S2 Episode 8: Bigger Than Basketball

to be shall but yeah, yeah it is man. Thank you so much. A lot of hard work. Welcome back to Drafted. I'm kicking Michael Key and you just heard Tyrese Maxie talking about all the commotion currently happening at his house in Garland, Texas. Tyrese is only twenty four hours from the NBA Draft. Crews are setting up and getting ready for tomorrow's broadcast. His parents and uncle Brandon are occupied to a long list of tasks, and now

Tyrese is just waiting. I think one of my biggest hardest jobs was making sure Tyrese didn't go do some crazy workout. This is Clutch Sports agent Mark Murray, a member of the team representing Tyrese. He wanted to work out, he wanted to get in the gym, wanted to list, wanted to run, wanted to shoot. And I think part of a Rich and I's job was, Hey, relaxed, enjoy the day. Obviously made it this far. We don't need you getting hurt, and let's just relax, tick your feet up.

So that was the first task of the day, was keeping Tyrese out of the gym or trying to him he probably still gotta work out in his room. Sitting still is not one of Tyree's Maxie's strengths. He's been doing three workouts a day, shooting hundreds of thousands of jump shots, and pushing himself in countless drills, all leading up to this moment where all he can do now is wait one more day until he finds out where he'll be living and what team he'll be playing on,

and his NBA future finally begins. I'm sure what to do now. He goes to play with his dog, Zoe the dog acting crazy boy, but hey, you come away, so come hey, what are you acting so crazy? He's oly, Come on, Oh, you can't go back here either you ain't got on toys and play with get down, Get down here. You've been linked in my face. Well, Tyrese tries to take his mind off the draft. His agent, Rich Paul, called Tyrese's dad to touch base before the

big day. Tyrone sounds surprisingly calm and collected given what's at stake. He primarily just wants to know if Michael Jordan's will draft his son. Have you talked to MJ. I talked to MJ for a long time yesterday. Yeah. Yeah, he had nice things to say about Tyree's. But they're just in the top three. So maybe they move up to one, maybe they keep three. I don't see him moving back. So I've talked to a lot of teams in the top fifteen. His range isn't gonna start to

about twelve. He's anywhere from Twitter. He's bunched up right there with a with a ton of teams that like him, and two of the guys that's how they kind of say it, you know, he's one of three us Situational is position things of that nature. You know, you just never know, Like I tell all these guys that the people that's that's choosing players on humans and not robots. So you know, sometimes they make mistakes. That's just how it goes. In fact, sometimes NBA executives make mistakes that

haunt them for decades. In Michael Jordan was taken third overall after Hachem Eli Jahwan and Sam Bowie. Elijah Wan turned into an all time grade and although Sam Bowie had a solid tenure career, choosing him over Michael Jordan is often regarded as the worst draft decision of all time, and this kind of mistake happens somewhat frequently. Kobe Bryant

was selected overall. MVP Steph Curry was picked seven. M v P. Janice Enterton Compo went, Unless you're drafting Lebron James, making a top pick could be an extremely inexact science. Here are Rich and Tyrone again, I tells you're gonna be one of four fifty. Okay, So in the great spot, man, I'm just shouldn't should a man trying to take a nap, But you don't said it's gonna be tough to take

a nap. Instead of feeling stressed about preparations for the draft party and all the pressure of the moment, Tyrone seems completely in control. Maybe that's because, like his son, he's also spent most of his life preparing for this moment, and just like Tyrese, he's not really sure what to do now that it's finally here. We'll be right back. Meanwhile, in the Edwards Camp in Atlanta, Anthony works out one last time as an amateur at the gym on god

Be Rode. He's with his trainer Justin Holland, coach Rob Allen, and Uncle Drew. After all the years together on this court, the four of them may not be back here as a group for a long time. Once Anthony gets trapped to the vibe is a little more nostalgic than normal. But yeah, I just thought about you got doom hord than one that you all we're working out of here. That's a pre pair of covid y. I ain't no, you ain't no more cob don't you're not hard? You

know what funny? I had one pair of Jordan my whole life. I would like it to feel great. I had one pair of Joined my whole life. Yeah, I've literally only wore one pair of Jordan my whole life. You will do it, I got Yeah, they can't like

some weeks ago. That memory of Anthony asking his mom for a pair of Jordan's as a kid and the family not being able to afford MJ shoes holds extra significance today because now companies send boxes and boxes of free unsolicited shoes, hoping he'll sign an endorsement deal with them as one of the top picks. Tomorrow. He'll go from a kid who couldn't afford to buy the latest shoes to getting paid to wear them. Well, my first hospitals, my mom. Yeah, I just thought about that what my

dad and everybody was not saying. I say, prob my dad, my dad, my dad. He weren't he weren't he weren't. Sue warn't his shoes because of first it was sewer and then shoeshow balled him out to work in the showerl and greenbra right across stree from mom, and any word in the shoe show about about your being it was no, I ain't I want a friend, don't my dad? That's a I like the I'm just stayed with shoes show. Shoe That's all that's all I had with shoes show.

It wasn't just Jordan's that were too expensive. Everyone reflects on how they could only afford to shop at Shoe Show, a discount shoe store on the south side of Atlanta where Justin's dad worked, Niket and Stow. Don't don't win the Niket that everybody wolf Man crying. I've been crying, crying my weather keeping going. Coach Rob asks if Justin's been crying because a few days ago they got some

tragic news. A young player who was a member of the gym and they're small, tight the community lost his life. Here are Justin and Rob again talking about what happened. You know, people didn't go back to their regular lives. You go back to a life of person. It was like that my mother broke up and they're like, all right, that was a dream right then. Like I saw at that time, my dad, he was myself like he just I can't even. I couldn't like I'm just talking about bad.

I'm just thinking about bad. I'm hurting with the kid. I could have imagine if I'm hurting it bad mad at the moment, you know what I mean. Justin describes the events from a few nights earlier, like the weekend before the draft. I woke up to maybe like twenty or thirty misscalls, and uh I finally answered the phone. I called. I woke up that morning about six o'clock and I called my cousin back and he told he asked me how I heard, and I was I asked him,

I hadn't heard. What he was like, jay Sean got killed last night. And my first question was Jayson who because Jayon, the only jay Sean I know is the twelve year old, twelve year old kid from my gym, Jay Sean. And he says, jay Sean from the gym, and I just I just kind of lost it because I've probably been knowing the kids since he was about six or seven years old, and he grew up in the gym. He was he was a gym baby, you

know what I means. And when I say gym baby, he's one of the kids that's literally always in the gym. He was a great athlete, one of the best athletes that we had, UH in an organization. You know, he was really good at football, really good at basketball. If anyone comes in the gym and he's in the gym, you would know him because he you know, he kind of had like a cocky type attitude and he's gonna play you one on one. He's gonna say, you wanna

play one on one because I can beat you. You know, He's played multiple games with it, like and you know, he was one of the ants biggest fans, and he would always tell it like coach Justin, I want you to train me once you get fish within man. You know. So even when I was told and and it it was just it was, you know, they were like, hold on, not this Jay Sean, because you know, she was like that He's always d M and me and he's always in the gym. And even them like they haven't registered

that a kid this young got killed. That was that was That was just hard. That was hard everybody because because kids aren't supposed to die and it came out of nowhere, and uh, that was just something that really that really hurt me. And so everything for me leading up the draft was better sweep and and really it's

still it still kind of is. Justin's wife, Jeanine Holland explains why her husband's commitment and relationship to kids like Anthony and Jay Shawn runs so deep and why this gym that God be roaded is such an important place, the gym that he worked at, it's it's not in the best part of town at all, um. It's actually in a really really rough area. And some of the kids don't have maybe a mom in their life, maybe they don't have a dad, maybe they don't have either. Sometimes,

you know, they weren't they weren't taken care of. And so a lot of nights there would be kids left at the gym past nine o'clock, which is their closing time, and Justin would have to take them home. And they might be six, or they might be you know, ten, um, whatever the age is. And I don't even you know, he doesn't doesn't even think twice about that, you know,

he just he just does it. Sometimes he does it because no one else will, and sometimes because there is no one else, Justin steps in to help the way he did with Anthony and with Jay Sean and the dozens of other kids like those two kids who, as he puts it, need guidance, structure, and somebody just to be there for them, even if it's just for some advice,

even if it's just a hug. When we got the call about Jay Shawn, you know, Justin immediately started bawling, and you know, he told me that he had gotten shot, and I just I could not understand a thirteen year old kid dying to you know, dying the gun violence. It just didn't make any sense to me. And he was so torn up about it. What do I do? Now? Where do I go from here? I've I've been with this kid since he was itty Betty and and now

they're just not here anymore. We'll be right back. With all the excitement leading up to draft day and the pride everyone felt with Anthony going to the NBA, this is an especially devastating for the group. If the God be roady gym. Here are justin coach Robe, Uncle Drew and Anthony in the gym again talking about what happened. Right man, that was like six years old. I'm saying, bro, I can't even like every time I'm walk into the

coach Chester Coachester. You can't beat me one on one like you want them kids like walking j You don't need him like that. You can't beat me one on one hand checked up like that kind of heat, that kind of kid that I shown was like, remember him? You want to be in the gym, Yeah, you don't want like he gonna walk up to you and you're gonna be looking no more kid like that's hand. Now he's gonna walk up let me one on one. That's kind of kid. You will if I really can't shake

it like I thought I was good. Yes, sir, I can't shake you, understand like I don't even try to definitely going wrong. I don't try trying to shake you. You don't do them to make it work, like you got to hear, bro, he just ain't pulled it. That man is so tough man like finals like he like like if we'll be down, and we'll be down, if one kid I know be out there still fight like man, we can win the game. You're gonna be ill like you gotta keep you well. Justin is doing his best

to keep it together. His voice gives away just how shaken he is by this loss, because about it's about like what you leave on like you know, try to gotta say next ye about what I say that Like it's kind of like then when you realize but basketball just small punt is way more than basketball. I think, well, a lot of these kids, not just Anthony in particular, a lot of basketball players I don't think you know, people understand that they come from struggles outside of basketball.

This is coach Rob Allen again, who spent his entire life entrenched in the basketball community. And that's part of the country. You know, people they only look at these kids as entertainers athletes and not looking at where they're coming from. And all the kids want to do is play basketball, but you know they have to go back home to a bad environment or a bad situation. Coach Rob has seen it up close his whole life. His dad was a streetball legend in Selma, Alabama. His cousin

was an All American at Auburn. He was the top point guard growing up playing at Temple University for legendary coach John Cheney, and he has been coaching ever since. As much as anyone, he knows kids like Anthony and Jay Sewn at every level and where they come from and how they end up at places. Like god Be wrote, it's it's hard just to see what these kids have to deal with on a day to day basis. Somebody like Anthony situation anybody other else's. That's why you gotta

have a strong circle. And it was a blessing that he was able to meet the people that admit to help him get out of this situation. Because every day is something new. Some our kid is dying, a personally dying, somebody's getting robbed or things of that nature. Is baffing me. But we have to as a community and try to take in and keep it because guess what, it's going

to be another Aunt come around in that community. So that's why you know, seeing somebody like Aunt being able to make it out as a as a as a success story for kids coming up. This is why the story of Anthony Edwards is a story about this gym, and why it's a story about Justin coach robbed, Uncle Drew and all the other people helping in their community. It's not just about Anthony's achievement or his personal journey.

It's also about the next Anthony Edwards and the next Jay Shaun and all the kids will come after them. It's about how sports can play a major role in changing people's lives, and not only for the star athletes to make it to the pros. I think too many times we look at success as guys making it out going to the NBA or going to the NFL, or being rappers or things of that nature. At the end of the day, it's good that you make it to the NBA, but not everybody's gonna play in the NBA.

If Anthony made it or if he didn't, it's still that relationship. And when at the end of the day, all we care about is a kid just making it out, being able to have a family of their own, being able to be an important person to society, being able to get a job. I think that's the main thing even for us, Like we love the guys that are going to the NBA, but I mean, to be honest with your thing. That kind of makes me the most happy as guys that train with you, and they didn't

even come basketball players. There's something else and them to come to you and say, hey man, which I appreciate you helping me understand what hard work was throughout playing basketball. You know, I didn't make it as a player, but I made it as something else. In twenty four hours, Anthony will define near impossible odds and become a top

pick in the NBA draft. And throughout his whole journey, even up to this very last afternoon, he and Justin and Coach Rob and uncle Drew continue working out in the gym on god Be Road, the same gym they

brought Michael Jordan's to the gym. They met Jay Sewn in the gym where they put up shots late into the night, working towards their dreams and the promises to their loved ones, where they keep the doors open in case that next hurt or confused twelve year old wanders in looking for some guidance or just a safe place to be a kid. Hopefully this will be a wake up call for the community to come together and try

to help these kids as much we can. Man because in in it to day, this is way bigger than basketball. This is about life. Of course, you love you love the CEOs, you know, holding the number one jurors and things, But the end of the day, it is bigger than basketball. It's just trying to help society. At the end of the day. Next undrafted, it's draft night. I'm about to get drafted, tollright, We're going to the NBA to night and we're still moving couches. I mean, look, if we're

talking pure talent, it's Anthony Atwards all day long. So this is where when you get picked and you start doing the NBA media, like you'll be in front of this. We had that curveball of the ESPN article saying that he didn't love basketball. The actual clickbait or SoundBite that everyone used came out that day of the draft, like I don't think I'm gonna cry, but he's like I might cry, you know, And I'm looking over in but

his eyes are kind of welding up with tears. People start coming out of woodworks with their conspiracy theories and thoughts. You're gonna be a little nervous. Aston cried, and I think beck ed Drew and Drew just is bling number one. Anthony alwis drafted as a production of tree Fort Media, Clutch Sports Group, and I Heart Radio. The executive producers are Kelly Garner, Lisa Ammerman, Eric s a Lot, Sean to Tone l Ki, and me Keegan Michael Key. The

series is produced and written by Eric Winer. Jared Brom is our coordinating producer. Trey McCain is our associate producer. Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer. Mixed and edited by Steven Johnson. Additional production help from Tim Shower, June Rosen, and Hayley Mandelberg. For transcripts of the show and more information on drafted, go to tree Fort dot fm for more podcasts. For my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.