WEBVTT - The Return of Jamison Crowder | Next Man Up Podcast | Washington Commanders 0:00:02.320 --> 0:00:04.440 What's Good Command his Family? This is Brian Cooper Junior here, 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:07.880 and this is the Next Man Up Podcast. Our Next 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:10.480 Man Up is no other than Jamison Crowder, our returnment 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:14.440 and our wide Receiver. We talk about returning to the 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:17.639 Washington Commanders after being drafted by them in twenty fifteen. 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:20.480 We talk about his family, We talk about going to Duke, 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.959 and we talk about a legendary story where Jamison Crowder 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:28.280 hooped and got the best of Kai Reed Irving. All 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:33.320 that and more starts right now. What's Good Command His Family? 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:35.440 Brian cople Junior here, and this is the Next Man 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:37.640 Up podcast where we don't talk so much ex's and o's. 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.559 We talk more about the man behind the helmet. And 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:43.280 today's Next Man Up is no other than Jameison crowd 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:45.160 our return man or wide Receiver. Brother. 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:47.080 How you doing today? I'm doing great, man, Glad to 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:47.879 be here. Oh man. 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:49.560 So we had a lot to talk about man coming 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:50.960 off of a very big game, but we don't want 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:51.840 to get into that just yet. 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:53.640 We want to get into more of the beginning where 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:54.160 it started. 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.080 When Roll from North Carolina talk to us about what 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:57.960 that city means to you. 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:01.040 It means a lot to me the place that I 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.120 was born and raised. You know, it's a small, small 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:07.800 town right outside of Charlotte. You know, it's it's very 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:10.199 sports driven, like the school I went to and everything. 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:14.360 We've always had good athletes coming in and out. Football, basketball, 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:17.840 you know, it was like the two main sports. But 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.039 but it means a lot. All my family's there. You know, 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:22.959 I go back there now, you know, just to stay grounded. 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:24.480 It keeps me grounded, you know, going to see my 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:27.760 fam you know, going to cookouts, just family events. Uh, 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:29.679 just going there and just you know, seeing my brother 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.560 and everything. So uh, then that's definitely the place that 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:34.679 if that you know, made me who I am today, 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.000 and you talk about it made you who you are today, 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:39.039 give us a little more detail on that, Like what 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:42.200 about that city made you who you are and kind 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:45.000 of made this driven human that we know today? 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:45.240 Right? 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:47.280 I mean I think, uh, I think the main thing 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:50.280 is just like you know, it's just like a southern town. 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:52.840 You know, it's not it's not like a d C. 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:55.720 LA or New York. You know what I'm saying. 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:57.960 You know, growing up there, you don't really see a 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:01.040 lot of uh you know, big flag and everything like that. 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:03.920 So uh, you know, just growing up, you just kind 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:05.760 of you know, you go outside back in the days, 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:08.959 go outside, play football, my boys basketball. You know, we'll 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:10.920 go to the park or really be playing basketball in 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:13.840 the backyard where you know the goal right there and 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:17.200 ain't nothing but a thing of dirt right there, you know, 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.320 and then the water were drinking was out of the 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.120 you know, out of the water hole. You know, just 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.720 childhood things that that we would do, ride bikes all 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.840 over the town. So I think, you know, just those 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:31.600 experiences and just you know, just having those childhood memories 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:34.280 and just enjoying my childhood, uh you know in that 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:36.720 in that city, uh, in my town. Just you know, 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:39.000 it's shave me who I am today. You know, I've 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.680 been able This game of football have has been my 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:45.160 vehicle to you know obviously, you know, come and live 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.800 in cities like d C and York and stuff like 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:50.480 that and get experienced big cities like that, but I'll 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:52.080 never forget, you know, where I came from. 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:54.040 And football is give me the opportunity. 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:55.919 Yeah, before you made it to DC, before you made 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.320 to New York, you decided to go to Duke. You 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:00.960 had a lot of options. Sounds like you had some 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:03.480 big schools coming at you. What made you decide to say, 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:05.160 you know what, I'm gonna take my talents over the Duke. 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:07.240 Uh well, I mean I think it was a lot. 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:09.520 It was a lot that went into that. You know, 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:12.160 Like I say, Man, been from North Carolina. It's crazy, man, 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:14.160 And I've told this story before. Well, my dad played 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:17.040 football in North Carolina and t so growing up, Man, 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:19.280 I was going to like all the anti games, So 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.720 I definitely was. It was an anti fan. And believe 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:25.600 it or not, like they probably would have offered me first. 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.839 I might have would have committed to it. But but yeah, 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:31.280 but Duke was my first offer, and you know it 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:31.960 was a blessing. 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:33.359 Uh to receive that offer. 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:35.000 Then was Duke offered me other you know, a few 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.400 other division Division one schools in Northkline to offer me. 0:03:37.760 --> 0:03:39.560 But uh, Duke was just the right place for me. 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:43.320 You know, as I continue my recruiting visits and stuff 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:46.240 like that through during my recruiting time, Uh, they won 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:49.320 me over Coach cut you know, they told me what 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:51.040 it was going to be and uh, you know the 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:53.360 opportunities I would have if I attended you know, Duke 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:57.640 University and you know, and in hindsight, man, everything that 0:03:57.640 --> 0:03:59.440 that he said, you know, kind of came kind of 0:03:59.480 --> 0:03:59.960 came to pass. 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.040 So so I'm very thankful. 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:05.880 That's probably the best decision I made in this point 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:06.600 in my life, and. 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:08.480 Clearly was a good decision. And you talk about your 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:11.800 pops playing, what would those conversations like when you're in college, 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:13.640 care your pops had done this right, He's giving you 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:15.520 advice and all that stuff. You finally made it to 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:17.480 this point that he made it to. All those conversations 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:18.320 between you and your pops. 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:20.200 I mean it was always grad I mean even before 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:24.040 college man, like uh playing football and high in high 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:26.159 school and basketball and high school man, like they would 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:28.880 my dad would come and record all my basketball games, 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:31.480 like we'll go home and watch them, and like they 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:32.240 were like my parents. 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:33.479 They were like critique and everything. 0:04:33.520 --> 0:04:36.320 You know what I'm saying, Like parents do like it, 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:38.800 Like we just watching the game, Like I scored six 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.480 points today, Like you good? Like nah, like I need 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:43.760 you to just go twenty next week. You know you 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:46.080 know what I'm saying. It is so but nah, it 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.000 was always like that. You know, they would always you know, 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:51.120 be tough on me, you know, always push me to 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:52.800 do better or to be better, like I said, from 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:54.640 high school and then once I I was just got 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:56.039 to college, it was the same thing. 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:56.200 You know. 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:58.760 They would watch the games obviously and they would tell 0:04:58.800 --> 0:04:59.800 me like, yeah, you should have did. 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:00.440 This, did that. 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:04.280 So so that's just always always getting that critique from them. 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:06.320 And then they I mean even now even to this day, 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:08.880 they still you know, critique my game, you know once 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:10.919 they watch the highlights or whatever it may be. 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:13.839 But yeah, that's just always kind of how my dad 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:14.560 and my mom is. 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:17.280 Being and uh, you know, always take take take heed 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:19.039 to what they you know, what they're telling me. 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:20.960 Yeah, and you can see it so light up as 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:23.240 you talk about your parents. Man, And it's cool because 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:24.719 like reading about you know, we do a lot of 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:27.960 research coming into the podcast and reading about your family 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.080 and how they would drive one hundred and seventy miles 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:32.799 to come see your games in d C. They driving 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:34.479 the DC to see a games. You in New York, 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:36.360 They're driving to New York to see a games. Man, 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:38.120 What does that support system like and what does that 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:40.480 mean to you to have your family so supportive of you? 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:43.760 Oh, that means a lot, you know, it's it means everything. 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:45.480 You know, when when when you have people to come 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:48.160 and support you and you know that truly and genuinely 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:51.040 care about you and want to see you do well, 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.080 you know obviously that just kind of helps boost my 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.160 confidence just you know, makes me to go want to 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:57.240 go out there and thrive. And you know, that's the 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:58.920 thing I think that a lot of people don't have, 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:01.680 and you know sometimes that can be you know, to 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:03.960 make a break of some people, you know. So I've 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:07.800 been very very blessed and truly thankful to have you know, 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:10.200 my parents to be there and my family as well, 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:12.599 you know, my aunt's, uncle's cousin, stuff like that, to 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:15.240 have you know, support me throughout my whole career. 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:17.280 And it's not just your parents pulling up. It's your 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:19.240 little brother as well. And you and your brother have 0:06:19.279 --> 0:06:21.840 a very very special relationship with special bond, and I 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:23.520 know you've learned a lot for your brother. He just 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:25.960 talk about you and your brother and that relationship, and 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:27.480 just talk about your brother a little bit. 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:30.080 Right, yeah, man, my brother Jamar. So you know, man, 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:32.440 he's he's been very very very special to me. 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:32.719 Man. 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:35.240 You know, ever since I was younger, man, he would 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:36.120 coming all the games. 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.560 Uh, you know, with my parents, they never left him out, 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:41.560 you know, so so just being able to see him 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:44.480 come to the games and enjoy the games, it definitely 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.560 you know, helps brighten up my day and just you 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:48.080 know easy. 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:48.000 In my mood. 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.400 Whether we go out there, we win, lose, whatever, but 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:52.640 just seeing him and have him at the games always 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.159 just you know, just keeps me mellow. And uh, you know, 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:56.400 it's always a great feeling. 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.880 And your little brother has has down syndrome, right, And 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:02.599 that's a big deal to point out because like you said, 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:05.080 they're coming to every game. Even with the things he's 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:08.400 going through, he's still there supporting you. And you've mentioned 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:10.440 it before in other interviews about how much you've learned 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.240 from your brother watching him go through his trials and tribulations. 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:16.160 How does that put life into perspective seeing what your 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:17.760 brother is dealt with his whole life. 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:19.240 Right, I mean it just mean, you know what I'm saying, 0:07:19.440 --> 0:07:21.360 It just put things in a different perspective. Like you know, 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:25.040 he's nonverbal, so he's twenty years old now and you 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:27.560 know he hasn't you know, we haven't able to talk 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.400 to him, you know, communicate with him his whole life. 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:32.200 So you know, this is one of the challenges. But 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.280 you know, he's uh, he's able to communicate with us, you. 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:36.920 Know, different ways. Smart. 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:38.480 You know, you're ask him what he wants, he go 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:40.520 get it, point to it, whatever it may be. But 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:42.760 that's just a challenge that you know that that we've 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:45.440 you know, have to deal with, you know, his whole life. 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:48.000 But but for me, man, just putting things in perspective. Man, 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:49.800 you know, for me, it's just like I'm just blessed, 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:51.720 you know what I'm saying, just to be able to 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:54.760 you know, you know, as I said, he can't he 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.360 can't speak, So it's like for me, I'm just like, man, 0:07:57.440 --> 0:07:59.960 you know, I'm blessed. I'm the one out there playing 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:02.400 no one could talk, speak whatever. Like you know, I'm 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:05.120 just truly blessed. So like I said, I love my 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:06.240 family man, I love my brother. 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:06.520 Man. 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:09.000 That's awesome. Man, you're definitely blessed. But it sounds like 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:11.120 you're a blessing to your family as well. Your mom 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:13.840 has said that when you get around your brother, he 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:17.480 lights up. He's just different. How cool is that knowing 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:19.160 that you can bring that out of him, Like you said, 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:21.000 you guys can't really communicate, but you have your own 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:24.120 form of nonverbal communication. How cool is that being that 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:24.920 light for your brother? 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:26.760 Yeah? Man, it's cool. Man, It's dope. You know what 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:27.200 I'm saying. 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:29.880 You know, it's just one of those things that Maham 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.760 had just have that that connection and it's hard to 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:34.920 explain it, but you know, I can, you know, make 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:37.520 him do things and bring some of the uh you know, 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:39.600 intelligent things out of him that others can't. 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:43.119 So uh that definitely always just you know, lights. 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:45.240 Up and brightens up my day when when when I 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.040 know that man had that connection, I can do some 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:48.200 of the things that others can't. 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:50.200 Yeah, man, thank you for sharing that part. Man. 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:52.000 And uh and it's a pivot. You know, we were 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.400 talking a little earlier. You said you were hooper. I 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:57.400 heard you can do or you can like dunk barefoot 0:08:57.440 --> 0:08:58.160 just straight off bird. 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:00.600 Is that real? I can't. I can't get out avert, 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:02.520 but I can. 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:04.520 I definitely, you know, got a little got a little spring. 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:07.720 Takes a little bit older now, so I don't know, 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:10.000 you know how much I can get up there, but yeah, 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:13.120 definitely high school, college and last few years. 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.640 Man, I definitely Yeah. 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:17.160 Yeah, you know, like I said, we'd like to do 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.080 all research here on the Next Line Up podcast. And 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:21.800 I heard this like legend. It's like this legend around 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:25.200 Duke where you went to your college visit. You run 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.360 into Mason Plumley, who's now in the NBA, but at 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:29.840 the time was playing a duke and he heard you 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:31.920 was an athlete, heard you can hoop, and he said, man, 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:33.719 come come hoop with us. You know, you're like, oh no, 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:36.320 I don't got no shoes. My man provided the shoes 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:38.719 for you. And you go and hoop and run pick 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:43.120 up with Duke's team. Now you playing point guard, of course, 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:46.679 and the point guard you're going up against is Kyrie Irving, 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.400 no other than Kyrie Irving right well, on the other 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:52.319 opposing team, kyri Vervans on the opposing team, right. And 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:53.840 I heard y'all ran four games. 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:54.200 Yep. 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:56.000 I heard you ain't lose one of them. 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:56.280 Right. 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.040 It's a pretty big deal, Max, I mean four games 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:01.120 about as much as Kyrie played in college. Right, So 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:03.520 that's a pretty big deal. Man, talk about that, And 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:04.400 it is that true? 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:04.520 Well? 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:08.120 Yeah, yeah, so I'm gonna clear it up. Yeah, that's true. 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:11.760 It was actually going into my senior year of high school, 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:13.640 and me and my family just went up there to 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:15.240 do you know what I'm saying, to see the campus 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:17.960 one day, run the mason and uh so we're talking 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:18.280 to him. 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:19.280 You know, my mom she's. 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:22.480 A big talker, so she and like, you know, she 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:24.240 tells me like, yeah, my son, you know, he recruited 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:26.880 for football and everything about it, but uh, you. 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:27.880 Know, I play a little basketball. 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:29.160 So he was like with Shure, you know, he played 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:30.800 a little ball, was playing pick up, play on you 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:33.120 want to come through. So like you said, like I 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:35.480 didn't have any I just I was just some casual clothes, 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:37.640 like you know, a college shirt or whatever, some jeans. 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:39.200 And I was like, man, ain't got no clothes. He 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.120 was like, now you good, y'all good, you know, just 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:42.640 come to get you. 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:44.319 So take me in the back. They give me some 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:48.920 short shoes everything. So going to gym and all the 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.680 guys in there, it's summertime. So like the guys like 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:53.360 Kyrie and them, they had just got there that was 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:54.400 going to a freshman year. 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:56.280 So they just got there for like the first summer setsion. 0:10:56.320 --> 0:11:03.440 So like Kyrie Irving, Tyler Thornton, uh Andre Dawkins, Josh Harrison, 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:06.280 them guys, but they cleared up, so I was on. 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:09.760 It was me the team I was was going against Kyrie. 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.319 It was me, Tyler Thornton, Josh Herriston, and I can't 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:15.640 remember who other tour might have been Mason and Miles 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:18.000 when on on our team, but it was Kyrie. 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.199 Uh he had one the plumbs on his team. But 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:26.120 Tyler Thornton was guarding Kyrie. Okay, okay, okay. 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:28.480 So how they would play, like how they would play 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:30.319 pick up was they would do like a seven game 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.240 series basically. So seeing the team I was on, yeah, 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.400 we won you know, one four out of you know four, No, 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:39.400 and I definitely help guarding. Andre Dawkins was guarding me. 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:43.280 I definitely held my own. I was you know, went 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:45.839 dropped twenty with the board, but I got me a 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:47.960 couple of buckets in there. So it was definitely like, 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:50.480 you know, I can I can play. Yeah, there's no 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:53.600 you know, slouch. But it was a cool experience though 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:54.840 for the most part, you know, I'm saying it was. 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.680 It was a really cool experience getting a chance to 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.280 you know, go out there and play and you know, 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:01.880 play pickleball with the balls and then it happened on 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:02.600 the Humbug too. 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:03.439 Yeah. 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:05.760 Yeah, you wasn't even ready when you got Buckets. 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:08.040 You know, they raised you got to get rid of 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:10.320 show Man, so you do something like that. 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:13.560 I mean that sounds like, especially today, that sounds like 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:14.439 a legendary run. 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:14.679 Right. 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:17.160 Did you have any of those moments where you were like, dang, 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:18.559 I should have hooped? 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:19.480 Oh? 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:21.120 I mean it definitely would have been a blessing. I 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:23.760 mean obviously, like I know, like my height definitely would 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:25.160 have been a would have been a hindrance, you know 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:27.960 what I'm saying. But like my skill set, if I 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:30.120 would have worked on my game all like every day 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.840 or whatever, like, I definitely would could have a skill 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.679 set that took play at the cottage level. Basketball was 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:37.400 just something really that just came naturally to me, you 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:39.320 know what I'm saying. And it's something I love to 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:42.440 do in the off season every now and then on 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:45.520 the Lobo. But yeah, man, it just something that came 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.760 naturally to me. Man, just being able to handle ball 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.240 and just you know, instincts of the game and stuff 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:52.800 like that. Man, I've just been a sports fanatic every 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:55.360 since a child, especially when it came to football and basketball. 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:57.960 But basketball, really my truth was my first love. For real. 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.480 Well, man, we're glad you chose fort ball because you 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:02.360 ended up here, right. The Commanders of up draft you 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.120 in twenty fifteen and you end up playing for us 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:08.720 for four years. What love do you have for the 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.240 squad and the franchise that gave you your first shot 0:13:11.400 --> 0:13:13.319 that draft? Because we know you love it here. Talk 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:14.920 about that a little bit and how much it meant 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.400 to you that night getting drafted by Washington. 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:19.760 Yeah, I mean it meant a lot to me. At 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:20.160 the time. 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:22.480 I didn't really know much about you know, d C 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:26.000 in itself, didn't know much about the franchise obviously. Man, 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:28.520 growing up I was a forty Niners fan, man, a 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:32.440 huge wow. But but yeah, man, but ever since I 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:34.440 you know, since twenty fifteen, Man, when I when I 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:36.160 got here, Man, I loved it. You know, it's just 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:38.680 like it's it's like a different feeling when you you 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:41.400 know the team that drafts you. You know, obviously I've 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.400 been on different teams other organizations throughout my career, but 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:47.160 it's always just like a certain spot kind of in 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:50.079 your heart that you know, team that draft they kind 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:52.880 of hold that spot. So you know, my first four 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:55.040 years here was you know, up and down. 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:56.640 I would say more up and down. 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.720 Had a lot of success here, you know, throughout that 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.959 first team here, and you know, I really didn't want 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:04.840 to leave, but you know, it's just the bitiness side 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:07.400 of the game. You know, got involved and obviously went 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:10.200 to the Jets and then went to Buffalo last year, 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:12.440 and you know, now I'm just you know, thankful to 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:12.880 be back. 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:13.120 Man. 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:16.360 It's you know, a place that's that's very familiar to me, 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:18.240 but a lot of new faces in the building, but 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:19.880 you know, it's still a familiar place. 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:20.000 Man. 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:22.320 I love I love d C. I love the culture 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:23.160 of d C. Man. 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:25.760 Even when I left, and there were times where I 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:27.640 would always me and some of my boys would always 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:29.720 you know, make a trip to come back here, whether 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:31.960 it was a weekend or a few days, you know. 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.040 I so I would go to some of the go 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:35.360 go shows and stuff. 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:36.000 Like catching the Vibe. 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.120 So it's it's definitely one of the places man, that 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:42.640 that I you know, that that that that I hold 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.600 in my heart. That's that's that that that's really true 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:47.160 and you know and close to me. 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:47.440 Man. 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:48.600 Yeah, I'll never forget. 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:48.760 Man. 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:51.200 I had just gotten out here myself, and I'm in 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:53.120 one of my first meetings and the truck pulls up 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:55.400 and we got the windows and you walk out the 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:58.840 truck and I'm with a few ex Washington players and 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:00.240 everybody got really excited at it. 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.760 Everybody's like, oh, man, that's crowded. He's back. He's back. 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:06.360 And for that level of excitement to be from them 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.320 and they're not even you. How excited were you to 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.680 get a chance to come back here and almost finish 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:14.000 what you started essentially? 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:14.200 Man? 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:15.920 How cool was that to come back here? And what 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:17.240