WEBVTT - KJ Live - David Grace 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:10.360 This is kJ Live with Chris john Silis and Chris 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.680 is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:21.640 entertainment industry. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now tuned in 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:25.119 to kJ Live. Today's guest on the show earned a 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.000 reputation in the college basketball world as one of the 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.720 best recruiters of talent in the country. His assistant coaching 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:36.199 stops include Oregon State, Vanderbilt, col in U c l A. 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:39.240 He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:42.840 serving twenty years, sixteen of which were as a fuel 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:47.440 specialist and accountant in countries like Turkey, Germany, Spain, and 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:52.560 Saudi Arabia. He is currently the head coach of Centennial 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:58.600 High School in Peoria, Arizona. Please welcome David Grace to 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.920 kJ Live. Coach Grace, it's good man, it's great man. 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:03.800 It's great to be able to talk with you. You're 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.520 doing big things on this podcast. Man, I'm exciting. Well, 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:10.240 it's gonna get even bigger now that you on because 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:13.600 hey man, because look, man, you look you're really impressive. 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:16.560 When you were at U c l A. Uh during 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:20.039 your tenure, I was really as a former player and 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:21.920 a guy that you know put it down on the 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:26.559 championship there. I was super impressed with just what you 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.320 that coaching staff, you guys were able to do. Uh, 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:31.240 we didn't get to where we want to go, but 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:33.760 that that that one year was just I mean not 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.000 not not the one year your tenure was an exciting 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:40.120 brand of basketball. You guys had big league, elite level 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.240 talent coming through the building year in year out. What 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:46.000 you were were responsible for. But coach, I want to 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:49.160 talk about what it's like though, for you to be 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:51.920 back in the high school saddle first time since two 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:55.480 thousand and six when you let a championship. Talking about that, Man, 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:58.360 I'm having the time of my life. Man, I'm enjoying it. 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:01.560 I got a great, great group of its great parents 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:05.120 and a great administration. Was it really important? Man? And 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:07.919 uh they let me do what I do and we 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:09.959 we have a lot of fun. We're getting ready go 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:14.200 to practice after this man, and uh uh, I'm just 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:18.040 really enjoying life man, and and and having the opportunity 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.400 to to to try to impact young people and uh 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.799 through the game that we love basketball. Man. Is it 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:30.280 something about working with that age group, those that fourteen 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:35.480 really impressionable coming of age to eighteen or seventeen or eighteen, 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:37.640 you know, where they're more developed, and now you have 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:41.000 that contrast. I remember coaching my son for three years 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.400 at Palisades and just kind of, you know, being fascinated 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:49.200 with seeing the growth and evolution from you know, year one, 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:52.880 year two, year three. But the more particular question I 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:55.640 want to ask, coach, where can you can leave this 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:57.920 team back to a state championship And what is it 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.120 going to take and what are you guys doing to 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:04.600 prepare for that journey? Well? I think we can. You know, Um, 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.400 you know, we have enough talent to I believe we're 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:11.240 really going to have to have to maximize that, you know, 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.160 and and and you know, and winning the state titles 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:17.320 not easy. Um, you gotta have the ball bounce yourway 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:20.639 a couple of times here and there. But this group 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.320 is a very special group. They really like each other. 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:27.400 We've been preparing like crazy. We went up to the 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:30.480 Border League a couple of weekends ago and played against 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:33.200 great competition up there. We were we did very well 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:36.800 in the Section seven. Um, we played really well in 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:41.040 the fall leagues here in Arizona. So um, they're learning 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.839 a new brand of basketball. You know, they were more 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.440 slow down walking up the court, and you know, I'm 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.640 a trapping guy. I like to get after it and 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.880 have fun and swarm on defense and uh play that style. 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:55.680 So they're learning that, they're learning how to condition. You know, 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:58.480 they weren't they weren't really ready for that type of 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:02.960 conditioning program. So so they're they're they're embracing it. They're 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:06.160 they're excited. Um they have they come to practice and 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:09.200 they're they have their fun to work with. There. There 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:13.720 were teaching them NBA terminology and college terminology, you know, 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:17.640 the forty five and you know, hammer screens and stuff 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:21.960 like that, stack action and so so it's been you know, 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:23.680 it's been a lot of fun, and I think we 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:26.120 have a shot at it. Somebody said that will be 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:29.920 ranked seventh in the state overall, maybe second in the 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:33.080 state in five A. So we're we're really excited. God, 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.560 I mean, just that last you know, a minute or 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:38.800 so of what you just described kind of gave me 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.880 chills just hearing how you got these guys section seven 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:43.880 for all leagues. I mean, you were putting them through 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.560 the fire coach, you know, how to get some dudes 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:50.159 ready to compete. That got me excited, like bad coaches 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:52.680 got could you do? And now you're teaching them also 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:56.560 teaching them the terminology coach, do you find that this 0:04:56.640 --> 0:04:59.440 generation of high school basketball player, because of all the 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:02.479 tools and resources that they have privy that they are 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:05.320 privy too, from Synergy to YouTube or whatever, all the 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:07.440 video stuff, do you find that they pick up on 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:09.720 this stuff a lot quicker, a lot easier. There's a 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:14.280 familiarity already established this group. Does you know, Um, this 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.679 group picks up pretty good. We have a smart group. 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:19.160 You know, we do great checks every week and uh, 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.760 they're all excelling in the classroom as well. So this 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:25.320 group picks up. There's sometimes where I got to say, hey, 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.680 this is a high school kid. This is not this 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:31.880 is not you know Alonzo ball or or Cavan Looney 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:34.320 uh at a at U c l A. Where you 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:36.359 just tell them one time and it's done, you know, 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:38.360 And sometimes you gotta tell them too or three times. 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:41.880 But they're very more there. They're still the same teaching modes, 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:43.760 you know what I mean. They still really want to learn. 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.840 Oh man, that's great, and and that thirst and that 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:50.680 hunger is gonna really be the difference form. Are they 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:55.320 gym rats? Coachy love it? Okay, Yeah, that's a big question. Yeah. 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:57.400 We go four times a week and we don't have to, 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:00.560 you know, and there's some days where um or one 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.520 day I might just go three and they're wanting to 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:06.359 come in the next day. So these are gym rats. 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:10.160 These kids right here are gym rats. And uh, they're there. 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:12.680 They'll be in the gym again to day. As soon 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.760 as soon as we're done here, I'm gonna go and 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:16.880 and get them and we'll we'll work out for a 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:21.479 couple of hours and they're enjoying that. Awesome. Coach, talk 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:26.599 to me about your foundation, the beginnings for you in 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.840 the game. I know you're from the Aberdeen Marylands, You're 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:33.320 from that part of town, Ravens Country. Now, Uh, I 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:35.440 saw you. I saw your post the other day, Like, 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:38.599 come on, coach, but talk to me about what it 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:42.120 was like growing up out there, what your parents did then, 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:45.280 influence they had on you, and just you know, your neighborhood. 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:48.440 You know, what was it like, coach Man. We we 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:53.680 had a great neighborhood a sports fanatics. You know. My 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:56.440 dad was a sportsman still is and my mom she 0:06:56.600 --> 0:07:00.560 was an athlete too. So um, it was competed activeness 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:03.239 from the get go, even in the even in the house, 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:08.880 like my mom was was had some some ladies over 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:11.080 the house. A couple of weeks ago. She said she 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:14.000 her lasagna was going to be the best, you know 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:19.200 what I mean, still competing at seventies some years old. Man. Yeah, 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.360 so we had that. My father's blue collar. You know, 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:26.040 we worked, you know in Maryland area, it's it's mostly 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:29.080 all blue collar. That's why the Ravens have taken that 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.760 that that kind of blue collar work, you know, work 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:36.480 ethic to them. And uh, you know, my my mom 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:38.920 was spent along a lot of hours to being a 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:43.040 beautician like your mom, you know, and she practiced on 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:47.400 my head, always great haircuts, as you know. But that's 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:49.040 why that's why I don't have them here now. My 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:53.240 mom was practicing on me all the time. Yeah. Yeah, 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.760 so so, but it was lunch pail. You know, you run, 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:59.400 your run your lunch pail. The guys I grew up 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.760 with we still talk to this day, you know. And 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:05.960 when it was football season, we played football. When it 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:08.080 was baseball, we played baseball. You know, I grew up 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:10.800 with the Ripkens you know Cal, Calm Billy who were 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.960 very good basketball players. You know Cal was older than me, 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.040 but Billy was. You know, he was the first one 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.960 throw me a curveball when I was not what you 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:21.120 do with the coach, and I ran out of the box. 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:23.440 Call of us did at the first time we saw 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:27.400 Curt Yeah, my dad, My dad went got a bucket 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:30.720 of balls afterwards, and he threw curveballs to me every 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:33.360 like for hours, for like two hours. You know, he 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.800 was baseball. Your first love was that. You know, I 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:39.960 was very good at baseball, probably better at baseball than basketball. 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.079 But my first love was always basketball. You know, for 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:45.520 whatever reason, who was it, who wasn't They made you 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:48.760 fall in love with the game. Dr Jay, you know 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:51.480 what I mean, the doctor you know in Philly, which 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:54.960 wasn't far from us. You know, the first game I 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:59.520 ever went to. I was very young when when jabbar 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:03.120 Lew Center was with the Bucks, you know um and 0:09:03.320 --> 0:09:07.440 Oscar Robinson was on that team and in the early seventies, Yeah, 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:10.079 they played I was like very young. They played against 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:14.400 the Baltimore Bullets with with unselling those guys, so it 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:18.600 was uh, he could have been on the team. He 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:20.720 could he might have been on that team. You know. 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:26.800 So the arena man arena smell, yeah, sneaker squeaking, you know, 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:31.160 the converse back then, you know what I mean. And uh, 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:35.000 but I fell in love with basketball, man, and and uh, 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:38.400 you know, just going outside. And that's another thing too. 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:42.920 We became great drivers back then because the wind was blowing. 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.400 The ball didn't bounce very high school. We had to 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:49.400 get to the rack. Man, if you're shooting it, that 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:52.439 thing might sway a little bit on the on the court, 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:55.600 and the court was the biggest thing happening. Man, it was. 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:58.640 It was the place to be, you know. And all 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:01.560 the old heads that we're really good, they came later. 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:05.520 We had to come early. And the better we got, 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.720 the later we could go show up because we get picked, 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:12.120 you know. And I remember Tommy Davis was the was 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:14.400 the thing. He went on to play the NBA. He 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:17.360 picked me. He was the first one to pick me, man. Uh, 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:19.360 And he said, you know what, you gotta pass me 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:23.280 the ball. I said, that's all I did. I got 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:25.680 even the ball the whole bime. That's smart. At home, 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.680 told my dad, hey man, Tommy Davis picked me, man, 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.640 And he was he was the sensation back then. Man, 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:33.520 he went on to play in Minnesota, had a great 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:37.160 career there, Tucker and those guys. Man, so it was good. 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:40.120 That's dope. And then through high school so you played 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:44.720 both went. At what point did it become the focus 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:48.600 for you go towards and listing in the Air Force 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:52.880 instead of maybe going to college athlete route. Well, I 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:56.720 thought I was about good as maybe a big sky good, 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:59.120 you know what I mean, maybe Shack State I could 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:01.959 have probably played or somewhere like that. But I went 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:04.520 to three different high schools in three different states due 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:09.320 to my stepfather being in the Army and how he coach. 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:11.800 Talk to talk about that, because that's a that's something 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:15.160 a lot of people that kids our age where we 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:17.440 were at that age, because I traveled a lot and 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:19.520 I changed schools a lot, and it's always a weird 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:21.720 thing kind of being a new kid in a new 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:23.640 city in a new town. Talk a little bit about 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:26.160 that and how you figured it out at the end 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.320 of the day. I think that really helped me with 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:31.800 my people skills and along with you too, because you know, 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.760 being a new kid ain't always the best thing, you 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:37.280 know what I mean, So you always had had to 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:39.520 work and slide your way in there, you know what 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:42.560 I mean, and uh take your lumps here and there, 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:44.800 or you know, getting a fight here there and just 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.240 to let you let them know that you wasn't messing around. 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.640 So but it was. It really helped me with my 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:54.360 people skills. It helped me with my recruiting later in life. 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:59.160 You know, um, my senior year, I moved down to Leesville, Louisiana, 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:03.760 Maryland kid going to Louisiana and and Nikita Niketa Wilson, 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:05.240 who went on to play at l S. You was 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:08.079 on the team and uh me and him became very 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:12.760 good friends man, very very good friends. And um at 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:15.600 right at the beginning of the year, they didn't allow 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.720 me to play. So for whatever reason, I didn't get it. 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:22.640 I didn't get allowed to play, and uh so I 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.120 didn't play my senior year, so that really hurt me. 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.400 A guy saw me play against the base team um 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:36.160 in and on the base at for Polk Louisiana and U. 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:42.319 He was connected to Northwestern State University and he contacted 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:45.240 the coach and the coach started talking to me said, hey, 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.439 because you know film, wouldn't you know we didn't have 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.040 the Internet back then, or the or the phones and stuff, 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.080 so it was all word of mouth. So so the 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:56.000 guy said, hey, we got a spot that you could 0:12:56.000 --> 0:13:00.200 walk on. Well, I went and told my mom because 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:02.160 she wanted me to join the army. And it wasn't 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:03.640 no way in the world I was doing the army 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:05.880 because I saw what my stepfather did. They went out 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:08.000 in the field play g I Joe. I wasn't. I 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:12.640 wasn't about that life, you know. But so I told 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:14.320 her I was gonna walk on and she said, well, 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:17.160 who's gonna pay for that? I didn't know about granted, 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:20.040 and you know, we didn't get taught that back then, 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:23.600 and it had no goodn't Google wasn't wasn't a Google. 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:27.000 And uh so I just told her, you know, I 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:29.880 probably joined the Air Force, and she said she used 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.320 reverse psychology on me. She said, oh, you're not smart enough. 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:36.920 You know, you know that I would go prove it wrong, right, 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:39.640 So I did. I went proved the wrong obviously, and 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:41.880 then me and my my best friend at the time, 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:44.199 we joined together and we went in the Air Force. 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:49.679 What was the most shelf shocking thing characteristic of the 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:53.560 military that you may or may not have been prepared 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:57.080 for before you enlisted, Like like, what was that moment 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:58.280 where you're like, I didn't know it was about to 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:00.480 be like this, you know what I'm saying, Stay and 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:07.959 basic training. The first day the bell went off, Man, 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:10.640 it's like four in the morning. We jump up, running 0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:13.520 around not knowing where to go. And they told us 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:15.680 to get back into bed and then get back out 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:19.640 of bed and clean the urinals, and man, it was 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:22.680 it was on and popping. Man, I wasn't ready for 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:25.120 all that. You know, you hear about stuff like that, 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:29.000 but until you go through it. But again, another another 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:31.960 great I think choice I made because I think the 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:35.440 military has has really helped me throughout the years. And 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.520 nothing like being in the military, and and and the 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:41.800 people were incredible, you know, from all walks of life, 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:46.280 you know, all different races, all different colors, and we 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.480 all have to work together, you know. And then the 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:52.320 fight of war in Saudi Arabia and everybody come back home. 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:55.680 You know, that was that's you know, so many things 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:59.280 have influenced me and and joining the military. I wouldn't 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:01.200 change it for the world. You know. In the beginning, 0:15:01.200 --> 0:15:02.920 I said, Man, I wanted to play, I wanted to 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:05.840 be like you, Chris. I wanted to play D one 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.760 college basketball and get that experience. So when I joined 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.200 the military, I said, I'm only gonna go four years, 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:13.680 and I'm gonna go to play bass basketball. That's that's 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.800 what I was thinking. And uh, man, I got in there. 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:18.600 They were paying me. I was playing on the bas 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:21.480 team and and and they were paying me to play ballot. 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:24.000 But I was a pro basically, you know, and UH 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.800 have fun and and they said, you know, I did 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:31.680 twenty years. What there's a fuel specialist due coach man. 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.160 We put fuel on airplanes, you know, the store of 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:39.080 the fuel. We we moved the fuel uh logistically, and 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:42.160 we work with liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen. You know, 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:44.800 when you breathe that air in the in the plane, 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.360 that's the liquid oxygen, you know, and uh having the 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:52.000 story and sample it and a whole lot of things 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:54.480 goes on to it. Man and and jet fuel back 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:56.800 then was very explosive, so you had to be very 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:01.120 careful you blow things up. So um another discipline. It 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:02.720 taught me. You know, when you went to work, you 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.000 couldn't make a mistake because you might die, you know 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:07.520 what I mean. So use you know, if you don't 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:09.720 ground it to the to the ground and to the 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:14.000 plane static that happens. Next thing you know, things are 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:17.360 popping man. So so that's another discipline. So I did 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:22.280 that for most of my career. Fox Sports Radio has 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:25.240 the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:28.480 of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.240 within the I Heart Radio app search f s R 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:35.120 to listen live. And you're in. You're in Turkey, Germany, Spain, 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:40.400 Saudi Arabia. Of all those countries, where did you feel 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:44.240 or have like the best experience. I can't imagine if 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:46.720 that's a you know, it's a relative term as far 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:49.480 as experience, because depending on what was happening. Did you 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:51.760 play in Turkey, Yeah, I did. I played in Turkey. 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.000 I lived in Istanbul. Yeah, I played it next door 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:57.600 to Saudi Arabia in Qatar. So I was over there 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:01.200 in Opera when um during two thousand one. So I 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:03.320 went over there right after nine eleven. I went over 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:06.480 there in December of nine eleven, of the nine eleven years. Yeah, 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.040 I was over there in the heart of it. It 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:11.920 was interesting, it was an interesting experience. Yeah, I bet, 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:14.080 I bet that was. It's similar to some of the 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:17.880 experiences that I that I um did as well. Um. 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.760 I love Turkey. I was in South Park. I was 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:26.520 in a Donna a little not as more third world, 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:29.080 you know what I mean than then it's Tanble. It's Tremble. 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:31.879 It's a major city. But I love the culture. I 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:34.720 love the food. The food was great, the chicken tie 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:40.399 of the e mag Yeah, yeah, yeah, you real with it. 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:46.760 So I love Turkey, you know, you know, I love Spain. 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:48.520 I went over to Spain. I didn't I didn't live 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.159 in Spain, but I played fast pitched softball on the 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.200 base team and we went over there for two weeks 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.960 and uh loves loves Spain, you know, man, Spain is 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.679 my favorite country, to tell you truth that in Australia 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:02.400 side of the United States. Yeah, I had a very 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:06.520 amazing experience in Australia when I was around twelve or 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.720 thirteen years old. My dad was on a tour team 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:14.719 uh called Kareem Abdula Jabar in the Traveling Day Dal's. 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:20.360 So it was my dad, Marcus Johnson, artist, Gilmore how 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:28.800 how Macy, Dwayne McClean, Johnny Moore, George Gervin oh Man 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:32.960 by backing Dude O man, Hey, come on man, it 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:35.560 was the Hall of Famers, right, And so that's on 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:39.760 that trip. So we went to China, Australia in China 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:42.080 and so we you know, we flew and we have 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:44.200 long bus rides. But I would I was hanging out 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:47.359 with gerv George gervin a lot. He taught me how 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:49.919 to play jin roomy, he taught, He taught me how, 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:52.160 They taught me how to play bear with, they talked, 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:54.760 They taught me how to play space, they taught me 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:58.040 how to play tonk. So it was two weeks and 0:18:58.119 --> 0:18:59.879 we just I just picked I picked up all this 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:02.800 knowledge and skills and stories, and so, I mean it 0:19:02.880 --> 0:19:06.880 was I think I think people don't understand how when 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:10.399 we as Americans go overseas or we're together with you know, 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:14.040 other people overseas, there's just such a heightened level and 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:18.639 sense of camaraderie that exists. And so and I'm not 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:20.359 sure I would have had the same experience if I 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:22.080 was hanging out with George out here in l A. 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:23.919 But I know for a fact that I was putting 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:26.040 that place for a special reason, and it was it 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:30.159 was a wonderful, wonderful, uh time. Coach stand on that 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:33.840 military topic. I really find it fascinating that some of 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:36.920 the best coaches that have ever coached the game of basketball, 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:40.920 you know, Coach K, Bobby Night, Greg Popovich are coach 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:43.680 to have military experience. I think there's a correlation between 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:46.600 the core values of the military and the athletic arena. 0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:51.000 When you can create that like perfect storm or perfect 0:19:51.000 --> 0:19:54.560 synergy of of the two, that's when you achieved you know, 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:56.840 the heights of like Coach K, and that's when you 0:19:56.880 --> 0:20:00.520 can really it's the perfection part. What described or talk 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:04.640 to me about the core values of the air Force 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:09.920 and military and how you implement them in your day 0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:13.920 to day when you're dealing with coaching basketball. I did 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:16.359 it ever since day one I was. I was eighteen 0:20:16.400 --> 0:20:19.520 years old and I and I went into military instill 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.399 those core values to me. The integrity part, you know, 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:26.240 doing it the right way when no one's looking, being 0:20:26.320 --> 0:20:30.119 disciplined enough to you know, get to bed on time, 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:32.680 you know what I mean, and stuff like that, and 0:20:32.800 --> 0:20:35.320 just do it over and over when it becomes a habit. 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:39.320 You know, the excellence and all we do, you know 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:42.400 what I mean, You're striving for excellence in every part 0:20:42.440 --> 0:20:45.800 of the of of of your day. You know, my 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:48.200 my podcast is called Do More with Your twenty four. 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:52.640 So I'm teaching kids. I'm teaching kids the whole. Like 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:55.879 today I had to. I saw three classes today and 0:20:55.960 --> 0:20:59.240 I was asking them, did y'all make your bed? You know, well, 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:01.880 I know how you make you know? Why not? Why 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:05.280 do you have that discipline you do was seventeen days 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:07.520 in a row becomes a habit at eighteen that you're 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.159 gonna wake up and make it, you know. So those 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:13.520 things go with coaching in my opinion, you know what 0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:18.600 I mean, And in the discipline, and uh, the the 0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:21.840 integrity part of it, and the strike for striving for 0:21:21.960 --> 0:21:25.439 excellence in every part of your day. You know what 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:29.200 I mean, and and and to be able to sell it, 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:31.920 you know what I mean in a way and capture 0:21:31.960 --> 0:21:34.879 it in a way like the Popovich is the coach 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:38.199 ks and and and the other military people that's had 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:42.040 great sins as the Bobby Knights, you know, uh, you know, 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:45.600 even though Bobby did some other stuff, but what he 0:21:45.640 --> 0:21:49.520 was at an excellent coach absolutely cannot cannot deny his 0:21:49.520 --> 0:21:54.760