KJ Live - Luther Waters - KJ Live

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is kJ Live with Chris john Sallie and Chris
is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and
entertainment in a strain. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now
tuned in to kJ Live. Today's guests on the show.

(00:24):
He's a fixture among Southern California basketball. He's a god
fearing educator, coach, teacher, mentor, and renaissance man. He was
recently named assistant coach at the University of Missouri at
Kansas City. Luther Waters is in the building. Luther, what's good?
My brother? Hey, what's up? J howsn't It's going great? Man.

(00:47):
I'm glad that we connected, Bro. I saw the news.
Actually I heard the news, um, and then kind of
reached out to give you congratulations. But I said, man,
let me talk to my boy, because you have your
your some out that over the years I've really respected
as someone that not only loved the game, loves the kids,
but you take your job as an educator, as a teacher,

(01:09):
as a mentor very seriously and you lead in the
right direction. I kind of wanted to get you on
the show, man, so people can hear your voice. Come
on the platform and kind of introduce yourself to the folks.
Bro Uh Luther, what part of I know you're from
l A. What part of l A were you born
and raised? And talk a little bit about your childhood
in that environment that you grew up in. But site correction,

(01:32):
So I was added on to the staff. So my
official title is recruiting coordinator over at u m k C. Congratulations, congratulations,
I'm there. You know, it only took twenty two years,
but very very thankful for the opportunity. But um, I
grew up in Guardina man Um right on a hundred
and thirty second in van Ness, uh, about two hundred

(01:56):
yards from Raleigh Park. So so my child consisted of
you know, running in with the sign up from the
park to to play some hoops, you know, my mom
right in the check for ten bucks and hopping back
on my bike and riding back up there to drop
off my registration. And it was really you know, at

(02:18):
Raleigh and in that gardena community that I learned how
to play for people, for people out there that might
not necessarily be familiar with Raleigh Park. You tell us
some of the guys, players, athletes over the years that
came out of that area. I know it's a bunch
of poo Jetter and but some other guys come up
to mind. But Jetter grew up around the corner from me.

(02:39):
Sir uh Poo. Richardson was there every summer. Rich and
my favorite player of all time, Isaac Burbon. Oh they do.
And look. I would get to the park at nine
thirty in the morning. They opened at ten. It's I

(03:00):
can be first at the door, right, because you know
in those days they opened the door. If you get
there thirty minutes late, there's two hundred people outside. Yeah,
you're not getting on. So I was probably about thirteam
by the time I started playing on the big boy court,
and Uh, Isaac was sat, Louke, just get there, put
our name on the list and we're good, right. Um

(03:23):
Julie Rousseaul A lot of people don't know that name.
Yeah we know Juan Yeah. So Um, I would write
everybody's name on the list. Um, Brent Summers. And I'm
a young guy. So you gotta pick up ninety four ft.
You gotta commit seven thousand a game, and you can't miss.

(03:46):
So if they kicked the ball, team don't miss. So
how you stay? Oh, that's how you that's how you say,
that's how you stay on. But it was through those years, man,
that I learned earned mentorship, I would say, in a way,
because they mentored me indirectly. You know, I was a sponge.

(04:08):
God didn't bless me with, you know, being six six
and two hundred pounds and all of those physical gifts
that other people have. And I learned at an early
age that for me, my journey was gonna be based
on my intellect because I and I felt that, yum,
there were certain things that I could do that other
people necessarily couldn't do on and off the court, in

(04:30):
terms of being able to see things, in terms of
being able to be vocal um, be positive, encourage people.
I used to tell Isaac stop missing, don't miss, and
he's looking at me like, who are you like, shut up?
But you know, in those early years, man, there wasn't
a day that went by that I was not there,

(04:50):
you know, playing every day in and day out, and
I and I'm forever grateful for that opportunity. And your parents,
what type of influence were when you were during your
childhood years, the foundation that they set for you. Colgini
described their for US man. My parents are guys sent
man UM. My father Vietnam VETT. My grandfather UM was

(05:13):
a prisoner of war in the Korean War, passed. My
dad was six. My grandmother was widowed with four children
at twenty six years old. And my grandmother was tough
as nails. You know, Excuses were not tolerated. UM. My mother, UM,
hard working woman, married my dad at one. You know,

(05:36):
we're a family at three. You know my siblings well.
And I remember early on trying to make an excuse
and Pops wouldn't having it. Like I vividly remember, you know,
coming in from the playground over at Perchy Julie was
the playground director at Perchy Right Elementary School, and you know,

(05:56):
I remember somebody pushed me down and I might have
been in third grade, and I came in house crying
and my dad like looks at me, like what the
hell are you doing in here? Like either you're gonna
go back and fight or stay your gass outside to
your mama, get home. I remember it was like that
moment of okay, he made it okay to fail, meaning

(06:21):
what we're not gonna do is not put forth our
best effort. That's not tolerated. But what we are gonna
do is be okay, irrespective of the results, as long
as you put forth your best effort. So I remember
going back over to the playground where my buddies and
we were all the young guys and the middle school
guys were like, push us down, and this is on

(06:41):
the dump courts, right, But you have to learn how
to fight and how to compete because you couldn't go
back home, Like the street lights aren't on, so you're
not allowed in the house, so you gotta figure it out. Um.
But needless to say, my parents went back to school

(07:02):
at the age of thirty, and I remember, you know,
we had everything we needed, but I remember what spam
tastes like. I remember what that block of cheese tastes
like where you try and cut it and it wouldn't melt.
You couldn't make a real cheese because it would get
greasy that we wouldn't melt just right. Um. And I
remember red beans and rising an oatmeal every day. I

(07:24):
don't eat red beans right now because I ate it
every day growing up. But through all of that, I remember,
you know, it's never too late. You know it's never
too late to hit the reset button. It's never too
late to put your mind to something. It's never too
late to do whatever your heart desires, as long as

(07:44):
you're you're courageous enough to to put forth the effort.
And I think that's the biggest thing I've taken from
my parents. Put God first and and be willing to
put forth your best effort, regardless of the results. I
love hearing the lesson that were taught by your parents.
And it wasn't necessarily like a lesson they had to,
you know, sit you down and spend a bunch of time,

(08:06):
but just something like, you know, you're coming home crying
and they're not allowing you to sort of accept certain
types of behaviors. I think I think that was a
big way that my parents, your parents are parents of
our generation, raised us through like tangible experience. Now you
went through something, and now you gotta learn, you know,
the hard way basically out. And I think that the

(08:29):
way that style of parenting forced us to really use
our ingenuity. Our brains are diligence and have to really
you know, figure stuff out, as you said, And and
there's something to be said for that a little there,
especially when I look at today not to get too
far off from tangent, but when I look at today's
generation and and some of their behaviors and habits that

(08:53):
they that they tend to do, I kind of view that,
as you know, experiences everything, you gotta go through stuff,
because they talk about a lot of stuff, they have
an experience a lot of Today we get a lot
of opinions based on from people that have never walked
in the shoes of those people that that that's always
just mind bottling to me. But again, I loved love

(09:13):
to hear that. Let me actually this, your siblings, how
much did they What kind of influence were they on you?
Were they on that? Because I was a big brother,
as I was the oldest, I was always kind of
tough on my little brothers. All right, I'm on their
head constantly. Right, I'm never giving them problems for nothing.
I'm not letting them beat me in one on one
video games, nothing. But I was trying to raise them

(09:35):
to be super competitors. Did you did you have a
sibling rivalry with your folks or how did that go?
Candice man like you? I figured it was Cande man Um.
You know there's only two years between us. You know,
and I'm the baby of the group and uh mine you.
Candice's friends were Kathy Bryce, Yeah yeah, legend, Michelle, Vicky

(10:03):
Ruff and for those of you you know Crenshaw High
School's girls basketball team, you could damn near beat the
boys j B team. They don't know about Candy Canthy though.
Like that's why they would be at the house. You know,
I would be in the front and they would pull up.

(10:25):
You know, Candis had a car, and you know Kathy
would be Kathy and you know, just pick the ball
up and just give you this work real quick. Um.
But to to to like Candice's credit, man, Candice was
my rebounding man. Like in the front yard. You know,
I would be out there and she would come out

(10:46):
and she was shagging balls. You know, you're not going
hard enough. You gotta hold your follow through. You know,
this is why you got cut in ninth grade. You know, man,
Candice and make you cry, But it was coming from
a place of love and comfort. So if you can't
take criticism from your siblings, your parents, your boys, you

(11:08):
can't take criticism from anybody, you know, which kind of
leads us to That's part of what I think some
of the young men are struggling with now. They don't
have authentic friends number one. That's number one. That's the
most important thing. Somebody that's gonna be keeping absolutely a
hundred with you at all times. Yeah, we're human. We've
all made mistakes. I've had to apologize several times people

(11:30):
I love. But if they can't call me on my mistake,
they're not really my friend, you know. And you know me,
you know, I could just sometimes I can go all
the way this way, but they're always has to be
that voice of reason to say, you know what, lou,
you're tripping you know whatnot That wasn't cool, bro. You know,

(11:52):
that's really what fellowship and being a man, being a learner,
being a teacher, being a coach is about. If you
can't take somebody you know, giving you guidance, you know,
maybe constructive criticism at times, then who are you to
dish it out? You know? So when I look at

(12:14):
coaching and teaching some of my best players, man um,
there was this middle ground of respect. But they knew
that they had my ear, you know. So if I
wasn't gonna listen to Josh Christopher, you know, the most
recent in terms of what he sees and in terms

(12:36):
of the actions that he sees himself being successful or
who who the hell am I to just tell him
what I think? I ain't on the floor, you know,
And I think that's always been one of my gifts. Um.
If you remember Josh, when Josh was in ninth grade
and I was a JV coach, you know, there wasn't
much he could do athletically at that moment. But the

(12:58):
one thing he could do, he can knock down the
fifth for the jump shot the best of them at
that moment. Right. So, Josh, when when teams are playing,
don't want against us, this is what we're gonna do.
You're gonna flash high, turn face, look see what you got.
And I still remember that all these years later, right, Um,
But I knew that that's something he can do he

(13:18):
can bring to the team to help us win right now,
versus this is what he can't do in easier his limitations.
I think a lot of folks look at when they're coaching,
they look at the limitations first versus your strengths. Um.
I always love playing for coaches that you know. I
was a big guy, couldn't move very fast, et cetera.

(13:38):
But they figure it out with me. Hey, Chris, let's
post him up ten fifteen times a game, get him going,
because they knew I get a couple of baskets, then
I can run a little bit faster. After a couple
of baskets, I could jump a little bit higher for
some reason. I don't know why, a little bit after
just everything just went for some reason. But now, but man, listening, man,
and being open to that, especially with this generation, and

(13:59):
I think of my show. I'm always just talking about
the errors because I come from a certain era, and
and then we always are comparing errors. We're not hating
on errors. Were not downing you know, this error or anything.
We're just noting some of the differences and trying to
figure out why things are the way they are. But
but your to your point about being open and understanding. Um,

(14:20):
why do you think that you had that type of
approach instilled in you at an early age? Where did
you learn that? Because because I remember even at Crenshaw,
you had a different energy and attitude about you. Your
aura was different than everybody else where. Do you think
that came from Luther? I think my dad, you know, um,
self confidence, Man, my dad is an alpha. You know,

(14:43):
you can't tell him that, you can't say that. He
he believes he can do anything. Um. And with my
dad being a teacher at the time, we were at
Crenshaw together and before that watching Joe weakly. You know,
I remember Coach As would not allow anyone in the

(15:04):
gym during practice, mom, dad, cousin, uncle, principal, nobody. And
when I was young, because my dad was, you know,
a teacher at the school and you know obviously was
with coach Garrett for twenty four years, I believe on
the football staff. Um, you know, I was a young

(15:25):
kid and nobody to watch me and coach Joe weekly
and Coach West allowed me to sit in the corner.
I remember, so I was sitting in a corner and
literally just trying not to breathe too loud because I
was terrified if they would would ask me to leave.
And I knew what my ceiling was athletic, and I

(15:47):
was okay with that. My parents never put this pressure
on me to get a Division one scholarship too, to
be something other than what God made me to be.
But in the respect, I knew you guys and your greatness,
and I appreciated that. So for me, looking at you know,

(16:08):
Tommy Davis, you know, looking at Ronnie Yards rest in peace,
you know, looking at Raymond, looking at Leon, looking at you,
looking at Trarain, looking at Rob Parker, how he can
defend the ball ninety four feet. When I tell when
I talked to my son about that team, He's like,

(16:30):
were they really that good? Like you have? No? I did,
And then watching like a Leon Watson and his journey.
His parents never complained when he was in ten of
eleventh grade and wasn't playing twenty eight minutes of ball game.
I was just very observant of Coach West, his mannerisms,

(16:54):
his approach um as a coach. I've always watched the
practice uniform ms and even to this day, Chris, I
fold them up. Remember how Coach Wes would make you
give give you the uniform at the end of practice.
And I took a level of pride when I got
on staff to wipe the floors down two Coach can

(17:15):
I watch the uniforms? He you know, coach I could
watch like. I took a lot of pride in whatever
he needed me to do. I was there. Coach Duckett,
hey man here you need a top. Hey, the curl.
The curl is sweating out the back of the shirt. Coach. Coach. Yeah,

(17:37):
but I took a lot of pride and being an asset.
I never wanted to be looked at as a liability
or somebody was you know, somebody that was asking for something,
somebody to give me a hand out. I was never
about that, Um, and I was perfectly content with that.
You found your lane early in the game, and then

(17:58):
you just stayed in your lane, and and you excelled
in that lane. It's funny when you mentioned, uh, taking
pride and the little things associated with coaching and uniforms
and things like that. When I coached with the Truth
and with the Pumps, Um, two places you've been as well.
I took pride in watching the uniforms and putting extra
downy and fabric softeners and making sure that you I

(18:20):
was on that, bro Like I'm like, I would take
pride in these kids uniforms because I wanted it to
look so sweet when they got it, that they felt
so good on and on it was soft. You know
it got on. They don't say I was on that too,
And I know we got that from coach And the
other thing too, was the sweeping of the floor that
you mentioned, Like, that's one of the most cathartic times
that you can have, especially when in an empty gym,

(18:41):
when it's just you and you hear the zinging of
the lights on and you're just thinking about today. You're
just going through that. Bro, I've had I've had those
same moments my brother, where I've been just taking taking
pride and sweeping and just treating it like some like
a whole sanctuary meditation type of thing. I think that
that's directly from Coach West though, for sure. Yeah, absolutely.
I remember asking Coach once. I said, Coach, how can

(19:03):
you just sit there like that? You never get upset?
You know, It's like my first year coaching with him,
and I'll be there and my nerves to be shot.
Somebody didn't set the screen and you know, so and
so wasn't playing hard. I asked him that question once
and he said, Luca, you do your coaching and practice.
He said, if I'm up and I'm exerting all of

(19:27):
this energy, I don't never want to make my players
feel like I don't believe in them. I was like, oh,
he said, if I'm panicking and I'm exuberant. My players
may feel that I don't believe in their ability to
sustain this run, to come back to make in game
adjustments by themselves. And it made perfect sense to me

(19:50):
because I mean, you know, I played for coach Dennis,
so when he was yelling, or you know, when I
was playing with Tiny, you know, I was you know,
as a kid. You know, Tiny yelled at you. You know,
you go getting nervous. But I remember Coach West saying that,
and I I developed that saying disposition to really try
and maintain a level of poise in the midst of

(20:15):
the storm. In my last comment on that, I learned
something from Mr Christopher Josh Christopher's dad. Um, I'm coaching
the truth. Uh sixteen, you were in the E y
b L. We're in peach Jawn. Um, we're playing against

(20:35):
no I'm coaching Kyle Supreme. We're playing against the Truth.
But coach I'm coaching against jay Crow. Jack Crow had
Jayla Green and you know that roster. Right, they ran
out to six something, Chris, And I'm sitting there and
I'm watching them and we're just getting read right, and

(20:57):
I can hear people behind me time out, time out,
time rout. And I heard Josh's dad over here. Everybody relaxed.
It's just a game. Kids are gonna be fine. And
he calmed me down right, and I was, so we
made it the halftime. We end up cutting it back

(21:17):
to eight. I never forgot that, so I stole it.
You know, now you know when team is gonna run
in different things. Everybody relaxed, It's just a game. And
what happens is it brings the stress level down regarding
the players, because if they're up and you know they're unraveling, well, hell,

(21:40):
they're not gonna be the best version of themselves. And
and that's something that I really observed with with Coach West,
and you know, I tried to take on that same entree. Yes,
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(22:03):
f s R to listen live. Coach Willie West, you
know the the well he used to be the record
holder for state championships, but I think Gary McKnight beat him.
But eight state championship, sixteen city championships regarded as you know,
one of the greatest coaches in the history of high
school basketball and basketball in general. Um, I felt like

(22:25):
when Coach West was in practice, it was sort of
like his time to get everything out, so he would
get everything that was bothering him, every issue that he
had with anybody. On any little play, he was gonna
bring it up. He's stopping practice, he's getting in you
doing it. You know, he's yelling, he's making you, he's
making you feel this small right, So that happens in practice.

(22:46):
We get into the game and I've and it was
just the weirdest experience my first time playing a game
from Coach West after having practiced. My first game is
its Garfield and I was having a bad game my
junior year. We're playing Garfield first day. You know, I've
come from Monclare Prep. Luther had made the big transfer
between my sophomore and my junior year. Everybody had said that,
you know, he's only being successful because he's playing at

(23:09):
a small school. So now here I am. It was
a bunch of white people out of that school. Here
I am going into the heart of the city at
the Shaw. First game I get out there, I'm nervous.
I'm not making no shots. You know, I'm missing you know,
easy jumpers and everything like that. Coach West. First time out,
he comes over and I'm thinking he's about to scream
and yell. So I'm thinking it's about to be that
coach and practice. He kind of he kind of looking
at me, kind of gave me like this little smirk

(23:30):
like come on, like when you go play like he
just gave me like a look, and I was just
kind of like, I'm running back, like thinking he's about
to yell at me, and then when you look up,
he's smiling and like come like giving you like this
lift up. You just man, it just changed my whole thing. Man,
I was like, who is this guy? Yeah, it's it's
literally like you're like, who is this guy right here?
This is not the coach that that just was in
my you know what I'm saying, Yeah, I was in practice.

(23:52):
So I love Coach West for that style of coaching.
You're right it when you pan nick, when you're doing
all that crazy stuff, it creates that frenetic environment of
anxiety on a team, and you know how that goes
everybody's nerves. Now everybody becomes on edge. Now every mistake
is amplified. But um no, those are some serious lessons.

(24:16):
Let's get back to to your journey, Luther. As we
were talking about it, well you're at Crenshaw. I was
curious as to just describe that time of life, that
era socially, athletically, just l A just set the scene
for us in nineteen about that those years we're phenomenal.

(24:45):
You know, those are some of the best years of
my life. You know. Um. One of the things I
vividly remember is that we were all friends. So it
didn't matter if you played football, basketball, baseball, you would
just a guy or just a dude. There was a
level of camaraderie that we had that the teachers had.

(25:10):
Teachers didn't miss games, Chris I noticed, the security guards
didn't miss games. The principal didn't miss a game. The
entire community was a safe haymen for us. If it
didn't matter if we were getting Miss Bird's class and

(25:30):
go to Chris Burger or getting into your ninety five
black Camry and taking the cruise. I'll tell everybody to
a clock, though, I will tell to somebody about Margarita's
uh to the little Mexican spot. Margaret was I forgot
the day, but it was a hitting up Margarita that lunch. Yeah,

(25:52):
it just didn't matter what was going on. We were
all truly friends and umbrellas. And when you go over
to Manual Arts, same environment, when you went over to Washington,
same environment. So geographically, no matter if you went north, south, east,

(26:16):
and west. Those communities and especially in respected to the
ball clubs were like a community and it was a
right of safe passage. I mean I caught the two
ten through Inglewood by the way right to get the
crunchhaw every day, and I've never had anything to worry
about because as long as you had a backpack on,

(26:40):
everybody left you alone. Um. But I remember, man, just
it was a community. I remember getting that coach Dennis
is Lincoln mark four and there was so much armor
all on the seats, right. So, um, your first year
there was a game out in Orange County. You know Dennis,
we would run out of there like jump in there

(27:01):
and go get a burrito from Heralds and he would
be dipping that mark for so I'm sliding across the
seats with um and we will pull up right in
the nick of time. Right. Um. It was just a
great time. Man, and I think that communal approach had

(27:22):
a lot to do with the success um of the
ball club because as players, it was very clear, irrespective
of level as well, that you were a representation of
the community that you come from. If you put that
jersey on and you're out there doing something that's not

(27:43):
cool and somebody picks up a phone and causing all
I mean, there was gonna be some consequences that you
were gonna have to face. And as you know, in
that day, everybody was replaceable, you know, so there was
a level of I would, I would, you know, positive
peer pressure amongst us to to go, you know, down

(28:05):
the right path. Yeah. Man, I think I was talking
to uh Dom Ellison. He just got named the head
coach at Morningside. Uh so he's gonna be on my
podcast pretty soon. So I introduced we were talking about
that that that exact thing just on how people's parents,
the community, there's a level of peer pressure involved in
you keeping your head on straight because you knew, you

(28:27):
know how nowadays it's basically frowned upon it as a
say say, I'm somewhere and somebody's kids are acting bad.
I say something to those kids about acting bad. They're not,
you know, it's we could be beef with the parents,
and man, don't be talking about kids. Back when we
were coming up and if if parents were out, we
were out somewhere we saw somebody's mama and then they

(28:48):
saw us acting up. We knew to be on our
best behavior or to straighten up. Or if somebody's mom
told us something, it wasn't you know, if you know,
we're respecting that because that's so and so's mom or dad,
and we know what time it is. And I think
that's been lost as we've gotten the law. The village
helping to raise the child was such an important factor

(29:09):
in people because there's times when parents aren't there and
you're gonna and you're gonna need these other folks to
be able to have the ability to say something man
incorrect or or constructively criticized without without it being taken
so personally. Um. The other thing too, I wanted to
touch on as far as just my experience as you're

(29:30):
talking about Crenshaw, Man, You're bringing up so many just
amazing memories and stuff. Man, I'm thinking about the black camera,
and I'm thinking about though after practices and when Coach
West would sit us all down for two man our
and our minimum talk. Bro So, I came from mont
Claire Prep. So mont Claire Prep coach Bob Webb, Howard Abrams,
my dad like tow there. You know, we didn't have

(29:52):
any type of talks more than probably five minutes after practice.
Coach West set us down every day after practice, after
going hard, being at each other's throats, competing for positions
in one of the most prestigious spots in all of California,
and he'd have talk to us about life. Uh grades,

(30:13):
um decisions, we made, um choices, I mean, the whole
nine man. And for me, what that did is that
gave me just a perspective that I hadn't had in
my whole up to that point in my life, to
where I'm just I started just really valuing things differently.
I started looking at things differently. I started being a
little more thankful for what I had. It started to

(30:35):
make me realize that I was truly blessed. And I
started looking around, you know, and it's just like, damn, man,
I just started thinking about a lot of stuff, and
it was a lot about Coach West, and he really
helped established some character. He really helped establish some morals
and ethics and things in me that I want to
say I didn't have before, but I guess they weren't
at the forefront. Do you think Coach West would you

(30:58):
describe his influence on you in a similar fashion? Did
he insurmountable? I still talked to Coach. You know, I
make it a point to call him about once a
month check on him. You know, when we were in
Arizona this past year, I was gonna go pick him up.
We were in the pandemic, so they don't want to
come out. But I still talked to Coach. I mean,

(31:18):
the impact he had on me was huge. Because I
was just a guy. He didn't have to embrace me
in the fashion that he did. Um When my career
took off from being a teacher to move into administration,
I remember we had a talk and I said, Coach,
I want to Coach, I want to be like you.

(31:39):
And he said, Luther, you don't want to be like me,
you want to be better than me. Mind you, at
the time I might have been I might have been
around thirty, and I at that age I still couldn't
understand what he was saying. Right, But he wanted me
to use my education to really carve out a path

(32:01):
for myself. You know, I had finished grad school at
the time. I had a job offer on the table
which was gonna double my salary literally, and I remember
talking to him and said, Coach, like, I'm not sure
about this. You know, I want to be here and
this is what I want to do. And he he
was like, no, this is what you're gonna do, you know.

(32:23):
And he would always talk to me about, you know,
his experience to segregation, leaving Texas as a baseball player,
coming out to cows in l A because that was
the only place he could play. And he would always say, no,
you need to do this where my lens and my
dreams were only right here. I couldn't even see myself

(32:44):
moving further. And he always pushed me, no, like, there's more,
there's more for you to achieve, there's more for you
to do. Um in a very direct but um comforting way. Yeah.
Absolutely that he he his that was his style. That
was his approach. It was direct, it was in your

(33:04):
face sometimes it was really blunt, but it was you
knew it was what you needed to hear. You knew
he wasn't if he wasn't wasting time talking to you,
there must have been a problem. If he didn't pick
get on you about stuff, then you you really must
not be somebody he carried. But because that's how he
was as a coach, Um, And when I was thinking

(33:25):
about you mentioned U, Candy Bulls and coach Tiny Edmund
Fleano had got a shout out. Coach Timney Rick Stevenson
rest in peace. Um. All those coaches that were around
that program around then. All those black men where men
of character, and they took their jobs as mentors very seriously.

(33:46):
Not one of them dudes that I could ever mintor
ever remember ever letting me down the wrong path or
you know, if I ever asked for advice, it was
always on the up and up. And I always remembered
them and understood that that's what's needed for that supports.
You gotta have a whole crew of them type of guys.
With that being said, I remember with Coach ed you know,
with Coach ed Waters, of course we had a disagreement

(34:09):
that you know about, and it wasn't and and this
was my level of immaturity. It wasn't until he had
a health ailment and I got a call, and man,
whatever issue I had, whatever beef I had, all that
went out the window because all I was concerned about
in that moment was is he okay? You know? And

(34:29):
I remember going to the school or my niece who
plays at Alcorn States. She ended up graduating from Crunshat.
I went to the school and man, I just went
in his office and just just gave him a hug
because I was genuinely concerned for him. Like the basketball,
the hoop, none of that mattered at that moment. But

(34:51):
to his credit, in that moment, he's like Luke that man,
I love you like we're men. We're too out for men.
We are gonna disagree, it's inevitable, but in that we're
not too big to ever say, you know what, that's
my fault. You know, I should have handled this a
little bit differently than what I did. And I think
that's another thing that that's so lost man, Like now

(35:14):
it's all about what you think or what I think? Well,
who who gives a damn? Sometimes we have to be
vessels to to listen and too mentor the next generation
asked too, these are some landlines that I stepped on
and be be open and honest about it. These are

(35:35):
some mistakes that I made along the way. But even
with that, it's okay. If I make a mistake, I'll
be the first one to say, you know what, man,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you know. And then then then
you can then you're done, like you can take that weight,
that that burden off your shoulders, and it's up to
that person to either accept your apology and move on.

(35:57):
But I grew a lot man around on those men. Yeah,
you know Coach Garrett. Yeah, Coach Garrett. Garret's always a trip.
You know how Coach Garrett is. So Coach Garrett used
to always like he always he's always coming me. Man,
I wanted to fight Coach Garrey. I was at a
point where I was I was saying it. I was like,

(36:18):
I'm gonna fight Coach Garrett. So I had to have
I told like some people like, I'm gonna fight Coach Garrett.
So but it is. But then I realized. But then
I think me and him had a moment. Man. I
don't know what when it was, but it was like
one on one, it was just me and him somewhere,
and I just realized at the time it was just
coach Garrett just doing his thing. If he wasn't messing
with me, he didn't see nothing in me. Probably I

(36:41):
found out he respected me. And once I found out
Coach Garret respected me, though, I took anything he gave me.
From that point it wasn't nothing no more. You feel
me with me. When I got my first assistant principal
ship at the school, I'm like, hey, coach, and I
remember he cussed me up. I I'm like, I was like,

(37:01):
I played for you, Like this is a little there,
like yeah, And I remember closing the door and we
had this big old argument and uh, I think that
was what he needed for me too, you know. And
then there was a mutual level of it. It was
the weirdest thing. I called my dad, I'm so upset,

(37:22):
and I was like, man, coaches tripping and and he
was like this, you know, but you learned, you know,
And then everybody fights their own battles. To man, you
never know what somebody's going through. You know, you don't know.
You you never know what somebody's going through. And with
somebody's six, you just never know. And I think in
this business that we're in, and and and and the

(37:45):
situations that we're in just in terms of being in
close proximity to some great players and great young men,
it's viol that we mentor them and with love and
with transparency, because if they're not gonna get it from us,

(38:07):
they're not gonna get it anywhere. So we can't be
authentic and who we are, you know, the good, bad,
the ugly. Then how can we then foster that for
Will Johnson? You know what I mean? Um, how can
we foster that for Reese Waters? Like? How can we
foster that environment? And that's one of the things being

(38:30):
in l A that I'm unfortunate. You know, We've all
had quarrels, you know, because we're in a competitive environment.
But I think when the rubber hits the road, we
all want the same thing, and that is for our children,
for our community, for the players that that we've capsulated

(38:51):
to to be successful in whatever they do. Yeah, I
think that you just hit the nail nail on the head,
especially about l A. Our culture. Are are stuff out here.
Sure that may be beef, but at the end of
the day, like we are all rolling with each other.
I've seen I've seen that in different parts of my
Life's quick story about two thousand two, I'm playing overseason

(39:14):
qatar Um. We're looking for another guard to come in, right,
I need another pro because I'm there, I'm the one professional.
We need another pro. We're playing in like a big
Asian championship on the continent of Asia. So the other
team got j R. Henderson and sham Guy Wells as
their pro Saudi Arabia. So I knew that was a
team we had to be, you know. So this is
before the tournament. So I'm like, yo, man, I gotta

(39:36):
get my guy. I gotta get one of my guys
out here. So I ended up calling the Anthony who
called you know who told me Stace was working out
Stays Bozeman so and Stays, you know, he's a blood
with the Morningside with the USC I got. I actually
got a tech of getting it during a packed ten
game because I called Stays a slab during the game.
I called Stays a slab door the game, bro, and

(39:56):
I gotta tech. Hey, Stace was looking at me like,
you're crazy the hell you? They don't even know what'sl like.
He was just so tripped out about it. But but
but anyway, the long story short, man, I talked to Stays.
We you know, it wasn't really no beef, but you
know how you gotta get awkwardness. Man, States came over there. Man,
we ended up winning the championship. Bro Me and Stays

(40:18):
in the back court. Man. We ended up making big
bank bonuses. They loved them. It was like Stacey's greatest
experience overseas. Man. But just shows you how this stuff goes.
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 Radio app
search f s R to listen live. When you're from

(40:40):
l A, you have a certain like um kinship with
everybody else. You don't even have to know a dude.
Yeah you meet him or you run into him, and
you know some people that know each other. Oh wait
where'd you grow up? Oh yeah yeah before I was
over here. I'm like, oh, man, man to love. And
that's one of my favorite things about being um this culture, man,

(41:01):
is that it's what you're talking about. It's kind of
what you're hitting at too. Man. It's like we're all
could be different dudes, but we all love the game,
and that's what we have in common. Bro and I
love that us for show. Yeah. Absolutely, San Josey State.
Why did you decide after graduating? Chris Shaw? Why did
you starting to go to San Jose State? And who
else was involved as far as where you're looking at

(41:22):
continuing your academic and athletic career. So I had three
opportunities to be a preferred walk on. I had Sack State,
I have President State, and I asked San Jose State. Um,
I was at the gym working out. I come back home.
It's right after graduation and just turned seventeen eighteen, just

(41:43):
turned eighteen, and there was a bag at the door
and I'm like, Mom, who's bad is at the door?
She's like, oh, that's your bag. Like we're dropping you
off at school this weekend. And I was like, I
was like, where am I going? And she's like, well,
you know, we'll we'll go Sack State first, Fresno State second,

(42:07):
we'll finish it sound Stay State right up to one
on one, we'll choose, we'll pick one. So we're gonna
do like a turnaround. And then they were gonna either
drop me off coming or drop me off coming back.
But it was very clear that I was not gonna
make it back to l A. So we stopped at
Sack State and pull up. I didn't even need to

(42:28):
get out the car because they were green and white.
It's like, that's no go. For those of you that
don't know, Dorsey was greening right, not at all. Got
up to Fresnel, got out the car. Um Ray for
Austin was at Fresno City at the time, so I

(42:49):
knew the plans and I remember getting out the car.
It was hot, it's like degrees and the helicopter little
plane is sprants stip so that was short. Got up
to sad Jose. They were blew and gold. I didn't
need to see no more. Pull up at the basketball office, Um,

(43:15):
who's the coach? Stan Morrison? Stan Morrison? And I was
sold on Stan Stewart, who was also from l A
with the Morning Side and ended up playing at l
m U. Great dudes accepted me with open arms. Coach
West made a call and I had a great experience,

(43:35):
and I think it was through those years that I
really realized that I enjoyed being in the film room.
I enjoyed the strategy behind the game. I enjoyed the
player development aspect of it. Olivier St. John's turned me hide.

(43:56):
Um was there my freshman year, so Um, Tarik and
I spent a lot of time again, and he reminded
me of kind of how you were to some respect
being a great player, but just a humble dude off
the court. You know, a lot of people don't know
Tarie loves to play tennis. He was just really really

(44:18):
good at basketball. His first love was tennis. I didn't
know that, yeah, man, so um and coach Morrison, to
his credit during those years, was very open, very honest.
I remember he would pray before every game in public,
at the end of the bench. Before every ball game.
He would go to the end of the bench, Neil

(44:40):
pray before every game, every game. When you saw him
doing that, what kind of effect they have on you? Um,
be who you are, UM, run your own race. Um.
All the outside noise, because there was a lot of
you know, there's a lot of noise, and in college anywhere,

(45:02):
it didn't matter. Man, it never he never waved from
who he was and his core principles and what he believed.
You know, you're gonna go to study hall, You're gonna
do what you're supposed to do on and off the
court and if you weren't going to do those things,
you weren't gonna play. Hence coach West. So we had

(45:23):
guys at San Jose State kJ you can go into
the recreational center and get get that work. There were
dudes that could not play on the collegiate team because
of several things that were better then the players that

(45:44):
were on basketball scholarship. I mean like and it wasn't
one of them too. They were like eight or nine
news down there. And over the years what we learned was,
you know, some of those guys were, you know, pushed
off the ball club. One guy was one of the
best players I've ever seen to date. It was a
guy named Kendrew Johnson. He was from San Diego, went
to a j C in Kentucky. Um, it wasn't nothing

(46:08):
to do, couldn't do. He end up playing in Australia
for many years. But there was just a competitive environment
up there, man. And there was a group of black
professors that I attached to. My minor was African American Studies.
My major with social science with the emphasis and secondary education.

(46:30):
I knew I wanted to be a teacher and it
was just a great environment. You know, the professors would
come to the ball games, they would go to the
rec center and you know, play three on three with you.
And it was just a very welcoming environment. And I
think why I enjoyed it so much was because the city.
It was the first time I was able to catch

(46:51):
the bus or to train and go anywhere. You know,
you can't do that in nobody. Um So, the freedom
and you know, being able to wear a boss the
Reds chat for the first time. You know, I'm a
baseball fan. I always love to wear hats. Well, well,
let's explain that real quick, because we have talked about it.
So there's growing up out here in l A and
certain areas of l A. You grew up your whole

(47:12):
life in a certain area. You will never wear certain
sports teams clothes. For instance, I grew up early knowing
never to wear no Astro stuff walking around in that
brown and orange bro stay away from it. Francisco Giants
can do it. The Giants. The Astros like that. Man

(47:34):
is on man like hey. But so when you let
me ask you this specifically about that when you went
to college, you have these liberties now, and it's gonna
sound like a minor thing. But to be able to
wear whatever you wanted to wear. What did that make
you realize about the place that you came from. It
made me realize that we grew up in an environment that,

(47:58):
to some extent was health on this side, but then
on this side was very toxic. I had never been
north of Rodeo until I was in my twenties. Like
I had never drove down Crunchhall Boulevard and went north
of Rodeo until I was a grown man. Because the

(48:22):
barrier for us was stopper, So you didn't go past Stoccer,
right um, being able to like catch the bar to
the San Francisco Giants games. Oh man, I'm in heaven.
I got enough money for her a hot dog and
a beer. Ah, what can be better than this? Right um?

(48:47):
But growing up, man it you know, as we we've
gotten older, we've learned that man, like, there was so
much that we were limited. Like I thought l A
was that five mile radios from Guardena Crenshaw. I didn't
know about Roland Hills. I only knew about my Claire
because of you, and going north on the four or

(49:07):
five and barely are crests over here? To our left.
I didn't know that this existed, m you know, which
is unfortunate. Like I didn't know about Third and Fairfax,
Like I didn't know you know, you knew Pacific Palisades
because of Palisades High School, but you didn't know Pacific
Palace Sades, you know. So those are some of the pitfalls,

(49:32):
I would say from how we grew up. But I
think all of us were kind of like that for
the part. I mean, there definitely was a level of
limiting yourself or staying inside your comfort zone or not
going to other zones because of danger. So those were
kind of that's that's just what your your choices were
at the time. I just remember, you know, coming from

(49:55):
Deep Valley and then I was living in bel Air
and having spent a majority of my child hood it
was sixtieth and tenth to Alve and over in that
area with my mom. I just remember how when I
came back to Crenshaw feeling kind of a couple of things.
I felt a sense of familiarity because there's a lot
of folks from Audubon and thirty Secret Stary School or

(50:16):
these different schools I went to in my life where
they recognized me. So you'd have like thirty people in
school that knew I went to all about everybody else
thinking I'm the fresh prince of bell Laird that had
never been They thought I had never been to any
school or they like a lot of people didn't know
I went to all the like they didn't know none
of that. So they so people are treated me a
certain way or they you know, responded to me a

(50:37):
certain way. But my way of responding back was just
we're touching on during this conversation, trying to be yourself. Yeah,
I always struggled my whole life, um with being myself,
being the real version of me, because I was always confused. Man,
I'm gonna keep it real. Like when I be with
my mom, you know, in the hood, I had to

(50:58):
be more black. When I go bell Air be arounding
white people, my dad. I had tried to be more
white because you've got white friends and you know, you
don't want to show them the black stuff, and you
don't want to be too white with the black people
because they go to be looking at it. Oh this nerd,
and you know why you talk like that. So I
was like always try to I had to change up
my game, change up my voice, even dumb myself down
to an extended Crunshaw dog, which I really thinking myself

(51:19):
in an ask about not trying to seem too smart. Bro,
think about that, Luther. I'm sitting in class. No I
don't know all that stuff. No, all the answers, but
I'm like not raising my hand and ship because I'm
just like, I don't want to seem like I'm just
But these recent things I struggled with is I got older,
you know, figure myself out. I dealt with a lot
of different issues and stuff. But that part of it,

(51:39):
uh growing up out here in l A. Just being
from around so many different places in areas man for
me personally, that's what kind of contributed to that. But
when did you know education was gonna be your bread
and butter? When did you know in college? Like I
know you wouldn't do you're majoring in it, But when
did you like really know? I knew in high school? Um,

(52:01):
I knew in high school. So I was in the
teacher training maggot at Crunchhawn and if you remember, Ms
Bird had a zoo on wheels. But who was our
biology teacher? So when we would take the goats and
the you know, the snakes and the rabbits over to
the you know Angeles masa elementary school to you know,
show the kids and animals. I really enjoyed it. So

(52:23):
it was that maybe fifteen years old, and I knew
I was gonna be a teacher. And I mean I
was telling my son this the other day. Um, all
I wanted in life was I wanted to be a teacher.
I wanted to make thirty grand a year. I knew
if I made thirty grand a year, I'll be able

(52:44):
to buy my own truck. I'll be able to get
my own apartment, and I'll be able to buy a
television and have cable. So I knew if I had
these five things. The last thing was I'll be able
to get a bad chick. Because I got these five things.
I got my own Scott, I got fast grade, I
got the job. Is just how my opic. I mean,

(53:05):
it sounds simple, but it's it's really sad. My brain
at that moment was these are the five things I
need in life. So I never could even see over
the horizon because I was only focused on this little
bubble based on Coach West Coach Dennis if you gotta
you gotta think about those men their life. They dedicated

(53:29):
their life to a community and to a school, and
it it was it was only through adversity and being
uncomfortable that I realized that God has another plan for me.
But when you're going through this, you don't realize what's happening.

(53:51):
Right when I got transferred from Crenchhall High School, I
tell um I was telling my wife and I were
talking about this not too longer. I remember I was
driving down Crunshaw. They had just transferred the whole administrative staff, right,
and they said, Luther, you stay there and finished the
master schedule and we'll figure out what we're gonna do
to week. And I remember leaving word crying like I

(54:16):
had to pull over because I couldn't see anymore. I
didn't cry at my grandmother's humor, right, I was so
heartbroken on the bureaucratic change that had occurred because I
knew it wasn't the best thing for the school. I
knew it, right, I'm like, how could you remove the

(54:37):
staff that knows where all the skeletons are buried, that
live in the community, that our vessels. How could you
just move us out? Of here subjectively because you guys
want to go in a different direction. It's around the
time that the Christial Loss is accreditation. Yes, that was
my design to Okay, I'm getting it now, you know.

(54:58):
So he here, I am in the trenches and in
the war room so I can see what's going on
and for it to actually be planned out and manifest
broke my heart literally. But in that I remember praying.
I remember taking some time to myself and when Rico

(55:22):
called me and said, hey, my boy, j Hart want
to meet with you. You know, he's retiring from the NBA,
and you know he's gonna be taking over Team Jennings.
We're starting Team Jennings right and Kelly Williams Marcus Williams
dad is gonna be the director. That moment of depression

(55:42):
and sadness turned into joy because now I'm entering the
an arena based on my relationship with Rico that I've
always wanted to do. And when I was at Crenshaw
had blinders on, so you know, coach duck it style.
I'm in the gym before school, I'm in a gym

(56:03):
at lunch, I'm in a gym after school. I'm in
the gym all summer. So I wasn't going to any
a events. I wasn't shaking any hands, meeting anybody network,
I wasn't doing anything. I was my optic. But when
that happened in terms of that transfer for me UM professionally,
it propelled me to another place that I was always

(56:25):
asking God to place you. But it wasn't comfortable, but
you know, looking back on it, it was divine for sure.
So you're at you're now coaching with j Hart and
Team Jennings. At what point in your principal at vice principle,
I wasn't trying to at the time at a charter
school excuse me, a charter school. So you're now you're
a principal, which is extremely impressive. I always wanted to

(56:48):
talk to you about your academic being administrator academically UM.
One quick question before I continue to set the stage
on where you were at UM when you be came
a principle. Did your experience as sort of a a
guy that was in the end crowd or kind of

(57:10):
was part of you know, a lot of times people
that grew up to be principles in high school, they
weren't part of the cool crowd if you will. So
you were you were in the crowd, so did you
And being in that crowd, you know a lot of
ins and outs. You know behaviors that high schoolers were pool.
Did that stuff help you? And how you performed your

(57:31):
job gave me the cliff notes to the job exactly,
dog Um. Once I became a principal, I think my
biggest asset was understanding the kids. I was an advocate
of the kids. If it wasn't kid friendly, if it
wasn't about the kids, if it wasn't about them, I

(57:51):
didn't want to hear it. It had to be about
the kids to a flaw. Um. Understand standing struggle, understanding depression,
understanding the complexities of learning disabilities or master's is and
special education. So understanding that for this diamond to to

(58:16):
take form, it can only take form through immense pressure.
So the kids that we can all see that are
the valid victorians and the salutatorians. That's easy. That doesn't
mean they're gonna be successful because sometimes some of those
young individuals, when they experienced adversity, they can't bounce back.

(58:40):
Give me the kid that had a disability, Give me
the kid that came from a fractured home. Give me
a kid that has a temper on the court, Give
me a kid that has some baggage, and let me
unpeeled that onion. They're gonna propel further than the kid

(59:01):
that had never experienced adversity, just based on their experiences.
So as a principal, and I was a principal of
Compton as well, you can believe that. Um after I
was at Roosevelt Middle School in the camp in California,
had fIF kids. I remember, you know, being in a
board meeting for us. I mean I'm presenting in front

(59:23):
of the board and there was a wishless you know,
what are some things that you want to fix at
your school. I wanted sprinklers for the football field because
the kids played soccer in the dirt. I wanted my
bathrooms repaired in the athletic facility because all the kids
that were in the after school program and in the

(59:43):
various auxiliary sports would have to go on the other
side of campus to use the restaurant. And the last
thing I wanted was um new technology for the kids,
the Printhian smart boards where they can do manipulatives, you know,
on the board. And I remember I kind of got
flat for it, you know, because other people are asking

(01:00:04):
for you know, money, and you know, additional adults. I
need more, I need an extra administrator, I need. I
didn't care about all that. Give me this so that
the kids can enjoy their experience at school. And then
of the kids came to school every day, so we
didn't have bathrooms at worked, We didn't have books, teachers

(01:00:25):
didn't have computers. We had a third field and the
kids would play soccer and being big dust fall. But
I'm like, dang, we don't have all of these things,
but these kids show up every day. They still come
here every day. So I've always been one to to
look at it. The glasses have full versus half empty.

(01:00:46):
We can all talk about what we don't have, you know,
but what you realize is sometimes when God puts those
things in your cup, still doesn't bring happiness. You know something,
I want to make a million dollars. Okay, when once
guy gives you a million was next? Yeah, you know
we've all been there, um. But it was through that

(01:01:07):
journey that I love the authentic approach to working with
kids because they're gonna tell you the truth. Kids will
tell you the truth. Um. Do you remember when we
were um when we had the l A Pump and
Run team and Will was a freshman and we were

(01:01:28):
playing in the Compent Magic Memorial Classic out in the
ice somewhere. Remember that parent you know after the game
we lose the game. We were running week and actually
Will was on the left hand side. He was come
across on the down cross screen. We're gonna pin down.
We're gonna get him a three point shot at the
top of the kams our best shooter. We used David
Singleton at the time for the for the Dummio ran

(01:01:51):
David on the false action. We're gonna hit Will over
here coming out of the time out. You remember that
parent a and we lost. We lost the game. They
didn't run that in the vigil, didn't swing the ball
and run the set and trails going nuts. You know
you're you were behind me and as I'm talking to
the kids, you know, and that might have been. Was
that the championship? It was It was probably big game.

(01:02:14):
And I remember, like it's not. The kids fought the
parent was come on, bro right, And I remember, you know,
as I'm being cussed out by the parents, I remember
you were behind me, and you were like, hey, man,
you need to go down here. I'll never forget that,

(01:02:37):
you know. And one of my other partners was there,
and um, that's what has alienated our community. It's become
more about what we want as adults versus was best
for these kids. And being a high school coach for
twenty two years, I've seen it, man. I've seen it

(01:03:00):
with the best, with the McDonald's, all Americans, and I've
seen it with the children that needed to go be
doctors or needed to you know, use their education to
carve out a way similar to what I did. Um,
this this notion of everybody getting the trophy, it's not real.
It's not reality. No, it's not. There's losers. People don't
always finish first. There's a second place, third place for

(01:03:21):
a reason, a reason. Yeah, so that's why there's competition.
So whoever, the survival of the fittest is the way
I look at it. Uh. And you know that moment
that in time, I've always remembered how you handled that
really stood out. I know for me, I would have
you know, I would have blew up. It's why I'm
not a coach. But you And that's the That's why

(01:03:41):
I respect coaches so much. I I admire coaches because
I know the type of stuff that y'all put up with,
the disrespectful moments, and you are bigger and better in
that moment. And that's why it's just like, man, I
wish I had that strength, man like dang like. I
shout out to that dude for taking that from that
dude on the rail. As I've gotten older, like before,

(01:04:04):
I us just think it was some punk stuff. But
now when I got when I gotten older, and I
realized that being a punk is actually the opposite of
what I always thought it was. You know, when you
get older, you know what being a man is that
you know, you just had this messed up idea stuff.
I started looking back on life and in different situations
and different people in my life, and I'm just like,
man that dude. Shout out to him and the way
he used to handle stuff. Fox Sports Radio has the

(01:04:27):
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. Um staying on the administration part of things
you said twenty two years of of of of coaching.
How many of that of those twenty two years? Why
you've been a coach where you've been. Have you actively

(01:04:48):
been a teacher and administrator the entire twenty two yes? Wow.
So so you're splitting time and you're and you're not
somebody that's hands off for You're you're in the needs,
okay of everything. So you're not only doing the coaching
the school part of things right after school or before school,
you're actually handling other type of business. Talk a little

(01:05:10):
bit about that grind, because I remember when when you
first told me about Reese, just everything y'all was doing.
Just talk a little bit about the grind of that
and how that what that builds in you or how
does that affect you in your personal life? Does it?
I mean, yeah, I'm curious that that's a derivative from
my father. So my dad, he's seventy five years old.

(01:05:33):
UM went back to school to get his bachelor's at thirty.
My dad has a doctorate. My dad went to school
for about ten years from thirty of actually early forties
to get a bachelor's, two different masters degrees, and ultimately
his doctorate. And throughout all of that he had not
missed the football season. He so subconsciously I thought it

(01:05:57):
was long. You know, you go to work, you you know,
monitor the kids, and you know, and and your your
team throughout their day and you know if they're get
in trouble in class or you know they need tutoring
or whatever the situation is. And after work you go
to the gym. My dad went to the field, and

(01:06:18):
I thought, I thought that's what everybody did. It never
felt like work to me because it was something that
I truly enjoyed and I believe it was it's my calling. Um,
things changed for me, you know, as you know, I
didn't get married, um early, I didn't have kids early.

(01:06:39):
That's a direct correlation to that journey, right. Mind you
I'm not aware of what's going on while I'm I'm
in this right and throughout you know, I was working
at average at twelve or fourteen hours a day. UM.
Pam and I met many years ago, but had reconnected

(01:07:04):
when Reese was about six six years old. Maddie Pooh
is four, Um, and as you know, that's my stepson.
But I don't believe in stepchildren. Um. The Bible says
your father in three different ways biologically, of course, um

(01:07:26):
by assignment is the second and the third is an
individual that could give you father the advice. So as
I was dealing with my own demons and dealing with
I was considered a level of depression because I wasn't
where I wanted to be. And you know, I had
checked all the boxes. I went and got all these degrees,

(01:07:48):
I got all these student loans. My record was unblemished.
Why can't I be the principal at crench On High School?
You know? And I was told, oh, you look too young,
so that I still wear my my grade here because
of that, right, and you know, I was always clean cut,
suited and booted. It started to build up levels of
animosity internally for me, but I couldn't put my finger

(01:08:11):
on why I wasn't happy. Right, So, to my wife's credit,
you know, she said, you know, God has another plan,
and I'm like, I don't want to hear that. And
she would tell me this for years, God has another plan. God,
You're You're bigger than that. You're great. You know. She
was speaking positivity in me at a time where I

(01:08:34):
couldn't even see it in myself. Right, and in this
you know sence, I'm a coach. I'm a teacher here.
I have this ten year old kid that's coming up right,
and I've always been cautious to not set a bad example.
But as he got older, I said, well, I'm not

(01:08:55):
I don't want to be your mom's boyfriend. Now we're
about to get married. Were you brought so you absolutely
I'm not about to lay up in your house and no, no,
not not no, you know my mom might come kick
my ass. That's I wasn't that dude. So I remember

(01:09:16):
coaching Reese and you know, we we had after our
group with with Tico and you know, David and Will
and all of those guys. Um, Jay Harper was like, look,
let's put a team together with our guys, right. Little
Jason was twelve, Reese was thirteen, My nephew was thirteen,
and I was coaching those guys, and um, I was

(01:09:37):
in cutching coach ducket mode. I was because now I
got some personal equity in this, and I was pushing
these kids so hard. Um Reese broke at thirteen. Mind
you you know, he's an athlete and we're in the game,
and I'm like, you know, if you know we didn't

(01:09:59):
run a press, break, escape, dribble, attack the white side
of the floor. If they head you off, split it
if you turn it over, and get back on defense.
So I was pushing them too hard at thirteen, and
I remember, you know, he started talking back, and he
looked like he wanted to kick my ass. Right, So
after the game, we go outside and he's crying and
I'm emotional, and his mom got between us and he said,

(01:10:22):
when you yell at me and makes me nervous, I
don't like when you're young at me. And I said,
I'm tripping, right, I apologize. I haven't yelled since maybe
a better coach. So at that moment, regarding Reese and

(01:10:44):
and those guys, I started talking. I started having conversations.
So I would tell him, hey, man, you ain't gonna
be aggressive. You don't start scoring that ball, We're gonna
lose his motherfucking game. Yeah that's a great and he
would he would go okay. Or if I yelled Reese,

(01:11:09):
he would just to acknowledge I hear, I got it.
And as he got older, he would just kind of
look at me, and I knew what to look mean
and look me as I got it. Now, you could
sit down I got right the one thing that I
credit him with. I'm blessed that he trusted me because

(01:11:33):
he didn't have to. And I'm blessed that I had
the opportunity to have other people around me that have
been to where Rees said he wants to go. So
Jason jay Hard shout out to him. He had a
huge influence in regards to the plan. He would always say, Lou,

(01:11:56):
it's not rocket science, just getting the gym right, just
getting the gym. So at times where I may have
question my ability, right now, bro, you good at rocket science,
stay in the gym. And through that, having guys like
Gilanni White and you know Joe White, Reese would be

(01:12:17):
where he is. This whole way road set up. This
is jollanniding the um. Gilanni has been like a brother
to Rees. Having guys around that are supportive in terms
of your son and the journey is insurmountable. Having jay Crow,

(01:12:39):
I went from Kyle Supreme being a coach on in
that program. When it folded, jay Crow allowed me to coach.
He didn't have to do that. And when I said
he allowed me to coach, he didn't. He didn't bother me.
He spoke positivity, He spoke encouragement, he spoke confidence into

(01:13:01):
those kids. He he understood the big picture. Yeah he does.
He really does that. So Jay Crow and Jay Hart,
and you know, I've met fifty coaches because of James.
I've met everybody. You know. We and Jay would final
fours and in and out of gyms, and he always

(01:13:23):
introduced me to people, you know, Mike Brown and you know,
just all kind of people. Man. And he didn't have
to do that, you know, I didn't play ten years
in NBA and and breaking things down for me in
small pieces where I can see it, you know. And
it wasn't always easy, but it was always out of love. Yeah, man,

(01:13:48):
Like I got a great j Hart story, dog like
I got to so like, Jay Hart has always been
something since he was about ten or eleven, always rolled
with him. But I met him, I think I was.
He was probably thirteen him and losing me. Man. Look,
look they came out to A B C. D and
Irvine in like O. So they were twelve thirty or eleven,

(01:14:08):
I don't know how old they were. They were kids
and they were getting a four thirteen fourteen. They were
getting my attention because I was sit fifteen or sixty.
I was a sophomore. They're getting my attention from standing
up top, you know, like chritis, Chris, Chris, it's losing
Jay Hard. But his kids like what's up. They just
wanted to say what's up. So, you know, I'm like,
what's up, what's up? Giving him to what's up or whatever.
So so fast forward through life, you know, we grow,

(01:14:29):
I go to U C. L A. And j Hard go,
you know, he does his thing, Syraki lose what does
his thing? And we're older later on in life, and um,
it's around two thousand and seven, two thousand and eight,
and I'm in Atlanta and I'm chilling my little brother mcconan.
He had just caught a case man of involuntary man slaughter.
He accidentally shot his best friend on the day he

(01:14:51):
graduated high school. So we had I went down to
Atlanta to be there for a sense of support for him,
you know, helped bill him out the whole nine. Um,
I get it. So I find out the Clippers, he's
with the Clippers. J Hard with the Clippers. I find
out Jay Hart's coming to the town to play the Hawks.
So I hit up Jay Hart just kind of hitting
him with just a not really expecting to get hit
back a message j oh yeah, I see you all

(01:15:13):
here in the A T L. You know, I'm out
here with my bro. Man. We out here chilling, you
know how at me this dude Jay Hard. First of all,
he left us some sick ass tickets to the game
where we're in the sweet and all that. But then
after the game he made sure like we go to dinner. Man,
He took us out, Me and my little brother mcconnen.
We go to dinner, then we go to the club
with all the clippers. I mean, it was like a fun,

(01:15:33):
unbelievable night, bro. And but think about it. So I
got my little brother sixteen, he was just in jail, bro,
and and I was reaching out to Jay Hart to
kind of help try to help bring his spirits up.
Hart looked out like that bro on love on l
a straight up love and I and this but that
just kind of it captures the essence of who he is.

(01:15:55):
It's a great and and blessed you know he um.
I mean man for years bro me ja little Jason.
I mean we just sent the gym, you know, ten
thousand hours right, and you know, despite my career. The

(01:16:16):
shift for me Reese was fifteen in ninth grade, and
uh we we would go to the gym at four
thirty in the morning, come back home about six thirty,
take a shower, go to school, go to school, practice,
go to practice, go home, get a quick bite, take

(01:16:39):
a shower, back to the gym. We did this from
through middle school, probably up to about this sophomore year.
So one one evening, I fell asleep, you know, you know,
I fell asleep, just tired. And he came up and
he woke me up and he said, can we go
to the gym? I said, yah, let me get up,
and he said, nice, okay, I'll just go in the backyard.

(01:17:01):
And I felt bad, right, I was like, oh my god,
I don't have an energy to to get him back
to the gym. And my wife would be like, oh,
he's okay, And in that moment, I said, Babe, I
gotta do something else, like all right, he's special, you know,
and you know I'm you know, I'm as big as fan,
you know, completely biased and unapologetic about it. You know,

(01:17:23):
I believe he's a lamba in the garage during the
summer that you gotta take out and hit phi, talk down.
Can't nobody tell me you ain't that exast thing? Slice bread? Right?
But he backs it up with his work ethic. Like
I've never seen anything like this before out of a
high school age kid. You know, this dude is kind

(01:17:44):
of low key different and unless you know him, you
don't really know him, right. But I saw him transform
his body during the pandemic and put on eighteen pounds
of muscle. I saw him cut out call arms, cut
out bread, cut out juice, sugar on his own, Like

(01:18:07):
now I'm not eating that, No, just water, mom, I'll
eat the meat sauce. Now, I can't have a posta.
Like I got him the Mamba Mentality Book when Christmas
some years ago. You know, I thought it would be
a nice little token, like he's taking this ship to Like, like, dude,
you need to like get out the book. Like you're
not Kobe. Like you don't have an attritionus, Like you

(01:18:29):
don't have a chef, Like you don't have a you
don't have a besige that Like I'm like, bro, Kobe
had these things to help. Look, you don't have none
of that. You gotta go to class at SC. But
with all of that being said, man, his work ethic
and his approach is different for a nineteen year old kid. Yeah,

(01:18:53):
and I've had to try and balance him with just
gonna be nineteen today. Man, call you boys, go have
a burger and some fries and go catch a movie. No, man,
I'm me and j White working out. I'm over here
at Valley Ridge. You know, I gotta I gotta get
my run in. I mean, it's it's it's an obsession.

(01:19:14):
So when our couple with guy gave him six five
and three quarters to ten with his work ethic, the
sky's a limit. 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

(01:19:37):
Heart Radio app. Search f s R to listen live.
What do you think his next big jump evolution as
a player is, specifically, um, being a leader. He doesn't
deal with people m hm similar you know you know
how mold people person yeung and going to any room.

(01:20:00):
He's fine. Josh not not quite more reserved when he
was younger, just kind of a lot more the scene
stated himself, that's Reese. He doesn't do anything. His his
two best friends were the two oldest players on the team. Um.

(01:20:20):
The next step in terms of his maturation is being
vocal um, being a created a courageous leader with his voice. Um.
People will gravitate towards him because of the work, but
he doesn't allow people in. Good Um. The next step
for him, in my opinion, would be allowing people in,

(01:20:45):
you know, allowing people in and get them to understand
that it's my mother in law, hekay, get them, get
them to understand that you didn't just roll out the
bed and shoot forty four set from three. Season ended phenomenally.

(01:21:06):
It didn't look like that during the first quarter of
the year. And he grew up a lot man. You know.
I used to think that he could make a make
the transition into the NBA earlier. I've had to learn
how to let God do his work and be patient,

(01:21:28):
you know. And I got guys Jason, Chris c J.
You know, Jason assistant b G. Brandon graham Ville shout
out to him and these are my these are my friends,
these people I love. They're like Louke he all right,
just and looking back on his freshman season, I can
definitely say that as a parent who is also a coach.

(01:21:52):
So I have my own set of eyes. I've had
to learn how to. You know, when you played three
minutes against Kyle, you're not gonna get the pillow. When
you called my phone, when you played eight minutes against Stanford,
You're not gonna get the pillow when you called I
love you, but I can't give you the pillow because
you said you want to go to the beat. Right,

(01:22:16):
So after that road trip, he's sitting. You know, when
you get that text from the kid and you know
that something's wrong. He I got this text, and he
gets off the plane. He comes right to the house. Right,
he's sitting in the living room. You know, he gave
me that look. I only saw this look two or
three times over the course of the last twelve years, right,

(01:22:38):
And that look was of discussed of pain, of um
not understanding what's going on. And I had to fight
back my tears and suck it up because if I
if I break now, I give him an excuse. So
my rebute was, I guess you ain't good enough. He

(01:23:01):
looked at me like I've lost my fucking mind. You
mean I ain't good enough? There you go, I said, well,
I guess you ain't good enough. Obviously you ain't good
enough because it's not obvious if it's close. Any coach
is gonna go with his familiar people. They're gonna go

(01:23:23):
with the experience, they're gonna go with the I've been
here before. I'm gonna go with I'm comfortable with this, dude,
And I don't really know you like that yet. So
his response was, don't answer the phone. If anybody calls you,

(01:23:45):
don't answer the phone. I'm gonna go to practice tomorrow
and I'm gonna bust somebody's ass. Okay, Okay, that's what
you do because you said you want to go to
the NBA. So night in and night out, I mean
what we got, John CP three, Devin Booker, Desmond made Holiday, whatever, whatever.

(01:24:14):
Studs are like phenomenal monsters. Dogs like their unicorns, their unicorns.
So if that's where you say you want to go,
you gotta be a unicorn. You can't be good, you
can't even be great. You gotta be a unicorn. And
it starts with your mindset. That was the biggest growth

(01:24:38):
area for him and for me this year, and in
talking with other parents of collegiate athletes and always try
and keep some distance between us, just out of respect.
You know, I don't ever want to give anybody what
I think because what I think doesn't matter, and I

(01:24:58):
just try and give encouraging words of just stay positive.
You know, you can't give him a pillow. You know,
it's tough. It's a roller coaster and in those loads,
you have to tend toes down. You gotta remember why
they're here now. They if they're just saying they want
to go get a four year degree, great, you shouldn't

(01:25:19):
be worried about it. They're playing or not, it doesn't matter.
But if you're saying you want to go to the
NBA and play at the highest level, hey man, the
twelve dude on that bench is it's a monster. And
you know, if you think you're gonna go into somebody's
training camp at years old and take somebody's job, they
got a wife and kids at home. Man, you got
something else coming because because them dudes is ready to

(01:25:43):
die on that floor. So if you're not cut from
that cloth, it's cool. It ain't no beat. I wouldn't
cut from that cloth, right Your dad is one of
the best players in the world, right, Like, so you
got it up close and personal. Everybody wasn't blessed with that.
But if you say that this is where you want

(01:26:04):
to go. Bro, Hey, man, you gotta be wired different
and and through that, I think through that pressure, through
the adversity through it's not fair. Yeah, it ain't fair.
That's when you actually grow because that you judge of

(01:26:25):
a man's character. Ain't when everything is cool. It's some
stuff ain't cool, But you can find out who people
really are. M hm. You know. And uh, that that
was that was a big growth area for both of
us this year. Man. Yeah, absolutely, Man, you didn't. You've

(01:26:46):
done a heck of a job. Uh, you and his
support system have done a heck of a job. Um
from what I saw on the court and for what
I've witnessed in the tournament. And did he do you
play well towards the end of the season two or
with the game of the year was in the tournament,
you know, the second half of the year. But that
tournament is where he against my I think it's Miami

(01:27:08):
against them guys, those guards, those those guys are regarded.
You know. That wasn't just against no punks, you know
what I'm saying, Like that was against a good squad
that had a game plan and he came in there
and and turned out the game. In my opinion, looking
forward to seeing more out of reach next year. The
Trojan aside, I'm roll, I'm rolling, Okay, I am rolling.

(01:27:29):
Uh little. How has the last twenty two years off
your experiences from coaching, playing college, growing up, being a mentor,
being an administrator, an educator, have they prepared you for
this next journey, next chapter of your life? You know?

(01:27:53):
For years, I um always tried to carve out a
niche to become argettable at the next level, and you know,
I just couldn't quite get in. And this opportunity that
I have coach menzies Um, it's heaven sent man, and

(01:28:14):
it fell out the sky, you know. And I believe
that my value is really rooted in the process, understanding
the process, understanding what these players need to be successful
men on and off the court. I think far too often,

(01:28:40):
unfortunately in our society, we look at the the NBA,
and we look at Major League Baseball, look at the NFL,
and the goal to get there is based on monetarily
what it can provide you. There's a lot of unhappy
people in the NBA, man, in all of these professional leagues.
The value for me is we all have to make

(01:29:03):
money to live, all right, That's just one piece of it.
But there's so many different avenues to get there. It
doesn't have to come this direction, right. So for me,
you know, having the ability to be in the trenches,
having the ability to you know, lock in the synergy

(01:29:25):
and look at players and right evaluations based on what
my optics are telling me, and working with guys asked
to how they can become their first best versions of themselves.
How do you be a good teammate? You know, how
can you be a good asset to this program? You

(01:29:46):
don't know what that relationship of bubble and to twenty
years down a line, I met coach coach Menzies twenty
years ago. Um, using each opportunity and treating it with
the utmost respect is my value, you know, understanding that

(01:30:07):
you know, it's okay to look like ship. Sometimes it's
all right, it's gonna happen, But what are you gonna
do about it? Yeah? I think my value is a
very authentic approach to the total student athlete because I
can relate on so many different perspectives. I was never

(01:30:29):
the best player on any team. I ever played for.
But I know I knew how to appreciate those who work.
I was never the smartest dude on the coaching staff,
but I knew how to ask relevant questions, you know.
I mean, if it's something I want to know, I mean,
I've called you. You know, kay jack Man, what you

(01:30:50):
think you know? I wasn't an All American that you said,
a bro and in my on the right path? What
are your thoughts? I think far too often we don't
ask any questions, like we were not humble enough to
to to pick up the phone and call and say,

(01:31:11):
what are your thoughts on this particular issue? Resupposed to
be a professional athlete. I wasn't a professional athlete, but
I know a whole bunch of people that were. So
you know what, hey man, you can call Mr Johnson.
He has a he has in his Cyclopedia Library of Wisdom.
He could drop on you. Hey man, call this guy

(01:31:33):
over here. He gives you a different perspective on this.
I think that's my value, man. And now being a
successful entrepreneur and being able to give back in the
way that I'm giving back, and being able to see
the things that I've been very fortunate to see gives
me a very unique perspective because my journey was so

(01:31:56):
different than most people. Most collegiate coaching staffs and auxiliary
staff members were former players, were kin to somebody, Their
relationships were forged will before they decided they wanted to
take this journey. Mine was Mine has come through a

(01:32:18):
very authentic approach, and I was unapologetic about getting there.
You know, Um, Coach menzies Is is giving me an
opportunity to learn to see, to witness, to grow to
be wrong so that I can take that knowledge. And

(01:32:38):
Laura knows what's next. You know, maybe I'll become a
high school coach back in my region at some point.
Maybe I'll coach the the the eight year olds at
the local y M c M. I'm gonna be coaching somewhere,
you know. But those experiences only add value to what

(01:32:58):
you can give the net generation. Absolutely, absolutely, I think
you're well equipped for your your new role. Brother, Um,
you bring character, the advanced knowledge of the game, a
major work ethic that's unrivaled, and you you've been around greatness.
There's something to be said for being around greatness, being

(01:33:20):
able to pick up the phone talk to being involved
in great programs, or being a part of championship teams
as a coach, as a player, or whatever you've been
around at all. So I have no doubt in my
mind that you're gonna flourish and be successful. I want
to thank you, my brother, for coming on my platform.
Thank you sharing your story, sharing your basketball journey. Um,

(01:33:43):
it was a long road for you, a little through
twenty two years of grinding. But as you say, it's
never too late. Is there anything that you want to
leave our audience with shoutouts, any words, or anything at all?
You know. First of all, you know, I want to
thank God for his grace and truly blessed me. I'm

(01:34:03):
living a dream. You know. I couldn't have wrote this
down on a piece of paper. My dreams didn't even
stretched this far. Um, thank God for my friends. Man.
You know, there's a lot of you guys, and through
that it hasn't always been smoothed, you know, but accepting
me for who I am, the good and the bad,

(01:34:25):
you know, Um, I definitely I'm proud of you. You know.
You know, I am thoroughly proud of you, you know,
because I know the journey. You know, I was there,
I was able I could see, you know, and seeing
how you've reinvented yourself, how you saw something in yourself

(01:34:48):
that other people may not have seen. Right, Um, even
Josiah Man like ship dope, you know, like I'm you know,
I watched why and then look, hey, j being unapologetic
about what your last name. Your last name is Johnson.

(01:35:08):
Everybody else can have an issue with that. Your last
name is Johnson. You are a descendant of Marcus Johnson.
Everybody can't embrace that. That makes other people feel a
certain kind of way, man, and being comfortable in that,
Like I've been watching, man, and I can see the joy.

(01:35:31):
I can see the happiness. I can see it, you know,
especially as you were going through the journey trying to
figure out your niche um and just shout out to
anybody out there that's that's willing to to be a
renaissance man. You don't have to follow the narrative. What
is happiness? Happiness is subjective, What is joy? Joy is subjective.

(01:35:52):
It's based on somebody's opinion. Right, it's never too late, man,
And why not? You know, why not? Man? You just
reminded me of something talking right now, because the very
first time I went live, Bro, you were on my comments.
I remember that first one I did, Brother, I just
forgot about it, but now I just remember that you're

(01:36:15):
You're on my very first live I did on I
G and the very first live. A lot of people
didn't see it, but I was kind of you know,
I was in I was in a funny little place
at that moment. I could have went I could have
went either way, Bro, I could have went either way.
But it was people like you and my comments. People
who's remember this peer pressure thing we talked about earlier,
we got we got people watching and peer pressure. Coach
O Luther's on my coach Moose's. Moose came in, Luther

(01:36:38):
came in. So it's like two cats. You know, you
wouldn't think would affect you at that moment, but honestly,
you guys had a tremendous amount of effect on me
in that very moment to where I went right instead
of very left. My brother, I just want to let
you know that, like it really resonated your words that night, Bro,
and just how your approach to to to that night. Brother,

(01:36:58):
I appreciate. Man, that's crazy, Like just remember that dog,
I was like kJ going live what are you talking? Hey?
I was going that night. I ended up to leave
that my boy. Man, we holler at my boy, see
what you're talking about. I just remember those times kJ.
I remember those times man. And you know, hey, man,

(01:37:21):
I'm proud of you, bro. You know your back injury,
you know limited your career, you know you know. But
guy got a plan, man, he does. I got a plan.
So I'm proud of you man and the work that
you're doing and afforded me an opportunity. A lot of people.
You guys know my story, my friend, but people don't
know where I came from. When I'm about Everybody need

(01:37:43):
to know them, man, They need to know who Luther
Waters his brother, because you're somebody that we can all
learn from and be inspired from. My man. Seriously appreciate
you man much love alright, brother, thank you for coming on.
I will my brother, Ladies and gentlemen, Luther Waters

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KJ Live - Luther Waters

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