KJ Live - Dijon Thompson

One of my favorite dudes, Dijon, Welcome to kJ Live. What's up? But thank you man, I appreciate that one. You said, you said my name actually right to end it off, man, De john that's you know, it's that he gets dragged out a lot lately. But you know this, m but appreciate, appreciate the welcome. Welcome to be here, man,

No doubt, man, no doubt. Man. I've had a lot of cats on on the show since I started doing this, a lot of our U c l A brothers as well, and we kind of kind of dive into the background of the person and you know, find out the journey that made the man who they are. UM. I want to educate our audience on you and sort of just start in your childhood and where you're from, what neighborhood you grew up, be like, where were you born at? Um? I grew up in Englewood. UM spent some some time

growing up with my great grandmother. She stayed off of eighth Adam Vernon. UM My mom and they kind of went to Crenshaw and then they moved out to Pasadena area and graduated from your and then we came back down to the Crenshaw to the Englewood area, and that's kind of where I grew up. My mom and dad they worked at North ropp And Grooming at the time, it was tr W and then they went to North Grooming. So that's how I was able to get the permit and found my way into Redondo Beach in the high

school area. But um, I grew up in the l A area Inglewood. Yeah, like a lot of us. Bro like a lot of us. What a lot of people don't realize about the l A area is south central Inglewood. Wats all that's like ten fifteen minutes from each other.

Inglewood South Central is really close. It's like you hit, you go, you know, Hyde Park, hit a couple of backstreets, and you right over, you know, in the thick of things, and you might be in the sixties hood over here and then you you hit, you hit the cut you over here in the in the in the bloodhood, like the hell's going on? Was there anything as far as the gang activity? And I know you're a little younger, younger than I am, because the gang stuff was real

huge for us and we were growing up. Was the gang or the streets? Was there any a lord of that when you were coming up in Inglewood? Uh? Yeah, I mean, like you said, it didn't go nowhere. I mean it was always around growing up. You know, you just have vivid memories. Even we stayed on Cranshaw at the time time and it's doing the riots. You know, it's growing up during that time, and it's it's funky around there. And I mean game is an't going nowhere. You always grew up in it and growing up in

that l a, it's it becomes second nature. Really, I mean you numb to it. You see it. You you you know where to go, We're not to go but yeah, it's it's always around and I was down the street. Like you said, when did uh who start to become something that you figured out and you wanted to do. Seriously, that's crazy because I don't really have the that traditional like I grew up with the ball or you know,

I was always playing basketball. That wasn't necessarily to me. Yeah, I was always playing basketball at schools and parks and stuff. But my family wasn't really an athletic family. I had maybe had an uncle that played some baseball, um, but I was really the first generation as far as you know, taking basketball or sports um to another level, so that that background wasn't there. Everything was green from me and

I was just learning on the fly type of things. So, um, it was just playing at school and um, probably about the sixth grade, fifth grade, you know, you got your your your peers or your friends saying we in this league and why you're not playing? And why am I not playing? You know, And at that time, you know, my mom was single parents. She ain't had time to do all that, you know, So it was just at the school and that's it. But you know, once my

stepdad came along, um, it was way more time for that. Uh, you know he was able to take me to everything and really get involved and dive into it and really get a liken to it. Oh man, how old were you when your stepfather came into the picture? Ah? Man, he was there from the beginning. Um so so as you could remember what school, what what elementary school or

what like park? Like I was talking to um Stays Bowsman and I know you know who Stays is, and he was talking about how he came up at jesse O and so it was called Sportsness Park and then he was at St. Andrew's and hooping with all this what park did you come up back? So that's crazy, Like it's like like I don't have that that story to where I was always out like that, you know, like basketball, it came alik and it was like natural. But you know, I will go to the park. I

go to Holly Park down the street. That okay, yeah, that's bad. Nads go to Holly Park. You know, you wasn't really allowed to go to Raleigh, so it was like, well, just stopped at Holly Park. So I wasn't going to Riley Park and Gardenia. It was always Holly Maybe simmar On Park because my uncle stayed like literally like right

around there. So I was in that area. When at what point or how old were you when you kind of knew that you were better than do when you played against I'm like, when did it sink into you? For me? Like I started to get that bug like four fifteen years old, I started, you know, giving dudes numbers and feelings that about myself. How old were you? What age was that? Oh man, it's probably about ninth grade,

you know, I started. I started to really get on that circuit that that real circuit with the with the killers is that, you know, the ninth grade I'm playing with that with Sports Express, they brought me on Who's on your team? Who's on your team? I got guys like Brandon Heath, uh, we got Chad Bell, Yeah, we had Chuck Hayes, my guy, my desk though Lefty Yeah yeah, we had a mom Marcus Williams uh wait with Marcus left lefty, Lefty, Crenshaw, Craig Man, Yeah, squad. It was fun.

It was fun. So around that time you start, you start measuring yourself against this type of competition and got against guys that have you know, grew up in the gym, you know, and it's like all right, I can hang you know, I'm still fresh, still learning, Like, oh, these guys are fine around here, but I kind of I adjust to quit learning on the fly. Like I said, who did you kind of hold yourself to like the

standard of that type of guy? Like when we were coming up in my era, it was like Charles O'Bannon, Chuck. It was like everybody was, you know, trying to rock with Chuck. Chuck was the man was there? Who who in your era was that kind of like that guy? Man, that's a good question, Like I was a weird one. Man. Like it's like basketball was just like I just like basketball. Um, like you said, ninth grade year, Like that motivation starts coming you. I went to high school like a damnime.

Marcus Moore he was our point guard, Andrew's on these guys were at the time they were getting letters. You see him walking across the lunch quad with letters, Nike shoes, everything. I'm like, man, I need all of that. How do I get to that level? Like how I I need all of that? I need them letters, I need all of that. So to answer the question, like for somebody to meet looking at somebody growing up like I really didn't. Basketball was just basketball to me, and I'm just hoping,

like it's just fun. Where did you like find or draw upon for your competitive spirit, like the competitive side of things, because you know, as hoop is man, we're not just go let people bust our asses. And I know you might have not been at the park, but I'm sure when you did go to the park, you was trying to win. Where did you Where did you

get that con headed a spirit from that made you elite? Uh, that's that's that's my mom and my dad really, I mean it's yeah, it's it's once you start something, you're gonna do it at your best and give it your best. And it's that that's where that competitive is come in. And it's uh, just the streets. You know. I've always always played and had friends that were older than me. You know that that was kind of my I never really played with people my age. It was always hanging

out with people older than me. So I'll go around the corner with my friend Troy and was older than me. He had handles. He kind of baptized me. It was just like, damn, I need to I need to step it up a little bit. So it was it was always with my older friends being around them and and and kind of learning the ropes like that that's the best way, man, uh, because I kind of like you, bro, I didn't grow up in the gym as all them

dudes that we ended up playing with either. You know, you know how everybody knew each other when they was younger. Now I came in late fifteen sixteen, it was calling me the fat boy with the curly top, the fresh the fresh prince of bel air, you know what I'm saying. But what I had was a lot of experience playing against my dad one on one. Broh. So imagine back. So when you say you had your cousin or the home around the corner that was beating up on you,

my dad was doing the same thing. He was trying to make a comeback to the league. So he used me as the one on one, like, what's up with your ones? I gotta guard him. I gotta do all that when I'm fourteen and fifteen, and so the leve of physicality he induced me to it just made it so that when I played against dudes my age, I just was not tripping on nobody. And that's why that older that that's where that playing against older dudes thing comes in. Sometimes you ain't gotta play on the circuit

as long as you're getting that good work. And it's that like you you got it. Yeah, I was always finding some good bump. I mean yeah, yeah. So your your recruitment. Um, you have ver Dondall Union. Were you playing? Who was that Reggie? Reggie Mars? Was Jim Nielson? Okay, Jim Neilson was there? You big? I remember andrews On from hoop my hoop Master's days. He played with Josiah or his brother. I forgot who which one it was. He had a brother, right, it's a couple of them.

But anyway, Um, your recruitment, so you got a nice crew. You kind of you know, getting off a little bit. Um. Who are some of the schools that were looking at you early on? That kind of got you excited. I had this weird, if like factuation with Syracuse. I don't Syracuse just had that that that that notoriety at the time, you know, in the nineties, and you know, North Carolinas was like I gotta go to Syracuse. I like the Orange,

I like the jerseys. Jerseys was sweet, you know. And then once you start, once I started to get more deeper into basketball, I'm like snow like I'm from l A, like snow like I ain't I'm not going there, like nah off the snow like nah like because because I didn't really go nowhere, I didn't really travel nowhere like basketball took me everywhere, like I probably want to travel. I probably have been. You know somebody from LA that

has never been nowhere anywhere. So um so yeah. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app search f s R to listen live in Syracuse. And then so senior year came down to Yukon Arizona, and U like my top three schools okay, okay uh, Jim can who Calhoun came to it, came to my house to home visit, loved him, loved you. Colma East Coast is saying I

ain't really been nowhere. And then at that time it's like it's not for me. I've been Gordon damn all right, cool, So Arizona, I go to my trip on Arizona loved it. Richard Jefferson's my host. End up hanging out with Gilbert probably the whole time. Hey, what would your visit like? You and r J, y'all two light skins. What was y'all getting off in Arizona? Don? I can't imagine what Listen been the same. He's been the same. He's been the same guy as you see him now. Man, he's

the same guy. J Don like J from Phoenix down the street, you know, just like, Hey, it's Tucson, you know this Arizona, trying to show me the way. And then you know you come across guild. Who's Gilbert the same Gilbert? Come over here with me, young Feller, were gonna I'm gonna show you the rope. So ended up hanging out with Gilbert more than than than Richard. But you know, it was it was fun. I had. I

had a really good time, really good trip. Um Andrew, who I played with, was a freshman going into his freshman year at that time, so I had a little comfort there for my high school teammate. Um, it just was in l A. It just wasn't l A. Ludolson was amazing, Like if they was in l A. I probably have sawn there, But it just was in l A. What was it about? It wasn't the thing you didn't

want to leave home. Man, You're so comfortable just in your surroundings in l A that leaving l A just kind of not frighten you, but it kind of gave you a little pause, kind of like, man, I ain't trying to dip from the city. Is that how he went down for you? A little bit? A little bit? But I mean you grew up in l A and you still you see the prestige that you see l A god and you still you see the banners and everything.

I mean that spoke for itself. And you got laugh coming in and you know, talking and seeing the family and being at every game and you know, being live. I mean it was it was an easy sale for me. Yeah, when back in that era of lab Man, when you say being laugh Steve Laughing, who was just named the new head coach at University of San Diego and who we both played for, we can both testify to that

this guy is one of a kind. He's one of the probably know in my opinion, just as far as his ability to speak and work a room and you know, sell somebody's mom on trusting that person with their child for the next four years. Like please, it doesn't get too much better than that, I say, laugh Caliparie type of dudes, man, like those dudes that come from the same cloth. So so so you got a laugh so laugh got you. Who was your other guys that came

in with you as freshman? Uh? Came in with another Actually I wasn't saying they were all Los Angeles natives Man Bosman, Yeah, um, Andre Patterson. Yeah. That was that was our crew right there. That was a nice crew. Man. That was a nice crew. Long. You guys were long, very athletic. Uh. One thing that could be said for probably every team that played at u c l A under lab and all that, at least one team or

two teams twice, you were pretty much underachieved. We didn't live up to our potential as a as a team, as a as players. When do you attribute those lapses two back at U c l A. I've always tried to figure that out because we would have so much talent, man, and the summertimes you probably ran and what gets the pros with the us A crew and y'all probably was getting a lot of wins and looking great. What was it? Man?

What happens? What happened to U? C l A. As far as the underachieving part, that's a good question, man. It's UM. I think it comes down to just building teams and everybody's standing there and you know, you've got guys is leaving year after year and new guys coming in. That it's it's hard to build that camaraderie and that that uh, that grid, that winning, that winning mentality. So I think that's uh, I kind of where it hurt.

When I was playing. Um, I played with two coaches, so it was Lave for two years and then been Holland for two years, uh the next two years. So that coaching change could be, um a monkey wrench in itself. UM, just because it's just new. It's different, uh, two coaching styles, um Ben Holland coming from the East Coast and coach Lave more West Coast style and more free oriented. UM.

So that that that was just a little different. It just kind of just throws you off your your your you know, what you're used to and what you're seeing for the first two years. So I can say that. I mean it's just just keeping the team together. Building a team, a good group of guys that's gonna stay together for the you know, for four years, three years,

or however long it takes. Yeah, man, building a program, building the culture, it takes time, and take guys sticking around, Like we had guys that stayed off four years back then. So you know it was Ed and Tires and George Zedek. Those are our guys. Those are our saying. We won one. We won one, and there was no doubt with the talent you guys had, um because coming there, So wait, you weren't there for Moisa and Dan? Were you? I

was there for Dan, not Moisa. So I had Matt Campono Yeah yeah and really rest in peace, Billy Billys in peace. Um. Yeah, I had a lot of older guys there. Yeah, good team. We lost on Sweet six team that year. Yeah, was you see l a everything you thought it was gonna be. I don't know what it was gonna be, you know, Like I was so

green with the basketball. I was learning on the fly, like I I didn't really have that that um, I guess experienced sort of supportive experience, you know that that could just be like okay, look out for this took out for that. It was ill learn on the fly. So UM, I don't know what. I didn't know what to expect. It was it was fun like I enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't if I had to go back and change school, I wouldn't. I still choose you, so it, yeah, I would to Um.

I had a few schools that were, you know, knocking down my door. Washington State with Calvin Sampson, Arizona State with Bill Freeder, um Cornell out in the Ivy League. But you know, nothing nothing. I'm glad I went to u c l A. But I kind of wonder what my life would have been like had I went to like a Utah and played for Rick Majeris and had the rock in my hand, you know, not running. You know, do you sell a high posts and where you could kind of develop a little more and handle and things

like that. I always think about it, but you know, not really tripping on it. Uh. You know, hindsight is always twenty. If you were all packed ten, Uh, you're last year U c l A. And now take me through the draft process. So you're coming, you're projected. Well, I don't know where they had you. But I know that at your size, your height, your skill set at that time, uh, you seem pretty primed to you know, to do well in the draft. Now you get picked

fifty second round. How take me through the workout process for you, the pre draft process. If you can remember and talk about the moment that your name got called. I always tell people that was probably like that whole process was I hated that process. Like I hated that whole process. It's um, I don't know that my my nature, my style of play and going going out workout after workout, having to like prove yourself. Yeah, I could do it,

but that that wasn't my thing. I'm more of a gamer like I. I like to show my my my game throughing just game play, so that you having to fight every every trip, every work I was like, damn, these guys is hungry. But I think we'll kind of threw it off a little bit. My senior year, I played the four p Uh that's just where we needed to I need to be for the team to to thrive, or that was only position that that was open at that needed feeling. So I played. There was a stretch

for so going into the draft. In that pre draft process, like I was going against a lot of fours in my work, and I'm just like, that's not but it's not my position. But you know, I was able to do it and it was successful at a little bit. But these guys are a little bit heavier than me. You know, on against like Ryan Ghnes, it's like twenty pounds te five pounds more heavy than me, thirty pounds Jason Max. Still, I'm like Jason Max sill these guys on the block. I can't do nothing with this man.

These guys was physical. Who's that time? The game was more physical. It was who's your agent? D who's your agent? Real quick? Who's your agent? At that time, I was uh, I had signed with Todd. I was with Todd. It was it was his first go around with the Life Sports Agency. So the year before that, Trevor had went to the draft. He had Trevor and then I had I was going to go to the draft my junior years. So we both me and Trevor went to pre draft together.

Trevor stayed. Then I went back to school. Wait, um, I went through my whole senior year, had a better senior year, which I was like, yeah, you go ahead and Trav like worked out for him, um, but end up going back to school and doing the pre draft thing. But Todd was my agent when I signed, and so Todd had so I guess I was supposed to have Todd on him last week. I guess I'll ask him when he gets on. I'm asking why the hell he sent you the pre draft workouts with force and didn't

have no god dang shooting guard workouts. And that's that's for another discussion. I'm gonna asked Todd on my own because I want to get the bottom of that, because that will make no damn sense. But but Dijon, it's so, it's so funny how we have a lot of parallels. So you just talked about your pre draft experience and have playing before right to stretch four. So my whole senior year, Bro, I played the stretch four. And I'm not tall as you, so I'm bigger, but I'm not

as tall as you. I'm six five playing the stretch four. So I and then when I get to the pro situation in Arizona and Chicago and all that, they me in the in with the twos, So I was I wasn't like I would have been. I would have rather have been in with the Force. But they put my they put my big slow. I was too forty six five to forty. I'm trying to stay in front of you know, Earl Boykins in them, you know, I mean it was just it wasn't Anthony Carter. You don't remember

a Carter, but please he's coming in along. I'm like, I'm just trying to guard. And you know how it is once you when you play a position for an extended period of time at a very high level, like a four, when you try to translate the that skill set that you have been used to playing into the end into the pro setting where guys have been playing their natural positions and this, and that you're gonna always

be at a disadvantage. I'm really um, Actually, the fact that you got drafted after working out against Force, it really says a lot about probably how you stuck out and how you how you showed up in those workouts. Yeah, I mean I definitely did the best thing I could um in those workouts. UM My trainer, you know, Rico Hanes, Uh, he definitely prepares you, um those type of workouts. Pro workouts,

and and that was what ten fifteen years ago. You know, people are just now starting to see Rico now, but he was doing that ten twenty years ago the workout, so and it was probably harder than like he's probably lighted up now because he's can't move as much as and you know, getting older like we all. But they were tough. They prepared me. I was. I was definitely prepared in all the workouts. Um it just the way the game was, the game, the way the game evolves now.

I think if I was playing now to be a little bit better for me to stretch forward, it's not really a stretch Forward's best players out there. Yeah, you'd be a three, three and D guy, you know, they'd say, or I mean if you, I mean, it's a lot of guys that are playing and flourishing in the NBA right now that I can see somebody with your skills said, because you have the skill set that that's the most value. But we do both. Do that jumper, that that pro

deep ass jumper. Okay, that jumper put me in a game right now, my jumper I am pulling like these motherfucker's is pulling everybody pulling d it's all good to pull from be now. Remember remember we had to be edited because we could always shoot from there. But then you had to get a look if we pulled up, people looking at you, mad at you. And so I try to tell folks, man, it's a totally different game now, and it's not. It's not just because of what guys

can do or where they can shoot. It's the attitude towards a five to seven dribble combo, a dude just playing ice ball. It's the attitudes by the coach and the other teammates that has changed the most of my opinion. Think about how we let everybody get this off. Now, remember you, man, that some of these shots broke, I'd be wanting to fight. I would have been wanting to fight these You're like, man, what you're doing? God, where are you showing that? Nowadays it's like good shot, bro

good shot. Let me ask you this though, and be be to percent honest. Being a second round pick by the next number fifty four, were you satisfied? Were you happy with that? Or were you like disappointed that you spent a large portion of your life probably wanted to be a first rounder. Now you get draft in the second round. What were your emotions, Like, I remember, like it was yesterday. It was sitting in Todd's office. Uh, family was there. It was stressful. It was just like damn,

you know, it's it's it's like everybody's draft experience. You know, you're saying you're about to get drafted. Here that that pig past, You're like, all right, the next couple of pigs, and you start, you know, you start going down the list and the opportunities. The window starts closing. But once I heard that name, it was like a big relief. Oh we it was like yeah, you know, even though it's fifty four, I was like, yeah, it was. It was a great feeling. Honestly, it was a great feeling.

And it was just like it's time to get to work. You know, it's talking to work. It was. It was a chip on my should, it was. But I was happy that I was happy to get drafted. One out sixty players in the world to get drafted, man, And and I tell myself now, just like one out of sixty one sixty man, your name called so bro, make no mistake, that is that is amazing. That is an amazing accomplishment to be drafted to have your name on the board, for an organization to believe in you enough

to invest the draft pick in you. Okay, because I didn't get drafted. I'm sitting on the board. I'm sitting watching the thing, and you watched the whole thing. My stomach heard, you know, the tears is flowing. It's like dang. So any So, everybody that comes on here that has been drafted or anything like that, I always talk about this because I love hearing it. I love hearing people's perspective on whether or not they were happy some people.

Some people were you know, weren't happy with their second round pick, like you know, told me wasn't too happy with that. Hey dog, I'm sure we're first round. You know, I should have boats after my first few year. So we get into all that type of conversations. So if it's good to hear that you were rolling with the four pickers, I know that we were. Um, what do you remember what stands out the most about your first

NBA training camp as a rookie. God, So I got drafted by New York, but I was traded to Phoenix. So my first year was in Phoenix and training camp was at Tucson. It was at you have a So I was like, all right, cool, I know this arena. I didn't play here for years. I know the baskets, I can you know, I'm cool. But that Phoenix system man with Steve Nash, that eight seconds, seven seconds or less, you get in that, You're like good. They are flying up and down this court. Like it was hard to adjust.

It was really hard to adjust to to really get in that mold, to just throw up anything up there on that just throw up the shot, just get it up. And that wasn't my style of game. Like in your mind, you like anybody wants to play in that style, but that's not for everybody. Everybody don't have that mindset. Everybody don't have that conscience. So it was it was difficult for me. You know. It was times to where it

was like yeah, I could hang, I could ball. Had moments where it's like I stood out, but it was it was tough. It was tough to really crack that D'Antoni lineup, and that was and that was gut wrenching, you know, to get to to experience that um because they sent me down to the D League. That they sent me down to the D League. My my my rookie year, and I was like, damn already. So let me just break this down. So, how many games into the season before D'Antoni and them sent you down to

the G League. It was off top, It was off top. It was Yeah, it might have been kind of more so off top because the D League was starting to get developed in it was they were still trying to, you know, get that implemented and acclimated. So it was they were still testing it out, so they needed players. So it was like perfect, boom, send them down there. So it wasn't long. So it was after training camp and then had to do a D League training camp. I was like, oh, I just came from training camp.

I gotta do another one. So this is word coach Cooper, Michael Cooper, he was my coach at the and he was like DT. He's like, I know, you just did training camp. He's like, I ain't gonna kill you like that. Man. He's like, you gotta do some stuff, but I ain't gonna kill you like that. That's wrong. Cool. So he looked out for me and I was. I loved it

down there, man. I played probably about two or three games Max killed him and they called me right back up and I was like, yes, play Like yes, Nah, let's sit right back on this bench out like let me go back down the album Querty Like it was fun down there. We had Tony Bland, I had Joe jip Ed. You came down and played like I had my l a guys down there with me. So it was fun for me and he was winning. Coach Cooper, I loved it. So when you you go down to

the G League, who did you come back up? Phoenix? What they called you back up because somebody got hurt and they needed a roster, a roster spot to field, or they wanted you to come in and actually play, and you did. Did you get into the opportunity to play? Is what I want to get at. I didn't get the opportunity to play. I think somebody was sick. Bar Bolsa made it got sick or cold or something, so

they needed an extra body up there. I really thought I was about to play now because I proved myself in the Dally I could put up some numbers. So but yeah, it just didn't. It just didn't happen that way. It just didn't happen that way and then uh, probably about February March. I ended up having knee surgery. Had microfractury in my rookie season. Rookie season. That was a gut punch. Um That same year, March start Tomorrow had his microfracture, so he had had his right out of

training camp. So I was watching him, seeing him go through his rehab all year, and then once the team the doctor said I had one, I was like, oh no, amor designed he was hand a million dollar contract. I was still sitting on this drink and I like, oh, this ain't a good look for me. This ain't a good look. But I was like, no, I can't go out like that. I had to. I had to rehab, get better and came back. I came back full strength, so good. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk

lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app search f s R to listen live. At what point, though, did you decide in your head like I'm tired of chasing this league stuff. And you know, I because as ball players that are elite, and you have an actual opportunity to try out for the NBA and if you could do it year after year, because I did it like four or five straight years where

I was going to training camps and all that. At some point I was like, man, funk all that ship. I'm done. I'm tired of this, you know what I'm saying. I'm just tired of being a body and training camp, tired of not getting a real look even though I'm killing these dudes in training camp. I'm tired of this feeling. I'm gonna get go somewhere where I'm loved with a you know, Cris Cris Joe whe you know, they said your name real loud. At what point did that realization

happen for you? D Jones? I think it was. I can't remember. It was. I was coming back from my knee injury. Uh, I gotta call up. Came back to Phoenix rehab the whole year when started the D League, got called to Atlanta Hawks, played there for a two ten day contracts. The Numbers game happened, So I'll go back finish the rest of the season in the D League. That following summer, um, I think I have a training

camp with the Cleveland Cavaliers. I go into that training camp, the mini training camp, played really really well and end up making the roster for for Vegas whatever. I was probably the third guy on that team. You had, uh you got Daniel Gibson on that team and um uh Shannon, I'm blanking on his last thing. But they were two rookies. They were two rookies at the time, so they were

they were. There were some of leagus for the rookies, you know, the guys that didn't really get to play, and they was coming to They saw more season to the time for them, and I was probably the third guy outside of them as far as on the floor and as far as touches and getting a notoriety. But hey, they took all the shots, so I was like, cool, I gotta figure it out. But still played well within the minutes. So after that, they're like, I come to

training camp basically for no money. That's when I was like, you know what, I gotta make a business decision. My agent at the time, Sam Go for the He was just like, man, this is a business man. Let's let's just go get some money. How about that. I was like, you know what, You're right, let's go get some money overseas, man. So that was that was my once they once they once I played well in summer league and you know, they didn't even want to give me no money to

kind of training camp. That's when I was like, all right, it's it's that's not right. Yeah, that hurts, man, It hurts. And it shows you, Joe, how they they treat you. Man, if you're not one of them guys, you know you're not one of their guys, and look, it's all up to them. I don't I don't hate the NBA. I don't hate the people that made the scouting decisions that they made or the choices they made. But you know, you look back on it, you just kind of sometimes

you think. I wonder if you think sometimes like man, I wish I just had one more shot, or I wish I had a real legitimate chance to play where I was getting shots, or or if I actually got time and my numbers called. You see it in the league today, Man, some of these guys, like the Clippers, they got a guy named a Mirror Coffee. I don't know if you've seen a Mirror Coffee play. This dude had thirty five thirty seven dog like, like he just needed some minutes do you feel like he was one

of them guys that just you didn't. Yeah, it's it's it's minutes his opportunity. It's timing. I mean, it's a lot of area was coming to it. But yeah, I do believe I was talented enough to be on the floor and and get major minutes. Of course, I think I was that skilled enough. Yeah, sure you gotta be that skill And talk about now your first real overseas experience. So Sam tells you, hey, let's go get some money.

What was the first job that he brought to your table, and just talk about that country, that city, that team. Uh first job was in Germany, Berlin, so that the city was amazing. Um, it wasn't the most warming experience because i mean, first time overseas, you just like, you know, here the lights, you just like a deer in the headlights, Like what the hell? The ambulance is different. First time I'm experienced jet lag, I'm like, what you gotta wake up in like two hours to do a physical where

they're gonna have you running on the treadmill. So I remember calling my mom. I'm like I ain't about to make it at this time. You got Skype was I mean it was Skype, but you had to get you had to have calling cars. I remember buying like a pack of calling cars mobile car card right before I left from my homie because I was like, man, I'm gonna all kind of man. That was the lick. That was the list the homie had to call and car that the call. I spent O fifty getting fifty bucks,

so I had calling card dial to me. I remember calling my mom like I ain't gonna make it, like I'm tired. I can't even go to sleep. I gotta get up and run like I ain't gonna pass that. She's like, how you'd be all right, you know, just just try to go to sleep, you know, calm me down. But played in Germany, Berlin before a serving coach out the gate and I had a Serbian too, I have, Yeah, I got baptized out the gate um. So it was it was tough. It was tough on the basketball side.

This the city kind of saved me as far as you know, entertainment, you know, just stuff to disconnect from basketball, because the the narrative from for a serving coach, they could take they could take the fun out of basketball. Man, they're gonna drill you, run you and it's it's very militant,

you know. So it was Berlin City saving. Yeah, speaking that, that's fascinating because I played for a Serbian coach when I was in Lebanon Um and he was a little psychotic, you know what I mean, Like he was on one uh he always, he used to tell me because he had coached Darryl Armstrong and Greece. Remember Daryl Armstrong. He's like he was trying to give me to play like Armstrong, like dog, I can't play like GARYL. Armstrong. Man, that's

a whole another type of dude. I'm gonna do me, Bro this turnaround jumper and this mid post like I'm gonna do me. So he was. But but the thing he loved about me because you know I had I had a crazy work ethic. So I was there. I was getting to the gym like at six, like before the nine o'clock morning practice. I was already like an hour and a half, two hours, sweaty. I was stay in the whole facility all day. So he loved he he was rolling. He knew what time it was with me.

So I was like, bro, I'm gonna give you this fifty ball, like, don't even talk to me about none of this nothing, Okay, I don't want to hear nothing. D you know when when you go overseas and you ball out and you know you have that that thing that they love. Yeah, you can call your own shots, Britt. Yeah. Yeah, I hadn't been on both sides of the spectrum. Man. You can beat a man and you know, call your shots and being the last gun on the bench. So it's over. Excuse it was a great career, man, I

loved it. Like you said a serving coach, he he killed us, but he actually he actually primed me for the rest of my career, to be honest, like that mental toughness and and new it ticks that grind like it was no surprises after that, Like I knew what to expect from every team and I and I that's how I just performed after that. It was just like straight like m like now I ain't messed around like he.

So I give it to him. He helped him. Yeah, I thought you were you had achieved or been honored with like all euro Cup selections overseas, did you You guys want to champion? You want championships over there. Uh one in Ukraine? Uh shout out to Ukraine. Uh did win a championship? U claim to marry you people? Uh so my blessings go out to them. Um, that was the only place I really want, like a championship in the cup and stuff for the for the euro Cup.

We've made it to the final four. We we really just had a really good team, underdog team and really made it to the to the final four against some really really top team. So that was a really good year for me. Actually, what's what's the country of Ukraine? What is it like out there? How are the people? What was you know? Just described it or talk about

it a little bit? I mean, be honest, is what you see on TV Ukraine hasn't really changed from when I when I was playing, Um, it's it's very underdeveloped. The it's the money. They don't really put money back into the city. It's very poor. Um. I remember playing that.

The closest McDonald's to me was like an hour away, and I was looking for that McDonald's, Like we're looking for McDonald's overseas And it's crazy to say, but we are thirsty for McDonald's overseas as a mill like because we know what what to expect, so hour away and we would have to fly out of that airport. So you just I just remember loading up on apple pies on the bus, like I'm going back to my city of our white cheeseburger so I could eat them a

little bit later. Like but yeah, Ukraine it was cool, like we want to chip. The culture was there, loved it. It was just the city was just crazy. Yeah. Man, that's how my experience in Russia was. So. So I was in Moscow for a little bit, and then I was in Saratov, which is like near Siberia. It's like way in the in the cut. Uh yeah, Like like you said, I was there in so the economy had collapsed, like the ruble wasn't worth nothing, and so people was

out there just really hungry, thirsty. You know. They were trying to get me to throw a game. On to throw the game. They were trying to get me to throw the game. The Russian old school Russian come talk to you on the side and they were trying to get you to throw the game. Like I was like, man, I can't do all that. I'm trying to hoop bro, like I don't even get down with the throw the game, you know. But but anyway that it was, it was crazy experience. I'll never forget though Russia. I went to uh,

these nightclubs out there, and I'll never forget this scene. Bro. I'm walking in behind like two big gass like Serbian Bosnian looking dudes, right, and so they just started pulling out heaters and they had like a little cubicle where they were checking in. They gave the dude the ticket, they checked in the gats like before they got to the club. Okay, here ever set it here, they checked it in and they got a ticket for the I

was like, okay, it's one of them. I get inside the club and there's nothing but Tupac being bumped for two hours, two straight hours of pock stuff I've never heard. I was. I couldn't believe I was. I was just like, what the hell was going on? I got a big day of service steak. I got a big as steak in this spot. Need just to say I had. I had a pretty solid experience in Russia. Um thirteen years overseas,

right yea? Than uh? I mean the way I think about longevity overseas, I feel like and and tell me if you feel like this. I feel like when you're going that long, typically it's what seven six, seven months on four or five months back at the house. When you're going that long, you you you miss out on a lot of things. Do you feel like over those thirteen years when you came back after you retired, do you feel like not? Has it been an easy transition to come back to the States into sort of the

real world after being a pro internationally for thirteen years. No, it's never easy. It's it's it doesn't matter where you are. Transition is never easy for nobody. You know, you used to doing something for thirteen plus years, ten plus years, however long somebody plays. It's it's never easy. You. Um, so being over there that long, I missed out on a lot of things. Um. One of my close friends, he would always say, just press play when you get back this, press play, man, we missed all on stuff.

But we're not. We're over there working, we're doing what we'd love to do. But so we didn't really miss out on a lot, but we missed. You missed out on connections, you missed out on network, missing out on you know, just that that feel, that that texture, just that engagement. So it's when you stop, you got to reconnect all over again. Like, oh, you know, now you've got social media, you can't have social media that that, you know, so it's hard to keep up with folks.

And I don't really have that much social media, so it's it's really hard to keep up with me as well. But transition is hard. It's it's hard, but you know, that's that's why you you go to U C. L A for the network and got guys like you. I could call all big brothers, you know, band everybody that's that's that's been down that journey and kind of you know kind of guys. You would just be that lighthouse rightly young, you know. So a lot of guys have helped.

You know, it's not easy, but everybody goes through it. Yeah, I just feel like, you know, it's it's it's good to talk about it with other people that have gone through it too. I felt like when my time overseas

like I missed out on a lot. When I say missed out, I mean obviously talking about the family and kids and things like that that are close to you, but I was talking to more about like professionally it's like you you spent eight years hooping, so you're equipped to come back home and do something in the field of basketball. Now, the jobs that pay in the field of basketball, typically in the college and the program um, those jobs are far and few between. There are not

a lot of those jobs. Those jobs are already kind of spoken for, and plugs and hookups and you know, nepotism in the whole nine. So being overseas for eight years and then coming back and then trying to, you know, find your way into the coaching industry or the television game or or these different games where people have been grinding while you were gone overseas eight years. You're short of behind the eight ball. You have a they got a hit start on you, and so now you gotta

get you gotta bone up real quick. You gotta get up to speed real quick. Uh. I think it's necessary for guys that played internationally overseas that when they come back,

they have to get some type of certification. So like whether it be real estate, whether it be an accounting license, whether it be something you gotta get be able to get into the game with some type of certification that puts you on a level where somebody feel comfortable hiring you, or you can make your own bread legally and do it in a way like real estate. You know what I'm saying, Where you your own boss. Um, it's a

tough game, bro, It's a tough game. Dog. The only I mean, you just gotta just you know, we as men, you just gotta keep stepping up. You's gotta keep waking up every day, man, and trying to go get that, go get it, no matter how old you get. Ship, I'm almost fifty, bro, So you know I met you. We was young, and you know, I was way more handsome. You still handsome, and Ship, I was way more handsome. But Joe, that's facts, Bro, That's yeah, that's that's real man.

It's it's it's just being an athlete. I mean you, it's it's funny you say that that were behind the eight ball and a lot of things, but we're not in a way because we have characteristics that a lot of people don't have. And that's that grit. Going overseas, you gotta have grit. You gotta have discipline, You gotta be patient, resilient. You got that ain't for everybody. So to be able to survive overseas and come back like, yeah, the transition is hard, but we, like I said in

the beginning, we built for it. We built for We're not gonna stop with competitive You're gonna tell us no, We're gonna figure out another way how to figure it out, you know what I mean. So, yeah, we missed out on some things, but we have a lot of other traits that a lot of people don't have either. Absolutely, and I think it's important that we we uh, we

give ourselves those props. We recognize those traits. You know, that's my brotherhood and and things like that are so important, man, just to be able to talk to cats that went through the same experience as you and they have sources of inspiration and motivation, you know, because our our motivation ain't gonna be the same like as everybody else is. Like you know, so we got a certain type of dudes get motivated us, Like we got to hear from you know, a certain type of dude like, look, I

ain't trying to listen to all this motivation. I'm one of these dudes that motivate. I need somebody way up here motivate me, bro. And and that's just how it is. Dog us you this. What's the last time you've been in the gym? Man, who I was in the gym Saturday? A matter of fact, you coach it. Yeah, but it's yeah. But I mean to answer the real question, man, I'm not in the gym like that, honestly, Man, I'm I'm not. I'm trying to pick it up here and there so

I don't get all stiff and stuff. But yeah, you know, never thought about working with anybody man, working with some of these youngsters man on that on their own jumper and game. I mean you you would be first of all from a demonstration standpoint, just seeing you shoot around and stuff. I mean, I mean, I'm just man, I'm listening to Dog, I'm watching shoot I'm listening. Bro. Yeah, I mean I ain't. I ain't never never really looking forward.

But i mean somebody asking, you know, approach me with Yeah, I'm always open to health of you. That's dope. That's dope, man, that's dope. Man. That's a good place to be in. Man. I still try to get help out when I can, Bro. You know what I'm saying, help out when I can. Well, Man, listen, It's been a great conversation. Brother. I appreciate you for coming on the platform and sharing your story, sharing your basketball journey with us. Man. Um, you got any shoutouts? Man,

I don't do the shoutout things. Shout out to everybody. Man, do you see it? That community? Everybody gonna start up. Everybody just just love. What's up with your startup? What's up with your startup? Bro? Dont we try to get that in? Don't we try to snick that in? What's up with the start try sneaking in? I mean, yeah, that's the reason why I'm not really you know, doing the basketball or in the gym, Like that's the transition is to start up into the tech space just dealing

with data, you know, biometric data. So it's that's more of a challenge. I like the challenge. The startup life is collaborative, is still team oriented, and yeah it's pretty cool. Man's dope, Man dope. I lived that life for about seven years from two thousand and eleven to about two thousand eighteen. That was with a company up by US Saslito, California,

right outside of San Francisco. This dude he designed this app that made that made it easy to scout right so we were just we were collecting data with the iPhone. We gotta serve, we gotta server in the cloud. We shoot it up to so no man, if you ever want to chop it up about any of that experience or whatever, Man, my phone is always open to you. Brother. Again, man, I appreciate you coming on the show. Uh, ladies and gentlemen, the John, I appreciate it, y'all. Peace,