WEBVTT - KJ Live - Dijon Thompson 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:10.320 This is kJ Live with Chris Johnson. Allen and Chris 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.680 is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:20.880 entertainment in the strain. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:24.319 TEO thing the kJ Live Today's guests from the show. 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:27.640 There's a former u c l A. Bruce who was 0:00:27.720 --> 0:00:30.160 named first Team All packed ten in the two thousand 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:32.800 and five He was drafted in the second round with 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:38.520 number by the New York Knicks. He spent thirteen seasons 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:41.639 or something like that playing overseas as a bona fide pro. 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:46.120 One of my favorite dudes, Dijon, Welcome to kJ Live. 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:49.200 What's up? But thank you man, I appreciate that one. 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:52.199 You said, you said my name actually right to end 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:54.720 it off, man, De john that's you know, it's that 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:57.920 he gets dragged out a lot lately. But you know this, 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:02.800 m but appreciate, appreciate the welcome. Welcome to be here, man, 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:05.000 No doubt, man, no doubt. Man. I've had a lot 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:07.920 of cats on on the show since I started doing this, 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:11.000 a lot of our U c l A brothers as well, 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:13.919 and we kind of kind of dive into the background 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:16.800 of the person and you know, find out the journey 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:20.400 that made the man who they are. UM. I want 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.160 to educate our audience on you and sort of just 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:25.800 start in your childhood and where you're from, what neighborhood 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.679 you grew up, be like, where were you born at? Um? 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:33.000 I grew up in Englewood. UM spent some some time 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:37.280 growing up with my great grandmother. She stayed off of 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:43.040 eighth Adam Vernon. UM My mom and they kind of 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:45.440 went to Crenshaw and then they moved out to Pasadena 0:01:45.560 --> 0:01:48.360 area and graduated from your and then we came back 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.560 down to the Crenshaw to the Englewood area, and that's 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:53.560 kind of where I grew up. My mom and dad 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.080 they worked at North ropp And Grooming at the time, 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.120 it was tr W and then they went to North Grooming. 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:02.920 So that's how I was able to get the permit 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.400 and found my way into Redondo Beach in the high 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:07.680 school area. But um, I grew up in the l 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:09.960 A area Inglewood. Yeah, like a lot of us. Bro 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:11.360 like a lot of us. What a lot of people 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:15.280 don't realize about the l A area is south central Inglewood. 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:17.720 Wats all that's like ten fifteen minutes from each other. 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:21.240 Inglewood South Central is really close. It's like you hit, 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:23.880 you go, you know, Hyde Park, hit a couple of backstreets, 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:26.800 and you right over, you know, in the thick of things, 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:28.840 and you might be in the sixties hood over here 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:30.840 and then you you hit, you hit the cut you 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:32.480 over here in the in the in the bloodhood, like 0:02:32.560 --> 0:02:37.000 the hell's going on? Was there anything as far as 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:39.480 the gang activity? And I know you're a little younger, 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:41.600 younger than I am, because the gang stuff was real 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:43.200 huge for us and we were growing up. Was the 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:45.560 gang or the streets? Was there any a lord of 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:49.520 that when you were coming up in Inglewood? Uh? Yeah, 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.280 I mean, like you said, it didn't go nowhere. I 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:56.760 mean it was always around growing up. You know, you 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:59.720 just have vivid memories. Even we stayed on Cranshaw at 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:01.920 the time time and it's doing the riots. You know, 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:04.960 it's growing up during that time, and it's it's funky 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:06.919 around there. And I mean game is an't going nowhere. 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:09.160 You always grew up in it and growing up in 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:12.520 that l a, it's it becomes second nature. Really, I 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.560 mean you numb to it. You see it. You you 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:18.320 you know where to go, We're not to go but yeah, 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:21.240 it's it's always around and I was down the street. 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:26.200 Like you said, when did uh who start to become 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:29.080 something that you figured out and you wanted to do. Seriously, 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:35.040 that's crazy because I don't really have the that traditional 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:37.000 like I grew up with the ball or you know, 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:39.880 I was always playing basketball. That wasn't necessarily to me. Yeah, 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:43.160 I was always playing basketball at schools and parks and stuff. 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.800 But my family wasn't really an athletic family. I had 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:49.520 maybe had an uncle that played some baseball, um, but 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.560 I was really the first generation as far as you know, 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:57.680 taking basketball or sports um to another level, so that 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.080 that background wasn't there. Everything was green from me and 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:04.440 I was just learning on the fly type of things. So, um, 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:07.600 it was just playing at school and um, probably about 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.280 the sixth grade, fifth grade, you know, you got your 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.720 your your peers or your friends saying we in this 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:16.279 league and why you're not playing? And why am I 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.960 not playing? You know, And at that time, you know, 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:22.080 my mom was single parents. She ain't had time to 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:24.200 do all that, you know, So it was just at 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:26.839 the school and that's it. But you know, once my 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:32.080 stepdad came along, um, it was way more time for that. Uh, 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:34.120 you know he was able to take me to everything 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:37.159 and really get involved and dive into it and really 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:39.800 get a liken to it. Oh man, how old were 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:44.120 you when your stepfather came into the picture? Ah? Man, 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:48.160 he was there from the beginning. Um so so as 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.839 you could remember what school, what what elementary school or 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:55.240 what like park? Like I was talking to um Stays 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:57.320 Bowsman and I know you know who Stays is, and 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.680 he was talking about how he came up at jesse 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:01.920 O and so it was called Sportsness Park and then 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:04.400 he was at St. Andrew's and hooping with all this 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:07.600 what park did you come up back? So that's crazy, 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:11.240 Like it's like like I don't have that that story 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.040 to where I was always out like that, you know, 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:18.520 like basketball, it came alik and it was like natural. 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.359 But you know, I will go to the park. I 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:22.440 go to Holly Park down the street. That okay, yeah, 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:27.960 that's bad. Nads go to Holly Park. You know, you 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:30.480 wasn't really allowed to go to Raleigh, so it was like, well, 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:32.400 just stopped at Holly Park. So I wasn't going to 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:35.240 Riley Park and Gardenia. It was always Holly Maybe simmar 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.760 On Park because my uncle stayed like literally like right 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:42.080 around there. So I was in that area. When at 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:45.840 what point or how old were you when you kind 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:48.080 of knew that you were better than do when you 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.359 played against I'm like, when did it sink into you? 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:53.120 For me? Like I started to get that bug like 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:56.000 four fifteen years old, I started, you know, giving dudes 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:58.520 numbers and feelings that about myself. How old were you? 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:05.200 What age was that? Oh man, it's probably about ninth grade, 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:08.680 you know, I started. I started to really get on 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.440 that circuit that that real circuit with the with the 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:15.000 killers is that, you know, the ninth grade I'm playing 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.679 with that with Sports Express, they brought me on Who's 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.400 on your team? Who's on your team? I got guys 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:27.640 like Brandon Heath, uh, we got Chad Bell, Yeah, we 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:32.479 had Chuck Hayes, my guy, my desk though Lefty Yeah yeah, 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:36.719 we had a mom Marcus Williams uh wait with Marcus 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:46.039 left lefty, Lefty, Crenshaw, Craig Man, Yeah, squad. It was fun. 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:48.680 It was fun. So around that time you start, you 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.320 start measuring yourself against this type of competition and got 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:54.239 against guys that have you know, grew up in the gym, 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:56.240 you know, and it's like all right, I can hang 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.520 you know, I'm still fresh, still learning, Like, oh, these 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.960 guys are fine around here, but I kind of I 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:05.400 adjust to quit learning on the fly. Like I said, 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:08.600 who did you kind of hold yourself to like the 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.200 standard of that type of guy? Like when we were 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:14.559 coming up in my era, it was like Charles O'Bannon, Chuck. 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:16.360 It was like everybody was, you know, trying to rock 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:18.960 with Chuck. Chuck was the man was there? Who who 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:22.760 in your era was that kind of like that guy? Man, 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.800 that's a good question, Like I was a weird one. Man. 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:31.520 Like it's like basketball was just like I just like basketball. Um, 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:35.640 like you said, ninth grade year, Like that motivation starts 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:37.840 coming you. I went to high school like a damnime. 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:41.360 Marcus Moore he was our point guard, Andrew's on these 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:44.240 guys were at the time they were getting letters. You 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:48.160 see him walking across the lunch quad with letters, Nike shoes, everything. 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:52.760 I'm like, man, I need all of that. How do 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:55.560 I get to that level? Like how I I need 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:57.560 all of that? I need them letters, I need all 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:00.560 of that. So to answer the question, like for somebody 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:03.000 to meet looking at somebody growing up like I really didn't. 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:05.600 Basketball was just basketball to me, and I'm just hoping, 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:10.400 like it's just fun. Where did you like find or 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:14.480 draw upon for your competitive spirit, like the competitive side 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:16.400 of things, because you know, as hoop is man, we're 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:18.680 not just go let people bust our asses. And I 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:20.040 know you might have not been at the park, but 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:21.760 I'm sure when you did go to the park, you 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:24.880 was trying to win. Where did you Where did you 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:31.280 get that con headed a spirit from that made you elite? Uh, 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:33.600 that's that's that's my mom and my dad really, I 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:37.719 mean it's yeah, it's it's once you start something, you're 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:39.920 gonna do it at your best and give it your best. 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:42.320 And it's that that's where that competitive is come in. 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:47.199 And it's uh, just the streets. You know. I've always 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:51.080 always played and had friends that were older than me. 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:53.400 You know that that was kind of my I never 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:55.760 really played with people my age. It was always hanging 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.200 out with people older than me. So I'll go around 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:00.680 the corner with my friend Troy and was older than me. 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:03.520 He had handles. He kind of baptized me. It was 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.600 just like, damn, I need to I need to step 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:07.000 it up a little bit. So it was it was 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:10.520 always with my older friends being around them and and 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:12.880 and kind of learning the ropes like that that's the 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.199 best way, man, uh, because I kind of like you, bro, 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:18.120 I didn't grow up in the gym as all them 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:20.440 dudes that we ended up playing with either. You know, 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:22.200 you know how everybody knew each other when they was younger. 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.480 Now I came in late fifteen sixteen, it was calling 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:28.080 me the fat boy with the curly top, the fresh 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:30.240 the fresh prince of bel air, you know what I'm saying. 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:33.520 But what I had was a lot of experience playing 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:37.760 against my dad one on one. Broh. So imagine back. 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.200 So when you say you had your cousin or the 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:41.920 home around the corner that was beating up on you, 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:43.600 my dad was doing the same thing. He was trying 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:45.959 to make a comeback to the league. So he used 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:47.839 me as the one on one, like, what's up with 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:49.760 your ones? I gotta guard him. I gotta do all 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:53.439 that when I'm fourteen and fifteen, and so the leve 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:56.040 of physicality he induced me to it just made it 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:57.920 so that when I played against dudes my age, I 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:00.760 just was not tripping on nobody. And that's why that 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:04.080 older that that's where that playing against older dudes thing 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:06.400 comes in. Sometimes you ain't gotta play on the circuit 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:09.000 as long as you're getting that good work. And it's 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:11.840 that like you you got it. Yeah, I was always 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:16.040 finding some good bump. I mean yeah, yeah. So your 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:19.360 your recruitment. Um, you have ver Dondall Union. Were you playing? 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:23.080 Who was that Reggie? Reggie Mars? Was Jim Nielson? Okay, 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:25.760 Jim Neilson was there? You big? I remember andrews On 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:28.520 from hoop my hoop Master's days. He played with Josiah 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:30.400 or his brother. I forgot who which one it was. 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:34.880 He had a brother, right, it's a couple of them. 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:39.160 But anyway, Um, your recruitment, so you got a nice crew. 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:42.239 You kind of you know, getting off a little bit. Um. 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.400 Who are some of the schools that were looking at 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:48.400 you early on? That kind of got you excited. I 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:52.480 had this weird, if like factuation with Syracuse. I don't 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:57.320 Syracuse just had that that that that notoriety at the time, 0:10:57.360 --> 0:10:59.920 you know, in the nineties, and you know, North Carolinas 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.160 was like I gotta go to Syracuse. I like the Orange, 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.360 I like the jerseys. Jerseys was sweet, you know. And 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:07.360 then once you start, once I started to get more 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.960 deeper into basketball, I'm like snow like I'm from l A, 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:15.120 like snow like I ain't I'm not going there, like 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:19.480 nah off the snow like nah like because because I 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:22.240 didn't really go nowhere, I didn't really travel nowhere like 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:26.040 basketball took me everywhere, like I probably want to travel. 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.520 I probably have been. You know somebody from LA that 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:34.640 has never been nowhere anywhere. So um so yeah. Fox 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.800 Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:41.040 Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:44.280 com and within the I Heart Radio app search f 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:50.480 s R to listen live in Syracuse. And then so 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:54.000 senior year came down to Yukon Arizona, and U like 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:58.319 my top three schools okay, okay uh, Jim can who 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.600 Calhoun came to it, came to my house to home visit, 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:08.560 loved him, loved you. Colma East Coast is saying I 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:10.560 ain't really been nowhere. And then at that time it's 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:16.920 like it's not for me. I've been Gordon damn all right, cool, 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.480 So Arizona, I go to my trip on Arizona loved it. 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:23.880 Richard Jefferson's my host. End up hanging out with Gilbert 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.320 probably the whole time. Hey, what would your visit like? 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:28.839 You and r J, y'all two light skins. What was 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:31.800 y'all getting off in Arizona? Don? I can't imagine what 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:35.800 Listen been the same. He's been the same. He's been 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.240 the same guy as you see him now. Man, he's 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:46.360 the same guy. J Don like J from Phoenix down 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:48.920 the street, you know, just like, Hey, it's Tucson, you 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.080 know this Arizona, trying to show me the way. And 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.840 then you know you come across guild. Who's Gilbert the 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:58.160 same Gilbert? Come over here with me, young Feller, were 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:00.880 gonna I'm gonna show you the rope. So ended up 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.120 hanging out with Gilbert more than than than Richard. But 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:05.000 you know, it was it was fun. I had. I 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:08.480 had a really good time, really good trip. Um Andrew, 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:10.640 who I played with, was a freshman going into his 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:12.200 freshman year at that time, so I had a little 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:16.320 comfort there for my high school teammate. Um, it just 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:19.560 was in l A. It just wasn't l A. Ludolson 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:22.200 was amazing, Like if they was in l A. I 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:24.240 probably have sawn there, But it just was in l A. 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:26.840 What was it about? It wasn't the thing you didn't 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:29.280 want to leave home. Man, You're so comfortable just in 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:33.360 your surroundings in l A that leaving l A just 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:35.960 kind of not frighten you, but it kind of gave 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:37.600 you a little pause, kind of like, man, I ain't 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:39.680 trying to dip from the city. Is that how he 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:42.760 went down for you? A little bit? A little bit? 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:44.280 But I mean you grew up in l A and 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:46.199 you still you see the prestige that you see l 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:49.000 A god and you still you see the banners and everything. 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.000 I mean that spoke for itself. And you got laugh 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:54.360 coming in and you know, talking and seeing the family 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.040 and being at every game and you know, being live. 0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:01.960 I mean it was it was an easy sale for me. Yeah, 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:04.800 when back in that era of lab Man, when you 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:07.560 say being laugh Steve Laughing, who was just named the 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:11.120 new head coach at University of San Diego and who 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.000 we both played for, we can both testify to that 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:16.160 this guy is one of a kind. He's one of 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.000 the probably know in my opinion, just as far as 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.720 his ability to speak and work a room and you know, 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:25.280 sell somebody's mom on trusting that person with their child 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:28.200 for the next four years. Like please, it doesn't get 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:31.160 too much better than that, I say, laugh Caliparie type 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:33.360 of dudes, man, like those dudes that come from the 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.440 same cloth. So so so you got a laugh so 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:39.680 laugh got you. Who was your other guys that came 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:44.280 in with you as freshman? Uh? Came in with another 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.680 Actually I wasn't saying they were all Los Angeles natives 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:55.160 Man Bosman, Yeah, um, Andre Patterson. Yeah. That was that 0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:57.920 was our crew right there. That was a nice crew. Man. 0:14:57.960 --> 0:14:59.760 That was a nice crew. Long. You guys were long, 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:04.520 very athletic. Uh. One thing that could be said for 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:06.600 probably every team that played at u c l A 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.480 under lab and all that, at least one team or 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:12.680 two teams twice, you were pretty much underachieved. We didn't 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.680 live up to our potential as a as a team, 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:20.680 as a as players. When do you attribute those lapses 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.760 two back at U c l A. I've always tried 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.200 to figure that out because we would have so much talent, man, 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.480 and the summertimes you probably ran and what gets the 0:15:28.520 --> 0:15:30.720 pros with the us A crew and y'all probably was 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:34.040 getting a lot of wins and looking great. What was it? Man? 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:35.880 What happens? What happened to U? C l A. As 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:39.120 far as the underachieving part, that's a good question, man. 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:43.600 It's UM. I think it comes down to just building 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.400 teams and everybody's standing there and you know, you've got 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:50.800 guys is leaving year after year and new guys coming in. 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:53.440 That it's it's hard to build that camaraderie and that 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:59.800 that uh, that grid, that winning, that winning mentality. So 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.560 I think that's uh, I kind of where it hurt. 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:06.120 When I was playing. Um, I played with two coaches, 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:08.520 so it was Lave for two years and then been 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.240 Holland for two years, uh the next two years. So 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:16.120 that coaching change could be, um a monkey wrench in itself. UM, 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:19.600 just because it's just new. It's different, uh, two coaching styles, 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:23.240 um Ben Holland coming from the East Coast and coach 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:27.800 Lave more West Coast style and more free oriented. UM. 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:29.440 So that that that was just a little different. It 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:31.440 just kind of just throws you off your your your 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:34.680 you know, what you're used to and what you're seeing 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.720 for the first two years. So I can say that. 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:41.280 I mean it's just just keeping the team together. Building 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:43.360 a team, a good group of guys that's gonna stay 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:45.680 together for the you know, for four years, three years, 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:49.320 or however long it takes. Yeah, man, building a program, 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.400 building the culture, it takes time, and take guys sticking around, 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:55.360 Like we had guys that stayed off four years back then. 0:16:55.480 --> 0:16:58.280 So you know it was Ed and Tires and George Zedek. 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:02.160 Those are our guys. Those are our saying. We won one. 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:04.199 We won one, and there was no doubt with the 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:08.280 talent you guys had, um because coming there, So wait, 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:11.520 you weren't there for Moisa and Dan? Were you? I 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:14.159 was there for Dan, not Moisa. So I had Matt 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:19.480 Campono Yeah yeah and really rest in peace, Billy Billys 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:22.480 in peace. Um. Yeah, I had a lot of older 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:27.920 guys there. Yeah, good team. We lost on Sweet six 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.760 team that year. Yeah, was you see l a everything 0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:35.040 you thought it was gonna be. I don't know what 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:38.760 it was gonna be, you know, Like I was so 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.120 green with the basketball. I was learning on the fly, 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:47.040 like I I didn't really have that that um, I 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.359 guess experienced sort of supportive experience, you know that that 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:52.400 could just be like okay, look out for this took 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:54.160 out for that. It was ill learn on the fly. 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:58.919 So UM, I don't know what. I didn't know what 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.800 to expect. It was it was fun like I enjoyed 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.840 every minute of it. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't if 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:06.440 I had to go back and change school, I wouldn't. 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:09.959 I still choose you, so it, yeah, I would to Um. 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:13.119 I had a few schools that were, you know, knocking 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:16.440 down my door. Washington State with Calvin Sampson, Arizona State 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:21.040 with Bill Freeder, um Cornell out in the Ivy League. 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:23.960 But you know, nothing nothing. I'm glad I went to 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:25.880 u c l A. But I kind of wonder what 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:27.480 my life would have been like had I went to 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:30.480 like a Utah and played for Rick Majeris and had 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:32.920 the rock in my hand, you know, not running. You know, 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:34.879 do you sell a high posts and where you could 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:38.040 kind of develop a little more and handle and things 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.919 like that. I always think about it, but you know, 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:43.440 not really tripping on it. Uh. You know, hindsight is 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:48.159 always twenty. If you were all packed ten, Uh, you're 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:51.320 last year U c l A. And now take me 0:18:51.359 --> 0:18:55.080 through the draft process. So you're coming, you're projected. Well, 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:56.439 I don't know where they had you. But I know 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.760 that at your size, your height, your skill set at 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:03.040 that time, uh, you seem pretty primed to you know, 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:05.560 to do well in the draft. Now you get picked 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:10.280 fifty second round. How take me through the workout process 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:13.360 for you, the pre draft process. If you can remember 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:17.840 and talk about the moment that your name got called. 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:23.760 I always tell people that was probably like that whole 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:27.159 process was I hated that process. Like I hated that 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:32.359 whole process. It's um, I don't know that my my nature, 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:38.200 my style of play and going going out workout after workout, 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:42.359 having to like prove yourself. Yeah, I could do it, 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:43.840 but that that wasn't my thing. I'm more of a 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:46.479 gamer like I. I like to show my my my 0:19:46.560 --> 0:19:49.359 game throughing just game play, so that you having to 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:53.400 fight every every trip, every work I was like, damn, 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:57.520 these guys is hungry. But I think we'll kind of 0:19:57.520 --> 0:19:59.119 threw it off a little bit. My senior year, I 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:01.960 played the four p Uh that's just where we needed 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:04.919 to I need to be for the team to to thrive, 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:07.399 or that was only position that that was open at 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:10.119 that needed feeling. So I played. There was a stretch 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:14.240 for so going into the draft. In that pre draft process, 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:15.840 like I was going against a lot of fours in 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:18.560 my work, and I'm just like, that's not but it's 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:21.320 not my position. But you know, I was able to 0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:23.600 do it and it was successful at a little bit. 0:20:23.640 --> 0:20:25.879 But these guys are a little bit heavier than me. 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:30.159 You know, on against like Ryan Ghnes, it's like twenty 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:32.600 pounds te five pounds more heavy than me, thirty pounds 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:36.680 Jason Max. Still, I'm like Jason Max sill these guys 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:38.760 on the block. I can't do nothing with this man. 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:41.800 These guys was physical. Who's that time? The game was 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:45.400 more physical. It was who's your agent? D who's your agent? 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:47.360 Real quick? Who's your agent? At that time, I was uh, 0:20:47.760 --> 0:20:50.119 I had signed with Todd. I was with Todd. It 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:51.880 was it was his first go around with the Life 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:55.679 Sports Agency. So the year before that, Trevor had went 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:57.840 to the draft. He had Trevor and then I had 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:00.000 I was going to go to the draft my junior years. 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:02.280 So we both me and Trevor went to pre draft together. 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:06.760 Trevor stayed. Then I went back to school. Wait, um, 0:21:08.800 --> 0:21:10.640 I went through my whole senior year, had a better 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:12.440 senior year, which I was like, yeah, you go ahead 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:17.159