WEBVTT - Metta World Peace 0:00:01.360 --> 0:00:04.400 This is the Wells Cast with Wells, Adams and I 0:00:04.519 --> 0:00:09.240 Heart Radio Podcast. What everybody are we doing out there? 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:14.760 Welcome to the Weld Cast. Hello about this show is 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.040 it's kind of all over the board, right, it's picking shoes. 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:22.680 What you're into, what you're not like. Listen. If you're 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:25.120 a fan of reality TV shows, We've got a plenty 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:28.400 of reality TV guests. I mean, we just had Vinnion 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:31.360 last week. Of course, the whole thing started with the Dean, 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:35.559 Jared and Derek from The Bachelor on the show. So 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:37.919 if that's what you're into, we got you. If you're 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:41.400 into musicians, we got Allen Black, we got Chuck Wicks, 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:44.440 we got Hunter Hayes, we got Macy Gray, we got 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.479 Tyler Rich, we got you. If you're into actors, and 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:51.120 we got Brian Bumgarder from the Office, we got James Maslow, 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:55.680 Emily Hampshire from Ship's Creek, Scott Eastwood from Well you Know. 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:59.280 If you're in the comics, Jack Tone from Glow, Phil 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:03.600 Rosen thought All from Everybody Loves Raymond and Swell host 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:08.160 of Somebody Feed, Phil Dave Koyer from Full House, Joe Coy, 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:10.880 one of the biggest comics out there. And if you're 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:15.520 into athletes, all right, we got you Victor Oladipo. Why 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:19.400 not Psha Jennings. Okay? Then also today's guest, does he 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:23.240 have a championship ring? Yeah? He does. Was he drafted 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:27.680 in the first round sixteenth plus Chicago Bulls back? Yeah? 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:30.560 Did you play for the Pacers, the Kings, the Rockets, 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.280 the Knicks and then eventually the team that won the 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:35.520 championship the Lakers? Yeah he did. Was he on Dancing 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:37.360 with the Stars. Is he known as one of the 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.919 greatest defenders of all time? Yeah? Did he win Defensive 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.360 Player of the Year back in two thousand four? Okay? Yes? 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:46.280 Was he named an NBA All Star and earned all 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:49.360 NBA honors? You know he did? Is he controversial? Was 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:50.960 he a part of the Malice at the Palace? Yeah 0:01:51.000 --> 0:01:53.600 he was. He's done it all. Very excited for this 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:56.640 episode because today in the Wells Cast we have meadow 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.320 World Peace or run our test. I guess if you 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:02.160 have been key paping up with his name change? Stick around, guys, 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:13.480 This one is uh good one, all right, back in 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:17.560 the Wells Cast. Uh A little starstruck right now? This 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:21.560 is kind of crazy, but we've got the man, the myth, 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:25.640 the legend, champion metal world piece on the show. How 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:28.040 are you man? Yeah, everything is great. Anything having to 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.359 your show, Yeah, man, I've been a fan of yours 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:34.840 for a very long time, followed your career around. Sad 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:38.080 to see that you're not in the league anymore, but 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.480 I guess that's just kind of what happens. We're all 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.320 getting older, unless you're Tom Brady. I mean, you know, 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.280 I'm only um, so I think I could have still 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:48.760 been playing when you're getting older. It just depends on 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.760 the opportunity. And tom Brady's taking advantage of you know, 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:54.760 being on the big stage, um, having access to the 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.240 you know, some of the best um wellness, health and 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.800 wellness and really, um not take it for granted him. 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.040 Only guys like Lebron James and mis Carta, they're not 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:05.480 taking it for granted. I read something somewhere that Tom 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:08.720 Brady has never had coffee, like doesn't eat any sugar, 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.960 And I get it, and that makes sense as to why, 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:14.600 like he can keep on going the way he does. 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.160 But do you think that's worth it? Like? Is that 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:20.040 a life to live? I think so? I mean, because 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:21.880 you gotta pick something, right, I mean you can choose 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:24.639 a good burger or you can choose a good NFL career, 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:28.000 you know, and either one is good. Right. I don't 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:30.240 know if you saw, but Tom Brady, I think finally 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:33.839 like let loose a little bit recently and was celebrating 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:36.040 his win. And I gotta be honest with you, like, 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:39.240 I think it's easy to hate someone that good. You know, 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:42.880 it was such like a squeaky clean image and him 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:46.320 looking like he was a bit turned up on a boat. 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.560 I think was the most relatable thing I've ever seen 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:51.400 of Tom Brady. And I loved it. I thought it 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:53.400 was great. I've seen a little clip of it and 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:54.760 I just thought it was great. I mean, we just 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:57.880 enjoy yourself and I mean, what a what a great time, right, 0:03:57.880 --> 0:03:59.600 what a great time to beat? To be Tom Brady, 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:05.200 you've won a championship. Would you ever throw the trophy 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:07.520 from one boat to another? Well, I think it's like 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.520 you do things and you know, spontaneous, right, I probably 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:12.760 would have. Who knows, Right, You're in the water and 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:14.960 you want to see like if your teammates can catch it, 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:18.240 and you obviously have confidence in yourself, you you're definitely 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:21.160 not gonna drop the football, right, he never has, so 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.200 if anybody's gonna throw football is gonna be time. I 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:26.840 was reading up on you and I saw that you've 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:30.120 got kind of a new cool sports app. Tell everyone 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:33.479 about X verse X. Yeah, versus X sports is a 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:36.680 way for basketball enthusiastic connect um. If you have any 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:39.080 gyms and basketball gyms out there, definitely signed up to 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:41.800 the app. Adget gym. A lot of people think right now, 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:44.400 because it's Covid, you can't really play basketball, But on 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.920 our app is okay. You can actually market your gym, 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.560 and then when covid opens back up, you canna inflect 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:52.240 the traffic for basketball players. You can be a recreational 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:54.920 basketball player or you could be an elite basketball player, 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:57.960 male or female. Sign up to the app, create your 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:01.240 own games, invite users in fight friends, and then you 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:03.840 get a chance to crack the leaderboard and actually see 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:06.600 if you're the best in your area. What happens if 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:08.200 you're the best in the area. Well, if you're the 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:09.960 best in your area is bragging rights. You also get 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:11.800 a chance to get invited to some of the best games, 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:15.039 so you can continue to build your record up in 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:18.040 your area. But it's also showcase games, and a lot 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.440 of people think Showcase Games is only elite basketball players, 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:24.559 but that's not true. We also have recreation, Showcase games, 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:29.880 co ed Showcase games, Female Showcase uh, semipro games, pro games, 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:34.800 m college intramurals, all sorts of levels that fits your needs. 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.640 Are you playing in any of these pickup games? I do? 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.279 I do? I play sometimes. I played a lot early, 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:44.000 but being a startup basketball tech company, I had to 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:47.080 take a long break from playing because we're not hiring 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:50.240 tons of people is being a well startups, So I 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:53.000 had to take on product manager role and project manager 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:54.919 role on all sites of all types of other roles. 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:56.680 So I wasn't able to play for like the last 0:05:56.680 --> 0:06:00.200 few months. You know that copperfeit commercial or like a 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:02.239 pick up football game and then all of a sudden, 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.320 Brett Farven Jerry Rice show up and they're like they 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.159 stacked the deck. I can only imagine that's what happens 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:11.120 if you show up to a pickup game. Well, you know, 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:14.080 I try to be fair, you know, and I try 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:16.240 to you know, be easy and play according to the 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.000 to the skill level out there, but sometimes you know, 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:20.839 people want me to do more and do more. I 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.360 can't dunk anymore like I used to, but I'm trying 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:24.800 to get back, so hopefully in the year I'll be 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:27.400 dunking the game. So can anyone do this or is 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:31.240 it just for really good basketball players and just for guys? 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:34.360 Like how does this work? Is for anyone? Co Ed games? 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.000 When you create a game you want, you can invite 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:40.080 uh females to coed game if you're a male. If 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:42.320 you're a female, you can do all women games or 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:46.120 co ed games five on five. If you want indoor outdoor, 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:49.919 you just follow the steps. Is really easy invite players. 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:52.479 And the main thing is got you start the game 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.000 and complete the game. That's the main thing is if 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:57.080 you want to crack the lead aboard. If you don't 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:58.800 complete the game, it's only gonna show the game that 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:00.320 you played. You want to show the game at you 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.560 want also and reds and then how do you denote 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:07.120 like your skill level. It's all community based, so when 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:09.279 people go to your profile, is important to post a picture. 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:11.320 Some people just build a profile and you just want 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:13.960 to play, post a picture of yourself and then also 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:16.760 posted video of you playing basketball. And then whoever's making 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:18.920 up a game, they're gonna go to your profile and 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:20.600 they're gonna look at you and you can do the 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:22.640 same thing, so you don't know the exact type of 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:25.480 players you're playing with. It's pretty smart. I mean, I 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:27.720 don't know if you're a golf enthusiast, but I am, 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.320 and I feel like golf has done this for a 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:33.720 long time. You create a handicap and people can see 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.440 what your handicap is. It kind of makes it available 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:38.640 for everyone to be able to play the sport. And 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:40.920 I think it's a super smart idea for you to 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:43.160 get on board with this. And there's a park right 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:44.720 on the street from us in the Studio city, and 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:47.400 it's always these pickup games and it always seems very 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:51.080 very unorganized, and there's you know, there's always like one 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:53.680 fat guy who probably shouldn't be there, and then there's 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:56.320 like young kids who are just balling out. And so 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.120 this is a smart idea. Everyone needs to go download this, 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:03.560 especially you're a basketball fan. Apple Store, Google Play and 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:06.920 it's called X versus X, right, so it's X vs 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.920 X sports. Yes, absolutely. I remember when I first started 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:13.440 um doing the beta, so I was about three d 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:15.840 seven pounds. Is like working all the way from to 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:18.320 fifty when I played into my prime, I got all 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.440 the way down to to seventy just about playing basketball 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:25.760 right and and building friendships and joining our community. So 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.760 the app is bigger than just you know, getting on 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:31.640 the leaderboard and also it's very healthy for you and 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.440 it's also helping you build relationships. Did you come up 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:36.400 with this? Is this like your thing or did they 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:38.880 bring you on board and knowing they needed you know, 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:42.280 kind of some basketball star power. Well, just being uh, 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:45.000 just being inspired by a lot of other tech companies 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:46.760 and things that's going on. Yes, this is my idea. 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:49.920 I'm a founder, but I did have a lot of help. Um. 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:52.080 I did have a lot of help thinking through the 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:55.840 process on how to build a basketball you know, real 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:58.480 basketball tech company. Um. And right now we're still in 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:00.280 the start up phase and I see a lot of 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.000 companies out there trying to do the same thing. They're 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.240 doing a great job. So shout out to everyone in 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:07.120 the space. But I'm having a really good time. If 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:10.600 people want to find out more about x verse x 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:13.199 sports app, where they go, they can go to x 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:16.360 verse x sports dot com so that's x vs X 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:19.480 sports dot com. You can also follow us on all 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:23.040 social media at X versus X Sports, you can direct message, 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:24.600 So if you want to play in the game and 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:26.880 you don't really feel comfortable with who you're you're seeing 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:30.240 or playing with, you can direct message the game host um. 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:33.559 Each game has its own group chat so you can say, Hey, 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.200 I'm gonna have fifty, I'm gonna win, or what's the address? 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:37.800 How do I get there? So each game has its 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.320 own group chat um. And then you also have an 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:43.640 opportunity to post on the feed, so each profile has 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:47.280 a feed. This is a really uh you know, cutt 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:51.640 and edge, you know, modern innovative social media social component 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:55.520 basketball enthusiast applications, So please please have fun when you 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:58.320 download it, free to sign up, and so many great 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.760 things that a lot of celebrities on their professor is 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:04.640 on their formula, YouTube subscribers, Bone collectors on their um 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:06.520 seven and some change. He was in the movie with 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:09.640 Semi pro Will Farrell or seven ft He's in He's 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:12.600 on there. Chris Staples everybody hates Chris is on there. 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.280 Jim Bandy's on there. A lot of influences on there. 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:18.560 Actually reach out to the influences because they love to 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:22.000 play basketball and actually invite mama, do Mama do with 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:27.040 seven seven? He loves to play basketball. The next thing 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:29.599 you gotta do is you gotta somehow link it to 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:32.679 Venmo so they can have money games then have an 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.120 easy way to pay out. Well, if you go on 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.079 the app right now, you'd be surprised if you'll see 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:43.240 something you just said there some things already you gotta Yeah, 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:46.280 you can't stop people from betting X versus X sports app. 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:48.800 You can download it now at the Apple Store, Google Play, 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:52.520 follow them and then X versus X sports dot com 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:54.640 Is that right? That's right? And challenge me if you 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:57.880 want all right? This is a great idea. Man, I'm 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:02.200 super impressed. And anyone who's a basketball enthusiast and or 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:04.280 just wants to get out there and play and get better, 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:06.280 they need to download this app. Very very cool. I 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.880 don't know if anyone told you what this show is 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:12.360 all about, but I'm all about origin stories. I find 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:16.320 it fascinating to see how people who are extremely successful 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:18.480 got to where they are. If you've got a couple 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.480 of minutes, I'd like to uh to go back and 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:25.000 find out where Metal World Peace came from and how 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:27.719 the hell you got here? All right, quick, bright, we 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:39.839 come back. Metal World Peace here on the Weals Cast. Alright, 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.840 We're back on the Weals Cast. So excited to have 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.240 metal World Peace on the show. I've been a big 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:48.440 fan of yours for a long time, so long I 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:52.880 remember when you went by completely different name. Now, even 0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:56.600 though you can't see metal World Peace playing in the 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:00.520 association today, you can possibly play against him on a 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.720 court near you with his new app X versus x 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:06.600 Sports you downloaded at the Apple Store and Google Play, 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:09.120 and basically it's a marketplace for everyone out there who 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:13.160 loves to play basketball pickup games to connect and go 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.400 out and play, which I think is super smart. And 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:19.000 kudos to you for kind of pivoting over from being 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:22.000 a jock to the tech world. It's probably not a 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:26.560 super easy thing to do. Yeah, I bet man, you 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:29.480 know you're not a Silicon Valley nerd. I'm sure it's 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.240 hard to convince a bunch of those guys to figure 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.559 this out, but you did it, so congratulations. I want 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:37.600 to figure out how the hell you got here, so 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:40.840 let's go back to the beginning. Where are you from? Yeah, well, 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:44.679 I'm from Long Island City, Queensbridge. I was born in Queens, 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:46.920 New York City, and I was actually born in a 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:49.959 New York City hospital. Did you come from a big family? 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:53.960 Your big family? Ten siblings and we have fortys and 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:57.800 nephews and uh yeah, really big family. Jesus Okay, So 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.960 where do you fall in the birth order? I'm right 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:04.720 in the middle. Um. I got three older sisters, one 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:08.520 older brother, and then one to three younger sisters and 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:15.200 three younger brothers. He got a count bro Was the 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.760 family a big athletic family? Well, my dad was. My 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.000 dad was a boxing and the ball is a He 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:23.880 spent most of his time, you know, trying to pursue boxing, 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:27.040 but a lot of time playing basketball. And he had 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:28.640 a good right hand. I don't think he had a 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.559 great job, That's what he says. He also he also 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:36.120 was a strong right driver. He he didn't have much 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:38.559 of a left hand or he could really shoot. Were 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:43.720 you all playing basketball like growing up? Yeah? Definitely. I 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:45.679 started at eight years old. I started taking a serious 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.080 at about ten, but I started at eight. You know 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:51.600 playing basketball. Is anyone else in your family fantastic basketball 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.880 player as well? Well? Daniel Test is a fantastic basketball player. 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.600 He almost went pro. Um, I thought he was better 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:00.280 than me at one point. Um, you know, but things 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.319 got to fall into place and then my two sons 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:07.160 played basketball, Gronau Tests and Ronald Tests. You're growing up 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:11.840 in Queen's Bridge, New York. You are one of you say, 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:16.000 eleven kids. Okay, how did it start? Was your dad like, 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.520 We're gonna go play some basketball? Is this is how 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:20.920 like the whole pickup thing started with you. It started 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:23.800 about just going outside, so doing to Queen's Bridge. You know, 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.880 a nazis from mom d Roxton Shyn said mc ship. 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.600 All the great amazing rappers are from from this one neighborhood. 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.040 So it started out by like just going outside. And 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:35.000 then when you go outside, you see people playing basketball, 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:36.920 you're playing tag, you're playing on the monkey bars, doing 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.600 different things like that. Then when you see the courts, 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:42.240 it's really hard to make it on the court, especially 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:47.560 back in nineteen or eighty nine when everyone was outside playing, 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:51.400 no social media. So you know, when you're trying to 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:52.560 make it on the court, you just want to have 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:54.560 a good time, and you take that first shot and 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:57.240 you dribble the ball and you realize, I'm really bad 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:58.680 at it. I can't even put the ball through my 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.920 legs and then you start lane. But my dad wanted 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:03.640 me to continue to play because he thought it was 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:05.880 a really good outlet for me. So I just kept playing. 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.640 And when I was about eleven and twelve, I was 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.960 actually able to stop playing with the men a little bit. 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:13.440 I was able to stop fitting in. How tall are 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:15.880 you at eleven or twelve? Eleven or twelve? I think 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:19.680 I was about five eleven maybe, maybe about five five 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:23.800 eleven maybe twelve years old? Probably six ft maybe? And 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:27.160 how tall are you now? Five and a half? Okay, 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:29.920 so you're twelve years old playing with grown ass men 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:35.640 um in New York? How long until you realized I 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:40.200 should probably focus on this because I'm really good? You 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:42.040 know what. It wasn't that because I was really good. 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:43.960 It was just it was fun. You know when you're 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:45.960 a kid, just find something that you love and you 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:48.360 just do it. You know, like girls want to do 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.080 dance team, they want to do drill, they want to Chile. 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:53.960 Guys wanna you know, you maybe play video games or 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:55.720 you know some guys want to you know, play tennis 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.080 out at early It's just just like what do you love? Right? 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:03.280 And it was more about just every day, getting better 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:06.000 shots is going in now. Oh now I can put 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:08.720 it through my legs. Oh now, I'm a basketball player 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:10.600 on the basketball court. I'm one of the best on 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.280 this court at my age. And that type of stuff 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:15.520 is exciting. So you just keep getting better. You just 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:17.560 keep getting better. And you don't know one day you're 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:21.160 gonna play against somebody from Ohio, somebody from Germany, right, 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:23.520 somebody from Brooklyn. You don't you're not even thinking about that. 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:25.800 You're thinking about your one little area. And then when 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:28.200 you start to leave your area, it's like, wow, other 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:31.280 people are really good, just like me. So imagine you 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:33.040 know when I keep going it so now it's like 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:35.640 at that point, it's like, okay, I gotta keep getting better. 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:38.480 So about the age of twelve thirteen, I just kept working, 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:41.600 kept working. About the age of about the age of fifteen, 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:43.560 I said, oh, woll I might have a chance to go. 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:46.920 I just kept working, kept working. Okay, So when you're 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:50.760 like twelve or thirteen, are you getting recruited by basketball 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:55.200 camps and boys leagues? How does that work? I felt 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:59.200 with their team definitely, local teams, local leagues, the best 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.080 basketball camp amps, and you know, and getting invited everywhere 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:06.000 about that age. Yeah, do you remember some breakout stars 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:09.760 from back then? But like so from my era was 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:13.639 I'm forty one and Lebron's thirty six. That's a different 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.680 eraors what he's thirty seven or something. So then IRA 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:21.280 was like lamar hold him um, oldest step from Marlbury, 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:23.879 oldest skip to my lotule ray for Austin, the oldest 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:28.360 sham guard wells um. Then you had I ran across 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:32.119 passed with Kobe Bryant and Providence Richard Hamilton was on 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:35.399 that team, I think also, and then I um in 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:38.720 the Ohio A Nike camp Baron Davis played against Baron 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:42.640 Davis and the Colline Twins Shake Cotton um. And then 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:44.800 I played with Elton Brown Lama old him and Eric 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:48.720 Barkley home in New York City. And then Tracy McGrady 0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:50.840 actually was in our class, but I never played against 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:53.560 Tracy in high school. I never never seen Tracy in 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.560 high school with the same exact age, same exact class. 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:58.240 But I don't know, I don't know how we never 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:00.600 played against each other. Looking back, when you were at 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:03.399 those A A U camps or whatnot, who did you 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:06.760 think was going to be like the next Michael Jordan's. Well, 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:09.240 you know, there's a lot of guys is um. There's 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.359 a guy named Jaren Rush who we don't we probably 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:14.320 don't know, but his brothers played in the NBA, Kareem 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:18.920 Rush and Brandon Rush, and a lot of people don't 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.399 know their brother. I thought their brother was the best 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:23.720 at all the Russias, but they had way along the Koreans. 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:25.520 He didn't even make it to the NBA, but he 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:28.680 was really talented. Then you had guys like um Tavares 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:32.439 Bell from Queens, New York City, who get half. He 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:34.840 used to get his shoulders over the rim high school. 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.280 It was insane. A couple of guys I didn't making 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:43.359 like uh like Buggas Smith from Brooklyn, talented player. You know, 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:47.080 you have Charles Jones who went to Chicago Bulls one year. 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:50.280 So many, so much great talent that you know, didn't 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:53.560 quite make it to the NBA, but amazing basketball was. 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:57.760 So you're playing at like a a U ball. You 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:04.600 go to let Sal Academy, right were you recruited to 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:07.719 go play ball there? Losal Academy. So I was actually 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.080 gonna go to mcclancy High School, which was in Queens 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:14.440 and I played for a guy named Artic Cox who 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.520 was at UM. He was at mcclancy and so when 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:20.760 he left the clancy in Queens and then I went 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:23.919 to Then I went to Losal. I was recruited to 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:26.840 go to Losal Academy, but I was almost at mcclancy. 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:30.480 And initially UM, I was gonna go to a I 0:19:30.480 --> 0:19:32.800 wanted to go to a public school called Long Island 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:36.160 City Public School. And the reason was because we had 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:39.280 so much great talent. It was me Reggie Jesse. Reggie 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:42.359 Jesse was from my neighborhood. UM went to St. John. 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:45.800 We went to St John's together same year. And then 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:49.320 also Eric Chaffield, Eric Chaftfield, I went to high school 0:19:49.320 --> 0:19:52.320 with Eric Chatfield from my neighborhood. We went twenty seven 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:54.280 and old senior year in high school won the title. 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:58.200 And then Eric Chaffield's brother Mike Chaffield was the best 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:00.440 and but he went to jail at the out about 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:04.080 sixteen years old. So were waiting for him to come 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:06.120 out of jail. But he didn't come out of jail, 0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:07.760 so we so I had to say average go to 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:09.720 another school. If he would have been out of jail, 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:12.240 I probably would have went to Long Island City High 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:14.800 School to play with Mike Chaftfield, but he later he 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:18.159 later died um in a bad a drug transaction that 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:22.040