WEBVTT - KJ Live - Donminic Ellison 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 --> 0:00:20.680 entertainment and a strange now here's Chris Johnson. You're now 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:24.319 tuned in to kJ Live. Today's guests on the show. 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.639 Is a graduate of Morningside High School and played for 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.319 one of the greatest basketball team in the history of 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:34.199 southern California. He also played at a high level at 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:37.239 Washington State, then on to Mexico State, and ended up 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:40.960 playing pro for a few years in Israel, Austria and 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:44.560 other countries. Let's welcome in Dominic Ellison to the show. 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:48.320 What's up down Man? Thank you for having me brother. 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:51.959 Everything is good, man, every everything is great. Bro. It's 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:55.640 been a while since we've connected, bro Um. I talked 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:59.640 to Stacey Bozeman, your high school teammate, your boy a 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:01.360 few it's back. He was on the show, Man, so 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:03.080 it was great to catch up with him. You actually 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:06.560 came up on the podcast. It's nice to finally reconnect. 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.000 Just got the news man l a Times front page. 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:14.200 Your name, the head coach of your alma mater, the 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:18.240 legendary Morningside High School. Talk about what that means to 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:22.039 you and what your mission is at morning Side that 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:26.160 you know, it's it's all about the mission, um, you know, 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:30.000 and obviously it means a lot to me personally because 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:33.760 you know it's it's rooted. Uh you know, I mean 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:37.840 it's here. Uh. I was there, Um, you know, I 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:41.320 was one of these young men trying to make it. Um. 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:45.080 So my my, my admission, my initial and the most 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:49.440 important mission here is giving back to the kids and 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.880 and helping them with that same opportunity that was kind 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.279 of bleak for me. You know, hopefully I can bridge 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:59.720 that gap between what they don't know, you know now 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:03.400 and what's ahead of them in the future. So, um, 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:05.440 you know that's the main mission. The main mission is 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:09.760 all given back. You know. It isn't about anything else, um, 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.079 but to help these young men and women and student 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:17.560 athletes you know, achieves to achieve their goal stair dreams. 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:20.720 You know, this is solely about that. And then and 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.799 on top of that, you know, going back home where 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:28.440 it all started for me is really the magic. Yeah. Yeah, 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:33.960 I mean it has to be special Man Morningside. Throughout history, 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:37.520 so thirty forty fifty sixty years has always been regarded 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:40.200 as as one of the top programs. My old college coach, 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:42.600 Jim Herrick used to coach at Morning Side. A lot 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:44.080 of people don't even know that. Back in the day, 0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:46.200 they were number one in the country, Jackie Robinson, all 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:48.639 kind of dudes, and so a lot of people don't 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:50.720 know that. And then we fast forward and I'm sure 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:52.600 there was guys in the seventies and eighties that I'm 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:54.919 missing out. But but the era that I remember most 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:59.400 vividly was your era when the you guys had two movies, 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:01.760 the Morningside of five. But Hardwood Dreams was the first 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:06.760 one that came out right or yeah, so so so 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:13.000 Hardwood Dreams number one, Um, happened in ninety three and 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:16.800 ninety three. We had just won the state in ninety two, 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:19.880 brought some attention, and in ninety three they came and 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:24.240 grabbed the story. Um that was Hardwood Dreams one. And 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.320 I'm really close to the producers now after all of this, 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.840 and uh uh tall as as Mike Tallers as producer, 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:33.280 he actually did the Georgan story and you know, did 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.080 all kind of crazy good stuff. So he's a good 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:38.120 friend of mine. Um. He he had this idea of 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:41.480 doing it every ten years and he learned this from 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:44.480 you know, you know, you know, a predecessor he you know, 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.440 so he does it every ten years. He came and 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:49.920 you know around when we were twenty seven years old, 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:51.880 you know I did the first one were seventeen and 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:55.920 twenty seven, so that was Hardwood Dreams Number two. And 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:58.880 then you know, we were like around thirty seven years 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:03.280 old is when and the Morning Stide five show came 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:07.280 out on ESPN and stuff like that. Um so it's 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:11.760 been it's been like thirty years of that particular production 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:14.960 following you know, you know, and it originally it was 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.360 Spike TV, and then Fox picked it up and then 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:22.880 now ESPN picked it up. So, um there's some momentum 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:26.160 there for the program for the community. Obviously they're interested 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:29.800 in continuing that story now because I'm you know, organically 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:35.240 turning forty seven pretty soon here. So that's the ten 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:39.560 years later after that, and it could be a special 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:43.960 story you know, landing the job and uh, you know, 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.320 continuing the legacy of like you were talking about guys 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:51.640 like Jim Eric Um, guys like Carl Franklin, um, and 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:55.000 then like a guy like me comes along. Um So, 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:57.719 so it could be a good story. And to touch 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:01.040 your point on Jim Herrick man, Um, you know, he 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.600 recruited me because he was a coach. He recruited me, 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:08.840 and I had really no idea that he was connected 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.080 to the school and it could have been a story 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:14.240 at that point. I had no idea kind of you know, 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.800 piggyback that you're saying, like not many guys know, Jim 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:22.080 Hereck wasn't what it was today. You know, demographic different, 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:24.320 it was culturally different back in the deaths that it 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:30.120 was different. Um. So Jim Herrick technically in my in 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:33.719 my lifetime, in my readings, he put Morning Side on 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:37.760 the map. Um. What people fail to realize is he 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:41.840 had Morning Side having the number one team in the nation. 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.560 I think they wanted like a forty five forty five 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:49.719 game winning streak in the seventies UM, which obviously propelled 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:56.000 his career. And then Carl Franklin Um basically came in 0:05:56.040 --> 0:06:00.400 after Jim Herrick, and Carl had guys like Byron Stard 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:04.520 and Elden Campbell Um. And then he coached obviously stay 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.200 sposed men and myself and Dwight Curry and the whole 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:10.600 Morning Side five and Corey and Sean. Um he had 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.880 all of us for for twenty he was there for 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:17.080 twenty thirty years. Um, So these are two guys that 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:20.640 has like, really did some good things at the school 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:23.760 and put them put the put the school on the map. Um. 0:06:23.839 --> 0:06:25.520 And now it's my turn to see what I can 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:27.160 do on the program. You know, put my put my 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:30.640 print on the food program. So absolutely, man, I appreciate 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.719 that you're giving us that breakdown. Playing for coach Herrick 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:36.400 at u c l A. He would always bring up 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:40.159 Morningside High School. You always say, Johnson, I bet you 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.520 didn't know how coached that Morningside. I say what He's like, 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:48.000 we were number one in the country, And I say what, coach? 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.760 You want to know what? No one knows that I mean, 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:56.160 removed a little bit from the nown generation. Um, they 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:58.440 don't know who the morning Side five some of these 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:01.800 kids now And I'm walking up Empis. Um. You know 0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:04.880 they don't know. I mean. So I'm here to bring 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:08.040 that back and bring that energy back and re established 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:13.000 that culture back to where it all began. Your childhood. 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:16.240 I know your Inglewood guy. Were you born and raised 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:18.360 in Inglewood? Where were you were part of the city 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:22.360 of Inglewood where you born. So on paper, I was 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:26.800 born in Los Angeles, but my my family lived and 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:28.920 what they had with what they call, you know, the 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:33.040 lower bottoms at the bottoms bottoms right for boys in 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:35.960 the hood was shot and all that. So I was 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:40.440 basically kind of born I was. I was created on Lawrence, 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:43.160 which is in the bottoms, but basically born in born 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:45.640 in Los Angeles, but I was born in Ray. I 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:50.200 was raised, I say, in Inglewood, you know, with q Um. 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:53.040 Then went to Lane, you know, and then I did. 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:57.720 I did hearthor in high school for my first two 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:02.560 years because you know, just like the movie like Lorn 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:05.400 and Side was just too much for moms and dad 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:07.320 to be like, yo, you're gonna go over there, You're 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:10.160 gonna get into trouble. So I had to Um. They 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:12.640 wanted some diversity, you know, obviously, So I went to 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.480 more Haartthorn High School for my first two years ninth 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:20.040 and Tim gray Um played ball there and then um, 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:24.240 you know, so ironically we played Hawthorn played morning Side 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.720 and that big Las Vegas tournament way back in the day, 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.680 and they were we were down by thirty at half 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:33.440 and I was playing against Stace Bows man, all my 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:37.040 friends were over there, all the other four were over there, 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:39.839 and I'm just like, you know, dude, I'm like, we're 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.040 down thirty and uh. We end up losing that game 0:08:43.080 --> 0:08:45.800 by one. But to make a long story short, that 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:49.120 next season, I was like my dad, I gotta go 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:52.520 to Morningside, like this is this is basketball? Like did 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:54.560 you see there was Ali? You've been on us? And 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.160 I had to go there. And then um, for the 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:00.640 next season, I went there. We ended up winning it's championship, 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:04.440 state championship. UM, and I kind of sort of propelled, 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:06.559 you know, a lot of my stuff. So I went 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:08.800 to ben Acute in morning side, excuse me, Hawthorne in 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.920 morning side. And then after that, um, you know, I 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:15.760 earned a scholarship to play for Kelvin Samson at Washington State. 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:19.200 Let's stay on morning Stide for a second. I had 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:21.520 a couple of questions about your experience there. When when 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:24.559 we want to set the stage so that our audience, 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:28.480 my audience can understand what the climate of high school 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:34.000 was like in early nineties Los Angeles. For me, I 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:36.920 was a Cresshaw, So first to start off my clear prep. 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:40.480 Then my dad had this genius idea after my sophomore year, 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:42.360 We're living in bell Air Dome. He's talking about, Man, 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:43.600 you need to go to Cridshaw if you want to 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:46.400 get recruited by d one because back because back then, 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:49.600 don you remember small schools we didn't have that didn't 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:52.439 have their respect. Nowadays, you can go high level. You 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:54.280 can go straight to the league out of a small school. 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:57.319 Back then, folks used to look at your level of competition. 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:00.600 So Pops was like, Yo, go to cremon shop. So 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:03.480 you know, I wasn't really tripping, but I was kind 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:06.600 of like, yeah, what's up with this? What was more inside? 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:09.760 Like around the same time pressure, we had metal detectors 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:12.560 on the way in bro we getting padded down. Hey man, 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:17.000 I mean I would say that we were on the 0:10:17.040 --> 0:10:20.840 other side, literally right on the other side of Crenshaw. 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:24.560 It was the same exact thing going on, Like, you know, 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:29.280 you couldn't enter the game without law enforcement with metal detectives. 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:34.400 It was serious. Um you know, um um. You know, 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:36.880 off the court had a lot to do with you 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:41.360 even making it too protice and and you know, we 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.440 were just different. We were tougher. It was a little 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:45.280 bit different. I mean, I don't even think so we 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:47.440 were toughered in. I feel like some of the children 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.400 are today, but our dads and it was even tougher 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:54.319 than us, you know what I'm trying to say here, Um, 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:56.400 you know, it was a different era, man, it was. 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:59.120 It was a lot. It was a lot more distractions 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:04.120 with as um, with survival in the inner city, which 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:07.679 is you know, you know they used the word bullying today, 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:11.960 like I mean, what like it wasn't that was the 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:14.280 way And that's what I tell folks about today, like 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.560 how this bullying stuff? I like, Man, I wish I 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:21.640 would have grew up. Ma, just just you wake up, 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:24.280 you're walking out the house and somebody gonna say something 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:26.199 to you that could be considered bullying. But you had 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:29.160 to have thick skin and know how to respond. It 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:33.280 was you had to mature really fast and control your emotions. Okay, 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:37.240 emotions intact. You know, you have to understand the psychological 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:39.640 part of what's going on here, and you have to 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.640 make a decision whether you whether you was gonna go 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:47.760 that way or not. The support systems from your pops, 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:51.559 you know, Marcus and all of our pops, the bailies, 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:56.839 you know, the el our our our support system had 0:11:56.880 --> 0:12:01.680 to be extremely strong first to go. And we dabbled, 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.719 all of us, we all kind of we all kind 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:06.600 of broke a window or we all kind of like 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:09.800 grabbed the pistol or thought about it like okay, way, 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:12.960 way wait. You know, I gotta make a decision. Um. 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:16.360 But those support systems, you know, it was in place 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:19.280 for us, and we were fortunately a lot of kids 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:23.040 didn't have some of those support systems, and they drifted, um, 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.080 and they drifted too far, you know what I mean. 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:29.600 So that the challenges then, like you're talking about, you know, 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.040 I mean, you know, on the campus of morning Side 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:35.400 and no offense take morning Side because I'm I'm representing 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:37.559 morning Side. I mean, it was like a little yard 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:40.079 for a minute. You know, you have to you have 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.040 to you know, you don't don't walk that way and 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:46.560 don't look that way. Um. You know, you just look 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:48.680 straight and you go to practice and you just stay 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:51.880 out of that kind of stuff. Um. These days that 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:55.120 kids have their different challenges, you know, social media and 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:59.439 you know, you know, being you know, extrovert or whatever 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.120 the whatever they're into now, it's different. They have different 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:04.520 stuff to think about. When we were in when we 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:07.240 were in school, you know, we had to focus on 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:12.840 something to not focus on something, which was the other stuff. Um, 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:16.560 you know, gangs, drugs, get you in school. All that 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:20.400 was was was prevalent. And uh, we all had an outlet. 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:23.080 If we didn't have that outlet of bouncing the basketball 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:27.200 and that support system connected, we probably would have drifted 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:31.400 as well. So you know, uh, kudos kudos to the 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:37.000 support systems. And on that topic of support systems, um, 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:41.079 the Bailey's and the Murray's and all these fathers and 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:43.720 name my dad, everybody that you mentioned, they kind of 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:47.839 kept us in check. But it was almost by It 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:49.920 wasn't a direct keeping you in check, but it was 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.640 just like you just had these people that had expectations 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:55.440 of you, and so you knew like, you know, you 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:57.880 saw Mr Murray, next time you saw him, you wanted 0:13:57.880 --> 0:13:59.320 to be, you know, in better shape than it was 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:01.120 there or you wanted to look better and you know 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:04.920 Mr o'bannitt whoever. It was like these were people that 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.360 you actually I would leave and think about because they 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:13.120 were affecting my life. I feel like it's gotten away 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:16.280 from that a little bit. I feel like people nowadays 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:18.080 and I don't want to get too deep into this topic. 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.960 But to people nowadays, they take you know, you have 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:24.120 your your own little unit of support and that's it. 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:26.840 They're messing with these guys dad. They're messing with this 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:28.560 guy dad because his dad might be trying to get 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:30.480 him to play on my team and all this other stuff. 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:36.080 So politics, it's different. It came too far down and 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.600 it's like, you know, it's like the NBA at the 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:42.760 sixth grade level already. And you know what I mean, 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:46.320 Uh it is it's like a statue grab and what 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.480 I want to preach and what I'm trying to do, 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:51.440 and I gotta leave by example right because I'm I'm 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:54.720 I'm getting into this deep and I'm putting you know, 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.680 my name, my reputation, things I've built on the line 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.760 because I want to make some changes. You know, until 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:07.160 we understand that aligning ourselves together as mentors, as colleagues 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:11.160 and not trying to take from one another, we can 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:17.000 build these communities back up. But if we are fighting 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:22.600 and um not being transparent and not trusting one another, 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:26.880 and we can't expect our next generations to be any 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:30.480 better than what we're doing, you know. And I'm getting 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.000 into mentoring. I'm getting into tutoring. I'm getting into like 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:37.200 community activist stuff because you know, you know, it's my 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:40.880 time and if I can use my small name or 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:43.920 voice in the community, let's do it. And things like 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:48.000 this help, right, because we can reach populations. But until 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:52.080 we men together in these communities, were colleagues, we're brothers, 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:56.440 we've been doing this. Let's let's let's try to come 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:58.600 together and align ourselves and not trying to you know, 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.080 app siadey and do siad Uh. Let's tell the truth. 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:04.240 Let's let's let's work on it. Let's be perfectly productive, 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:08.160 um and uh. And that's kind of how we change 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:12.160 this stuff. So, you know, Fox Sports Radio has the 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:15.120 best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:18.680 our shows at Fox sports Radio dot com and within 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:21.160 the I Heart Radio app search f s R to 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:26.360 listen live. I think also Dom is just realizing how 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:29.920 our power or our influence or and not being cocky 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.120 about it or anything like that, but understanding that we 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:35.960 we do affect how this next generation sees things, thinks 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.520 about stuff. They're looking to us for, you know, guidance 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.880 at times, and so being a mentor takes a lot 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.280 of there's a lot of responsibility associated with that. But 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:49.760 I feel like as as guys like us basketball players 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.040 that grew up in certain type of situations, we know 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.720 all the right things to do now. Whether or not 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:58.160 we've done them as a whole another story, But tell 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:01.840 you what we know facts, We know what to tell 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.240 these kids. We know what to tell them to keep 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:10.040 them on the right track. And I'm very uh, I'm proud, 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:14.560 uh pleased to hear that you're taking it upon yourself 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:19.840 to give back because you had a career in business 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:21.159 that I need you to just kind of talk to 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:23.440 us about you for last ten fifteen years you're working 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:26.040 in the business space. Talk a little bit about how 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.919 what made you decide to transition from the corporate America 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:34.280 in the high school basketball coaching. You know, that's a 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:38.800 that's a really good and touchy subject. Number one. You know, 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:42.960 you know, as a sports athlete and as a professional athlete, 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:47.160 we all have these like dreams. These dreams, dreams don't 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:50.800 really die, right, they just stay in alive. And you know, 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:55.040 one of my dreams was to always be able to 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:59.200 like run my own business because you know, coming from 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:01.919 the inner city, you know, one of the things you 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:05.480 you you kind of you know you internalized is like yo, 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:07.800 you know, you know if I sit at the top 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:10.360 I have to make, maybe I can make the most money. 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:13.080 You know. It kind of just just straight ahead with that, 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:16.480 right Like so it's like, you know, being a basketball 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:18.920 player and we didn't make half the money. We didn't 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:20.760 have an opportunity to make half the money that these 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:23.280 guys are making the day and and when your dad 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:25.400 and all that was playing, I mean it was a fraction. 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:28.919 So you still have this dream about being successful. And 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:32.000 with that it's like fame and like being good at something, 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:33.760 you know, making a little bit of money, you know, 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.439 put your legacy on any on something. And I always 0:18:36.440 --> 0:18:39.840 wanted to do that. So you know, when I decided 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:44.000 to unlace my shoes, and at twenty seven years old, 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:46.560 I did a little earlier than a lot of people. 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:49.000 You know. My last season, I was like, you know, 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.560 I wanted to make them and I thought that the 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.440 path was going overseas are playing in the C B 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:59.440 A A B A uh, you know, workouts, individual private workouts, 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.359 whatever was going going on, you know, whether it be 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:03.560 with the Clippers or the Jazz. We had all these 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.600 runs and I thought about it and I said, you know, 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:10.400 every summer I had come back, I really don't have 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:14.080 anything solid, you know, I have to wait till August 0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:18.640 to see what where this thing takes me. Every year 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:20.679 I was like, I don't know. Myns would say, what 0:19:20.680 --> 0:19:22.800 are you gonna do next year? I'm like, I don't know. 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:26.200 I'm actually waiting for a call, right, We're all waiting 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:31.600 for that call. And that call comes in and you 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:35.560 may not like that first call, but you don't know 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.080 if there's a second or third call, and you have 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:41.359 to make that decision. Facts they might be leaving at 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:43.359 six in the morning the next damn day and I 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:46.640 don't have it. I can't even say bye to anybody. 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:50.640 So that kind of started to dwell on. You know, hey, 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.640 I need some security in life. I started to mentally 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:55.440 mature a little bit, and I said, you know what 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:58.720 I wanna. I want to switch gears. And it's very 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:05.800 difficult to switch gears basketball to business. And it took 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:09.600 some grind because it really really really challenged me mentally. 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:13.720 It actually it actually helped me to how I, you know, 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:15.840 to figure out who I am because we all got 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:19.520 to figure that out, right. And I went back and 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:21.920 got my undergrad because I thought I was making a 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:24.679 basketball It was a few credits short and New Mexico 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.880 statement back finished that in two thousand and five, and 0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:30.879 then I said, you know, I gotta I gotta find 0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:33.600 some substantial what is that you know, and start research 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:37.879 and stuff, which is the hardest part coming from you know, 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:41.879 no experience, no job, the whole new industry. It's a 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:43.720 whole new industry. You don't even know what time it is. 0:20:43.760 --> 0:20:46.280 You gotta find out everything from scratch, bro, you gotta 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:48.520 learn it. All. People are asking me what are you 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:49.879 gonna do? And I'm like, I don't even know what 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:52.200 I can do, Chris, I don't know. I don't even 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:55.680 know what these job titles mean, you know, to be 0:20:55.720 --> 0:21:01.360 a director of operations, Like what does that mean? Um? 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:03.760 And it was, it was. It was a lot of 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:08.399 scattered research, you know, talking to a small business administration, 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:10.520 learning this or how do you start this? Or what's 0:21:10.520 --> 0:21:13.120 an LLC? And I mean it got just it got 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:15.119 just pieces flowing from everywhere. I said, no, no no, no, 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:18.159 no no, I got to go back to school to 0:21:18.400 --> 0:21:20.520 learn this the right way, because that's my base, that's 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:23.600 my platform. So I went back at thirty eight to 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:28.760 get my Masters in Business and finance. That's what I 0:21:28.800 --> 0:21:32.040 was able to say, Okay, I can now have conversations 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:35.359 in the corporate world about certain subjects. And it's just 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:38.439 because you felt confident that you had a graphs of 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:41.919 the information. Could this have been something dumb that you 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:45.800 could have also learned though through mentorship or working you know, 0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:48.639 in corporate America, or did you specifically need to go 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:52.280 back and learn from school? These are these are excellent questions. 0:21:52.480 --> 0:21:55.760 These are excellent questions because had I had I did 0:21:55.800 --> 0:21:58.640 this at twenty five, yes, I could have went through 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:02.080 the corporate mentorship. I was that thirty eight. Time was chicken, 0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:05.800 and I was like, now, I took the route of 0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:11.639 not depending on how slow it I needed deadline, so 0:22:11.720 --> 0:22:14.439 I know if I finished this in two years, I 0:22:14.440 --> 0:22:17.840 can now do this. So time wasn't on my side. 0:22:17.920 --> 0:22:21.200 And that's an excellent question because that's the That's why 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:23.800 I took the route because I needed it now and 0:22:23.840 --> 0:22:26.560 I couldn't. I'm not. I wasn a young puppy, you know, 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:29.119 I can't. I don't have the time to get that 0:22:29.160 --> 0:22:31.719