WEBVTT - KJ Live - Luther Waters 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:10.320 This is kJ Live with Chris john Sallie and Chris 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.680 is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:20.840 entertainment in a strain. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.440 tuned in to kJ Live. Today's guests on the show. 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:29.040 He's a fixture among Southern California basketball. He's a god 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:35.280 fearing educator, coach, teacher, mentor, and renaissance man. He was 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:39.720 recently named assistant coach at the University of Missouri at 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:43.520 Kansas City. Luther Waters is in the building. Luther, what's good? 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:47.040 My brother? Hey, what's up? J howsn't It's going great? Man. 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:51.040 I'm glad that we connected, Bro. I saw the news. 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:55.120 Actually I heard the news, um, and then kind of 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:57.000 reached out to give you congratulations. But I said, man, 0:00:57.040 --> 0:00:59.280 let me talk to my boy, because you have your 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:02.520 your some out that over the years I've really respected 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.360 as someone that not only loved the game, loves the kids, 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.280 but you take your job as an educator, as a teacher, 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:12.399 as a mentor very seriously and you lead in the 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.399 right direction. I kind of wanted to get you on 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.039 the show, man, so people can hear your voice. Come 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:21.200 on the platform and kind of introduce yourself to the folks. 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:24.520 Bro Uh Luther, what part of I know you're from 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:26.160 l A. What part of l A were you born 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:28.479 and raised? And talk a little bit about your childhood 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:32.399 in that environment that you grew up in. But site correction, 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:35.200 So I was added on to the staff. So my 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:41.800 official title is recruiting coordinator over at u m k C. Congratulations, congratulations, 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:45.360 I'm there. You know, it only took twenty two years, 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:49.320 but very very thankful for the opportunity. But um, I 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:52.480 grew up in Guardina man Um right on a hundred 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:56.360 and thirty second in van Ness, uh, about two hundred 0:01:56.440 --> 0:02:01.160 yards from Raleigh Park. So so my child consisted of 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.360 you know, running in with the sign up from the 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:07.240 park to to play some hoops, you know, my mom 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:10.640 right in the check for ten bucks and hopping back 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:13.000 on my bike and riding back up there to drop 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:17.840 off my registration. And it was really you know, at 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:21.640 Raleigh and in that gardena community that I learned how 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:24.839 to play for people, for people out there that might 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:28.640 not necessarily be familiar with Raleigh Park. You tell us 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:33.040 some of the guys, players, athletes over the years that 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:34.520 came out of that area. I know it's a bunch 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:36.720 of poo Jetter and but some other guys come up 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:39.040 to mind. But Jetter grew up around the corner from me. 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:44.960 Sir uh Poo. Richardson was there every summer. Rich and 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:49.600 my favorite player of all time, Isaac Burbon. Oh they do. 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:56.920 And look. I would get to the park at nine 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.200 thirty in the morning. They opened at ten. It's I 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.640 can be first at the door, right, because you know 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:04.560 in those days they opened the door. If you get 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:07.399 there thirty minutes late, there's two hundred people outside. Yeah, 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:12.720 you're not getting on. So I was probably about thirteam 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.240 by the time I started playing on the big boy court, 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:19.519 and Uh, Isaac was sat, Louke, just get there, put 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:23.280 our name on the list and we're good, right. Um 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:25.720 Julie Rousseaul A lot of people don't know that name. 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:32.280 Yeah we know Juan Yeah. So Um, I would write 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:37.960 everybody's name on the list. Um, Brent Summers. And I'm 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.960 a young guy. So you gotta pick up ninety four ft. 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:46.000 You gotta commit seven thousand a game, and you can't miss. 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:52.000 So if they kicked the ball, team don't miss. So 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.160 how you stay? Oh, that's how you that's how you say, 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.240 that's how you stay on. But it was through those years, man, 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:03.120 that I learned earned mentorship, I would say, in a way, 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:07.840 because they mentored me indirectly. You know, I was a sponge. 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:11.120 God didn't bless me with, you know, being six six 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:14.200 and two hundred pounds and all of those physical gifts 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:17.400 that other people have. And I learned at an early 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:21.760 age that for me, my journey was gonna be based 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:25.760 on my intellect because I and I felt that, yum, 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:27.680 there were certain things that I could do that other 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:30.440 people necessarily couldn't do on and off the court, in 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:33.120 terms of being able to see things, in terms of 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:36.799 being able to be vocal um, be positive, encourage people. 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.680 I used to tell Isaac stop missing, don't miss, and 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.200 he's looking at me like, who are you like, shut up? 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:47.880 But you know, in those early years, man, there wasn't 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:49.839 a day that went by that I was not there, 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.040 you know, playing every day in and day out, and 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:57.240 I and I'm forever grateful for that opportunity. And your parents, 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:01.360 what type of influence were when you were during your 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:04.400 childhood years, the foundation that they set for you. Colgini 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.920 described their for US man. My parents are guys sent 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:13.920 man UM. My father Vietnam VETT. My grandfather UM was 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:17.159 a prisoner of war in the Korean War, passed. My 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:20.839 dad was six. My grandmother was widowed with four children 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:24.359 at twenty six years old. And my grandmother was tough 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:31.880 as nails. You know, Excuses were not tolerated. UM. My mother, UM, 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:36.080 hard working woman, married my dad at one. You know, 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:38.240 we're a family at three. You know my siblings well. 0:05:39.080 --> 0:05:42.560 And I remember early on trying to make an excuse 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:48.760 and Pops wouldn't having it. Like I vividly remember, you know, 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:52.159 coming in from the playground over at Perchy Julie was 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:56.520 the playground director at Perchy Right Elementary School, and you know, 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:58.479 I remember somebody pushed me down and I might have 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:00.680 been in third grade, and I came in house crying 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:03.560 and my dad like looks at me, like what the 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:06.279 hell are you doing in here? Like either you're gonna 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:09.480 go back and fight or stay your gass outside to 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:15.000 your mama, get home. I remember it was like that 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:21.120 moment of okay, he made it okay to fail, meaning 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:24.160 what we're not gonna do is not put forth our 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:27.800 best effort. That's not tolerated. But what we are gonna 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:32.440 do is be okay, irrespective of the results, as long 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:35.279 as you put forth your best effort. So I remember 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:37.440 going back over to the playground where my buddies and 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:39.320 we were all the young guys and the middle school 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:41.800 guys were like, push us down, and this is on 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:45.560 the dump courts, right, But you have to learn how 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.480 to fight and how to compete because you couldn't go 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:52.520 back home, Like the street lights aren't on, so you're 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:58.760 not allowed in the house, so you gotta figure it out. Um. 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:02.680 But needless to say, my parents went back to school 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:06.680 at the age of thirty, and I remember, you know, 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.479 we had everything we needed, but I remember what spam 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:12.520 tastes like. I remember what that block of cheese tastes 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.440 like where you try and cut it and it wouldn't melt. 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:17.480 You couldn't make a real cheese because it would get 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:21.520 greasy that we wouldn't melt just right. Um. And I 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.360 remember red beans and rising an oatmeal every day. I 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:26.520 don't eat red beans right now because I ate it 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:31.280 every day growing up. But through all of that, I remember, 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:36.400 you know, it's never too late. You know it's never 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:38.520 too late to hit the reset button. It's never too 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:41.680 late to put your mind to something. It's never too 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:44.960 late to do whatever your heart desires, as long as 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:48.240 you're you're courageous enough to to put forth the effort. 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:50.920 And I think that's the biggest thing I've taken from 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:54.400 my parents. Put God first and and be willing to 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:57.720 put forth your best effort, regardless of the results. I 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:02.200 love hearing the lesson that were taught by your parents. 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:04.240 And it wasn't necessarily like a lesson they had to, 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:06.440 you know, sit you down and spend a bunch of time, 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:09.040 but just something like, you know, you're coming home crying 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:13.200 and they're not allowing you to sort of accept certain 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:15.560 types of behaviors. I think I think that was a 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:18.080 big way that my parents, your parents are parents of 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:22.840 our generation, raised us through like tangible experience. Now you 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.360 went through something, and now you gotta learn, you know, 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:29.480 the hard way basically out. And I think that the 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:34.520 way that style of parenting forced us to really use 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:38.160 our ingenuity. Our brains are diligence and have to really 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:40.640 you know, figure stuff out, as you said, And and 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.920 there's something to be said for that a little there, 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.160 especially when I look at today not to get too 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:48.200 far off from tangent, but when I look at today's 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.960 generation and and some of their behaviors and habits that 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:56.000 they that they tend to do, I kind of view that, 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.640 as you know, experiences everything, you gotta go through stuff, 0:08:58.640 --> 0:08:59.959 because they talk about a lot of stuff, they have 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.160 an experience a lot of Today we get a lot 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:06.840 of opinions based on from people that have never walked 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.720 in the shoes of those people that that that's always 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:13.240 just mind bottling to me. But again, I loved love 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:18.120 to hear that. Let me actually this, your siblings, how 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:20.720 much did they What kind of influence were they on you? 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.040 Were they on that? Because I was a big brother, 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:25.160 as I was the oldest, I was always kind of 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:27.040 tough on my little brothers. All right, I'm on their 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.600 head constantly. Right, I'm never giving them problems for nothing. 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:32.199 I'm not letting them beat me in one on one 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:35.520 video games, nothing. But I was trying to raise them 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:38.680 to be super competitors. Did you did you have a 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:41.480 sibling rivalry with your folks or how did that go? 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:49.720 Candice man like you? I figured it was Cande man Um. 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.040 You know there's only two years between us. You know, 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:54.720 and I'm the baby of the group and uh mine you. 0:09:54.800 --> 0:10:03.040 Candice's friends were Kathy Bryce, Yeah yeah, legend, Michelle, Vicky 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:07.240 Ruff and for those of you you know Crenshaw High 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:11.760 School's girls basketball team, you could damn near beat the 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:20.400 boys j B team. They don't know about Candy Canthy though. 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:22.760 Like that's why they would be at the house. You know, 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.280 I would be in the front and they would pull up. 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:28.520 You know, Candis had a car, and you know Kathy 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:31.280 would be Kathy and you know, just pick the ball 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:36.760 up and just give you this work real quick. Um. 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:41.240 But to to to like Candice's credit, man, Candice was 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:44.400 my rebounding man. Like in the front yard. You know, 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:46.320 I would be out there and she would come out 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.600 and she was shagging balls. You know, you're not going 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.400 hard enough. You gotta hold your follow through. You know, 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:55.920 this is why you got cut in ninth grade. You know, man, 0:10:56.240 --> 0:11:00.000 Candice and make you cry, But it was coming from 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:03.600 a place of love and comfort. So if you can't 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:08.280 take criticism from your siblings, your parents, your boys, you 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:11.360 can't take criticism from anybody, you know, which kind of 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:14.120 leads us to That's part of what I think some 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:18.000 of the young men are struggling with now. They don't 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:21.840 have authentic friends number one. That's number one. That's the 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:24.840 most important thing. Somebody that's gonna be keeping absolutely a 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.320 hundred with you at all times. Yeah, we're human. We've 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.320 all made mistakes. I've had to apologize several times people 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:36.520 I love. But if they can't call me on my mistake, 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:41.200 they're not really my friend, you know. And you know me, 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.440 you know, I could just sometimes I can go all 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:45.880 the way this way, but they're always has to be 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.240 that voice of reason to say, you know what, lou, 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:52.400 you're tripping you know whatnot That wasn't cool, bro. You know, 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:57.199 that's really what fellowship and being a man, being a learner, 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:00.480 being a teacher, being a coach is about. If you 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:06.240 can't take somebody you know, giving you guidance, you know, 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:11.040 maybe constructive criticism at times, then who are you to 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:14.640 dish it out? You know? So when I look at 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:19.360 coaching and teaching some of my best players, man um, 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:25.160 there was this middle ground of respect. But they knew 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:29.760 that they had my ear, you know. So if I 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:33.199 wasn't gonna listen to Josh Christopher, you know, the most 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:36.480 recent in terms of what he sees and in terms 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:40.000 of the actions that he sees himself being successful or 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:41.839 who who the hell am I to just tell him 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:44.640 what I think? I ain't on the floor, you know, 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:48.040 And I think that's always been one of my gifts. Um. 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.199 If you remember Josh, when Josh was in ninth grade 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:54.640 and I was a JV coach, you know, there wasn't 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:58.040 much he could do athletically at that moment. But the 0:12:58.080 --> 0:12:59.719 one thing he could do, he can knock down the 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:02.400 fifth for the jump shot the best of them at 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.840 that moment. Right. So, Josh, when when teams are playing, 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:08.440 don't want against us, this is what we're gonna do. 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:12.000 You're gonna flash high, turn face, look see what you got. 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:16.000 And I still remember that all these years later, right, Um, 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.080 But I knew that that's something he can do he 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:20.440 can bring to the team to help us win right now, 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:24.720 versus this is what he can't do in easier his limitations. 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:28.800 I think a lot of folks look at when they're coaching, 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:33.920 they look at the limitations first versus your strengths. Um. 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.520 I always love playing for coaches that you know. I 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:38.640 was a big guy, couldn't move very fast, et cetera. 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:41.040 But they figure it out with me. Hey, Chris, let's 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.560 post him up ten fifteen times a game, get him going, 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:45.200 because they knew I get a couple of baskets, then 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:47.120 I can run a little bit faster. After a couple 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.000 of baskets, I could jump a little bit higher for 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.240 some reason. I don't know why, a little bit after 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:56.640 just everything just went for some reason. But now, but man, listening, man, 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.360 and being open to that, especially with this generation, and 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:02.480 I think of my show. I'm always just talking about 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:04.800 the errors because I come from a certain era, and 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:07.000 and then we always are comparing errors. We're not hating 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:10.720 on errors. Were not downing you know, this error or anything. 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:13.160 We're just noting some of the differences and trying to 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:15.240 figure out why things are the way they are. But 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:20.480 but your to your point about being open and understanding. Um, 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:23.240 why do you think that you had that type of 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:27.040 approach instilled in you at an early age? Where did 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:29.200 you learn that? Because because I remember even at Crenshaw, 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.160 you had a different energy and attitude about you. Your 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.360 aura was different than everybody else where. Do you think 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:38.760 that came from Luther? I think my dad, you know, um, 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:43.280 self confidence, Man, my dad is an alpha. You know, 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:47.080 you can't tell him that, you can't say that. He 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:51.320 he believes he can do anything. Um. And with my 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:53.200 dad being a teacher at the time, we were at 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:58.080 Crenshaw together and before that watching Joe weakly. You know, 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:04.200 I remember Coach As would not allow anyone in the 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:12.880 gym during practice, mom, dad, cousin, uncle, principal, nobody. And 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:15.880 when I was young, because my dad was, you know, 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:18.760 a teacher at the school and you know obviously was 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.440 with coach Garrett for twenty four years, I believe on 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:25.040 the football staff. Um, you know, I was a young 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:29.560 kid and nobody to watch me and coach Joe weekly 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:32.880 and Coach West allowed me to sit in the corner. 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:36.480 I remember, so I was sitting in a corner and 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:40.160 literally just trying not to breathe too loud because I 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:42.680 was terrified if they would would ask me to leave. 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:47.840 And I knew what my ceiling was athletic, and I 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:51.280 was okay with that. My parents never put this pressure 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:54.800 on me to get a Division one scholarship too, to 0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:57.120 be something other than what God made me to be. 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:03.360 But in the respect, I knew you guys and your greatness, 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:08.640 and I appreciated that. So for me, looking at you know, 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:14.200 Tommy Davis, you know, looking at Ronnie Yards rest in peace, 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:19.440 you know, looking at Raymond, looking at Leon, looking at you, 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:23.400 looking at Trarain, looking at Rob Parker, how he can 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:27.400 defend the ball ninety four feet. When I tell when 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:30.480 I talked to my son about that team, He's like, 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:37.320 were they really that good? Like you have? No? I did, 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:42.760 And then watching like a Leon Watson and his journey. 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:45.440 His parents never complained when he was in ten of 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.320 eleventh grade and wasn't playing twenty eight minutes of ball game. 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:54.320 I was just very observant of Coach West, his mannerisms, 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:59.080 his approach um as a coach. I've always watched the 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:01.720 practice uniform ms and even to this day, Chris, I 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:03.960 fold them up. Remember how Coach Wes would make you 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:06.080 give give you the uniform at the end of practice. 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.160 And I took a level of pride when I got 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:15.679 on staff to wipe the floors down two Coach can 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:19.080 I watch the uniforms? He you know, coach I could 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:23.800 watch like. I took a lot of pride in whatever 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:28.240 he needed me to do. I was there. Coach Duckett, 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:32.720 hey man here you need a top. Hey, the curl. 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:37.720 The curl is sweating out the back of the shirt. Coach. Coach. Yeah, 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:41.440 but I took a lot of pride and being an asset. 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.160 I never wanted to be looked at as a liability 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.919 or somebody was you know, somebody that was asking for something, 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:50.320 somebody to give me a hand out. I was never 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:55.200 about that, Um, and I was perfectly content with that. 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:57.920 You found your lane early in the game, and then 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:00.440 you just stayed in your lane, and and you excelled 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:04.040 in that lane. It's funny when you mentioned, uh, taking 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:07.840 pride and the little things associated with coaching and uniforms 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.679 and things like that. When I coached with the Truth 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:14.120 and with the Pumps, Um, two places you've been as well. 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:17.280 I took pride in watching the uniforms and putting extra 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:20.320 downy and fabric softeners and making sure that you I 0:18:20.359 --> 0:18:21.880 was on that, bro Like I'm like, I would take 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:24.040 pride in these kids uniforms because I wanted it to 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:26.480 look so sweet when they got it, that they felt 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:28.639 so good on and on it was soft. You know 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:31.159 it got on. They don't say I was on that too, 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:32.920 And I know we got that from coach And the 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.600 other thing too, was the sweeping of the floor that 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.600 you mentioned, Like, that's one of the most cathartic times 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:40.880 that you can have, especially when in an empty gym, 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.320 when it's just you and you hear the zinging of 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:45.800 the lights on and you're just thinking about today. You're 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:48.120 just going through that. Bro, I've had I've had those 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:50.919 same moments my brother, where I've been just taking taking 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:53.800 pride and sweeping and just treating it like some like 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:56.960 a whole sanctuary meditation type of thing. I think that 0:18:57.080 --> 0:19:00.760 that's directly from Coach West though, for sure. Yeah, absolutely. 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:03.719 I remember asking Coach once. I said, Coach, how can 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:05.919 you just sit there like that? You never get upset? 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:08.560 You know, It's like my first year coaching with him, 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:10.160 and I'll be there and my nerves to be shot. 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.320 Somebody didn't set the screen and you know, so and 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:16.680 so wasn't playing hard. I asked him that question once 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:21.119 and he said, Luca, you do your coaching and practice. 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:27.159 He said, if I'm up and I'm exerting all of 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:30.520 this energy, I don't never want to make my players 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:34.520 feel like I don't believe in them. I was like, oh, 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:39.800 he said, if I'm panicking and I'm exuberant. My players 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:42.320 may feel that I don't believe in their ability to 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:46.480 sustain this run, to come back to make in game 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:50.280 adjustments by themselves. And it made perfect sense to me 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:53.120 because I mean, you know, I played for coach Dennis, 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:55.439 so when he was yelling, or you know, when I 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:57.480 was playing with Tiny, you know, I was you know, 0:19:57.520 --> 0:19:59.600 as a kid. You know, Tiny yelled at you. You know, 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:04.200 you go getting nervous. But I remember Coach West saying that, 0:20:04.440 --> 0:20:11.160 and I I developed that saying disposition to really try 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:15.119 and maintain a level of poise in the midst of 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:19.800 the storm. In my last comment on that, I learned 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:26.480 something from Mr Christopher Josh Christopher's dad. Um, I'm coaching 0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:30.080 the truth. Uh sixteen, you were in the E y 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:34.560 b L. We're in peach Jawn. Um, we're playing against 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:38.080 no I'm coaching Kyle Supreme. We're playing against the Truth. 0:20:38.119 --> 0:20:41.159 But coach I'm coaching against jay Crow. Jack Crow had 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:45.920 Jayla Green and you know that roster. Right, they ran 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:52.679 out to six something, Chris, And I'm sitting there and 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:57.040 I'm watching them and we're just getting read right, and 0:20:57.160 --> 0:20:59.680 I can hear people behind me time out, time out, 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:06.000 time rout. And I heard Josh's dad over here. Everybody relaxed. 0:21:06.840 --> 0:21:11.679 It's just a game. Kids are gonna be fine. And 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:15.359 he calmed me down right, and I was, so we 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:17.400 made it the halftime. We end up cutting it back 0:21:17.440 --> 0:21:22.480 to eight. I never forgot that, so I stole it. 0:21:22.880 --> 0:21:24.960 You know, now you know when team is gonna run 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:29.879 in different things. Everybody relaxed, It's just a game. And 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:36.000 what happens is it brings the stress level down regarding 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:40.640 the players, because if they're up and you know they're unraveling, well, hell, 0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:44.000 they're not gonna be the best version of themselves. And 0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:48.159 and that's something that I really observed with with Coach West, 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:53.119 and you know, I tried to take on that same entree. Yes, 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:56.320 Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in 0:21:56.320 --> 0:21:59.320 the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:02.840 Radio Com and within the I Heart Radio app search 0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:06.679 f s R to listen live. Coach Willie West, you 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:10.679 know the the well he used to be the record 0:22:10.720 --> 0:22:13.919 holder for state championships, but I think Gary McKnight beat him. 0:22:13.920 --> 0:22:17.280 But eight state championship, sixteen city championships regarded as you know, 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:19.280 one of the greatest coaches in the history of high 0:22:19.320 --> 0:22:25.080 school basketball and basketball in general. Um, I felt like 0:22:25.840 --> 0:22:28.639 when Coach West was in practice, it was sort of 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:31.920 like his time to get everything out, so he would 0:22:31.920 --> 0:22:35.560 get everything that was bothering him, every issue that he 0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:38.520 had with anybody. On any little play, he was gonna 0:22:38.560 --> 0:22:40.840 bring it up. He's stopping practice, he's getting in you 0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:44.160 doing it. You know, he's yelling, he's making you, he's 0:22:44.200 --> 0:22:46.760 making you feel this small right, So that happens in practice. 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:50.080 We get into the game and I've and it was 0:22:50.119 --> 0:22:53.400 just the weirdest experience my first time playing a game 0:22:53.440 --> 0:22:55.720 from Coach West after having practiced. My first game is 0:22:55.800 --> 0:22:58.359 its Garfield and I was having a bad game my 0:22:58.440 --> 0:23:00.560 junior year. We're playing Garfield first day. You know, I've 0:23:00.600 --> 0:23:03.760 come from Monclare Prep. Luther had made the big transfer 0:23:03.840 --> 0:23:06.440 between my sophomore and my junior year. Everybody had said that, 0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:09.159 you know, he's only being successful because he's playing at 0:23:09.160 --> 0:23:11.359 a small school. So now here I am. It was 0:23:11.400 --> 0:23:13.000 a bunch of white people out of that school. Here 0:23:13.000 --> 0:23:14.720 I am going into the heart of the city at 0:23:14.760 --> 0:23:17.639 the Shaw. First game I get out there, I'm nervous. 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:19.679 I'm not making no shots. You know, I'm missing you know, 0:23:19.800 --> 0:23:22.400 easy jumpers and everything like that. Coach West. First time out, 0:23:22.440 --> 0:23:24.159 he comes over and I'm thinking he's about to scream 0:23:24.200 --> 0:23:25.679 and yell. So I'm thinking it's about to be that 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:28.040 coach and practice. He kind of he kind of looking 0:23:28.080 --> 0:23:30.320 at me, kind of gave me like this little smirk 0:23:30.680 --> 0:23:32.000 like come on, like when you go play like he 0:23:32.040 --> 0:23:33.000 just gave me like a look, and I was just 0:23:33.080 --> 0:23:35.080 kind of like, I'm running back, like thinking he's about 0:23:35.080 --> 0:23:37.040