I really thought
I was about to play now because I proved myself
(30:29):
in the Dally I could put up some numbers. So
but yeah, it just didn't. It just didn't happen that way.
It just didn't happen that way and then uh, probably
about February March. I ended up having knee surgery. Had
microfractury in my rookie season. Rookie season. That was a
gut punch. Um That same year, March start Tomorrow had
(30:50):
his microfracture, so he had had his right out of
training camp. So I was watching him, seeing him go
through his rehab all year, and then once the team
the doctor said I had one, I was like, oh no,
amor designed he was hand a million dollar contract. I
was still sitting on this drink and I like, oh,
(31:11):
this ain't a good look for me. This ain't a
good look. But I was like, no, I can't go
out like that. I had to. I had to rehab,
get better and came back. I came back full strength,
so good. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk
lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at
Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart
(31:32):
Radio app search f s R to listen live. At
what point, though, did you decide in your head like
I'm tired of chasing this league stuff. And you know,
I because as ball players that are elite, and you
have an actual opportunity to try out for the NBA
and if you could do it year after year, because
(31:53):
I did it like four or five straight years where
I was going to training camps and all that. At
some point I was like, man, funk all that ship.
I'm done. I'm tired of this, you know what I'm saying.
I'm just tired of being a body and training camp,
tired of not getting a real look even though I'm
killing these dudes in training camp. I'm tired of this feeling.
I'm gonna get go somewhere where I'm loved with a
(32:14):
you know, Cris Cris Joe whe you know, they said
your name real loud. At what point did that realization
happen for you? D Jones? I think it was. I
can't remember. It was. I was coming back from my
knee injury. Uh, I gotta call up. Came back to
Phoenix rehab the whole year when started the D League,
(32:38):
got called to Atlanta Hawks, played there for a two
ten day contracts. The Numbers game happened, So I'll go
back finish the rest of the season in the D League.
That following summer, um, I think I have a training
camp with the Cleveland Cavaliers. I go into that training camp,
the mini training camp, played really really well and end
(33:01):
up making the roster for for Vegas whatever. I was
probably the third guy on that team. You had, uh
you got Daniel Gibson on that team and um uh Shannon,
I'm blanking on his last thing. But they were two rookies.
They were two rookies at the time, so they were
they were. There were some of leagus for the rookies,
(33:22):
you know, the guys that didn't really get to play,
and they was coming to They saw more season to
the time for them, and I was probably the third
guy outside of them as far as on the floor
and as far as touches and getting a notoriety. But hey,
they took all the shots, so I was like, cool,
I gotta figure it out. But still played well within
the minutes. So after that, they're like, I come to
training camp basically for no money. That's when I was like,
(33:42):
you know what, I gotta make a business decision. My
agent at the time, Sam Go for the He was
just like, man, this is a business man. Let's let's
just go get some money. How about that. I was like,
you know what, You're right, let's go get some money overseas, man.
So that was that was my once they once they
once I played well in summer league and you know,
they didn't even want to give me no money to
(34:02):
kind of training camp. That's when I was like, all right,
it's it's that's not right. Yeah, that hurts, man, It hurts.
And it shows you, Joe, how they they treat you. Man,
if you're not one of them guys, you know you're
not one of their guys, and look, it's all up
to them. I don't I don't hate the NBA. I
don't hate the people that made the scouting decisions that
they made or the choices they made. But you know,
(34:25):
you look back on it, you just kind of sometimes
you think. I wonder if you think sometimes like man,
I wish I just had one more shot, or I
wish I had a real legitimate chance to play where
I was getting shots, or or if I actually got
time and my numbers called. You see it in the
league today, Man, some of these guys, like the Clippers,
they got a guy named a Mirror Coffee. I don't
(34:46):
know if you've seen a Mirror Coffee play. This dude
had thirty five thirty seven dog like, like he just
needed some minutes do you feel like he was one
of them guys that just you didn't. Yeah, it's it's
it's minutes his opportunity. It's timing. I mean, it's a
lot of area was coming to it. But yeah, I
do believe I was talented enough to be on the
floor and and get major minutes. Of course, I think
(35:07):
I was that skilled enough. Yeah, sure you gotta be
that skill And talk about now your first real overseas experience.
So Sam tells you, hey, let's go get some money.
What was the first job that he brought to your table,
and just talk about that country, that city, that team.
Uh first job was in Germany, Berlin, so that the
city was amazing. Um, it wasn't the most warming experience
(35:30):
because i mean, first time overseas, you just like, you know,
here the lights, you just like a deer in the headlights,
Like what the hell? The ambulance is different. First time
I'm experienced jet lag, I'm like, what you gotta wake
up in like two hours to do a physical where
they're gonna have you running on the treadmill. So I
remember calling my mom. I'm like I ain't about to
make it at this time. You got Skype was I
(35:54):
mean it was Skype, but you had to get you
had to have calling cars. I remember buying like a
pack of calling cars mobile car card right before I
left from my homie because I was like, man, I'm
gonna all kind of man. That was the lick. That
was the list the homie had to call and car
that the call. I spent O fifty getting fifty bucks,
so I had calling card dial to me. I remember
calling my mom like I ain't gonna make it, like
(36:15):
I'm tired. I can't even go to sleep. I gotta
get up and run like I ain't gonna pass that.
She's like, how you'd be all right, you know, just
just try to go to sleep, you know, calm me down.
But played in Germany, Berlin before a serving coach out
the gate and I had a Serbian too, I have, Yeah,
I got baptized out the gate um. So it was
(36:36):
it was tough. It was tough on the basketball side.
This the city kind of saved me as far as
you know, entertainment, you know, just stuff to disconnect from basketball,
because the the narrative from for a serving coach, they
could take they could take the fun out of basketball. Man,
they're gonna drill you, run you and it's it's very militant,
you know. So it was Berlin City saving. Yeah, speaking that,
(37:01):
that's fascinating because I played for a Serbian coach when
I was in Lebanon Um and he was a little psychotic,
you know what I mean, Like he was on one
uh he always, he used to tell me because he
had coached Darryl Armstrong and Greece. Remember Daryl Armstrong. He's
like he was trying to give me to play like Armstrong,
like dog, I can't play like GARYL. Armstrong. Man, that's
a whole another type of dude. I'm gonna do me,
(37:22):
Bro this turnaround jumper and this mid post like I'm
gonna do me. So he was. But but the thing
he loved about me because you know I had I
had a crazy work ethic. So I was there. I
was getting to the gym like at six, like before
the nine o'clock morning practice. I was already like an
hour and a half, two hours, sweaty. I was stay
in the whole facility all day. So he loved he
he was rolling. He knew what time it was with me.
(37:45):
So I was like, bro, I'm gonna give you this
fifty ball, like, don't even talk to me about none
of this nothing, Okay, I don't want to hear nothing.
D you know when when you go overseas and you
ball out and you know you have that that thing
that they love. Yeah, you can call your own shots, Britt. Yeah. Yeah,
I hadn't been on both sides of the spectrum. Man.
(38:06):
You can beat a man and you know, call your
shots and being the last gun on the bench. So
it's over. Excuse it was a great career, man, I
loved it. Like you said a serving coach, he he
killed us, but he actually he actually primed me for
the rest of my career, to be honest, like that
mental toughness and and new it ticks that grind like
(38:27):
it was no surprises after that, Like I knew what
to expect from every team and I and I that's
how I just performed after that. It was just like
straight like m like now I ain't messed around like he.
So I give it to him. He helped him. Yeah,
I thought you were you had achieved or been honored
with like all euro Cup selections overseas, did you You
(38:49):
guys want to champion? You want championships over there. Uh
one in Ukraine? Uh shout out to Ukraine. Uh did
win a championship? U claim to marry you people? Uh
so my blessings go out to them. Um, that was
the only place I really want, like a championship in
the cup and stuff for the for the euro Cup.
(39:10):
We've made it to the final four. We we really
just had a really good team, underdog team and really
made it to the to the final four against some
really really top team. So that was a really good
year for me. Actually, what's what's the country of Ukraine?
What is it like out there? How are the people?
What was you know? Just described it or talk about
it a little bit? I mean, be honest, is what
(39:31):
you see on TV Ukraine hasn't really changed from when
I when I was playing, Um, it's it's very underdeveloped.
The it's the money. They don't really put money back
into the city. It's very poor. Um. I remember playing that.
The closest McDonald's to me was like an hour away,
and I was looking for that McDonald's, Like we're looking
(39:53):
for McDonald's overseas And it's crazy to say, but we
are thirsty for McDonald's overseas as a mill like because
we know what what to expect, so hour away and
we would have to fly out of that airport. So
you just I just remember loading up on apple pies
on the bus, like I'm going back to my city
of our white cheeseburger so I could eat them a
little bit later. Like but yeah, Ukraine it was cool,
(40:16):
like we want to chip. The culture was there, loved it.
It was just the city was just crazy. Yeah. Man,
that's how my experience in Russia was. So. So I
was in Moscow for a little bit, and then I
was in Saratov, which is like near Siberia. It's like
(40:36):
way in the in the cut. Uh yeah, Like like
you said, I was there in so the economy had collapsed,
like the ruble wasn't worth nothing, and so people was
out there just really hungry, thirsty. You know. They were
trying to get me to throw a game. On to
throw the game. They were trying to get me to
throw the game. The Russian old school Russian come talk
(40:57):
to you on the side and they were trying to
get you to throw the game. Like I was like, man,
I can't do all that. I'm trying to hoop bro,
like I don't even get down with the throw the game,
you know. But but anyway that it was, it was
crazy experience. I'll never forget though Russia. I went to uh,
these nightclubs out there, and I'll never forget this scene. Bro.
(41:19):
I'm walking in behind like two big gass like Serbian
Bosnian looking dudes, right, and so they just started pulling
out heaters and they had like a little cubicle where
they were checking in. They gave the dude the ticket,
they checked in the gats like before they got to
the club. Okay, here ever set it here, they checked
it in and they got a ticket for the I
was like, okay, it's one of them. I get inside
(41:43):
the club and there's nothing but Tupac being bumped for
two hours, two straight hours of pock stuff I've never heard.
I was. I couldn't believe I was. I was just like,
what the hell was going on? I got a big
day of service steak. I got a big as steak
in this spot. Need just to say I had. I
had a pretty solid experience in Russia. Um thirteen years overseas,
(42:04):
right yea? Than uh? I mean the way I think
about longevity overseas, I feel like and and tell me
if you feel like this. I feel like when you're
going that long, typically it's what seven six, seven months
on four or five months back at the house. When
you're going that long, you you you miss out on
(42:25):
a lot of things. Do you feel like over those
thirteen years when you came back after you retired, do
you feel like not? Has it been an easy transition
to come back to the States into sort of the
real world after being a pro internationally for thirteen years. No,
(42:45):
it's never easy. It's it's it doesn't matter where you are.
Transition is never easy for nobody. You know, you used
to doing something for thirteen plus years, ten plus years,
however long somebody plays. It's it's never easy. You. Um,
so being over there that long, I missed out on
(43:07):
a lot of things. Um. One of my close friends,
he would always say, just press play when you get
back this, press play, man, we missed all on stuff.
But we're not. We're over there working, we're doing what
we'd love to do. But so we didn't really miss
out on a lot, but we missed. You missed out
on connections, you missed out on network, missing out on
you know, just that that feel, that that texture, just
(43:31):
that engagement. So it's when you stop, you got to
reconnect all over again. Like, oh, you know, now you've
got social media, you can't have social media that that,
you know, so it's hard to keep up with folks.
And I don't really have that much social media, so
it's it's really hard to keep up with me as well.
But transition is hard. It's it's hard, but you know,
(43:54):
that's that's why you you go to U C. L
A for the network and got guys like you. I
could call all big brothers, you know, band everybody that's
that's that's been down that journey and kind of you
know kind of guys. You would just be that lighthouse
rightly young, you know. So a lot of guys have helped.
You know, it's not easy, but everybody goes through it. Yeah,
(44:16):
I just feel like, you know, it's it's it's good
to talk about it with other people that have gone
through it too. I felt like when my time overseas
like I missed out on a lot. When I say
missed out, I mean obviously talking about the family and
kids and things like that that are close to you,
but I was talking to more about like professionally it's
like you you spent eight years hooping, so you're equipped
(44:37):
to come back home and do something in the field
of basketball. Now, the jobs that pay in the field
of basketball, typically in the college and the program um,
those jobs are far and few between. There are not
a lot of those jobs. Those jobs are already kind
of spoken for, and plugs and hookups and you know,
nepotism in the whole nine. So being overseas for eight
years and then coming back and then trying to, you know,
(45:01):
find your way into the coaching industry or the television
game or or these different games where people have been
grinding while you were gone overseas eight years. You're short
of behind the eight ball. You have a they got
a hit start on you, and so now you gotta
get you gotta bone up real quick. You gotta get
up to speed real quick. Uh. I think it's necessary
(45:22):
for guys that played internationally overseas that when they come back,
they have to get some type of certification. So like
whether it be real estate, whether it be an accounting license,
whether it be something you gotta get be able to
get into the game with some type of certification that
puts you on a level where somebody feel comfortable hiring you,
or you can make your own bread legally and do
(45:45):
it in a way like real estate. You know what
I'm saying, Where you your own boss. Um, it's a
tough game, bro, It's a tough game. Dog. The only
I mean, you just gotta just you know, we as men,
you just gotta keep stepping up. You's gotta keep waking
up every day, man, and trying to go get that,
go get it, no matter how old you get. Ship,
I'm almost fifty, bro, So you know I met you.
(46:08):
We was young, and you know, I was way more handsome.
You still handsome, and Ship, I was way more handsome.
But Joe, that's facts, Bro, That's yeah, that's that's real man.
It's it's it's just being an athlete. I mean you,
it's it's funny you say that that were behind the
eight ball and a lot of things, but we're not
(46:29):
in a way because we have characteristics that a lot
of people don't have. And that's that grit. Going overseas,
you gotta have grit. You gotta have discipline, You gotta
be patient, resilient. You got that ain't for everybody. So
to be able to survive overseas and come back like, yeah,
the transition is hard, but we, like I said in
the beginning, we built for it. We built for We're
(46:50):
not gonna stop with competitive You're gonna tell us no,
We're gonna figure out another way how to figure it out,
you know what I mean. So, yeah, we missed out
on some things, but we have a lot of other
traits that a lot of people don't have either. Absolutely,
and I think it's important that we we uh, we
give ourselves those props. We recognize those traits. You know,
that's my brotherhood and and things like that are so important, man,
(47:10):
just to be able to talk to cats that went
through the same experience as you and they have sources
of inspiration and motivation, you know, because our our motivation
ain't gonna be the same like as everybody else is.
Like you know, so we got a certain type of
dudes get motivated us, Like we got to hear from
you know, a certain type of dude like, look, I
ain't trying to listen to all this motivation. I'm one
of these dudes that motivate. I need somebody way up
(47:32):
here motivate me, bro. And and that's just how it is.
Dog us you this. What's the last time you've been
in the gym? Man, who I was in the gym Saturday?
A matter of fact, you coach it. Yeah, but it's yeah.
But I mean to answer the real question, man, I'm
not in the gym like that, honestly, Man, I'm I'm not.
(47:54):
I'm trying to pick it up here and there so
I don't get all stiff and stuff. But yeah, you know,
never thought about working with anybody man, working with some
of these youngsters man on that on their own jumper
and game. I mean you you would be first of
all from a demonstration standpoint, just seeing you shoot around
and stuff. I mean, I mean, I'm just man, I'm
listening to Dog, I'm watching shoot I'm listening. Bro. Yeah,
(48:18):
I mean I ain't. I ain't never never really looking forward.
But i mean somebody asking, you know, approach me with Yeah,
I'm always open to health of you. That's dope. That's dope, man,
that's dope. Man. That's a good place to be in. Man.
I still try to get help out when I can, Bro.
You know what I'm saying, help out when I can. Well, Man, listen,
It's been a great conversation. Brother. I appreciate you for
(48:40):
coming on the platform and sharing your story, sharing your
basketball journey with us. Man. Um, you got any shoutouts? Man,
I don't do the shoutout things. Shout out to everybody. Man,
do you see it? That community? Everybody gonna start up.
Everybody just just love. What's up with your startup? What's
up with your startup? Bro? Dont we try to get
that in? Don't we try to snick that in? What's
up with the start try sneaking in? I mean, yeah,
(49:01):
that's the reason why I'm not really you know, doing
the basketball or in the gym, Like that's the transition
is to start up into the tech space just dealing
with data, you know, biometric data. So it's that's more
of a challenge. I like the challenge. The startup life
is collaborative, is still team oriented, and yeah it's pretty cool.
(49:21):
Man's dope, Man dope. I lived that life for about
seven years from two thousand and eleven to about two
thousand eighteen. That was with a company up by US Saslito, California,
right outside of San Francisco. This dude he designed this
app that made that made it easy to scout right
so we were just we were collecting data with the iPhone.
We gotta serve, we gotta server in the cloud. We
(49:42):
shoot it up to so no man, if you ever
want to chop it up about any of that experience
or whatever, Man, my phone is always open to you. Brother. Again, man,
I appreciate you coming on the show. Uh, ladies and gentlemen,
the John, I appreciate it, y'all. Peace,
This is kJ Live with Chris Johnson. Allen and Chris
is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and
entertainment in the strain. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now
TEO thing the kJ Live Today's guests from the show.
(00:25):
There's a former u c l A. Bruce who was
named first Team All packed ten in the two thousand
and five He was drafted in the second round with
number by the New York Knicks. He spent thirteen seasons
or something like that playing overseas as a bona fide pro.
One of my favorite dudes, Dijon, Welcome to kJ Live.
(00:46):
What's up? But thank you man, I appreciate that one.
You said, you said my name actually right to end
it off, man, De john that's you know, it's that
he gets dragged out a lot lately. But you know this,
m but appreciate, appreciate the welcome. Welcome to be here, man,
No doubt, man, no doubt. Man. I've had a lot
of cats on on the show since I started doing this,
(01:08):
a lot of our U c l A brothers as well,
and we kind of kind of dive into the background
of the person and you know, find out the journey
that made the man who they are. UM. I want
to educate our audience on you and sort of just
start in your childhood and where you're from, what neighborhood
you grew up, be like, where were you born at? Um?
(01:29):
I grew up in Englewood. UM spent some some time
growing up with my great grandmother. She stayed off of
eighth Adam Vernon. UM My mom and they kind of
went to Crenshaw and then they moved out to Pasadena
area and graduated from your and then we came back
down to the Crenshaw to the Englewood area, and that's
(01:50):
kind of where I grew up. My mom and dad
they worked at North ropp And Grooming at the time,
it was tr W and then they went to North Grooming.
So that's how I was able to get the permit
and found my way into Redondo Beach in the high
school area. But um, I grew up in the l
A area Inglewood. Yeah, like a lot of us. Bro
like a lot of us. What a lot of people
(02:11):
don't realize about the l A area is south central Inglewood.
Wats all that's like ten fifteen minutes from each other.
Inglewood South Central is really close. It's like you hit,
you go, you know, Hyde Park, hit a couple of backstreets,
and you right over, you know, in the thick of things,
and you might be in the sixties hood over here
and then you you hit, you hit the cut you
over here in the in the in the bloodhood, like
(02:32):
the hell's going on? Was there anything as far as
the gang activity? And I know you're a little younger,
younger than I am, because the gang stuff was real
huge for us and we were growing up. Was the
gang or the streets? Was there any a lord of
that when you were coming up in Inglewood? Uh? Yeah,
I mean, like you said, it didn't go nowhere. I
mean it was always around growing up. You know, you
(02:56):
just have vivid memories. Even we stayed on Cranshaw at
the time time and it's doing the riots. You know,
it's growing up during that time, and it's it's funky
around there. And I mean game is an't going nowhere.
You always grew up in it and growing up in
that l a, it's it becomes second nature. Really, I
mean you numb to it. You see it. You you
you know where to go, We're not to go but yeah,
(03:18):
it's it's always around and I was down the street.
Like you said, when did uh who start to become
something that you figured out and you wanted to do. Seriously,
that's crazy because I don't really have the that traditional
like I grew up with the ball or you know,
I was always playing basketball. That wasn't necessarily to me. Yeah,
(03:39):
I was always playing basketball at schools and parks and stuff.
But my family wasn't really an athletic family. I had
maybe had an uncle that played some baseball, um, but
I was really the first generation as far as you know,
taking basketball or sports um to another level, so that
that background wasn't there. Everything was green from me and
(04:01):
I was just learning on the fly type of things. So, um,
it was just playing at school and um, probably about
the sixth grade, fifth grade, you know, you got your
your your peers or your friends saying we in this
league and why you're not playing? And why am I
not playing? You know, And at that time, you know,
my mom was single parents. She ain't had time to
(04:22):
do all that, you know, So it was just at
the school and that's it. But you know, once my
stepdad came along, um, it was way more time for that. Uh,
you know he was able to take me to everything
and really get involved and dive into it and really
get a liken to it. Oh man, how old were
you when your stepfather came into the picture? Ah? Man,
(04:45):
he was there from the beginning. Um so so as
you could remember what school, what what elementary school or
what like park? Like I was talking to um Stays
Bowsman and I know you know who Stays is, and
he was talking about how he came up at jesse
O and so it was called Sportsness Park and then
he was at St. Andrew's and hooping with all this
what park did you come up back? So that's crazy,
(05:07):
Like it's like like I don't have that that story
to where I was always out like that, you know,
like basketball, it came alik and it was like natural.
But you know, I will go to the park. I
go to Holly Park down the street. That okay, yeah,
that's bad. Nads go to Holly Park. You know, you
(05:28):
wasn't really allowed to go to Raleigh, so it was like, well,
just stopped at Holly Park. So I wasn't going to
Riley Park and Gardenia. It was always Holly Maybe simmar
On Park because my uncle stayed like literally like right
around there. So I was in that area. When at
what point or how old were you when you kind
of knew that you were better than do when you
played against I'm like, when did it sink into you?
(05:50):
For me? Like I started to get that bug like
four fifteen years old, I started, you know, giving dudes
numbers and feelings that about myself. How old were you?
What age was that? Oh man, it's probably about ninth grade,
you know, I started. I started to really get on
that circuit that that real circuit with the with the
(06:11):
killers is that, you know, the ninth grade I'm playing
with that with Sports Express, they brought me on Who's
on your team? Who's on your team? I got guys
like Brandon Heath, uh, we got Chad Bell, Yeah, we
had Chuck Hayes, my guy, my desk though Lefty Yeah yeah,
(06:32):
we had a mom Marcus Williams uh wait with Marcus
left lefty, Lefty, Crenshaw, Craig Man, Yeah, squad. It was fun.
It was fun. So around that time you start, you
start measuring yourself against this type of competition and got
against guys that have you know, grew up in the gym,
(06:54):
you know, and it's like all right, I can hang
you know, I'm still fresh, still learning, Like, oh, these
guys are fine around here, but I kind of I
adjust to quit learning on the fly. Like I said,
who did you kind of hold yourself to like the
standard of that type of guy? Like when we were
coming up in my era, it was like Charles O'Bannon, Chuck.
(07:14):
It was like everybody was, you know, trying to rock
with Chuck. Chuck was the man was there? Who who
in your era was that kind of like that guy? Man,
that's a good question, Like I was a weird one. Man.
Like it's like basketball was just like I just like basketball. Um,
like you said, ninth grade year, Like that motivation starts
(07:35):
coming you. I went to high school like a damnime.
Marcus Moore he was our point guard, Andrew's on these
guys were at the time they were getting letters. You
see him walking across the lunch quad with letters, Nike shoes, everything.
I'm like, man, I need all of that. How do
I get to that level? Like how I I need
(07:55):
all of that? I need them letters, I need all
of that. So to answer the question, like for somebody
to meet looking at somebody growing up like I really didn't.
Basketball was just basketball to me, and I'm just hoping,
like it's just fun. Where did you like find or
draw upon for your competitive spirit, like the competitive side
of things, because you know, as hoop is man, we're
(08:16):
not just go let people bust our asses. And I
know you might have not been at the park, but
I'm sure when you did go to the park, you
was trying to win. Where did you Where did you
get that con headed a spirit from that made you elite? Uh,
that's that's that's my mom and my dad really, I
mean it's yeah, it's it's once you start something, you're
(08:37):
gonna do it at your best and give it your best.
And it's that that's where that competitive is come in.
And it's uh, just the streets. You know. I've always
always played and had friends that were older than me.
You know that that was kind of my I never
really played with people my age. It was always hanging
out with people older than me. So I'll go around
(08:58):
the corner with my friend Troy and was older than me.
He had handles. He kind of baptized me. It was
just like, damn, I need to I need to step
it up a little bit. So it was it was
always with my older friends being around them and and
and kind of learning the ropes like that that's the
best way, man, uh, because I kind of like you, bro,
I didn't grow up in the gym as all them
dudes that we ended up playing with either. You know,
(09:20):
you know how everybody knew each other when they was younger.
Now I came in late fifteen sixteen, it was calling
me the fat boy with the curly top, the fresh
the fresh prince of bel air, you know what I'm saying.
But what I had was a lot of experience playing
against my dad one on one. Broh. So imagine back.
So when you say you had your cousin or the
home around the corner that was beating up on you,
(09:42):
my dad was doing the same thing. He was trying
to make a comeback to the league. So he used
me as the one on one, like, what's up with
your ones? I gotta guard him. I gotta do all
that when I'm fourteen and fifteen, and so the leve
of physicality he induced me to it just made it
so that when I played against dudes my age, I
just was not tripping on nobody. And that's why that
older that that's where that playing against older dudes thing
(10:04):
comes in. Sometimes you ain't gotta play on the circuit
as long as you're getting that good work. And it's
that like you you got it. Yeah, I was always
finding some good bump. I mean yeah, yeah. So your
your recruitment. Um, you have ver Dondall Union. Were you playing?
Who was that Reggie? Reggie Mars? Was Jim Nielson? Okay,
Jim Neilson was there? You big? I remember andrews On
(10:25):
from hoop my hoop Master's days. He played with Josiah
or his brother. I forgot who which one it was.
He had a brother, right, it's a couple of them.
But anyway, Um, your recruitment, so you got a nice crew.
You kind of you know, getting off a little bit. Um.
Who are some of the schools that were looking at
you early on? That kind of got you excited. I
(10:48):
had this weird, if like factuation with Syracuse. I don't
Syracuse just had that that that that notoriety at the time,
you know, in the nineties, and you know, North Carolinas
was like I gotta go to Syracuse. I like the Orange,
I like the jerseys. Jerseys was sweet, you know. And
then once you start, once I started to get more
deeper into basketball, I'm like snow like I'm from l A,
(11:11):
like snow like I ain't I'm not going there, like
nah off the snow like nah like because because I
didn't really go nowhere, I didn't really travel nowhere like
basketball took me everywhere, like I probably want to travel.
I probably have been. You know somebody from LA that
has never been nowhere anywhere. So um so yeah. Fox
(11:34):
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app search f
s R to listen live in Syracuse. And then so
senior year came down to Yukon Arizona, and U like
my top three schools okay, okay uh, Jim can who
(11:58):
Calhoun came to it, came to my house to home visit,
loved him, loved you. Colma East Coast is saying I
ain't really been nowhere. And then at that time it's
like it's not for me. I've been Gordon damn all right, cool,
So Arizona, I go to my trip on Arizona loved it.
(12:21):
Richard Jefferson's my host. End up hanging out with Gilbert
probably the whole time. Hey, what would your visit like?
You and r J, y'all two light skins. What was
y'all getting off in Arizona? Don? I can't imagine what
Listen been the same. He's been the same. He's been
the same guy as you see him now. Man, he's
the same guy. J Don like J from Phoenix down
(12:46):
the street, you know, just like, Hey, it's Tucson, you
know this Arizona, trying to show me the way. And
then you know you come across guild. Who's Gilbert the
same Gilbert? Come over here with me, young Feller, were
gonna I'm gonna show you the rope. So ended up
hanging out with Gilbert more than than than Richard. But
you know, it was it was fun. I had. I
had a really good time, really good trip. Um Andrew,
(13:08):
who I played with, was a freshman going into his
freshman year at that time, so I had a little
comfort there for my high school teammate. Um, it just
was in l A. It just wasn't l A. Ludolson
was amazing, Like if they was in l A. I
probably have sawn there, But it just was in l A.
What was it about? It wasn't the thing you didn't
want to leave home. Man, You're so comfortable just in
(13:29):
your surroundings in l A that leaving l A just
kind of not frighten you, but it kind of gave
you a little pause, kind of like, man, I ain't
trying to dip from the city. Is that how he
went down for you? A little bit? A little bit?
But I mean you grew up in l A and
you still you see the prestige that you see l
A god and you still you see the banners and everything.
I mean that spoke for itself. And you got laugh
(13:51):
coming in and you know, talking and seeing the family
and being at every game and you know, being live.
I mean it was it was an easy sale for me. Yeah,
when back in that era of lab Man, when you
say being laugh Steve Laughing, who was just named the
new head coach at University of San Diego and who
we both played for, we can both testify to that
(14:14):
this guy is one of a kind. He's one of
the probably know in my opinion, just as far as
his ability to speak and work a room and you know,
sell somebody's mom on trusting that person with their child
for the next four years. Like please, it doesn't get
too much better than that, I say, laugh Caliparie type
of dudes, man, like those dudes that come from the
same cloth. So so so you got a laugh so
(14:36):
laugh got you. Who was your other guys that came
in with you as freshman? Uh? Came in with another
Actually I wasn't saying they were all Los Angeles natives
Man Bosman, Yeah, um, Andre Patterson. Yeah. That was that
was our crew right there. That was a nice crew. Man.
(14:57):
That was a nice crew. Long. You guys were long,
very athletic. Uh. One thing that could be said for
probably every team that played at u c l A
under lab and all that, at least one team or
two teams twice, you were pretty much underachieved. We didn't
live up to our potential as a as a team,
as a as players. When do you attribute those lapses
(15:21):
two back at U c l A. I've always tried
to figure that out because we would have so much talent, man,
and the summertimes you probably ran and what gets the
pros with the us A crew and y'all probably was
getting a lot of wins and looking great. What was it? Man?
What happens? What happened to U? C l A. As
far as the underachieving part, that's a good question, man.
It's UM. I think it comes down to just building
(15:43):
teams and everybody's standing there and you know, you've got
guys is leaving year after year and new guys coming in.
That it's it's hard to build that camaraderie and that
that uh, that grid, that winning, that winning mentality. So
I think that's uh, I kind of where it hurt.
(16:03):
When I was playing. Um, I played with two coaches,
so it was Lave for two years and then been
Holland for two years, uh the next two years. So
that coaching change could be, um a monkey wrench in itself. UM,
just because it's just new. It's different, uh, two coaching styles,
um Ben Holland coming from the East Coast and coach
Lave more West Coast style and more free oriented. UM.
(16:27):
So that that that was just a little different. It
just kind of just throws you off your your your
you know, what you're used to and what you're seeing
for the first two years. So I can say that.
I mean it's just just keeping the team together. Building
a team, a good group of guys that's gonna stay
together for the you know, for four years, three years,
or however long it takes. Yeah, man, building a program,
(16:49):
building the culture, it takes time, and take guys sticking around,
Like we had guys that stayed off four years back then.
So you know it was Ed and Tires and George Zedek.
Those are our guys. Those are our saying. We won one.
We won one, and there was no doubt with the
talent you guys had, um because coming there, So wait,
you weren't there for Moisa and Dan? Were you? I
(17:11):
was there for Dan, not Moisa. So I had Matt
Campono Yeah yeah and really rest in peace, Billy Billys
in peace. Um. Yeah, I had a lot of older
guys there. Yeah, good team. We lost on Sweet six
team that year. Yeah, was you see l a everything
you thought it was gonna be. I don't know what
(17:35):
it was gonna be, you know, Like I was so
green with the basketball. I was learning on the fly,
like I I didn't really have that that um, I
guess experienced sort of supportive experience, you know that that
could just be like okay, look out for this took
out for that. It was ill learn on the fly.
(17:55):
So UM, I don't know what. I didn't know what
to expect. It was it was fun like I enjoyed
every minute of it. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't if
I had to go back and change school, I wouldn't.
I still choose you, so it, yeah, I would to Um.
I had a few schools that were, you know, knocking
down my door. Washington State with Calvin Sampson, Arizona State
(18:16):
with Bill Freeder, um Cornell out in the Ivy League.
But you know, nothing nothing. I'm glad I went to
u c l A. But I kind of wonder what
my life would have been like had I went to
like a Utah and played for Rick Majeris and had
the rock in my hand, you know, not running. You know,
do you sell a high posts and where you could
kind of develop a little more and handle and things
(18:38):
like that. I always think about it, but you know,
not really tripping on it. Uh. You know, hindsight is
always twenty. If you were all packed ten, Uh, you're
last year U c l A. And now take me
through the draft process. So you're coming, you're projected. Well,
I don't know where they had you. But I know
that at your size, your height, your skill set at
(18:59):
that time, uh, you seem pretty primed to you know,
to do well in the draft. Now you get picked
fifty second round. How take me through the workout process
for you, the pre draft process. If you can remember
and talk about the moment that your name got called.
(19:21):
I always tell people that was probably like that whole
process was I hated that process. Like I hated that
whole process. It's um, I don't know that my my nature,
my style of play and going going out workout after workout,
having to like prove yourself. Yeah, I could do it,
(19:42):
but that that wasn't my thing. I'm more of a
gamer like I. I like to show my my my
game throughing just game play, so that you having to
fight every every trip, every work I was like, damn,
these guys is hungry. But I think we'll kind of
threw it off a little bit. My senior year, I
played the four p Uh that's just where we needed
to I need to be for the team to to thrive,
(20:05):
or that was only position that that was open at
that needed feeling. So I played. There was a stretch
for so going into the draft. In that pre draft process,
like I was going against a lot of fours in
my work, and I'm just like, that's not but it's
not my position. But you know, I was able to
do it and it was successful at a little bit.
But these guys are a little bit heavier than me.
(20:26):
You know, on against like Ryan Ghnes, it's like twenty
pounds te five pounds more heavy than me, thirty pounds
Jason Max. Still, I'm like Jason Max sill these guys
on the block. I can't do nothing with this man.
These guys was physical. Who's that time? The game was
more physical. It was who's your agent? D who's your agent?
Real quick? Who's your agent? At that time, I was uh,
(20:47):
I had signed with Todd. I was with Todd. It
was it was his first go around with the Life
Sports Agency. So the year before that, Trevor had went
to the draft. He had Trevor and then I had
I was going to go to the draft my junior years.
So we both me and Trevor went to pre draft together.
Trevor stayed. Then I went back to school. Wait, um,
(21:08):
I went through my whole senior year, had a better
senior year, which I was like, yeah, you go ahead
and Trav like worked out for him, um, but end
up going back to school and doing the pre draft thing.
But Todd was my agent when I signed, and so
Todd had so I guess I was supposed to have
Todd on him last week. I guess I'll ask him
when he gets on. I'm asking why the hell he
sent you the pre draft workouts with force and didn't
(21:31):
have no god dang shooting guard workouts. And that's that's
for another discussion. I'm gonna asked Todd on my own
because I want to get the bottom of that, because
that will make no damn sense. But but Dijon, it's so,
it's so funny how we have a lot of parallels.
So you just talked about your pre draft experience and
have playing before right to stretch four. So my whole
senior year, Bro, I played the stretch four. And I'm
not tall as you, so I'm bigger, but I'm not
(21:52):
as tall as you. I'm six five playing the stretch four.
So I and then when I get to the pro
situation in Arizona and Chicago and all that, they me
in the in with the twos, So I was I
wasn't like I would have been. I would have rather
have been in with the Force. But they put my
they put my big slow. I was too forty six
five to forty. I'm trying to stay in front of
(22:12):
you know, Earl Boykins in them, you know, I mean
it was just it wasn't Anthony Carter. You don't remember
a Carter, but please he's coming in along. I'm like,
I'm just trying to guard. And you know how it
is once you when you play a position for an
extended period of time at a very high level, like
a four, when you try to translate the that skill
(22:32):
set that you have been used to playing into the
end into the pro setting where guys have been playing
their natural positions and this, and that you're gonna always
be at a disadvantage. I'm really um, Actually, the fact
that you got drafted after working out against Force, it
really says a lot about probably how you stuck out
and how you how you showed up in those workouts. Yeah,
(22:55):
I mean I definitely did the best thing I could
um in those workouts. UM My trainer, you know, Rico Hanes, Uh,
he definitely prepares you, um those type of workouts. Pro workouts,
and and that was what ten fifteen years ago. You know,
people are just now starting to see Rico now, but
he was doing that ten twenty years ago the workout,
(23:17):
so and it was probably harder than like he's probably
lighted up now because he's can't move as much as
and you know, getting older like we all. But they
were tough. They prepared me. I was. I was definitely
prepared in all the workouts. Um it just the way
the game was, the game, the way the game evolves now.
I think if I was playing now to be a
(23:38):
little bit better for me to stretch forward, it's not
really a stretch Forward's best players out there. Yeah, you'd
be a three, three and D guy, you know, they'd say,
or I mean if you, I mean, it's a lot
of guys that are playing and flourishing in the NBA
right now that I can see somebody with your skills said,
because you have the skill set that that's the most value.
But we do both. Do that jumper, that that pro
(24:00):
deep ass jumper. Okay, that jumper put me in a
game right now, my jumper I am pulling like these
motherfucker's is pulling everybody pulling d it's all good to
pull from be now. Remember remember we had to be
edited because we could always shoot from there. But then
you had to get a look if we pulled up,
people looking at you, mad at you. And so I
(24:22):
try to tell folks, man, it's a totally different game now,
and it's not. It's not just because of what guys
can do or where they can shoot. It's the attitude
towards a five to seven dribble combo, a dude just
playing ice ball. It's the attitudes by the coach and
the other teammates that has changed the most of my opinion.
Think about how we let everybody get this off. Now,
(24:43):
remember you, man, that some of these shots broke, I'd
be wanting to fight. I would have been wanting to
fight these You're like, man, what you're doing? God, where
are you showing that? Nowadays it's like good shot, bro
good shot. Let me ask you this though, and be
be to percent honest. Being a second round pick by
(25:04):
the next number fifty four, were you satisfied? Were you
happy with that? Or were you like disappointed that you
spent a large portion of your life probably wanted to
be a first rounder. Now you get draft in the
second round. What were your emotions, Like, I remember, like
it was yesterday. It was sitting in Todd's office. Uh,
family was there. It was stressful. It was just like damn,
(25:28):
you know, it's it's it's like everybody's draft experience. You know,
you're saying you're about to get drafted. Here that that
pig past, You're like, all right, the next couple of pigs,
and you start, you know, you start going down the
list and the opportunities. The window starts closing. But once
I heard that name, it was like a big relief.
Oh we it was like yeah, you know, even though
(25:50):
it's fifty four, I was like, yeah, it was. It
was a great feeling. Honestly, it was a great feeling.
And it was just like it's time to get to work.
You know, it's talking to work. It was. It was
a chip on my should, it was. But I was
happy that I was happy to get drafted. One out
sixty players in the world to get drafted, man, And
and I tell myself now, just like one out of
(26:10):
sixty one sixty man, your name called so bro, make
no mistake, that is that is amazing. That is an
amazing accomplishment to be drafted to have your name on
the board, for an organization to believe in you enough
to invest the draft pick in you. Okay, because I
didn't get drafted. I'm sitting on the board. I'm sitting
(26:32):
watching the thing, and you watched the whole thing. My
stomach heard, you know, the tears is flowing. It's like dang.
So any So, everybody that comes on here that has
been drafted or anything like that, I always talk about
this because I love hearing it. I love hearing people's
perspective on whether or not they were happy some people.
Some people were you know, weren't happy with their second
round pick, like you know, told me wasn't too happy
(26:53):
with that. Hey dog, I'm sure we're first round. You know,
I should have boats after my first few year. So
we get into all that type of conversations. So if
it's good to hear that you were rolling with the
four pickers, I know that we were. Um, what do
you remember what stands out the most about your first
NBA training camp as a rookie. God, So I got
(27:14):
drafted by New York, but I was traded to Phoenix.
So my first year was in Phoenix and training camp
was at Tucson. It was at you have a So
I was like, all right, cool, I know this arena.
I didn't play here for years. I know the baskets,
I can you know, I'm cool. But that Phoenix system
(27:34):
man with Steve Nash, that eight seconds, seven seconds or less,
you get in that, You're like good. They are flying
up and down this court. Like it was hard to adjust.
It was really hard to adjust to to really get
in that mold, to just throw up anything up there
on that just throw up the shot, just get it up.
And that wasn't my style of game. Like in your mind,
(27:56):
you like anybody wants to play in that style, but
that's not for everybody. Everybody don't have that mindset. Everybody
don't have that conscience. So it was it was difficult
for me. You know. It was times to where it
was like yeah, I could hang, I could ball. Had
moments where it's like I stood out, but it was
it was tough. It was tough to really crack that
D'Antoni lineup, and that was and that was gut wrenching,
(28:19):
you know, to get to to experience that um because
they sent me down to the D League. That they
sent me down to the D League. My my my
rookie year, and I was like, damn already. So let
me just break this down. So, how many games into
the season before D'Antoni and them sent you down to
(28:42):
the G League. It was off top, It was off top.
It was Yeah, it might have been kind of more
so off top because the D League was starting to
get developed in it was they were still trying to,
you know, get that implemented and acclimated. So it was
they were still testing it out, so they needed players.
So it was like perfect, boom, send them down there.
So it wasn't long. So it was after training camp
(29:04):
and then had to do a D League training camp.
I was like, oh, I just came from training camp.
I gotta do another one. So this is word coach Cooper,
Michael Cooper, he was my coach at the and he
was like DT. He's like, I know, you just did
training camp. He's like, I ain't gonna kill you like that. Man.
He's like, you gotta do some stuff, but I ain't
gonna kill you like that. That's wrong. Cool. So he
(29:27):
looked out for me and I was. I loved it
down there, man. I played probably about two or three
games Max killed him and they called me right back
up and I was like, yes, play Like yes, Nah,
let's sit right back on this bench out like let
me go back down the album Querty Like it was
(29:47):
fun down there. We had Tony Bland, I had Joe
jip Ed. You came down and played like I had
my l a guys down there with me. So it
was fun for me and he was winning. Coach Cooper,
I loved it. So when you you go down to
the G League, who did you come back up? Phoenix?
What they called you back up because somebody got hurt
(30:08):
and they needed a roster, a roster spot to field,
or they wanted you to come in and actually play,
and you did. Did you get into the opportunity to play?
Is what I want to get at. I didn't get
the opportunity to play. I think somebody was sick. Bar
Bolsa made it got sick or cold or something, so
they needed an extra body up there. I really thought
I was about to play now because I proved myself
(30:29):
in the Dally I could put up some numbers. So
but yeah, it just didn't. It just didn't happen that way.
It just didn't happen that way and then uh, probably
about February March. I ended up having knee surgery. Had
microfractury in my rookie season. Rookie season. That was a
gut punch. Um That same year, March start Tomorrow had
(30:50):
his microfracture, so he had had his right out of
training camp. So I was watching him, seeing him go
through his rehab all year, and then once the team
the doctor said I had one, I was like, oh no,
amor designed he was hand a million dollar contract. I
was still sitting on this drink and I like, oh,
(31:11):
this ain't a good look for me. This ain't a
good look. But I was like, no, I can't go
out like that. I had to. I had to rehab,
get better and came back. I came back full strength,
so good. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk
lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at
Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart
(31:32):
Radio app search f s R to listen live. At
what point, though, did you decide in your head like
I'm tired of chasing this league stuff. And you know,
I because as ball players that are elite, and you
have an actual opportunity to try out for the NBA
and if you could do it year after year, because
(31:53):
I did it like four or five straight years where
I was going to training camps and all that. At
some point I was like, man, funk all that ship.
I'm done. I'm tired of this, you know what I'm saying.
I'm just tired of being a body and training camp,
tired of not getting a real look even though I'm
killing these dudes in training camp. I'm tired of this feeling.
I'm gonna get go somewhere where I'm loved with a
(32:14):
you know, Cris Cris Joe whe you know, they said
your name real loud. At what point did that realization
happen for you? D Jones? I think it was. I
can't remember. It was. I was coming back from my
knee injury. Uh, I gotta call up. Came back to
Phoenix rehab the whole year when started the D League,
(32:38):
got called to Atlanta Hawks, played there for a two
ten day contracts. The Numbers game happened, So I'll go
back finish the rest of the season in the D League.
That following summer, um, I think I have a training
camp with the Cleveland Cavaliers. I go into that training camp,
the mini training camp, played really really well and end
(33:01):
up making the roster for for Vegas whatever. I was
probably the third guy on that team. You had, uh
you got Daniel Gibson on that team and um uh Shannon,
I'm blanking on his last thing. But they were two rookies.
They were two rookies at the time, so they were
they were. There were some of leagus for the rookies,
(33:22):
you know, the guys that didn't really get to play,
and they was coming to They saw more season to
the time for them, and I was probably the third
guy outside of them as far as on the floor
and as far as touches and getting a notoriety. But hey,
they took all the shots, so I was like, cool,
I gotta figure it out. But still played well within
the minutes. So after that, they're like, I come to
training camp basically for no money. That's when I was like,
(33:42):
you know what, I gotta make a business decision. My
agent at the time, Sam Go for the He was
just like, man, this is a business man. Let's let's
just go get some money. How about that. I was like,
you know what, You're right, let's go get some money overseas, man.
So that was that was my once they once they
once I played well in summer league and you know,
they didn't even want to give me no money to
(34:02):
kind of training camp. That's when I was like, all right,
it's it's that's not right. Yeah, that hurts, man, It hurts.
And it shows you, Joe, how they they treat you. Man,
if you're not one of them guys, you know you're
not one of their guys, and look, it's all up
to them. I don't I don't hate the NBA. I
don't hate the people that made the scouting decisions that
they made or the choices they made. But you know,
(34:25):
you look back on it, you just kind of sometimes
you think. I wonder if you think sometimes like man,
I wish I just had one more shot, or I
wish I had a real legitimate chance to play where
I was getting shots, or or if I actually got
time and my numbers called. You see it in the
league today, Man, some of these guys, like the Clippers,
they got a guy named a Mirror Coffee. I don't
(34:46):
know if you've seen a Mirror Coffee play. This dude
had thirty five thirty seven dog like, like he just
needed some minutes do you feel like he was one
of them guys that just you didn't. Yeah, it's it's
it's minutes his opportunity. It's timing. I mean, it's a
lot of area was coming to it. But yeah, I
do believe I was talented enough to be on the
floor and and get major minutes. Of course, I think
(35:07):
I was that skilled enough. Yeah, sure you gotta be
that skill And talk about now your first real overseas experience.
So Sam tells you, hey, let's go get some money.
What was the first job that he brought to your table,
and just talk about that country, that city, that team.
Uh first job was in Germany, Berlin, so that the
city was amazing. Um, it wasn't the most warming experience
(35:30):
because i mean, first time overseas, you just like, you know,
here the lights, you just like a deer in the headlights,
Like what the hell? The ambulance is different. First time
I'm experienced jet lag, I'm like, what you gotta wake
up in like two hours to do a physical where
they're gonna have you running on the treadmill. So I
remember calling my mom. I'm like I ain't about to
make it at this time. You got Skype was I
(35:54):
mean it was Skype, but you had to get you
had to have calling cars. I remember buying like a
pack of calling cars mobile car card right before I
left from my homie because I was like, man, I'm
gonna all kind of man. That was the lick. That
was the list the homie had to call and car
that the call. I spent O fifty getting fifty bucks,
so I had calling card dial to me. I remember
calling my mom like I ain't gonna make it, like
(36:15):
I'm tired. I can't even go to sleep. I gotta
get up and run like I ain't gonna pass that.
She's like, how you'd be all right, you know, just
just try to go to sleep, you know, calm me down.
But played in Germany, Berlin before a serving coach out
the gate and I had a Serbian too, I have, Yeah,
I got baptized out the gate um. So it was
(36:36):
it was tough. It was tough on the basketball side.
This the city kind of saved me as far as
you know, entertainment, you know, just stuff to disconnect from basketball,
because the the narrative from for a serving coach, they
could take they could take the fun out of basketball. Man,
they're gonna drill you, run you and it's it's very militant,
you know. So it was Berlin City saving. Yeah, speaking that,
(37:01):
that's fascinating because I played for a Serbian coach when
I was in Lebanon Um and he was a little psychotic,
you know what I mean, Like he was on one
uh he always, he used to tell me because he
had coached Darryl Armstrong and Greece. Remember Daryl Armstrong. He's
like he was trying to give me to play like Armstrong,
like dog, I can't play like GARYL. Armstrong. Man, that's
a whole another type of dude. I'm gonna do me,
(37:22):
Bro this turnaround jumper and this mid post like I'm
gonna do me. So he was. But but the thing
he loved about me because you know I had I
had a crazy work ethic. So I was there. I
was getting to the gym like at six, like before
the nine o'clock morning practice. I was already like an
hour and a half, two hours, sweaty. I was stay
in the whole facility all day. So he loved he
he was rolling. He knew what time it was with me.
(37:45):
So I was like, bro, I'm gonna give you this
fifty ball, like, don't even talk to me about none
of this nothing, Okay, I don't want to hear nothing.
D you know when when you go overseas and you
ball out and you know you have that that thing
that they love. Yeah, you can call your own shots, Britt. Yeah. Yeah,
I hadn't been on both sides of the spectrum. Man.
(38:06):
You can beat a man and you know, call your
shots and being the last gun on the bench. So
it's over. Excuse it was a great career, man, I
loved it. Like you said a serving coach, he he
killed us, but he actually he actually primed me for
the rest of my career, to be honest, like that
mental toughness and and new it ticks that grind like
(38:27):
it was no surprises after that, Like I knew what
to expect from every team and I and I that's
how I just performed after that. It was just like
straight like m like now I ain't messed around like he.
So I give it to him. He helped him. Yeah,
I thought you were you had achieved or been honored
with like all euro Cup selections overseas, did you You
(38:49):
guys want to champion? You want championships over there. Uh
one in Ukraine? Uh shout out to Ukraine. Uh did
win a championship? U claim to marry you people? Uh
so my blessings go out to them. Um, that was
the only place I really want, like a championship in
the cup and stuff for the for the euro Cup.
(39:10):
We've made it to the final four. We we really
just had a really good team, underdog team and really
made it to the to the final four against some
really really top team. So that was a really good
year for me. Actually, what's what's the country of Ukraine?
What is it like out there? How are the people?
What was you know? Just described it or talk about
it a little bit? I mean, be honest, is what
(39:31):
you see on TV Ukraine hasn't really changed from when
I when I was playing, Um, it's it's very underdeveloped.
The it's the money. They don't really put money back
into the city. It's very poor. Um. I remember playing that.
The closest McDonald's to me was like an hour away,
and I was looking for that McDonald's, Like we're looking
(39:53):
for McDonald's overseas And it's crazy to say, but we
are thirsty for McDonald's overseas as a mill like because
we know what what to expect, so hour away and
we would have to fly out of that airport. So
you just I just remember loading up on apple pies
on the bus, like I'm going back to my city
of our white cheeseburger so I could eat them a
little bit later. Like but yeah, Ukraine it was cool,
(40:16):
like we want to chip. The culture was there, loved it.
It was just the city was just crazy. Yeah. Man,
that's how my experience in Russia was. So. So I
was in Moscow for a little bit, and then I
was in Saratov, which is like near Siberia. It's like
(40:36):
way in the in the cut. Uh yeah, Like like
you said, I was there in so the economy had collapsed,
like the ruble wasn't worth nothing, and so people was
out there just really hungry, thirsty. You know. They were
trying to get me to throw a game. On to
throw the game. They were trying to get me to
throw the game. The Russian old school Russian come talk
(40:57):
to you on the side and they were trying to
get you to throw the game. Like I was like, man,
I can't do all that. I'm trying to hoop bro,
like I don't even get down with the throw the game,
you know. But but anyway that it was, it was
crazy experience. I'll never forget though Russia. I went to uh,
these nightclubs out there, and I'll never forget this scene. Bro.
(41:19):
I'm walking in behind like two big gass like Serbian
Bosnian looking dudes, right, and so they just started pulling
out heaters and they had like a little cubicle where
they were checking in. They gave the dude the ticket,
they checked in the gats like before they got to
the club. Okay, here ever set it here, they checked
it in and they got a ticket for the I
was like, okay, it's one of them. I get inside
(41:43):
the club and there's nothing but Tupac being bumped for
two hours, two straight hours of pock stuff I've never heard.
I was. I couldn't believe I was. I was just like,
what the hell was going on? I got a big
day of service steak. I got a big as steak
in this spot. Need just to say I had. I
had a pretty solid experience in Russia. Um thirteen years overseas,
(42:04):
right yea? Than uh? I mean the way I think
about longevity overseas, I feel like and and tell me
if you feel like this. I feel like when you're
going that long, typically it's what seven six, seven months
on four or five months back at the house. When
you're going that long, you you you miss out on
(42:25):
a lot of things. Do you feel like over those
thirteen years when you came back after you retired, do
you feel like not? Has it been an easy transition
to come back to the States into sort of the
real world after being a pro internationally for thirteen years. No,
(42:45):
it's never easy. It's it's it doesn't matter where you are.
Transition is never easy for nobody. You know, you used
to doing something for thirteen plus years, ten plus years,
however long somebody plays. It's it's never easy. You. Um,
so being over there that long, I missed out on
(43:07):
a lot of things. Um. One of my close friends,
he would always say, just press play when you get
back this, press play, man, we missed all on stuff.
But we're not. We're over there working, we're doing what
we'd love to do. But so we didn't really miss
out on a lot, but we missed. You missed out
on connections, you missed out on network, missing out on
you know, just that that feel, that that texture, just
(43:31):
that engagement. So it's when you stop, you got to
reconnect all over again. Like, oh, you know, now you've
got social media, you can't have social media that that,
you know, so it's hard to keep up with folks.
And I don't really have that much social media, so
it's it's really hard to keep up with me as well.
But transition is hard. It's it's hard, but you know,
(43:54):
that's that's why you you go to U C. L
A for the network and got guys like you. I
could call all big brothers, you know, band everybody that's
that's that's been down that journey and kind of you
know kind of guys. You would just be that lighthouse
rightly young, you know. So a lot of guys have helped.
You know, it's not easy, but everybody goes through it. Yeah,
(44:16):
I just feel like, you know, it's it's it's good
to talk about it with other people that have gone
through it too. I felt like when my time overseas
like I missed out on a lot. When I say
missed out, I mean obviously talking about the family and
kids and things like that that are close to you,
but I was talking to more about like professionally it's
like you you spent eight years hooping, so you're equipped
(44:37):
to come back home and do something in the field
of basketball. Now, the jobs that pay in the field
of basketball, typically in the college and the program um,
those jobs are far and few between. There are not
a lot of those jobs. Those jobs are already kind
of spoken for, and plugs and hookups and you know,
nepotism in the whole nine. So being overseas for eight
years and then coming back and then trying to, you know,
(45:01):
find your way into the coaching industry or the television
game or or these different games where people have been
grinding while you were gone overseas eight years. You're short
of behind the eight ball. You have a they got
a hit start on you, and so now you gotta
get you gotta bone up real quick. You gotta get
up to speed real quick. Uh. I think it's necessary
(45:22):
for guys that played internationally overseas that when they come back,
they have to get some type of certification. So like
whether it be real estate, whether it be an accounting license,
whether it be something you gotta get be able to
get into the game with some type of certification that
puts you on a level where somebody feel comfortable hiring you,
or you can make your own bread legally and do
(45:45):
it in a way like real estate. You know what
I'm saying, Where you your own boss. Um, it's a
tough game, bro, It's a tough game. Dog. The only
I mean, you just gotta just you know, we as men,
you just gotta keep stepping up. You's gotta keep waking
up every day, man, and trying to go get that,
go get it, no matter how old you get. Ship,
I'm almost fifty, bro, So you know I met you.
(46:08):
We was young, and you know, I was way more handsome.
You still handsome, and Ship, I was way more handsome.
But Joe, that's facts, Bro, That's yeah, that's that's real man.
It's it's it's just being an athlete. I mean you,
it's it's funny you say that that were behind the
eight ball and a lot of things, but we're not
(46:29):
in a way because we have characteristics that a lot
of people don't have. And that's that grit. Going overseas,
you gotta have grit. You gotta have discipline, You gotta
be patient, resilient. You got that ain't for everybody. So
to be able to survive overseas and come back like, yeah,
the transition is hard, but we, like I said in
the beginning, we built for it. We built for We're
(46:50):
not gonna stop with competitive You're gonna tell us no,
We're gonna figure out another way how to figure it out,
you know what I mean. So, yeah, we missed out
on some things, but we have a lot of other
traits that a lot of people don't have either. Absolutely,
and I think it's important that we we uh, we
give ourselves those props. We recognize those traits. You know,
that's my brotherhood and and things like that are so important, man,
(47:10):
just to be able to talk to cats that went
through the same experience as you and they have sources
of inspiration and motivation, you know, because our our motivation
ain't gonna be the same like as everybody else is.
Like you know, so we got a certain type of
dudes get motivated us, Like we got to hear from
you know, a certain type of dude like, look, I
ain't trying to listen to all this motivation. I'm one
of these dudes that motivate. I need somebody way up
(47:32):
here motivate me, bro. And and that's just how it is.
Dog us you this. What's the last time you've been
in the gym? Man, who I was in the gym Saturday?
A matter of fact, you coach it. Yeah, but it's yeah.
But I mean to answer the real question, man, I'm
not in the gym like that, honestly, Man, I'm I'm not.
(47:54):
I'm trying to pick it up here and there so
I don't get all stiff and stuff. But yeah, you know,
never thought about working with anybody man, working with some
of these youngsters man on that on their own jumper
and game. I mean you you would be first of
all from a demonstration standpoint, just seeing you shoot around
and stuff. I mean, I mean, I'm just man, I'm
listening to Dog, I'm watching shoot I'm listening. Bro. Yeah,
(48:18):
I mean I ain't. I ain't never never really looking forward.
But i mean somebody asking, you know, approach me with Yeah,
I'm always open to health of you. That's dope. That's dope, man,
that's dope. Man. That's a good place to be in. Man.
I still try to get help out when I can, Bro.
You know what I'm saying, help out when I can. Well, Man, listen,
It's been a great conversation. Brother. I appreciate you for
(48:40):
coming on the platform and sharing your story, sharing your
basketball journey with us. Man. Um, you got any shoutouts? Man,
I don't do the shoutout things. Shout out to everybody. Man,
do you see it? That community? Everybody gonna start up.
Everybody just just love. What's up with your startup? What's
up with your startup? Bro? Dont we try to get
that in? Don't we try to snick that in? What's
up with the start try sneaking in? I mean, yeah,
(49:01):
that's the reason why I'm not really you know, doing
the basketball or in the gym, Like that's the transition
is to start up into the tech space just dealing
with data, you know, biometric data. So it's that's more
of a challenge. I like the challenge. The startup life
is collaborative, is still team oriented, and yeah it's pretty cool.
(49:21):
Man's dope, Man dope. I lived that life for about
seven years from two thousand and eleven to about two
thousand eighteen. That was with a company up by US Saslito, California,
right outside of San Francisco. This dude he designed this
app that made that made it easy to scout right
so we were just we were collecting data with the iPhone.
We gotta serve, we gotta server in the cloud. We
(49:42):
shoot it up to so no man, if you ever
want to chop it up about any of that experience
or whatever, Man, my phone is always open to you. Brother. Again, man,
I appreciate you coming on the show. Uh, ladies and gentlemen,
the John, I appreciate it, y'all. Peace,
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