Legend of the Locker Room: Myck Kabongo on Global Hoops, Austin Own

Today, the guys have “Legend of the Locker Room” former Texas Longhorn basketball point guard Myck Kabongo to discuss the Austin Own Tournament. He talks about basketball development in Canada and African Nations due to NBA programs reaching out to expand the game. He praises Vince Hu on his work in building the Austin Own team and his restaurant in San Antonio, Sushishima. You can hear it all here on "The Morning Kickoff Show!"

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Let's let's just set the locker pay. Let's just shut
just go with and we take it just union. Let
you just set the locker pay. Let's just because I'm
on the end and you know that people speaking truss,
lets you set the locker pay. Let's just set there.
Just go with live and we take it, go with

(00:30):
just begin Let's just set the locker pay. Let's just
he's I'm on the gad and you know the head
the truth, Mark, Henry and Mike Hart.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Welcome back to you a special segment of the Legends
at the Locker Road. We go way back in the
crates when we try to figure out what's next and
what is next as we're being joined by lifetime Longhorn
Mike Cabongo, one of the coldest, fastest dudes with the
basketball at the point guard position during his time at

(01:01):
the University of Texas and now he's making the major moves.
Good morning, mister Kebongo. How you doing, bro?

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Good morning brother, every buddy. I'm great, I'm great. Thank
you for having me on the show Man. It's been
a while. It's been a while. It's great to hear
your voice. I mean, I missed Longhorn. Nation. By the way,
I hope everyone's yearing knows that I've missed you guys all.
And I can't wait to actually get back on campus
to the forty Acres and you know, get back and
mingle with some of my fellow peers and of course,

(01:29):
uh the great basketball program that we've I've been I've been.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
A part of, you know what I mean, no doubt.

Speaker 4 (01:36):
I gotta ask you a question, Mike, You still you
still got that hissy crossover duggle going left.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
It never leaves, It never leaves, you know, never leaves.

Speaker 4 (01:47):
You know, Hey, man, I love that.

Speaker 3 (01:50):
That was one. Yeah, you know it's crazy though I
don't train no more now, you know, I'm retired and
I'm a coach now. I had a great year after
I've learned from the Utah Jazz and being over there
with their their team and organization, and on top of that,
it's just some part of the Canadian basketball team of
pool of coaches and learning there. So for me, it's

(02:11):
like giving back those type of moves to the players
now that we have and you see the success that
Canadian players have had. Of course, you know, I have
to shed light upon that scene of basketball and the
NBA Finals with Shay doing what he did. And that's
all I'm trying to bring back to Texas is the
fact that we can have people more people come from Canada.
There follow some of my you know steps and Tristan

(02:31):
steps and Corey steps and the ones that have came before,
Marcus Carr, you know, guys that have came after and
continued that pipeline of Canadians coming to Texas. Hav Instellar careers.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah, we're excited about that. But you got some things
that you are are doing now. And now you have
been named the head coach of Austin's Own. And for
those that don't understand what this league is and what
it's all about, why don't you raise the curtain a
little bit and have people know what Austin's Own really is.

Speaker 3 (03:04):
Right. So, Austin's Own is a TVT tournament. It's a
million dollar tournament that's come out every summer now that
a couple guys have gotten involved with. Now there's a
lot of universities that have alma maters and to have
the former players that have played, guys that are still
currently playing professional basketball that compete throughout the duration of
the summer so it's quite unique. It's not like the

(03:25):
three hundred and sixty five days that we see with basketball.
It's unique because you get a group for about ten
days guys probably have never played with each other, and
they have to try and figure out ways to win,
to get to August and play with each other and
try and jail. So for us, we have a couple
of our former Longhorns that are going to be playing.
You know, Jordan Hamilton's one of them, to Covid Brown's

(03:46):
another one of them. Guys that have been overseas having
stellar careers, and this also gives an opportunity for our
Texas fans to kind of know what our other players
are doing after they've left. I know we shed a
lot of light on guys that are in the NBA,
of course, as we should. I think we have so
much more talent that have come through our university that
may have not touched the NBA plateau, but I've still
had stell a career. So this is also an opportunity

(04:08):
for our former players to come back and for you know,
people that still have engagement with our fans, still have
engagement with our players and keep the brotherhood connected and
keep the Brotherhood intact.

Speaker 4 (04:18):
My couple of questions, You, this is the same league
that Reggie Freeman coaches in in Houston.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, pardon, yeah, this is not a league. Yeah yeah,
so when Reggie Freedum was here, Yeah, it's the same thing.
But it's like, yeah, our location will be a little
different this year. We're playing in the Wichita and the
approach a little different for me. It's just obviously, when
I get a chance to be a head coach, there's

(04:46):
certain things that I think I value, and I value structure,
and I value hard earned what work. You got to
work hard for everything that you get on. And I
think that's what Texas tradition is. You know, it's effort,
it's working hard. We've never been out class and never
been out work, and I think that's kind of what
I represent. I represent that Texas flesh, I represent that
Texans mode, and that's what I'm just trying to bring back.

(05:07):
You know, it's just bring back the brotherhood. And I've
won it twice. I've been grateful to win it twice
as a player before. You know, now other teams are
stacked up. You know, we have DJ Barnes that we're
going to play against our first round game against our
team als. So again, it's not an easy fate. But
I think that I think with the group that we have,
with the coaching staff that we have Vince Hugh, who's

(05:27):
a former manager with our basketball team men's team, who's
a fun founder of this thing and has gathered all
of us to get back together. You know, it's only
right that we have a good outing and you know,
have fans come support us. We're going to have an
open practice once we get out there. July thirteen, for
the seventeenth is our training camp will be around in Austin,
and we'd love to get the support from our fans.

Speaker 4 (05:48):
Mike. Also, you talked about your Canadian pride. A lot
of people may not know that you're from the Congo,
your Congolese. Right, I'm proud of you, of the efforts
and that the Pro Africa and the African developmental system
uh is in basketball.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
What's great about it is just the raw talent. Just
think about it. Me right, I'm born there. I had
to come over here, you know, for a better life.
Of course, you know, the war torn nations and over
there in Africa that are going through so much, so much,
divide so much, corruption, things that are obviously out of
my power that I wish I could change. But what's
beautiful about it the game of basketball is you know,
we're getting these athletes from there that have little to nothing.

(06:35):
You know, these guys come from situations where you know,
mom and dad probably got killed and they got to
live with their grandmother. It's just tough, tough situations that
you know, some of our our problems cannot even match.
So for me, it's just trying to you know, continue
to build the game there. You know, I go back
and I do camps as well in Congo. You know,
I still touch my people because I know the importance
of that. Once they see, you know, and you got

(06:58):
to teach as much as you can you go out
there and then hopefully that they learn enough to more
people want to come back, you know, more people want
to open gyms and open things that could help them
to propel their games, to try and develop them as well,
you know, because they're hard workers. You know, they're to
see what pascalfy Akams just did in his final the
finals run someone from Cameroon, you know, with little to

(07:19):
no structure, Joel embiid you know another guy that became
an MVP. So there's so many situations about that continent
of Africa where if they do get the development. I
know Massai is doing some work with Basketball without Borders
in Africa. You know, the general manager over there with
the Raptors. So there's a lot of good things that
are happening over there. We just got to keep trying
to develop and keep pouring into Africa.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
We're talking to lifetime Longhorn, Mike Cabongo as he's now
the head coach of Austin's Own basically running that throwback
league with a chance to win a million dollars. And
you mentioned vinceh just a little while ago and what
he's his effort and what he's been able to do
with this organization. I mean, you can't do it by yourself.

(08:01):
You've got to be able to have some sponsors, but
you also got to be able to have a guy
that recognizes the talent and is able to put that
together to make it worth everybody's while we talk about
what Vince has been able to do to bring those
guys together.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, it's been a very interesting couple of months. I
mean we've collaborated in the few, uh in the past.
You know, I was supposed to playing this, but obviously
with my commitments with other stuff with my national teams
in the past, I haven't been able to give my
summer to him to playing this thing when out you know,
later on in my career. But what he's done is
just seriously, just got the sponsors, got the people that

(08:37):
back in to get behind his countless hours Me and him,
you know, sending each other players and where they you know,
fit the system that we're trying to build because we
don't have all ut guys, right, some of our guys
have permitted other places, so we're gonna have to sign
other people from other places as well. So we've had
to do intel and get some interviews, and you know,
we've got great guys that are going to suit up
for us and that are going to give up that

(08:58):
Texas effort that we expect, you know what I'm saying.
So I'm just happy that then you know, figured out
ways to one get players that are former Longhorns and
then two getting guys that would would have wanted to
be Longhorns because we're rich, you know, program, and a
lot of people wanted to get involved with us or
come here, but they couldn't have probably didn't get recruited
or overlooked. But now they get a chance to be

(09:20):
our around their facility, to be around you know, our
program and our university. So it's kind of unique how
we're going to bring this tie this into the summertime
and hopefully in the future as that, you know, as
wins come along with this group and this team and
this summer deal, more and more of Longhorns and our
former basketball players want to come back.

Speaker 2 (09:38):
Mark, you got one more question.

Speaker 4 (09:39):
Vince is a good friend of mine. I always have
to take stuff back to food. Have you been over
there to sushi Hanna.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
Sushi Hanah? Yeah, that is that I'm not Oh yeah, yeah, yea, yeah,
yeah yeah yeah yeah. What about the restaurant story, you tad.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
Yeah, he's asked if you had spent some time over there,
because have you been over there to eat? For sure? Oh?

Speaker 3 (10:05):
Yes, oh for sure, for sure. Oh the lobster goes crazy,
I said, the rice whenever you have to sire right wrong, yeah,
you can never you can never go wrong with that.
And of course, you know, the whole huge family is
a big, big reason why we're doing this as well,
and their restaurant's amazing out in San Antonio. For those
of y'all who have not tried that out yet, you

(10:27):
could take that drive from Austin, Tonia out route. You know,
it's a beautiful summer summertime. Take take take someone out,
take someone out of the date. You gon eat good
in San Antonio. And I think they just got a
good young player too, So their basketball looking good over
there in San Antonio as well. So heck yeah, man,
making a trip.

Speaker 2 (10:43):
No doubt, no doubt. As always, Man, we appreciate you.
We'll have you back on again as we get closer
and closer to the games, because it's about to start
right here, we'll talk about it.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
Man.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 3 (10:55):
Man, Thank you Mark Man anytime, and thank you guys
for having me in like always took them more.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
There you go, my man, Mike Cabongo making this thing
happen for Shore