WEBVTT - NBA Agent Todd Ramasar on Representing Baron Davis, Pascal Siakam and Negotiating Against Isiah Thomas 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:09.320 Hey what I'm welcome in. I'm done Godliba and this 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:13.800 is all ball. Um uh quick note, we are going 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:17.840 to have a summer league recap all ball for you 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:20.479 coming up. I have a litany of really good and 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:23.560 interesting guests and um, you know, we've we've diverged at 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:26.880 some point from always basketball. We had Maurice Clarette. If 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:29.320 you missed all three parts of that, it was pretty 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:32.560 amazing stuff. This week's all ball. I think you're really 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:36.519 gonna like because I love interesting, brilliant people, and I 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:39.520 really like people that love the sport that you love. 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:43.560 But also sometimes you're not good enough to always play 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:46.560 it right, but you can still find an incredible career 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:49.919 in it. Ty Tyder Amazar is an amazing story. Right. 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:52.640 Son of immigrants. He grew up for the most part 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:56.400 in um in Norco, California. He'll tell you what Norco 0:00:57.240 --> 0:00:59.480 was like forty years ago. But he grew up in 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:02.720 like kind of farm country just outside of Los Angeles, 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:05.240 really near Chino Hills where the Ball brothers grew up, 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.800 and became a very good basketball player. But even though 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:11.400 he had good grades, wasn't recruited a high level walked 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:12.840 on to U C l A got a scholar. Well, 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:16.119 I don't want to give away the whole story anyway, Um, 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:19.920 how do you become the youngest agent in NBA history? 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:23.720 How did he where the relationships come from? What are 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:26.600 his thoughts and agents running teams? What's it like to 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:29.840 get fired as a representative of a player? All of 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:32.919 that stuff is in here, plus some some awesome stories 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:35.840 about playing basketball at U c l A. All right, 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:37.800 I think you'll like it. By the way, if you 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.039 like my stuff, you can listen to dug Outlive Show 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:42.959 daily three to six Eastern twelve three Pacific on the 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:45.800 I Heart Radio app or on Fox Sports Radio dot 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:49.280 com or um. You can also download that podcast at 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:53.040 your at your discretion. All right, without further ado, here's 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:59.400 superstar agent Dodd ramazar Um. When you he became a 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:04.280 certified A twenty four years old, which sounds really young, 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:06.800 but I mean one of the things that's interesting about 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:08.920 your basketball life was you really young when you graduated 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:11.120 high school. Let's go back. Okay, so you grew up 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.360 in Norco. Now, for people who don't know where dorcoes, 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:17.560 it's really close to Chino Hills. But again we're talking 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:21.880 about Dorko twenty years ago, ago, years ago. Even now 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:25.480 you drive into Norco and it says Horse Country US. 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:31.360 That right. How does an immigrant family, um from the 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.240 West Indies, How did you guys make it? Yeah? So 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:36.640 I have an older brother, Dougie. He was born in 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:39.880 New York. My parents, Um, my parents are from two 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:43.600 different countries, Haiti and British Guyana. So they met in 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.120 New York. My dad was in the telephone company, my 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:49.320 mother was in a r N and uh my dad 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:53.160 got a transfer requests from the telephone company. So it 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:56.600 was either Florida or California. And I just found this 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:00.359 out recently from my mom. She had dreams a call Fornia. 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.720 She had never been so side unseen. She's like, We're 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:07.000 going to California. So we ended up in uh. You know, 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:09.359 I was born in Fullerton. We ended up you know, 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:11.720 I was born in Orange County. He lived in Orange 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.840 County until probably right before I was two years old, 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:18.040 and then we moved to uh. We moved to Norco 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:23.679 in nineteen I think nine. So as you mentioned with 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:26.200 you being from Testin, doug you know, you know, even 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:30.280 Anaheim Hills, that whole corridor area wasn't what it is 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:33.440 now or even twenty years ago. This is you know, 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:37.120 forty years ago almost. So it was more far you know, 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:43.280 farmland cattle, more of a Midwest field than anything else. Yeah. 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:46.600 Um so, so your love for basketball because you played 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.680 football and you're kind of a study at football early 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.320 on in high school. But was it because your your 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:56.560 brother played? Like what what drew you to basketball? Yeah? 0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:58.520 It was my It was my older brother. You know, 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:01.960 I got on the football because of my older cousin. 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:04.600 He was eight years older than me. This is back 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:07.360 when the Inland Empire didn't have too many high schools. 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:10.320 He played in Norco High School, which was was the 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:14.280 powerhouse high school Thatton Eisenhower in the Inland Empire before 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:18.239 Corona Centennial. So I was always playing with older guys, 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:21.000 my older brother, my older cousin in football. But when 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:23.360 my brother started playing basketball at the young age, I 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.040 just fell in love with it. And then, as you know, Doug. 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.760 For us growing up in southern California, the Lakers were hot. 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:32.080 So my idol was Magic. You know, you're you're you're 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:34.880 watching you're growing up in southern California. You know, the 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:38.440 Lakers were in what the finals, nine out of eleven 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:41.000 years or ten years. I mean, it's hard not to 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:45.080 love basketball. So that's where my affinity for the game grew. 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:48.440 And I would emulate. I would try to emulate magic 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:51.200 on the on the court. It is interesting, right that 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:55.000 your your first big client with Barrett, who's like, it's 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.080 just a mini magic, right, like a way more athletic magic. 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:00.760 That was that was you, Baron remind did everybody, I've 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.039 just disability to control a game. And the truth is 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:04.880 Baron's not really old enough. I mean, I know he 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:07.920 played against him at events Jim, so you know, but 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:11.000 not really old enough to have experienced the real magic. 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:15.400 There is an interesting kind of full circle to it. Okay, so, um, 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:18.440 you're playing high school basketball, but you went to j W. 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.800 North how fars And for people who don't know j W. 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:25.600 North is that's Reggie Miller right, No, no, no, Doug, 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:30.800 Reggie went to Riverside Riverside Poly. Sorry. Uh. Quincy Brewer 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:35.160 I think was the was right before you. He was 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:40.200 like a two three combo score. JDub always had dudes, right, 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:47.440 Benjamin what heym ballers right? Like that was in the 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:51.440 Empire was producing some dudes back then. Um Keith and 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:56.320 Horne was was he wasn't that for his diamond bar? Right? Yeah? 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:59.080 I remember you had you had I'll go through a 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.760 really quick one team. One team had four starters in 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:05.160 the Pac ten on it on that j W North 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:07.560 teams Quincy board. I went to a s U ed Grave. 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:10.680 I ended up at now Sonny Benjamin at Oregon State 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:14.120 and then Corey Benjamin as well, and then we were 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:18.400 all the generation right after. But they went to UH 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:23.320 eight finals, c IF Southern Section Finals in a row. Yeah, 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:29.840 Traylon Carmichael was right, Yeah, Sean, what happened to him? 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:32.480 He was? He was, I mean, we we have to 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:36.359 do where the world because Traylon Carmichael. I remember we 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:39.560 went to a B C. D and nineteen four and 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:41.760 he was three and he was on the team. We 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:43.280 had never heard of this dude and he was like 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:47.039 six four. It looks like a football player. He was asked. 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:50.120 He was billed deep dun dud the guy was, I 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:52.360 swear the guy was jumping off with two feet from 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:55.440 free throw line in games. It seems like uh and 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:59.440 him and Corey were him Coorey and and Jamal Slaughter 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:03.160 were team It's at Fontana after Corey transferred from North 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:07.880 but Talented team. Yeah, it was pretty legit back then. 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:14.400 Um okay, so so um what education? I was a 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.600 huge inner in your household? Now is that did your 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.680 parents come home and and you know make you do work? Like? 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:25.160 How was Why was education so such an important part 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.880 of your upgrade? I think, you know, I would say 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:31.400 this is probably the immigrant mentality overall. It's like, you know, 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:35.480 everyone I think that tends to immigrate to the US 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:37.560 is for a better way of life, not just for 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:40.560 themselves but for their kids. And so like you know, 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:44.160 like a lot of immigrant families is, hey, you're gonna 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:47.240 be a doctor or a lawyer. So you know, my 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:49.640 brothers or maybe or maybe if you're if you like 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.360 this Jewish families, doctor lawyer and if you get you 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:54.720 got nothing going for your account, give me to count 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:59.600 right exactly and and maybe that change are evolved. Now 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.520 I got I got some Indian buddies or they're like, yeah, Todd, 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.520 it was a doctor, attorney or engineer, and now it's 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:11.320 like okay, entertainment, entertainment, executive other things. But for us, 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:14.080 is that's that's the route we took. My brother's owns, 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:17.440 his own practice. He's a chiropractor. Technically, I guess you 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:21.120 could say a doctor. He went that route. I know, right, 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:25.040 I'm trying to him. Here's here's the here's the here's 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:28.320 the thing with Rotor Okay, is not a doctor. Doctor 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:31.920 is somebody gets sick on a plane. Okay, So as 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:33.760 somebody gets sick on a plane and he says, there 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:36.199 a doctor here, like chiropractors, Like, yeah, I got you right. 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:39.080 On the other hand, on the other hand, let's be 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:42.840 honest in terms of daily health and usefulness. Oh, when 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.760 you get a rib out or you're not right, there's 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.319 nobody in the world you'd rather have than a chiropractor, 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:52.720 like on your on yourself beauty of having a chiropractor 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:54.400 in the family. You wake up with the stiff knacker 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:56.920 has been a long road trip, ten minutes away, I 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:02.200 go see him, okay. And then for me, it was 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:04.319 you know, I went to I ended up leaving law 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.240 school when I went to I went to law school. 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.160 That was it was kind of you know, for me, 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:11.080 that was the path I was going to pursue, but 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:15.040 not used my law degree to be say just a 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:18.559 traditional uh lawyer from the sense of you know, corporate 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:22.000 law or something like that. It was always in pursuing 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:26.680 sports as an agent. So, um, take me through the 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:28.679 decision to go to u c l A. What was 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:32.520 what was it like? This is still Herrick right. They 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:35.360 were they were rolling. I mean I would me, I'm 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:39.560 the year before and and I turned them down and 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:44.200 they take Brandon oh Man, what's the kid's name? He 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:49.440 was from Oklahoma? You know, uh Man, Brandon? What's the 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:51.760 news thing? He was a sophomore when you're a freshman. 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:54.920 We had Far, we had Far, we had Farnham, we 0:09:55.000 --> 0:10:06.319 had back would from so so they so Stephon Marbury 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:09.280 was the guy everybody wanted, and I was like the 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:12.080 fallback guy. And my sister was a cheerlier there. A 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:14.920 brother went there, and then I turned down. I go 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:17.240 to Notre Dame and then they win the national championship. 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:19.640 I'm sitting there like, are you kidding me? Right? Like 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:21.520 I love U c l A Basketball, they win the 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:24.680 national championship? What what went into your decision to go there? 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:27.720 I mean it was just that Like for me, it 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:29.839 was a dream. If you for me growing up playing 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:31.800 football and basketball. If I was playing football, I was 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:35.000 going to USC You know, that's just what it is. 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:38.840 And uh, for basketball, my dream since I was playing 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.080 that growing up, it was to go to U C. 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.440 L A. And then so because I satisfied both things. 0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:48.040 It was always athletics, academics. Both schools are great, right, 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:50.960 I'm proud to be a Brewing and it was it 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.480 was it was a natural choice for me. But you know, 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:56.000 I I checked into school Duck so young. I was seventeen. 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:59.240 I was a late wimmer, the top one hundred. I 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:01.800 ended up king on because I got turned down some 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:04.439 other schools. Like that was my dream. Plus I was competitive. 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:06.800 I thought I could, Uh, I could walk on and 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:09.720 earned a scholarship, which I did, And I just wanted 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:11.640 to be part of the special class with you know 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.280 that class out of Southern California. I think we could 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.720 argue might have been one of the most talented classes 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:22.080 in Southern California, right, Chris Burgess, Baron Davis. Uh, you 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:27.079 know Shaye Cotton, Kenny Bruner, um, the Collins Twins. I 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:30.040 mean you don't like look you go back to I 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:34.320 think it's there was a class with Tracy Murray, Don 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:41.079 McLean Um. Uh, I think that was Sean Mills. What 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:45.480 was in that class? As well, Um, who else was 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.840 who else was in that? Chris Mills, I mean Chris Mills, 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:52.560 Chris Mills, Derek Martin, like they were all like staying class. 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:54.640 That was I think Adam keep was that class together, 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:58.760 a crazy class. Then my junior year, which is I 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:00.600 actually I was a late little or so I stayed 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:02.679 back in eighth grade. So you're seven team in you 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:04.959 graduated high post nine team when I graduate high school. 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:08.880 But but ninety four had a couple of your teammates 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:14.960 Chris Johnson, Jared Henderson, right, Toby Toby Bailey, um had 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:19.240 Miles Simon and had uh god you go through it 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:26.920 was that was awesome. My teammate Cameron Murray h Tracy's brother, 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:29.080 Tracy's brother as well. Like there's there's been some really 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:32.160 really so okay, So when you first get there as 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:34.640 a walk on, but you're like a recruited walk on, 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:37.360 you're not like a dude. And my brother went there 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:40.880 to walk on. Herrick helped him get in and then um, 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:45.920 uh Lou Lou Roe beat Lulu Uh what's his name? 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:48.000 He He end up transferring to Clemson and playing and 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:53.679 now he's coach at Northern California yeah, well and like 0:12:53.880 --> 0:12:55.840 nobody knew he was showed up and kicked his ass 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:57.720 to tryouts and Greg was like, I didn't make a team, 0:12:57.760 --> 0:12:59.520 so it was better than me. And he goes on 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:04.240 and starts at Clemson. So so when did Herrick give 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:09.040 you a scholarship? So Herrick got fired? So my freshman 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:12.240 year laugh, that was Lab. We were LABS first recruiting class, right, 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:16.720 so we were all recruited by Romar Herrick laugh. And 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:19.520 then then that that was junior year. By senior year 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:21.640 and the time we were checking in is when all 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:24.920 that all that happened and Herrick was no longer there. 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:27.679 Romar had left and laughed as head coach. So we 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:32.160 were They componed Eric, they componed him, they got him, 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:34.800 They got a expense receipts. Come on, man, they go 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.040 anywhere else in the country. That that that's a flyer, 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:43.920 Like that's that's a that's a give come on, come on. Okay, 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.880 So so you're you're a freshman, what do you remember 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:49.720 about how it went down? So for people who don't 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:54.600 have forgotten, Okay, when they signed Barron, they did some 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:58.640 I mean frankly, some crazy stupid ship right like his 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.640 his sister worked in the bast Ball office and Herrick's 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:06.640 son sold him as like Chevy Blazer, I like, I 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:08.599 don't even and and it was front page of the 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:10.600 l A Times and really was a bunch of other 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:13.440 little stuff. And then they like found the expense report 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:16.400 Steele and they But what was it like for you? 0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:19.520 Like here you are seventeen year old kid from Riverside, 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:22.000 walk On trying to make it and all the stuff 0:14:22.040 --> 0:14:24.080 goes down, there's a coaching change. What do you remember 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:28.520 about that time? Lab was my lead recruiter. So it 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.080 wasn't I didn't get caught up, to be honest in 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:33.320 any of it. It was just Lab. Still. You know, 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:37.960 Harry got fired Lab coach the year prior in which 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:41.000 they went to the lead eight. I want to say, 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:43.360 Johnny went down with an injury to a stern. Hum, 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:47.120 there's another one. McCoy. He was nice, yeah, yeah, So 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:49.960 you know, coming in it's like their freend, you know 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:52.080 for us as a fresh off the championship. In some 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:54.920 ways in Nive they made the run the year before. 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:57.240 We're coming in with the number one recruiting class, you know, 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:01.760 Shae Cotton Baron, Earl Wattson, Rico Hins Moose had just transferred. 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:04.600 You know, I'm walking on and I'm I'm seven, you know, 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:08.160 ranked seventy five in the country, and you know, Billy Night, 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:11.440 Travis Reid, we were loaded. So there was nothing but excitement. 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:14.200 I wasn't even thinking about that. And then, as you know, Doug, 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:17.520 you going into the men's gym, playing against Magic and 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:19.880 uh and doing the summer program. It was a dream 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:22.920 come true. I didn't think twice about it. Fox Sports 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:25.640 Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.920 Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.960 com and within the I Heart Radio app search f 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:36.360 s R to listen live. So you get there, Um 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:40.320 when did when did lad give you I'm going into 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:45.400 my sophomore year. What was that conversation like with your parents? Um? Oh, 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.640 they were a static they you know, because I really 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:49.640 put in a lot of work between my freshman and 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:53.400 sophomore year, and you know, freshman year is an adjustment, 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:55.840 you know, as you said, you know, coming in a seventeen. 0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:58.880 You know, the seniors were all the guys that won 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:03.400 the championship as freshman, Toby j R. Chris Johnson and 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:06.480 of course Julie McCoy was there, and Brandon Lloyd, and 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:08.400 then you got all these guys coming from all over 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:11.680 the country, Rico's coming from hard Grave and St. John's 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:15.240 prospect called Barons there Earl, you know, so it was 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.760 a diverse competitive group. I think we walked away bloodied 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.000 every day in practice. So for me, it was great. 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.680 You know, I can't say I was surprised because that 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:27.640 was a goal, but it was great to at least 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:31.640 take that burden and and hit that accomplishment of earning 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.440 that scholarship at u c l A. Okay, here's one 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:36.200 of the things that I always found to be interested, 0:16:36.200 --> 0:16:39.440 So that the national champion team had like eleven dudes 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:41.720 that played me. It was like something crazy terms of 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:44.560 number of dudes that played the NBA, right, like everybody 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:47.200 I mean, and honestly, Chris Johnson didn't play. But if 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:51.440 Chris Johnson was now like guys are stretching guys a 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.840 small ball four or five, unbelieving some perfect, perfect guy, right, 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:59.840 So unbelievable talented team wins the national chance if you 0:16:59.840 --> 0:17:01.880 got I just had, dude. But and if you would 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.560 have walked in that locker room and asked how many 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:06.920 you guys are going to the NBA. Everybody would have 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:10.720 raised their hands, right, everyone wended in your mind, you 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:18.040 think like, hey, agent, it was probably my my, It 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:23.760 was probably my I would say going into my sophomore year. Actually, 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.120 you know, I take that back. If I had to revisit, 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:30.040 it's probably my sophomore year I ended up starting. But 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.240 you know, we we have the number one recruiting class 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:36.119 coming in night, followed by another number one recruiting class, 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:39.840 Matt Barnes, Geron Rush, Ray Young, Dan Gazer, Restore Moiso. 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:44.440 I mean they were loaded, dude. Yeah, So coming in, 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:47.440 putting in all that work, starting for a game or two, 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:50.679 and then not seeing the court until the end of 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:54.119 my sophomore year in like sporadic minutes, it was like, no, 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:56.520 that was a reality check. You know. I thought about 0:17:56.600 --> 0:17:58.640 transferring and everything, but I was like, you know what, 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.159 why am I trans for? Yeah, I could play, but 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:03.080 getting this degree from u C l A. I know 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:05.359 I'm gonna be in southern California, and I knew I 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:07.560 wanted to go to grad school. So at the end 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:09.880 of that sophomore years, when I started working for arm 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:12.720 telling bearing him left Gon Pro, all the U C. 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.640 L A guys were assigning with Arn at the time, 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.280 which was telling the associates, and then that was my 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:22.200 segue into the business. At nineteen, I got so many things, gosh, 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:24.320 and just so much stuff. Okay, I would make that. 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:27.840 I'd make the case Barn towards a c L on 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:32.159 a filthy crossover dunks on the dude um in in 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:34.959 the n c A tournament. Um, I know we were 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:37.320 in the same region. I saw it. I think we're 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:42.000 in saving I saw it happen and um, which but 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:46.479 do you that was still there. I've never seen somebody 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:48.840 tear their a c L on a more nasty play 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:52.000 than that. That was. I tell people all the time 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.040 that was when he was when he landed, or when 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.840 he jumped. He jumped so high, Doug and I was 0:18:56.880 --> 0:18:59.600 looking down the court. He jumped so high his head 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.719 was the rim eye level. He pulled himself up with 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:05.439 his momentum. I don't think Baron knew how high he was. 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:08.040 So it was on the landing. He put all that weight, 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:11.920 all his weight on one one leg when he landed, 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:16.639 and that's what made it pops. It's interesting he doesn't 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:18.480 like me. I still don't know why. We haven't ever 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:20.760 had wept chopping up at some point in time. It's 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:25.320 interesting because my because my my dad was like when 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.639 I because that the year before he when he was 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:31.200 a senior, I was sitting out after transfer from Notre Dame, 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:34.000 and they basically like, look we get Baron, We're gonna 0:19:34.040 --> 0:19:36.560 take Baron and if not, and I was like people's 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:40.399 second choice, Georgia Tech's second choice, Kansas. I was somewhere 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:44.120 down the line or whatever anyway, but my dad was like, look, 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.160 that's the best high school point guard I've ever seen. 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:50.040 He used to Gilanni Gardner used to be the guy 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:52.200 that he thought was the next Man Johnson. And then 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:55.800 he was like, Baron's the best I've ever seen. Um, 0:19:55.880 --> 0:19:59.720 he still had a very very good career, very good career. 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.880 What would he have been like had he not Doug. 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:08.240 I think baroness was such if you really revisit that, 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:13.240 you know, and that's our generation when he when he 0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:15.960 tore it, that was still at a time when the 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:19.080 A c L surgery, like the procedure it could go 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:22.040 either way like it was. It wasn't like now we're 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.680 you come back stronger. So we were right there where 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:29.159 like you know Baron tears it in March. He was 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:31.680 back playing by the end of that same year. That's 0:20:31.800 --> 0:20:34.560 the type of freaky was a lot of people don't 0:20:34.560 --> 0:20:37.920 know this. Kobe would come to our practices the following year, 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:40.480 Baron wasn't clear to play. Him and Kobe are playing 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:43.239 one on one on the sideline and Baron's wearing this 0:20:43.800 --> 0:20:48.040 huge knee brace. So I don't honestly if he if 0:20:48.040 --> 0:20:50.840 he doesn't tear it, I think he's still the same player. 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:54.520 Maybe maybe he's the number one player because maybe we 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:57.960 continue going on in in March. But that sophomore year, 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:01.159 he comes back and he's healthy, you know, and he 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:04.440 was a highlight reel. It still goes number three. Well 0:21:04.440 --> 0:21:06.439 what I so if you remember his first game back 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:08.000 to play against US, I got thrown out of the 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:12.440 game and halftime whatever. He flopped into a technical foul. 0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:14.560 But he wasn't he wasn't moving right yet you're still 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:18.600 heavy and he had that brace. And that that month 0:21:18.720 --> 0:21:24.480 was December, right, that was November. That was December. Yeah. Yeah, 0:21:24.520 --> 0:21:27.760 if you think about that, that's only eight months after 0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:32.240 the injury. Yeah, nine months. Yeah, that's crazy even in 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:35.720 today's standards. I'm Thomas Bryant had towards a c L 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:38.680 and you know it's eleven to twelve months until they're 0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:42.720 you know, he's fully back, is what they're protecting. Don't 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:44.600 tell me that I tore mine like two months ago. 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:47.720 I just got my surgery two weeks ago. But I'm 0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:49.119 too old to make it. I'm too old to make 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:51.760 a real cup. But my goal is my goal is 0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:55.439 to play basketball and tennis next summer. That's my personal 0:21:55.800 --> 0:21:58.479 personal Okay. So so you're in your mind, you're like, 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:02.840 I mean between Arntell him and I don't know how 0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:05.960 Big Wasserman was at that time as well, Like you're 0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:10.879 in l A u c A basketball super hot. Um, 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:15.680