Speaker 1: This is kJ Live with Chris john Sallen and Chris
Speaker 1: is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and
Speaker 1: entertainment in the strain. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now
Speaker 1: to being in the kJ Live. Today's guests on the show.
Speaker 1: He's director of film Marketing for Up Time Interview Trent.
Speaker 1: He's also one of Southern California's most notorious connectors and
Speaker 1: most iconic influencers. He went to Long Beach State and
Speaker 1: Bourbon Day. Is a former international professional the Anthony Lankstein.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the show, Brother, Thanks kJ. I appreciate it now.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you man. You're hard man to track down.
Speaker 1: I know you don't typically do this type of thing,
Speaker 1: so it's quite an honor to have you on the show. Brother.
Speaker 1: What's been up, man? Just what's been up lately? Dog?
Speaker 1: What's been up to? Man? Listen, I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 1: I'm blessed. I just having right, you know, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm just having it right. So I'm really really blessed.
Speaker 1: I'm just you know, man, Well, that's great to hear. Man.
Speaker 1: I saw on the internet. I believe it's you had
Speaker 1: posted some stuff the other day you were back in
Speaker 1: Slovenia or somewhere overseas. Talk a little bit about that. Man,
Speaker 1: what took you back to Slovenia? Why were you out there?
Speaker 1: Dog d a stuff? Right? Well, Um, every time the
Speaker 1: Marvericks come in town, I go support Nico. You know,
Speaker 1: Nico Harrison, the director and you know him through my
Speaker 1: little brother overseas, you know, and Nike VP and Nike
Speaker 1: like twenty years something like that. Now he's the president
Speaker 1: and the manager of Mathis. You know, I was just
Speaker 1: going down to see him when they come down. That's
Speaker 1: the time on the go to you know, see lakes
Speaker 1: and clippers and so, you know, I noticed some people
Speaker 1: in my seat. It's like, okay, no problem, I'll sit
Speaker 1: five rolls back. You know, I'm just chilling. So the
Speaker 1: fourth quarters coming and I'm still chilling. So some cats
Speaker 1: come up like yo, man, you know our seats out
Speaker 1: look like because there were seats really right, said listen, bro,
Speaker 1: my seat to down there. Okay, right, don't act like
Speaker 1: I'm just is. You know, I'm not supposed to be
Speaker 1: right there. My seats are down there. Bro, So dude,
Speaker 1: I go down to my seats. You know what I'm
Speaker 1: saying one of the cats of sitting in my seats.
Speaker 1: I said, excuse me, I said, uh, it's my seat
Speaker 1: and they kicked me out. Was sitting back there. They
Speaker 1: kicked me out, man, So I'm sorry, I don't have
Speaker 1: anywhereas he said, what do you mind if I scoot
Speaker 1: over us? Not at all? Sitting down wrapping to him,
Speaker 1: and I hear him talking some language that I'm familiar with, right,
Speaker 1: and so we're language you guys, you guys from like Sylvaniassikaya.
Speaker 1: Way wait, you say what Cokaya? What's Coasakaya? How are
Speaker 1: you doing? That's a little Duncan ship. Yeah, bro, you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying straight up. That's my team right here,
Speaker 1: all right. So so wait, do you're telling me that you,
Speaker 1: by chance you went to visit Niko Harrison to President
Speaker 1: GM of the Mavericks at the Laker game. You got
Speaker 1: your seat, someone was actually sitting in your seats. Fourth quarter,
Speaker 1: com somebody kicks you out your seats, So you go
Speaker 1: to your original seat and ask the people that are
Speaker 1: sitting there in the move and they happened to be
Speaker 1: so Slovenian cast that knew you. Listen, bro, So I'm talking.
Speaker 1: He's like, uh, who are you? I just like, you
Speaker 1: know you Cooper, I said, because Eric Cooper play over
Speaker 1: there with me. We're the first Americans over there. Okay,
Speaker 1: so he cool, eat cool eat cool? I said, no,
Speaker 1: I'm you see him just right up. He's like Langston
Speaker 1: I said yeah. He said, oh my god, man, I
Speaker 1: used to watch you when I was a kid over
Speaker 1: I'm the director of Olympia now man, It's like, what
Speaker 1: are you like? So he starts telling to the rest
Speaker 1: of the people with Olympia that's there watching Luca. You know, like, yo,
Speaker 1: this is the Anthony Legs and it's like, oh my god, man.
Speaker 1: So you know that was that was a special moment. Then,
Speaker 1: you know, I saw Luca's dad, you know there, you know,
Speaker 1: look as that part, you know, Looka's dad or you
Speaker 1: play again some way. No, No, he was on a
Speaker 1: younger team when I was over there. You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, Sode, real quick, real quick. Let's establish this.
Speaker 1: What team did you play for over there? What's the
Speaker 1: name of the club Olympia? Okay, okay, And that's saying
Speaker 1: Luke Lubijana, Lubiana, Lubiana, Lubiana. Okay, It's like the Yankees,
Speaker 1: the Bear Liver Cools and yeah, not for France, not Lemo.
Speaker 1: They just ridled off some of the games. That was historical.
Speaker 1: Bro Well. Actually in the eight late eighties and nineties,
Speaker 1: Lemoes was so off the debt. Remember Kevin Michael Brooks.
Speaker 1: It was another dude, Kevin McKie. That was awesome because
Speaker 1: Lamos they had like five Americans. They had a bunch
Speaker 1: of French dah my man, what's what No, he played
Speaker 1: in Israel. Kevin McGee, That's what I'm thinking of. They
Speaker 1: did have Kevin McGee. Kevin McGee is one of the
Speaker 1: best internationals ever. Though. Kevin McGee was a monster. So
Speaker 1: he was unbelievable. I remember, you know, I remember him. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he was like all American. Yea, he killed over there.
Speaker 1: I know he was. Okay, go ahead. So at the
Speaker 1: game and we're talking, you know, man, just like nose,
Speaker 1: you know, started talking about the seventy five year anniversary
Speaker 1: of our team Olympia. This year is the seventy five
Speaker 1: year anniversarys praises the NBA seventy five years. So they're
Speaker 1: doing these you know, honoring people. You haven't folks, come,
Speaker 1: I'm just looking. I'm like like, bro, I'm like, I'm
Speaker 1: telling my teammates boys slout code Roman. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: hitting them over the phone. It's like, dude, I see
Speaker 1: you man. You guys can't get me down there. It
Speaker 1: was going on. So I run into them and it's
Speaker 1: just like when we love it, how you come down?
Speaker 1: I'm like, what from there? You know it was down there?
Speaker 1: You know, you know it was a wonderful time. Man.
Speaker 1: You know, my boy boys picked me up from the airport.
Speaker 1: You know that many people trying to be there from
Speaker 1: the airport. It's crazy, bro, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: just like you know, yeah, you know, so I was.
Speaker 1: I was fortunate, so I hadn't been there since ninety three,
Speaker 1: and so they my cod It's it's like an iconic coacht,
Speaker 1: Mango's Agathan over there. Okay, magic coacht. That's by far.
Speaker 1: But that's really cool man, that you still were able
Speaker 1: to maintain that rapport overseas. I totally get it. I
Speaker 1: had the same type of situation over in Qatar, Bro,
Speaker 1: twenty years ago. I put it down out there. Man,
Speaker 1: them dudes, I'm still friends with them dudes to this day.
Speaker 1: Due that's a hell of a journey man, just to
Speaker 1: even have that type of story to talk about, Bro,
Speaker 1: you know, being cool twenty years later, to be able
Speaker 1: to rock out, being honored literally in Slovenia home and
Speaker 1: look at nine years excuse me, excuse me twenty nine
Speaker 1: years ago. Bro, I guess that really just speaks to
Speaker 1: you know how you put it down over there? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean we all like to go places,
Speaker 1: and you know, we always gave aff so you can
Speaker 1: never fought that from us. Sometimes it's just special, you know.
Speaker 1: And you know European Cup team, you know, you know,
Speaker 1: walking to gym the first day because I'm talking to
Speaker 1: Eric Cooper because he hits me up, It's like, yo,
Speaker 1: you know, d come on over man. I was just like, bro,
Speaker 1: anything worn over there? You know, like no, no, I said, Man,
Speaker 1: come on, Bro'm be having me coming over there. I
Speaker 1: gonna be real hot at you. Bro. You know, so
Speaker 1: like no, man, it's ressaid, look though, not have me
Speaker 1: come over here, man. You know what I'm saying. Russ
Speaker 1: he said about it. You know, a couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 1: you've seen some tanks come through here, but they kept
Speaker 1: going and this and I'm like, so I started researching it.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm just like, okay, you know what over there,
Speaker 1: first day of practice, I walk in see cast seven, one,
Speaker 1: six and eleven sixteen six times, I'm like cast three
Speaker 1: sixty and five twenty going. I'm like, oh wow, we
Speaker 1: this is sick right here. Man. So I originally they
Speaker 1: had signed somebody else in Russia to come over and
Speaker 1: he couldn't play. He couldn't he couldn't just pay work.
Speaker 1: So was the last minute distance right? So they they
Speaker 1: get me. Okay, we got this big dude whatever. You know,
Speaker 1: we got other players cool. So we wasn't really playing
Speaker 1: that much early on, now what I'm staying, we really weren't.
Speaker 1: It was like tripping me out. I'm just like, oh man,
Speaker 1: what's going on? You know what I mean? You know,
Speaker 1: I mean it got so bad that I quit playing
Speaker 1: hard against the practice and because the more I would dominant,
Speaker 1: like unless I would play. So Smigle hits me up
Speaker 1: one day. You know when you first come here, you
Speaker 1: know you dominate. Now you don't do ships? That is
Speaker 1: that how your smile? Impersonation? Your impersonation European coach right there?
Speaker 1: Not a good one. Not a lot of smuggy, so
Speaker 1: I said to more dominant, ain't your guys unless I play.
Speaker 1: So I don't know what's cooling up right? Sure you
Speaker 1: think I care about these little games right here, right
Speaker 1: now we're getting ready for euro League. You know I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't know. So what's up? Opening rhyme right in Istanbul?
Speaker 1: So I'm like, uh, Sloko get hurt, that's all. Kevin
Speaker 1: McHale six eleven K. He gets hurt. So he's out
Speaker 1: for a couple of months. So I'm the next man up.
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to this, right. So you know, they
Speaker 1: make a phone call to Utah. Our junior national team
Speaker 1: is there playing in Utah, Serania. So he brings Mario
Speaker 1: back seven, one cat from a junior team to start
Speaker 1: in front of me the European Cup game, straight from
Speaker 1: straight from America. Okay, I'm that's shady, man, that's why.
Speaker 1: But but but to have that experience internationally when you
Speaker 1: first started playing the game, bro take us back to
Speaker 1: the beginning. Man, did you ever dream of being a
Speaker 1: pro as a child when you were growing up? Where
Speaker 1: were you from? Man? Like, how did you get started
Speaker 1: in the game. That's kind of what I want off
Speaker 1: our audience to get the picture of well, you know,
Speaker 1: I didn't start vault why not? Why not? Why not?
Speaker 1: Why didn't start playing ball in the the ninth grade? And
Speaker 1: in my neighborhood, Uh, they were playing the gym. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I guess they at least going to the gym. But
Speaker 1: we couldn't go up to to gym. You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, Moms wouldn't happen. That was what neighborhood is
Speaker 1: this Nickerson Gardens. Okay, So to tap the table of
Speaker 1: Nickerson Gardens housing projects. Um, when the housing projects situation started,
Speaker 1: which was what the sixties, the early sixties, the fifties,
Speaker 1: there were what four major projects or was Nickerson Guardens
Speaker 1: one of the original four? And just write that down
Speaker 1: for me. Oh, Knickson Garden is definitely you know what
Speaker 1: it was. It was meant for people in the military,
Speaker 1: military and stuff like that, the brick housing and all that.
Speaker 1: And so when the people were coming from the south
Speaker 1: coming down here and stand these temporary cribs, it was like, YO,
Speaker 1: ship way better than ours, you know down south, Like Yo,
Speaker 1: the weather is great out here, you know, I mean
Speaker 1: the nice apartments, you know what I'm saying. It's like
Speaker 1: it's you know, everybody's working the long storm in the military.
Speaker 1: That's what I was in the projects, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. Very interesting came on. You know some people
Speaker 1: made it out. You know, a lot of people staying
Speaker 1: in my life. My family, I say, no question, sixty
Speaker 1: sixty years in there. My family, grandmother, Mom threw us
Speaker 1: the women and your family obviously my mother, my mother,
Speaker 1: my grandmother moved over there from Compton. Yeah, a manner
Speaker 1: of places. It's supposed to be some nice place. Comes
Speaker 1: your pop. You didn't know your pops. You know Pops.
Speaker 1: You know Pops, and you know he lived somewhere else.
Speaker 1: He wasn't married to mom. He had family and and
Speaker 1: what a mom to do? What a mom to do?
Speaker 1: As as occupation, my mom was alone shoreman okay, um
Speaker 1: you know uh she put it down the tie ship
Speaker 1: yard for years. So you know, I mean, we grew
Speaker 1: up in the projects. But I didn't know poor, you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. So when I talked to some
Speaker 1: of my guys, now we talked about I just started, man,
Speaker 1: I was hungry. Why was you hungry? He had no food?
Speaker 1: I saw. I didn't fathom that not having clothes and food.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. My apartments always spick. His
Speaker 1: span was always sick. You know what I'm saying. It
Speaker 1: was like, you know, everybody knew I couldn't come over.
Speaker 1: All the homies do they can knock come over with
Speaker 1: my career, you know what I'm saying, no hanging out.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. You may get this off.
Speaker 1: Knock knock the snake here. You know I'm the Anthony here.
Speaker 1: You may get that off, right. Did you say snake? Oh? Yeah,
Speaker 1: wait mane, that's what that's was your nick name back
Speaker 1: in the day, childhood name? Yeah, okay, the hood name
Speaker 1: was snake, So snake alright, But you know, you know
Speaker 1: why why I want to know why? I want to know?
Speaker 1: Tell me Kitty Staple was my idol? Okay, the Raiders
Speaker 1: q be Yeah, absolutely, that was my idol. Bro. So
Speaker 1: I just flipped on the dudes today. You snake man.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, this is that this is
Speaker 1: that they still call me that and I'll go over
Speaker 1: there in the day's kill So nobody was hooping. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, we were playing football and baseball. Okay, why
Speaker 1: why was football baseball? Pop? Because you can just go
Speaker 1: to the field of the hoops was messed up. You
Speaker 1: could do one on one strike out. Oh yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: you got the bad He got the glove and he's
Speaker 1: pitching to you. He's trying to strike you out and
Speaker 1: you're trying to hit it one. We're there hours doing
Speaker 1: that and then football. You know you got okay s
Speaker 1: the Douce line. You know what I'm saying. Our football
Speaker 1: team right here and playing against the fire line. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. You are playing football because you're
Speaker 1: going outside your apartment door every day. That's the parking
Speaker 1: lot right there. Then later on they built the midifield
Speaker 1: right there. But we are playing football right there. At
Speaker 1: the early age, I had O. J. Simpson juice uniform
Speaker 1: Buffalo builds back and so you was was rocket with
Speaker 1: the juice. Let me this did you grow up? I
Speaker 1: talked to my dad. So he grew up at when
Speaker 1: he was on the show. He grew up at like
Speaker 1: Sportsmen's Park, Jesse Owens Park, um and so like James
Speaker 1: lost In and some of these others and some of it.
Speaker 1: So who did you grow up with? Guys like when
Speaker 1: you were younger playing like the street football, the street
Speaker 1: baseball games or anything like any cats that that made
Speaker 1: it out or anything. But later on like ed catching
Speaker 1: you and LV know that that team over there with
Speaker 1: eighty four. You know we talk right there with Jordan
Speaker 1: High School. You know Ernest kill him, Oregan State Rest
Speaker 1: in Peace. You know he's from the community right there. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know Andre Miller, but you know the naturally they're younger,
Speaker 1: great age younger. So my age really man, you know,
Speaker 1: it wasn't man. And you know where I come from.
Speaker 1: You know, it's like the school sections is so tough.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, Like when you get to
Speaker 1: the junior high schools because I went to Hunt Toss
Speaker 1: the school can you guard through five? That's in the projects.
Speaker 1: Sixth grade, I went to Water Avenue. Myns got his
Speaker 1: bust to Warter Avenues. So where's the where's the Water
Speaker 1: Avenue located? Uh? Is that West l A. You know
Speaker 1: what's that? So? Was that? Was that a big culture
Speaker 1: change for you to go to school around white people
Speaker 1: primarily or listen, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna lie
Speaker 1: to you. When I first came in there, I was
Speaker 1: like this, damn they all looking like you know people
Speaker 1: and it looks like, how did you tell him apart?
Speaker 1: You know, so as each day came by, you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, it's like, okay, that's okay, yeah, okay, okay,
Speaker 1: But yeah, man, it was you know, it was different.
Speaker 1: Many Reperton's son and daughter went there, you know many
Speaker 1: the singer Yeah okay, okay, Yeah, son and daughter went there,
Speaker 1: Mark his sisters. Did you ever experience any kind of
Speaker 1: like weirdness from not necessary from the people at the
Speaker 1: school because you was coming from the east side and
Speaker 1: so as we know, as as people are waring familiar
Speaker 1: with the east side, the east Side people, when you
Speaker 1: grow up on the Eastide, you have a different energy.
Speaker 1: It's a way different energy, and then the west side.
Speaker 1: So did did people kind of be like, yo, man,
Speaker 1: what's up with this cat right here? Or did you
Speaker 1: kind of fit in because of who you wore at
Speaker 1: your core and because of the ethics and morals and
Speaker 1: mom said, it's still then you already How did that
Speaker 1: work for you? Well, going there, it was definitely a
Speaker 1: cultural shock. I was just I think that was the
Speaker 1: first year of bus when that's the first year we
Speaker 1: got you know what I'm saying, maybe somebody did else
Speaker 1: a year before. But you know, we was like one
Speaker 1: of the first one get bust. And so I remember
Speaker 1: one of the teachers was after this reveness just like hey,
Speaker 1: you know, I want everybody to right down. She was
Speaker 1: talking about slang. I didn't know what these she was
Speaker 1: talking about. You know, it's like, hey, you know names
Speaker 1: that you're talking to the neighborhood. But later on it's like, Yo,
Speaker 1: what's up? You know this and that this that I like,
Speaker 1: I didn't, I don't know she was talking about. You know,
Speaker 1: you know, I just have no idea what're talking about
Speaker 1: because I just wasn't used to that, you know, I
Speaker 1: had uh, you know, it was a great experience. It
Speaker 1: really wasn't from from there. I went to Emmerson. I
Speaker 1: went to Emmerson Dog by the Mormon Temple. Yes, I
Speaker 1: went to Emmacon. Emmacons is in the heart of Westwood.
Speaker 1: It's about five to seven minutes away from u c
Speaker 1: l A. Talk about so, so you went from so Dog,
Speaker 1: you went to Warner app you went to Emmerson. Fox
Speaker 1: Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Speaker 1: Catch all of our shows at Fox sports radio dot
Speaker 1: Com and within the I Heart radio app search f
Speaker 1: s R to listen live. Was it weird? D kind
Speaker 1: of taking a step back? Wasn't weird at all? Because
Speaker 1: I think we got some synergies and we got some
Speaker 1: stuff we share here. Wasn't weird to go from the
Speaker 1: two different worlds when you woke up in the morning,
Speaker 1: you leave in one world, you hold it down for
Speaker 1: about eight hours in this world. Then when you then
Speaker 1: you got to go back to the original world that
Speaker 1: you started at. Did that mess with you at all?
Speaker 1: Did you find yourself changing as a human or did
Speaker 1: you always kind of because you know, sometimes you gotta
Speaker 1: be white or talk white or talk a certain way
Speaker 1: in that world. Other times you could be yourself or
Speaker 1: were you yourself throughout? Man? Listen, I was absolutely having
Speaker 1: my way up there. And you hear me stumping whatever,
Speaker 1: you know, just as scams scoring on the whole thing.
Speaker 1: Do you know what I'm saying? Wait, what kind of
Speaker 1: scams was going up? Tickets? Now later? You know down later?
Speaker 1: You hit them off? Please, man, I would know they're
Speaker 1: getting it. Gummy bears. You know, how much for the later?
Speaker 1: How much? How much for the now that is? Bro?
Speaker 1: How much per now later? Bro? A dime or quarter,
Speaker 1: I don't know whatever, you're them for the quarter for
Speaker 1: it an hour later. Listen, bro, they was they had it.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, I'm just like a Mazas bro.
Speaker 1: I'm just it's different level up here. Man. Then too,
Speaker 1: like during that time, I totally many that whole thing
Speaker 1: both was going down right, So all the all the
Speaker 1: Persians up there, you know, it was like really cool
Speaker 1: and I was one of these you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: this is that wow, you know, but to learn about
Speaker 1: their culture and what they was going through the revolution,
Speaker 1: and you know to today when they're suppressed, you know,
Speaker 1: I guess you know they can't do what they want
Speaker 1: to do, you know. Uh so just different people, you know.
Speaker 1: You know, I got some amazing chest that I went
Speaker 1: to school with over the years. I just looking out
Speaker 1: something I always do. I could repeat, oh you know
Speaker 1: the type. You know what I'm saying, just you know
Speaker 1: it just it was great though. So I did that
Speaker 1: for two years and I kicked out, got kicked out,
Speaker 1: you m h. Mr Chapman kicking out. He end up
Speaker 1: getting the rest of years later, you know, shild pornography stuff,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying stuff, you know, kicking me
Speaker 1: on some bs and know I was having I was
Speaker 1: having fun. I was having a lot of fun there.
Speaker 1: And uh so then the next year I end up
Speaker 1: going to uh you know it's Hollywood High School. What's
Speaker 1: school that I know? It's Hollywood Hi with the Emmerson
Speaker 1: and then Walter Reeve Walter ree Rose over the Reid
Speaker 1: cool having it. Get up there one day cat listen
Speaker 1: man talking what b B B b B you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying right in front of the Dean or whatever.
Speaker 1: Oh you out of here? Prew me up out of there, bro.
Speaker 1: You know so they you know, Moms was like the
Speaker 1: all right, she checked me in the market. That's gladiated
Speaker 1: school and Watts all right, they know nothing. It's glad
Speaker 1: at school or a kid in junior high school. You're
Speaker 1: going there is own absolutely, it ain't no I live
Speaker 1: over here. I don't think it's none of that from
Speaker 1: the Nicks from Georgia. You know what I'm saying, and
Speaker 1: it miss media. It's the most six thing you know
Speaker 1: that that you know you could you could have you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. Not being comfortable in the school
Speaker 1: environ you know, so I remember my first day school.
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm gonna keep this stuff sports, football, baseball.
Speaker 1: You know, I hadn't gotten a bad basketball. Get It's
Speaker 1: gonna keep this stuff short. You know, I'm not hanging on.
Speaker 1: I mean my boys, like dudes, uh three or four
Speaker 1: years old, some of the most Torris dudes ever next
Speaker 1: the card. I mean my friends. You know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: They just you know, and uh, I'm like, uh, after
Speaker 1: school Friday, never forget, you know, Friday, it's on. There's
Speaker 1: no question. You know what great streets of meeting at
Speaker 1: the back of the fence, railroad tracks, Bunny and Icenda
Speaker 1: they meet nowhere in the front. I'm going to dig,
Speaker 1: you know, to the crib. So I'm not nobody's wife,
Speaker 1: you know, getting to the house, right, bro? So like
Speaker 1: who like bust on me with a twelve gate? You
Speaker 1: know I'm saying. When I was going across the fence
Speaker 1: by myself with my book bag, is that, bro, I
Speaker 1: took so many short cubs getting honk. I'm thinking somebody
Speaker 1: was coming after. You know what I'm saying, And you
Speaker 1: know that's what it was going to market. It was tough.
Speaker 1: It was just like it was no, and like in
Speaker 1: the sixth grade and the sixth period, you know I
Speaker 1: I would shop metal class. The metal class is touching
Speaker 1: the tracks, the railroad tracks in the back with the
Speaker 1: people from the Jordan downs when they getting ready. So
Speaker 1: all right here you see, you know, so you gotta
Speaker 1: bounce when that warning bill come, when they clean up, Bill,
Speaker 1: lean up. I'm dipping out. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Somebody catching you right there? You know they pressing is
Speaker 1: what it is. You know, twenty to one of don't
Speaker 1: matter you guys, you know how many bess simple as
Speaker 1: that right there? So you know, next year I was
Speaker 1: tripping in school. I went to another school and then
Speaker 1: moms uh end up sitting me the riverside with my
Speaker 1: pops part of the ninth grade year and part of
Speaker 1: temper and I went to all these high school so
Speaker 1: you know some notable guys out there that were in
Speaker 1: the league. Billy Walker, you know from J. W. North
Speaker 1: Tony Walker's brother. You know those two do probably got
Speaker 1: like ten thousand assistant. I was at Monkston as long
Speaker 1: we l m U. You know what I'm saying, Uh,
Speaker 1: Kelvin Butler, Kevin Butler, once U C. L a er
Speaker 1: A Live the Keble could really play in high school
Speaker 1: market frong with l m u Enoch Simmons, Greg Matthews,
Speaker 1: you know, Reggie Miller. You know what I'm saying that.
Speaker 1: You know they are all in that league, right and
Speaker 1: I believe you know, so you know that's when I
Speaker 1: started hooping. When I went out there, there's like, YO,
Speaker 1: six three ninth grade from l A Man, you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. I'm here, but you know, I had
Speaker 1: not played hoop before going out there, so naturally I
Speaker 1: was as good as everybody hoped I was, you know,
Speaker 1: but I was like maybe the you know eight nine
Speaker 1: eight man on JV or whatever ninth grade. So uh,
Speaker 1: going into the tenth grade. You know how the forest
Speaker 1: scene in JV split up. We need the same gym
Speaker 1: practice at the same time. Varsity go down here, JB
Speaker 1: go down to this side, So you know, I'm going
Speaker 1: to JV and coach area like the Anthony go down
Speaker 1: this way are It's like what I mean, I go
Speaker 1: from just planning and now I'm down there practice with divorce. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm shooting a couple of sides and coach area on YO.
Speaker 1: If you're gonna take that shot right there. You gotta
Speaker 1: make an eight ten times, so that means you gotta
Speaker 1: shoot after practice there you understand me. Oh yeah, so
Speaker 1: that free to line jumper, you know when I was dead,
Speaker 1: you know, so wh wa wa wa in that in
Speaker 1: that going on? So and moving back uh to l a,
Speaker 1: you know, trying to find a school. I was like
Speaker 1: chesting the buston morning side. Free your mind to watch.
Speaker 1: You know, you're trying to getting schools back in the day.
Speaker 1: You're trying to get into decent school, trying to find
Speaker 1: somebody that's gonna let you in. You know, no, no, no, no, okay,
Speaker 1: well there, so I went to lock lock. Now where's
Speaker 1: lock located? Okay? How close is that to Nickerson Gardens?
Speaker 1: It's probably like two miles from me walk. Okay, so
Speaker 1: you walk to school. You walk the lock every day. Now,
Speaker 1: now it sounds like if two miles, so what was
Speaker 1: your local high school? Then what was the high school
Speaker 1: closest to the Nikosons. It's really actually compor Centennial. So
Speaker 1: if you're walking the lock, how are they acting about
Speaker 1: you coming to school? Over there? Was? That? Was it
Speaker 1: all good? And they jumped on me up there jumped
Speaker 1: on me. Bro, straight up, they jumped on you know,
Speaker 1: shout up to up time, you know, right here man
Speaker 1: go pine apple love it. No, they jumped on me.
Speaker 1: So you know I had to figure out. You know,
Speaker 1: So I was ditching in Vermin day because I was
Speaker 1: scared to go back to school. Right, they were waiting
Speaker 1: waiting for me to come the game members waiting for Hey.
Speaker 1: So I'm dead to the Vermin day because one of
Speaker 1: my boys is that mean everything. Okay, okay, So I'm
Speaker 1: ditching the verb because I know if I go back
Speaker 1: a lock, you know it's h I gotta have certain
Speaker 1: boys that are there with me, missing school. You're doing
Speaker 1: all types of stuff. How what are you telling mom?
Speaker 1: Or is she at work all day? Moms is at work?
Speaker 1: Mom at work? So mab one time, No, some dudes
Speaker 1: like rush me. So I had some dudes from that
Speaker 1: side of the town, like there was a hoop team
Speaker 1: and hey, hey, just and messing with it. So one
Speaker 1: day I'm going to lock. It's coldest. Heck, I got
Speaker 1: a T shirt on, right, and Mom's like we're jacking
Speaker 1: at Remember the blue hoodie you had back there that
Speaker 1: chipped up the blue and black joints. Yeah, yeah, I
Speaker 1: couldn't find my eyes. Somebody got me for it. So
Speaker 1: Mom's like here mom working shipyards. She pulled a red
Speaker 1: and black penalty app and threw it to me and
Speaker 1: told me put it on. You bet not lose this.
Speaker 1: I can't tell Mom came with it's something there, Are
Speaker 1: you kidding me? Put it's wrong with you? None of that.
Speaker 1: She doesn't understand its other you know what's going on?
Speaker 1: Really award up there, and it's just like it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1: Dudes like boy, like, why would you wear that up
Speaker 1: um everywhere? You know what I'm saying. You know you
Speaker 1: can't make this type of stuff up. But you know,
Speaker 1: it's just just what it is, you know. So my boys,
Speaker 1: that was riders up there from that side there was
Speaker 1: a team or whatever. It's like, hey, we're gonna walk
Speaker 1: you out. You gotta find another school man. You got
Speaker 1: much love for you, but you can't come here though.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, that they own you. I'm
Speaker 1: a verb. Yeah whop my boys you know they they
Speaker 1: in Pe. So uh, the JV coach is hitting me up.
Speaker 1: I started to run because I don't know that I
Speaker 1: was supposed to be up to right if I said
Speaker 1: my name right, here's what it is. So he asked
Speaker 1: me where I go to school. I told you Mark,
Speaker 1: He said, you want to come here. I want to
Speaker 1: come here my whole life, and I can't afford it.
Speaker 1: He said, you know, I think you know I could
Speaker 1: help you out. Said follow me. So I'm thinking about
Speaker 1: running about to take me, about to call the police,
Speaker 1: you know, all that type of stuff. So I'll go
Speaker 1: off to the front and UH introduced me to father
Speaker 1: James Thomas Sayings, who was a president of school UH
Speaker 1: Sports Biking of Southern California seventy eighties. M sit down
Speaker 1: and talk to him and he's like, hey, you know
Speaker 1: you want to go here, said I've always wanted for
Speaker 1: the first just can't afford this, you know, he said,
Speaker 1: I love. Well, make you a deal if you come
Speaker 1: work for me on Sundays during being three hours, nine
Speaker 1: and twelve. That would be a tuitioning. Yes, what is bingo?
Speaker 1: What is being don't the citizens playing bingo? Is it
Speaker 1: a game? Yeah? Bingo? I don't know, I don't know
Speaker 1: what beingo with. So it's a game, so b card
Speaker 1: board game? Okay, cardboard game. Yeah. So you know you
Speaker 1: they're picking in numbers B forty four, you know, B
Speaker 1: I N G O. See the citizens love it right,
Speaker 1: helping out Ms Harris is you know like when I
Speaker 1: finished that, like in her little kitchen, you know, she
Speaker 1: got the black and white TV watching the NFL. It's
Speaker 1: at that time. It is my favorite sport, you know what.
Speaker 1: I'm watching the NFL and all the games. Right there
Speaker 1: she's cooking me in his five chicken this uh this
Speaker 1: cheesy macaroni and cheese, some greens, you know, like soda.
Speaker 1: It was unbelievable, man. So that's how I got an
Speaker 1: a verb what's out by by doing the being yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, working working on the weekend, doing being man.
Speaker 1: So you know I was, you know, I remember buff
Speaker 1: for remember Buffarillo. I remember buff really there's my story
Speaker 1: about buff Relo. I think I appeared on his radio show.
Speaker 1: I showed up with my dad. I was about twelve
Speaker 1: years old because Buffarillo was a radio guy and it
Speaker 1: was me Buffarillo. My dad is Sydney Weeks. And that
Speaker 1: when I first heard the Sidney Wicks talk about how
Speaker 1: he lets his game do the talking, like he wasn't
Speaker 1: much of a talker. He just let his game do
Speaker 1: the talking. But that's my butch real story allegenda. So
Speaker 1: you know, we we have our banquet and when I
Speaker 1: come to verb, they are already good. You know. I
Speaker 1: come in like they already got played like eleven twelve games,
Speaker 1: so you know, figuring out. So we're at a banquet
Speaker 1: and I met the boy for REALO, I don't know
Speaker 1: who he was. He got up on the microphones like
Speaker 1: you know. I told father James, I did not want
Speaker 1: to come here today. I just wasn't feeling good. I
Speaker 1: made a promise just this wasn't feeling I met this kid,
Speaker 1: the Anthony Lankson, right, he just changed my whole outcome.
Speaker 1: And what you know, just like all the fathers were
Speaker 1: up there like, oh, what do you say to him?
Speaker 1: Is something? You know what I said to him? You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying is, you know I'm up there shining.
Speaker 1: They're up there with their sons. I'm up there so long,
Speaker 1: they up there with moms and pops. You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying at the banquet, I'm so long. You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. I'm talking about for real low Later on,
Speaker 1: of course, I found out how big time he was,
Speaker 1: and he had his come down to Dodger Stadium meet
Speaker 1: Tom the sort I remember I was. I think it
Speaker 1: was Ferguson, Like I was like on first base and
Speaker 1: I'm like, yo, man in one of us, man like
Speaker 1: trying to steal second base on bro. You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. Dodger Stadium right there, Tim, he was getting
Speaker 1: let me get that off la sorta coach sorta didn't
Speaker 1: let me get that off man. So did that man?
Speaker 1: You know, as a successful you know, Ronning verne By
Speaker 1: successful because Verbon Day is one of the greatest programs
Speaker 1: in the history of Laws Angeles. We'll successful. What do
Speaker 1: you mean, well, four five guys, My senie got scholarship, right,
Speaker 1: So my team, as far as the team collective, we
Speaker 1: lost the Long Bees probably in the semifinals a c
Speaker 1: IF and Polly won a national championship, and so they
Speaker 1: you know, they'd be crunched up. Yeah, Data, Brent Hassan,
Speaker 1: you know those John So, John Williams, the great John Williams,
Speaker 1: Data and Chris Sound them to the nicest dudes in
Speaker 1: my time, you know. So they had those dudes right there.
Speaker 1: So we end up losing the semifinals with the ironic
Speaker 1: thing with that right there. Ron Palmer became my coach
Speaker 1: at long Re State. So when he won a national
Speaker 1: championship at Polly, they gave him the job at long
Speaker 1: Re State. They gave it to him later to So
Speaker 1: now you looking for the players. You know what, I
Speaker 1: I don't have any scholarship offers. I got one of
Speaker 1: La bar you know what I'm saying the texts. I'm
Speaker 1: not cooling man, Just you know, I go to do
Speaker 1: the college first. So long we State came up. You know,
Speaker 1: one of one of the players who went to Polity
Speaker 1: training for he was his pops. Like yo, you know,
Speaker 1: because Palmer looking for players, that's a naturally it's just like, oh,
Speaker 1: one of the big guys in Bourbon day, I want him.
Speaker 1: I said that, just I said I want him. That's
Speaker 1: your But what was your dream school coming out of
Speaker 1: high school? D Like? What position were you in? Like
Speaker 1: when you when you sat home at night and you
Speaker 1: thought about it, what what was your dream school? Was
Speaker 1: it Long Beach State? No? I was just c l
Speaker 1: A like every other kid growing up in a Sanels
Speaker 1: You know what I'm it was it was once I
Speaker 1: started getting to it, it was just c l A,
Speaker 1: you know, and you know didn't happen. But you know,
Speaker 1: long we stay was cool though. It worked out great,
Speaker 1: you know, but every you know mine, just like when
Speaker 1: I was just like because I used to watch you know,
Speaker 1: David green Wood and Roy Hamlets they went to Vermon
Speaker 1: day c l A starts you know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: feels you know what I'm saying, Cliff Fru you know
Speaker 1: all those dudes of verb dudes man, you know, and
Speaker 1: so I'm just like, man, I want to I want
Speaker 1: to go there too as well. You know. So that
Speaker 1: didn't happen. I went there, and when I graduated, I
Speaker 1: was top five scour and rebound. Hey yeah, when I graduate,
Speaker 1: of course, you know I'm still top twenty. But there's
Speaker 1: been a lot of great players that come through there,
Speaker 1: and a little bit Rock Loyd, you know, a little
Speaker 1: Brian Russell, Lucia's Harris, Lucia's Harris. You know what, I
Speaker 1: don't know, b Russ got me, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: But what I'm saying is there's great players that went
Speaker 1: through Long Beach State. Okay, so That's what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: no question about it. You know what I'm saying. So,
Speaker 1: you know, I would like preseason All American candidate. You
Speaker 1: know this and that? So uh, I end up after
Speaker 1: my senior year, you know, and we end up losing,
Speaker 1: losing to Stanford first round in I t yikes, who
Speaker 1: they have? How are it right? Grandfather Todd Licht? How
Speaker 1: do you lose? The Todd Lichty dog lit seven? I
Speaker 1: had one of my I have probably my best game
Speaker 1: as a collegiate player. You know what I'm saying against
Speaker 1: Stanford Howard right, remember me bold me one time? Right game?
Speaker 1: I was just like this, Listen, my man, if you
Speaker 1: ever bow me like that again, you know I'm gonna
Speaker 1: knock you out on this court. I don't give a
Speaker 1: funk about all these none of that bow me again,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. So I absolutely went out
Speaker 1: there and murdered them. And you know, even though we lost,
Speaker 1: it felt good because you know, we just serve people.
Speaker 1: You just serve them. You know, you lose a close game,
Speaker 1: it's like, bro, you know, okay, yeah, you guys, wont
Speaker 1: you know I was serving you? You knows? And then
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
Speaker 1: the nation. Catch All of our shows at Fox Sports
Speaker 1: Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app
Speaker 1: search f s R to listen live. The next year.
Speaker 1: That year, I'll get a job in Holland, so I'll
Speaker 1: go to Holland and play What part of Holland? What
Speaker 1: part of Holland did you go to? What city? Ben Helder?
Speaker 1: Ben Helder talk to me about Holland talked about Holland.
Speaker 1: I've been a lot of places. I didn't spend a
Speaker 1: ton of time. I spent a little bit of time
Speaker 1: in a coffee shop in Amsterdam during a break when
Speaker 1: I stopped at Kinople and uh, I went got some coffee,
Speaker 1: some really good coffee and uh, but I was wondered
Speaker 1: what life was like in Holland with the Dutch. Talk
Speaker 1: to me, man, it was it was awesome. It was
Speaker 1: you know, people were friendly, is heck? You know, a
Speaker 1: small time like being Helder? What year? What year was this? Nine?
Speaker 1: And had Holland had brothers there before? Absolutely Dutch colleague.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, nothing Dutch colony. Dog they're
Speaker 1: over there, brod creersol you know, sing a little yeah
Speaker 1: yeah bro, you know, so they're over there. So yeah,
Speaker 1: it was cool. You know, and how did you play
Speaker 1: over there? How was your squad? How'd y'all do? And
Speaker 1: we were nice. So I had a Bobby Knight type
Speaker 1: of coach and it's still Tombo was not you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, everybody do it too. He's just crazy.
Speaker 1: So he just he stayed on me. Man, It's just dude.
Speaker 1: Why is this dude gonna be like this? Man just constantly? Man?
Speaker 1: You know, now in the big games, he would never
Speaker 1: bother you the weak games. And you know, he had
Speaker 1: put me in first of all, I'm not starting, okay.
Speaker 1: He had put me in for the first free throw
Speaker 1: and take me out for the second free to custom
Speaker 1: me out. Yeah, so I wanted. I remember we're getting
Speaker 1: ready to go play like qualifying against ray C Paris, right,
Speaker 1: and uh, Michael Kennedy and big lead get us. But uh,
Speaker 1: the coach and the president of team was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, we're probably gonna send you home, you know
Speaker 1: after this game. You know, I'm like, okay, no problems.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm ready to go. I've been over there.
Speaker 1: Had you got your money yet? Had you been paying yet? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I've been there for like four or five min I
Speaker 1: went over like in August preseason. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: So I'm like, no, I'm tired. So I said, okay,
Speaker 1: no problem, see me home. I go out to the game.
Speaker 1: I got like thirty and fifteen. We upset them, right,
Speaker 1: I caught off the bench. We upset them. Of course
Speaker 1: they can't cut me because they can't bring another American
Speaker 1: in for the European Cup. They gotta use the ones
Speaker 1: that they qualified. Wow. So I'm stuck. So now, man,
Speaker 1: get me off this team said, oh man, you're the
Speaker 1: European Cup. Man. So I don't care, man, No, Man,
Speaker 1: you're right here. Man. So you know I got a
Speaker 1: chance to go. You know Ukraine, you know I'm KIF
Speaker 1: and Moscow, you know St. Petersburg, Lithuania, you know, through
Speaker 1: all those places right in the European Cup. Man. So
Speaker 1: uh remember Alexander Volkoff Atlanta Hawks. Well yeah, he's fighting
Speaker 1: in the war in Ukraine right now. Of course, I remember,
Speaker 1: how does that a vote? Yes, Sasha, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. So he's considered the greatest player ever from Ukraine,
Speaker 1: and U no, I just never forget it. You know
Speaker 1: we're playing him at home in college, and you know
Speaker 1: you played one of homes in a way, so we're
Speaker 1: playing them, but they just everybody's oh many's gonna kills.
Speaker 1: He's gonna drop fifty on us. Oh man. You know, yeah,
Speaker 1: like you had like you know, eighteen or nineteen. You know,
Speaker 1: I probably had fourteen and you know nobody else had
Speaker 1: nothing because it was shook. Yeah you know. Yeah, now
Speaker 1: court to Night was on the team with some longs.
Speaker 1: That's a difference right there. You know. So when we
Speaker 1: go back to my scot, like, you know, I matched
Speaker 1: up with volk Off from like just right here, y'all
Speaker 1: don't want this. I want this here, he's lead, He's
Speaker 1: gonna leave and talking. Man, I know, like what, we
Speaker 1: lost a close games and I found out probably like
Speaker 1: a minute ago, that was like my second standard ovation overseas. Yeah,
Speaker 1: found out the standard ovation that serve bo like well,
Speaker 1: I know the n B A show but I don't know,
Speaker 1: but you telled me right when I was my game
Speaker 1: was just like sicking. I was like a small forward
Speaker 1: back there too, you know for sure. Well after Europe,
Speaker 1: now you had all those high level experiences in Europe,
Speaker 1: how did you end up locking down Japan? I know
Speaker 1: you spent a considered amount of time over there. How
Speaker 1: did that happen that you went from europe high level
Speaker 1: European competition to dominating the Japan League for over a
Speaker 1: decade if I'm correct right, Well, now I was over
Speaker 1: there for six years. Excuse me, six years, but I
Speaker 1: was actually gonna go back to Louisiana Olympia. Okay, Like
Speaker 1: I said, you know, coach loved me. You know, towns
Speaker 1: just you know, being Anthony. It's just like it's just yours,
Speaker 1: you know. So I had always wanted to go to Japan.
Speaker 1: The coach and I used to coach at cal State
Speaker 1: Domicus Hills Freemant High School and cow Sa l A.
Speaker 1: You know, I know him since high school and he's
Speaker 1: always tell me how nice this plan. So I was like,
Speaker 1: oh wow, really, you know I's I hear stories, man,
Speaker 1: I want to get there. So you know in Slovania,
Speaker 1: who practicing three times today? Three times? And then they
Speaker 1: just not no practice, they are practice. You guys are
Speaker 1: on the court three times a day on court actually
Speaker 1: five on five going up and down. Or did you
Speaker 1: have a morning practice with shooting a little bit in
Speaker 1: the middle with some weights and then y'all went hard
Speaker 1: in the evening it went hard off three times. Smigo
Speaker 1: wasn't having it, bro. Yeah, that's back then when the
Speaker 1: coaches would be kind of just dictatorship type dudes and
Speaker 1: just no question about it. Yeah we're going home. Our
Speaker 1: warm up is every morning, like three miles in the mountains,
Speaker 1: and the mountains right next to the gym, tipicy hall,
Speaker 1: okays we have it was just like yo, so but
Speaker 1: I was in such love with it, with the community,
Speaker 1: the country, and look, okay, well'm wenna come back. I
Speaker 1: know once Japan came with that bread, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, and I was just like it was like yo, man,
Speaker 1: the only practice three times a week, like what I
Speaker 1: Wasn't Japan really like that? Man? Was it really like that?
Speaker 1: Back when you first got the gig, not a lot
Speaker 1: of practice to paying you, you know, twenty thousand a
Speaker 1: month or whatever. I used to hear these rumors and
Speaker 1: then I heard they give you a job like you know,
Speaker 1: a plenty of Panasonic Katachi. You could get a job
Speaker 1: if you had played for the team. Is that true? Man? Now, listen,
Speaker 1: when I came there that year, you know they did
Speaker 1: away with the jobs. Job Listen, bro, you come there.
Speaker 1: You work for Panasonic, mr BC. I'm saying, Mit, Sue,
Speaker 1: you know you need the messo. The Americans are going
Speaker 1: there and just sitting down. You know, it's like what
Speaker 1: you want me to do. So it's like, look, the
Speaker 1: America's gotta be pros. They can't come to the office,
Speaker 1: you know. So I came in on that right there.
Speaker 1: So I got there. I was just like, all right,
Speaker 1: I got the linck over there. Then, you know, to
Speaker 1: my connection to a Spencer came through Stevie Thompson came
Speaker 1: through Robin Kirksey, Jaquin Jones. You know, I just had
Speaker 1: a flood floodgate of dudes that I plugged to go
Speaker 1: to Japan, I mean, to go to Japan. It was
Speaker 1: I untreal. I just had, you know, connect playing with
Speaker 1: Stevie Man, He's aid he's a Chrishaw legend. Played against
Speaker 1: Steve or did you play on your team Stevie? Yeah,
Speaker 1: so you didn't play on my team over there. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: you know you did. But I got all those guys
Speaker 1: into Japan. You know, I had twenty cast that was
Speaker 1: over there playing from l A. Just to talk about
Speaker 1: Stevie for a second, that's Ethan Thompson and Stevie Thompson
Speaker 1: Jr's dad coach. He was assistant coach at the Oregon
Speaker 1: State for the last several years. Was a part of
Speaker 1: that Elite eight run, successful Elite run eight run that
Speaker 1: they had. And so I can go to Japan with Stevie.
Speaker 1: So did I know when I was in Qatar like
Speaker 1: Americans we all hung out? Was it the same way
Speaker 1: in Japan? Like did y'all kicking with each other and
Speaker 1: hang out? Listen? Chen Douce from l A, Tokyo. Oh,
Speaker 1: that's that's prouble. That's trouble, man, Hey, that's trouble. Who
Speaker 1: who Who are the most the tories of the tid
Speaker 1: that you can name off the top of your head
Speaker 1: right now, the most notorious. Yeah, Tray Spancy, rest in peace, man,
Speaker 1: Rest in peace? Right? Stev over there? You had Robbin
Speaker 1: over there, Robin Kirksey, loyal America Jones Uh from Pepperline, North,
Speaker 1: Hollywood High you had Charles Rosslyn s l A. Yeah, Wow, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean that's dope. Yeah, guys up to in l A. Man,
Speaker 1: it was unreal. That's dope. That's dope. Man. You spent
Speaker 1: six years, seven years going back and forth to Japan.
Speaker 1: I mean you had you both your kids were born
Speaker 1: over there. No, my son was so your son, your
Speaker 1: son is born over there. So and then at what
Speaker 1: point did Japan's UH sort of wind down and you
Speaker 1: started thinking about shutting it down or making your next move?
Speaker 1: At what point two thousand h when I retired, you know,
Speaker 1: I had a own, I had a bone spuring my achilles,
Speaker 1: you know, get that shaved down or whatever. And so
Speaker 1: after that, I was just like, then I ain't coming back,
Speaker 1: you know, that was just it. So so y ain't
Speaker 1: Cooper from USC Lakewood High School head coach. He was
Speaker 1: over in Poland he was like, Dee, come on, man,
Speaker 1: I never got a chance to play with you. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know I'm still nice at that time, right, I
Speaker 1: really don't want to play, man, come on. So I
Speaker 1: went over there for my a mom fans. I'm done,
Speaker 1: you know. And then that's the time the real running
Speaker 1: stop blowing. That's the time the real run stop bling.
Speaker 1: I was like, talk to me, let's talk about the
Speaker 1: real run, not the real run. UH is one of
Speaker 1: Los Angeles longest and most well known leagues basketball brands.
Speaker 1: If you will you do? You started off as the
Speaker 1: summer league, but you evolved into a lot of other things.
Speaker 1: I wanted to know about how the real run got started.
Speaker 1: We used to play pickup ball in Veterans Sports Complex
Speaker 1: y Stevie Thomson was encamping with the Clippers and the
Speaker 1: Clippers just a practice in Vetman in Carson. Do you
Speaker 1: remember that. That's right? Yeah, Donald Sterling, Yeah that's right. Yeah. Community,
Speaker 1: you know, yeah, for sure, Steve could we were at
Speaker 1: we left u c l A. Why charging for parking? Ah,
Speaker 1: you know, I just file all that type of stuff.
Speaker 1: What magic you know, the whole crew. You know, wait,
Speaker 1: wait talking about this, don't let's talk about this. Let's
Speaker 1: talk about this. So you're saying, basically, you see they
Speaker 1: had that dynamic where them guys that was in the
Speaker 1: league or certain Cats would be bullshitting on the fouls
Speaker 1: and try to keep the ball on game point versus
Speaker 1: Jews that wasn't in the league. Was it was? It
Speaker 1: like some arrogant arrogance, arrogance? Remember Pat, you ain't talked
Speaker 1: about it. Man. I don't like going on the l
Speaker 1: A L A. Man. You know, magic man found every
Speaker 1: every time down court, you can't get a workout and
Speaker 1: how are you doing. Patrick? That's my guy man, coach,
Speaker 1: you is my guy man. So I used toll uh,
Speaker 1: I'm at a line some morning on some Nike commercials
Speaker 1: in the early nineties. You know. Oh, me and Zo
Speaker 1: became real cool then, you know, of course to you know, so,
Speaker 1: I mean Pat, you know, so I just stay solid, man,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, whatever that you
Speaker 1: ain't dude, I never forget dog, So, you know, I
Speaker 1: think it was the second time I had met him.
Speaker 1: So the first time I met him was with my
Speaker 1: dad at the All Star Game. My dad took me
Speaker 1: over to meet Pat and Michael Jordan's. If you remember,
Speaker 1: Mike had the white hat on the blue sweatsuit next
Speaker 1: to the dunk contest cud web runs, so I was.
Speaker 1: I was there. So my dad took me over Mans
Speaker 1: because he had rolled in the limo to the game.
Speaker 1: He was writing in the limo with Mike and Pat,
Speaker 1: so he was messing with them. So anyway, he takes
Speaker 1: me over. Man, I tapped up. Pat just shows me love,
Speaker 1: gives me a handshake. Fast forward to ninety six at
Speaker 1: the Jordan's Dome. I we're playing, so I'm on the court.
Speaker 1: It's me. I'm the only nine NBA guy on the court.
Speaker 1: So the play happened. Somebody misses a shot, rebound goes
Speaker 1: up right, So I do the thing where I put
Speaker 1: my arm on Pat's shoulder and I jumped, He jumped
Speaker 1: and I rise right. He gives me a serious boost
Speaker 1: and I I literally grabbed rebelt, cut it and like
Speaker 1: swung swung outlet to somebody. He literally turned, he turned
Speaker 1: and looked at me. It was like they clicked through
Speaker 1: through that ship again. It man, I'm gonna suck you
Speaker 1: up literally like and they started laughing. But they started laughing,
Speaker 1: so I was. I was like, I went from crependation
Speaker 1: on Patrick. You weren't about to big me up? Bro
Speaker 1: to the smile and he was just there. He gave
Speaker 1: me like an elbow on the way down. I was like, okay,
Speaker 1: this is a cool cat. Pat my guy. So you
Speaker 1: had to Pat. What was the ones like with Patton
Speaker 1: Zoe If y'all had a chance to work out at all?
Speaker 1: Oh man, it was I remember one day, Bro, I
Speaker 1: was up there working. I would them to the kim
Speaker 1: Bay front of Riley's front of Rouse. You just know
Speaker 1: how sick that is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: you just know how sick it is right there. You
Speaker 1: know you just locked it. It's like, oh my god, Pat,
Speaker 1: Pat asked my guys, my favorite coach. He showed me
Speaker 1: so much love about this Southeast straight up after you
Speaker 1: selled it down with the Real Run, Okay, the league goes.
Speaker 1: You had several great summers in a row, super duper turnout.
Speaker 1: I never forget when GP and Penny and all of
Speaker 1: them came, and one championship game I remember going. I
Speaker 1: was myself baron Paul Pierce going against Paul Pierce, Antoine
Speaker 1: Walker and you know, Derek Fishers on my squad at
Speaker 1: Antonio Harvey and each trick. I mean, all these guys man.
Speaker 1: So the real One definitely was a wonderful, wonderful era
Speaker 1: of basketball, dude. And uh, but when did you say,
Speaker 1: as far as the Real Run was concerned, you decided
Speaker 1: to kind of say, hey, I got something here. I
Speaker 1: want to start touching on the youth youth basketball, the
Speaker 1: youth movement because you got involved man, pretty quickly there,
Speaker 1: and you made a serious mark in the grass roofs game. Yeah. No,
Speaker 1: you know from m running the Summer League. You know
Speaker 1: it takes a lot, especially when you first started, you know.
Speaker 1: And so I got the athletic director position to head
Speaker 1: coach at Bourbon Day High School, so I could, you know,
Speaker 1: I had to put all my energy over there Bourbon
Speaker 1: you know. And so but I kept the name going
Speaker 1: like Real Run Fall League, Real Run when the Classic
Speaker 1: Real Run Spring League. You know, I was the one
Speaker 1: that was doing the fall leagues first on Sundays. You know,
Speaker 1: everybody followed after me. You know. It's it's crazy. It's like, yo,
Speaker 1: when no one's doing on Sunday. So I started doing
Speaker 1: on Sunday both flip overside you okay, just dude fun.
Speaker 1: It's like, dude, man, you come up with your home blueprint. Bro.
Speaker 1: You know. So you know that keeping that name going around,
Speaker 1: you know, because eventually no that led to you know,
Speaker 1: the Truth Program for us and here you sir. You know,
Speaker 1: so we had some big time players come from program,
Speaker 1: Hami Hontkare Shackleford, you know, the Gumster, Josh Fritzpher, Jalen Green,
Speaker 1: you know, wow, wow, wow, Josh Yeah, Jalen Green, Josh
Speaker 1: Christopher yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, Carl Lewis, Rescipe Peace,
Speaker 1: you know, you know, we were in peace Carl, Big Carl, Yeah,
Speaker 1: big car Man. We had some players in there. So
Speaker 1: with that, my relationship with Penny Pat you know, Joan Howard,
Speaker 1: Leonard Hamilton's you know, I was gonna stay in the
Speaker 1: mix and trying to help kids, you know, achieve the dreams,
Speaker 1: you know. So you know, I just stayed in it,
Speaker 1: you know. Right now, Yes, you know, we're working on something,
Speaker 1: uh future deal with Nike right now, so you know,
Speaker 1: just waiting for that to finalize right there. But you know, man,
Speaker 1: look you don't stop with me, you know. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm gonna be doing me until I'm dead. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying that I'm always gonna find a way.
Speaker 1: I'm always going to find a way to help people,
Speaker 1: you know. And so that's that's one great thing you
Speaker 1: know about this that I'm doing now. I have a
Speaker 1: lot of flew in friends out there that you know
Speaker 1: what I need help. You know, I'm able to help
Speaker 1: people that can't help themselves, you know. And so that's
Speaker 1: the most special thing about real run starting until you know,
Speaker 1: an all star league into high school league, college league,
Speaker 1: you know, to my foundation right now, during a pandemic,
Speaker 1: we raised like two hundred thousand dollars for the people
Speaker 1: in Nixon Cards and then the watch area. You know
Speaker 1: with Brad Pitt and Fleet. You know, Fox Sports Radio
Speaker 1: has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch
Speaker 1: all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot com
Speaker 1: and within the I Heart Radio app search f s
Speaker 1: R to listen live. That's something I saw you doing
Speaker 1: that on Twitter. Man. I thought that was wonderful. I
Speaker 1: thought that was amazing that you were taking your time.
Speaker 1: You were rallying the community. You're getting people out there
Speaker 1: to feed. You were feeding you guys were feeding the community.
Speaker 1: And then I saw the photos of Brad and flee
Speaker 1: from Red Hot Chili Peppers. That ship was wild. Man,
Speaker 1: What what surprised you the most about having, like Sean Maryman,
Speaker 1: Brad Pitt and Fleet in Watts What was the most
Speaker 1: surprising thing about their presence there? Not really, you know,
Speaker 1: Addis is not tripping at all, bass jumping on somebody's mopay,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, He's just mopay right here.
Speaker 1: I mean's just motorcycle and go to his liquor store
Speaker 1: and games for cigarettes. You know, said, no security none,
Speaker 1: you know, and just how you know how selfish. Those
Speaker 1: guys were, you know, really man, just like Flee brass shine,
Speaker 1: those guys coming and putting in a major time. You're
Speaker 1: not tripping up like love, you know. And no autographs
Speaker 1: and no photos, none of that's going on. That's only
Speaker 1: for the people from this community, right that's it. So
Speaker 1: to see them really go out um and open up
Speaker 1: and just like a year straight, bro, it's just like
Speaker 1: on Fridays, man, it was enough food you know for
Speaker 1: the families for the whole week and you know the
Speaker 1: whole year. Those guys probably missed like three Fridays they
Speaker 1: and they weren't happy about that right there. So that
Speaker 1: was unbelievable. Man. A lot of my childhood friends, you know,
Speaker 1: we got together and you know we really grinded out
Speaker 1: and made sure, you know, shout out to my boy
Speaker 1: Ricky Davis. Another real run. Let's you know, Ricky Davis,
Speaker 1: didn he Rick bring, didn't bring like a truck or
Speaker 1: somebot eight Ricky Davis and Al Harrington, Yeah big Al
Speaker 1: baby Al so baby out and Tricky Rick. You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. Remember they sent like four diesels, you know,
Speaker 1: eighteen wheelers. I'll never forget the envoys for each one
Speaker 1: on for like sixty five thousand and food. Bro, you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. So I'm just like, yo, come
Speaker 1: over here, back up to the gym field. This and
Speaker 1: that bringing on out right here makes the phone calls
Speaker 1: to a few people. Got that going. Everybody coming from everywhere,
Speaker 1: you know, just taking enough food man to feed their families.
Speaker 1: Man with great great stuff chicken, you know, milk, healthy
Speaker 1: stuff man, vegetables. Man. So it just wasn't like it
Speaker 1: was some nice food in there man. So to see
Speaker 1: people really rallied around that time when people needed it
Speaker 1: man joining COVID, you know what I'm saying, all that
Speaker 1: type of stuff, It was amazing. Then, Uh, I remember
Speaker 1: you're the same time we did uh walking and watch
Speaker 1: Uh two of my friends Brian and Gregory, uh childhood friends.
Speaker 1: We collaborated and you know we did a walking to
Speaker 1: wash where you know, we walked down like a hunt
Speaker 1: third Street, you know, down there by you know neighborhoods
Speaker 1: you know. Back then come around, know just showing a
Speaker 1: brother son Dary Uh Katy Lattimore came down to perform.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, this is that but you know,
Speaker 1: I never forget it was like a hundred people that
Speaker 1: was in the you know, COVID you can end up
Speaker 1: have a lot of people out, so you had to
Speaker 1: you know, spacing. So it was like a hundred of
Speaker 1: people in the man and bro it was like over
Speaker 1: four hundred years of incarceration in there from a few people,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. So I'm just yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: looking at guys that I know, the thirty eight years,
Speaker 1: thirty you know what I'm saying, thirty five you know,
Speaker 1: just it's amazing, man. So I'm just like, wow, man,
Speaker 1: we still here right here, so you know all that
Speaker 1: experience right there, you know those were highlights right there. Man.
Speaker 1: It's just you know, having so many people like reach,
Speaker 1: I was like, hey, what type of help you need?
Speaker 1: You know what I mean, Mac Listen, it doesn't have
Speaker 1: to be you know, the movement, Black Lives Matter movement,
Speaker 1: any of that stuff. I'm always gonna help. And I'm
Speaker 1: always gonna underway to get some toys for some kids
Speaker 1: with Christmas, you know what I'm saying, Some money for school,
Speaker 1: you know, books, computers, I'm always gonna do that. Man.
Speaker 1: That's just in me. Why why is this getting Why
Speaker 1: is this so much a part of the fabric of
Speaker 1: your DNA. Man, I grew up like that. Uh you know,
Speaker 1: it's just like I was blessed. Like I said, I
Speaker 1: never knew hunger, you know, I was blessed, you know,
Speaker 1: so moms made sure she provided for us. So it
Speaker 1: was just kind of natural, probably my grandmother, because my
Speaker 1: grandmother was real loving like that. But you know, once
Speaker 1: I got a chance to really come back and retired,
Speaker 1: you know, start off with Carson High School system coach
Speaker 1: and went to burb you know, didn't you know, actually
Speaker 1: quit quitting uh coaching and being athletic directly and started
Speaker 1: a nonprofit with Pack Nicholas and down More, you know,
Speaker 1: called Urban Compass. So I did that for about six years,
Speaker 1: you know, dealing with kids and a hundred usty school
Speaker 1: next to it which I went to school. And they
Speaker 1: grew up in the projects where I grew up at.
Speaker 1: So you know, now you know, it's like those little
Speaker 1: kids don't know me, but their grandfather's no. But their
Speaker 1: uncles no, but they you know, So it just it
Speaker 1: worked right in hand, you know, Like some of my boys,
Speaker 1: you know, I was watching their kids while they was
Speaker 1: locked up, you know, and so they get out of Man.
Speaker 1: Thanks for holding it out for my son. You know,
Speaker 1: it's and that so I mean, it's just the humanity
Speaker 1: thing that everybody should do help out without wanting anything
Speaker 1: in return. That's it, you know what I'm saying. I'm
Speaker 1: just like, I'm gonna do something for somebody. I ain't
Speaker 1: gonna tell everybody I'm doing it. Just okay, here you go,
Speaker 1: let me help out. You know, get you in school.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. Here you go, You're losing
Speaker 1: your career this you know, you know, making phone calls,
Speaker 1: getting somebody tucked away or whatever. You know, you always
Speaker 1: should do that. That's the essence of you know how
Speaker 1: I grew up and in a community like Man, we
Speaker 1: was all right for each other. How does someone make
Speaker 1: it out of that community? How how come you made
Speaker 1: it out? How come you're not like your boys doing
Speaker 1: time or you're not nothing? Statistics? My mom? You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, My mom? You know my mama six
Speaker 1: to You know what I'm saying. So nobody she wasn't
Speaker 1: having no problems with nobody projects. She's one of the
Speaker 1: most respective ever from NIXT and guardens ever. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm not talking about in a game bang type of way.
Speaker 1: On to mother type of way right there. You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. Everybody loved my mom. Oh yeah, the
Speaker 1: mom in the community where that that you listen to
Speaker 1: what she had to She tells you to stop doing something.
Speaker 1: You're gonna stop doing it now. You made go around
Speaker 1: the corner start doing that ship again, but not in
Speaker 1: front of Miss Langston Na and everybody knew it to Yo, man,
Speaker 1: get up, man. You know what I'm saying, Yo, Yo,
Speaker 1: the anthony your mama called her. She's calling people's phones.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, Just like yo, yeah, but
Speaker 1: oh man, you gotta get up out of here. I
Speaker 1: got a bounce, you know, I got my You know moms.
Speaker 1: I ain't scanning the catch of the project. I'm stilling
Speaker 1: the mom's you know what I'm saying. She was like
Speaker 1: six to and hey, my mom was the same way,
Speaker 1: but she was five four bro. Hey, I'll never forget bro.
Speaker 1: And I've never really shared this story, but I understand
Speaker 1: what it's like to have that type of mom because
Speaker 1: when I used to live with my mom, she lived
Speaker 1: in the sixties neighborhood rolling the sixties, so we was
Speaker 1: off like sixty and ten. So I was playing one day,
Speaker 1: you know, it was it was like a little my
Speaker 1: grandmother kind of stayed like this little project type of
Speaker 1: apartment building. So I'm playing, you know, next door with
Speaker 1: some of the kids, and one of the kids in
Speaker 1: the paraplegic, so they she had the things. You know,
Speaker 1: she couldn't really walk and move well. So something happens
Speaker 1: while we're playing and I accidentally bumped into her and
Speaker 1: she ended up falling, and so you know how that go.
Speaker 1: And so she felt Mom's her mom, her aunts, they're
Speaker 1: trying to everybody wants to fight. So my mom literally
Speaker 1: she went inside, she put she she had long here,
Speaker 1: she tied her, she braid her here real quick type.
Speaker 1: Put on this blue band Danna. She was just huged
Speaker 1: from sixties. Put on blue band Danna, and then rolled
Speaker 1: back outside with two kitchen knives. And so it rolled
Speaker 1: by me. So I'm like, I'm trying to go. My
Speaker 1: uncle's holding me, and then I see what happens and
Speaker 1: they get into a big old things. You know, it's
Speaker 1: a lot of ship that happened in that in that moment.
Speaker 1: But eventually my mom is getting beat up on the
Speaker 1: car she's bloody. So she comes back inside and I
Speaker 1: had to see my mom all bloodied up and ship
Speaker 1: after getting beat up on the car because of something
Speaker 1: I did. But it was something I never forgot. Brother.
Speaker 1: It's something that stunned and it's something that kind of
Speaker 1: made me kind of, you know, get a little ass dog.
Speaker 1: I don't. I know, it doesn't sound like you had
Speaker 1: to necessarily see that. But when I say that these
Speaker 1: type of women were raising us and that's who you know,
Speaker 1: standing up for us. It wasn't a game, you know what.
Speaker 1: It was so funny. I was telling my wrong boys yesterday.
Speaker 1: I said, Man, I said, do you remember this growing up?
Speaker 1: This is a well known thing in the projects, Like
Speaker 1: the women couldn't have mann around. If you had men around,
Speaker 1: they go up on your rent or they kick you
Speaker 1: out of the project. Now listen, now listen, people, Yo, listen, yea, listen.
Speaker 1: You can't come around here for the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: You know, the social workers coming out, so you know,
Speaker 1: Pops is getting to you know, three weeks past. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, It's like, yo, okay for three
Speaker 1: you know, you come back out tonight, you know, okay,
Speaker 1: back you know next time he's gone two months, you know,
Speaker 1: and got another life going, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: So they systematically for our families there and not wanting
Speaker 1: men around. What I'm saying, Yeah, that was that was
Speaker 1: that was sick. Man. Like we're eight years old. My
Speaker 1: best friend, Chris was murdered. It was murdered. Uh, guy
Speaker 1: just shout in the air. And so my older brother
Speaker 1: like he was up there with Chris. We went to
Speaker 1: stow with mom, and so my brother was looking and
Speaker 1: Chris like, let me look. My brother stepped down. Chris
Speaker 1: stepped up and down without him to the neck and
Speaker 1: killed him. And that was like really traumatizing for me
Speaker 1: to nine, you know, and my friend we just left him.
Speaker 1: What you mean you know what do you mean? I
Speaker 1: don't know what death is, you know what I'm saying
Speaker 1: when you talk about he dead? So that that affected
Speaker 1: me a whole right there. You know that that really
Speaker 1: did right there. But you know, in all in all, man,
Speaker 1: great man, you know, able to give back, you know,
Speaker 1: play sees and you know, have so many friends and
Speaker 1: able to do a lot. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Look forward, you know I'll be going back to Sylvania
Speaker 1: for business. You know, I think about a month, probably
Speaker 1: gonna retire over it. You know it really is, so
Speaker 1: you know, getting ready for the real run this summer.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying back at veterans. You know,
Speaker 1: it's only college, college league or high school or all rus'
Speaker 1: he know what I'm saying. You know, so I might,
Speaker 1: I might, you know, said no, we we we we
Speaker 1: got the college going going heavy. You know, we definitely
Speaker 1: had that right there. But I got so many young cats.
Speaker 1: You know, do you feel like you're in competition with
Speaker 1: like the Drew League or anybody any other leagues around here?
Speaker 1: Are you? Are you kind of just doing what you
Speaker 1: do in your own little pocket, in your little corner
Speaker 1: of the basketball universe. No, man, I'm not in competition
Speaker 1: for anybody. Man, everybody is happy runs out here, run shot, run,
Speaker 1: shooting dump. Say no, the real run and Drew League
Speaker 1: slamming jam. You know what I'm saying. We were all,
Speaker 1: you know, just a part of this basketball fabric up here.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. You know that's my dude
Speaker 1: over there. You know what I'm saying, Just Hunt, You know,
Speaker 1: I held it down for years for everybody out there,
Speaker 1: when I was the strongest voice out of here and
Speaker 1: make sure everybody ate I was doing things, you know,
Speaker 1: So I'm real big with the network sponsorship. That's what
Speaker 1: I want to get. Well, man, we look and forward
Speaker 1: to what's in store the summer and and for everything
Speaker 1: that you do. I know the Real Run has the
Speaker 1: travel ball au team too, so you're doing that. Then
Speaker 1: you're president of the Real Run Foundation, which we talked about.
Speaker 1: It does a lot of work in the community, tries
Speaker 1: to bridge sports and community activism and things like that. Brother,
Speaker 1: We appreciate everything that you do, d A, your contributions
Speaker 1: over the last thirty years to this game. Brother, me personally,
Speaker 1: having known you for as long as I do, just
Speaker 1: wanted to give you a major shout out because you're
Speaker 1: somebody that just since I've met you, you've never ceased
Speaker 1: to amaze me. So it's always something where just like
Speaker 1: you're recently. Look, he ain't gonna tell you, but he
Speaker 1: was named City commissioners city of Carson. I mean, he
Speaker 1: gets he gets honored by the State Assembly, the Black
Speaker 1: Caucus with all kinds of stuff. Y'all have no idea
Speaker 1: who this dude is. He's one of the It's one
Speaker 1: of the dopest dudes that I've known. And I appreciate you,
Speaker 1: my brother, and uh, thank you so much man for
Speaker 1: coming on kJ A Live. Appreciate you have me on
Speaker 1: kJ Live. Look forward to it. Man, I have a
Speaker 1: great gratulation, much love, thanks d A, Yes, Sir, I