Stay Tranquilo - Finding Purpose After Sports as An Athlete with Kevin O'Brien - Stay Tranquilo

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

In the newest episode of the Stay Tranquilo Podcast, powered by Stay Tranquilo Network, were joined by former Pro Basketball Player and current Columbus High School Basketball Coach. The pod talks about: - Kevin's journey as a pro basketball player - Life at Columbus as an athlete - Columbus brotherhood - Coaching the Boozer brothers and top basketball program in the country - Finding purpose in the journey Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

My entire life, I've classified myself and the people around me have classified me as a basketball player. And you live in that, which is not the right way to be. I wish I knew some of the lessons then that I know now. But I aligned myself with that. I was like, this is who I am, this is, but this is really just what I do. Currently, athletes across the board, there needs to be more of a conversation about you are more than just what you. you do on the floor on the field, you know, you bring so much more value to humanity, to your community, to everything aside from your performance.

Another part of that whole identity thing is like when I play bad, now I'm really struggling. True. You know what I'm saying? Because it's not just, you know, it doesn't always go your way. When you identify yourself as a basketball player, that means your entire mood, everything that you deal with is based on your performance. Yeah. And so when things don't go your way, you can really have a hard time with that.

What is going on, everybody? Welcome back to another State Tranquilo episode. We are here with Kevin O'Brien at the Columbus Basketball Court. Yes, sir. No better place to do this, I think, than here. Back home. Appreciate you for jumping on, brother. Appreciate you, bro.

A lot of fun, man. I'm excited. Been looking forward to this. Long overdue, we've been talking about it for a while. For sure. You know, give a little context. We graduated together from Columbus, representing the sea right here. But, you know, it's, Columbus has changed a lot over the last couple of years.

and I definitely want to get into that. But before we get into that, I want to be able to give your platform and tell a little bit about yourself, you know, what you do now, and then we can get into a little bit about your story. Cool, man. Yeah, obviously super excited to do this.

We've talked about it for a long time, but myself, I'm an assistant coach here on the Columbus varsity basketball team. We've had a tremendous amount of success over the years and it's been really, really excited to be a part of. Aside from that, I have my own skills training business, K-O skills academy. You can find me on Instagram or,

anywhere as far as that. And I work with kids of all ages, just trying to continue to push the basketball culture and, you know, the skills of the youth and hope that a couple years down the line, Miami will be a huge platform of basketball players to come out of here and move on to the next level. So, you know, it's just really exciting, really gratifying to be a part of. Absolutely. Yeah. So let's rewind, right? Obviously, basketball has been a big part of your life for a long time. When did basketball start for you? I mean, definitely as long as I can remember. I've had, I have some baby pictures back home where, you know, I probably can't even speak, but I have a ball in my hands. But my closest memory, I think I was five years old when I

actually started playing, actually was a part of a team. And, you know, although I probably didn't know what I was doing, I just had to run end to end, but just being a part of that, I just fell in love with it right away. Yeah. And did you have parents that played basketball? Or was it, was it, was a part of your family at all? No, it really wasn't, you know, both my parents, obviously, they, they're very tall. I was blessed with some height. My mom. My mom. My mom. My mom six feet. Yeah, my mom's six feet. My dad's six four. But they weren't athletes. And they definitely weren't basketball players. But I had a, I was really driven. I was really into it. And I wanted to learn and I wanted to get better. And I just gravitated towards it. Once I picked it up, I never put it down after that. And my parents, my entire family has always supported me. They've always tried to help me any way that they can. Obviously, you know, they don't know as much so they can't teach me. Of course. The ends and outs of basketball. But as far as from a supportive standpoint, point they've done everything and more that I could ever expect from from from you know from my family that's that's what parents are for I mean there are there are biggest supporters and at least you hope so right sure

for sure and you know they're going to do everything and anything as long as you have ambition like you said and a drive to do something like having that backbone only makes that path easier right because it is it is a tough journey to chase the dream right whatever that dream is you want to be a doctor you want to be a lawyer you want to be basketball player, whatever that might be. Like, the journey is tough. So having your parents behind you is a huge part of it. So you go through grade school, right? And you're playing basketball, and then you get to Columbus, right?

Obviously, when you talk Columbus for anyone that doesn't know and the people that do know, like, sports are tough here. Like, it doesn't matter how good you are. Doesn't matter how great you were in middle school, all that shit. Like, you come here and it's like brand new beginning. You got to earn your spot here. So freshman year, a ton of talk around the basketball team And obviously not what it is today

And I think a lot of people know it more about Columbus basketball today Than they did before But tell us a little bit about like when you were freshmen, the tryouts, like, you know, that whole process Well, let's go back even a little bit more Probably like middle school, right? Right around the time I knew I was coming to Columbus I was super naive as a kid Yeah

You know, I just thought everything was always going to go my way I thought when I was 18 after high school I was going to go to the NBA I think that's how every kid thinks. You know what I'm saying? That everything's going to just go exactly the way you planted in your mind. But I was a long way from that. And I really had to learn that. Being a part of Columbus showed me that because I went to public school my entire life before Columbus.

So when I came here, I didn't know too many of the guys. I played freshman football and that really helped me get acclimated with a lot of the players, a lot of my classmates and stuff. So that when school started, it wasn't such a culture shock for sure. But initially it kind of was. You know, being around some of the guys. guys that had grown up together and known each other. You know, it was all new for me.

So there were moments where I felt a little bit out of place, but basketball always kept me grounded. So my freshman year, I'm one of the taller guys in our class, but super awkward. I mean, if you watch some game film from then, if we could ever pull that up, it looks like this line is sticking above the ground because I was always on the floor. I would just turn, sprint, just trip and fall. And Brother Kevin was my coach as a freshman. Yep.

I know there's going to be some viewers and some listeners that have to. own brother Kevin stories. But I mean, he he humbled me beyond words. I wasn't confident in my left hand. I could barely do a left-handed layup. And, you know, we have a roster of like 22 kids on the freshman team. And he never wasted a day to let me know that, you know, until I figured that out, I was only going to be so good or I was only going to be at this level. And that's where I really learned that I had a different level drive. That's where it was truly instilled in me because before I didn't really have a reason to work hard or work out. You know, I was kind of good in the leagues that I played in, and that was it.

Yeah. But I didn't really have a work ethic, a true work ethic. And then when I was around these players that were significantly better than me at that time, and, you know, learning the parts of the game that I was extremely weak at, it just motivated me to want to work and want to get better. And so that was a turning page for me in my career just because my entire approach changed. Even as a young age, I don't even know if I had complete control over, like what I was doing, but I just wanted to be outside. I wanted a basketball in my hands.

I wanted to work. I wanted to get better. I wanted to prove people wrong. And, you know, that kind of ended up being the chip that stayed on my shoulder all the way through. But it came here. A lot of the lessons and things that I learned throughout my life, both as a player, but also as a man, were instilled in me here. And I'm just extremely grateful and extremely proud to represent this school. The school means everything to me. And also my family, I have two brothers that graduated from Columbus as well. So we're extremely proud to be from here. And to be able to represent the basketball program is truly an honor in itself as well. Yeah, I think you touch on something that is a common denominator across everyone that went to

Columbus, right? Like, you hear about it when you're walking the halls on your freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. But, you know, obviously the brotherhood component, but it's like the person that you become and the character that you build by just walking here for four years, right? Like, you you don't feel it when you're here, but after the fact, you're like, damn, a lot of the skills that I learned and the character that I have today comes from the people that I interacted with,

from the teachers to the administration, right? So even like the guys that we went to school with, right? Absolutely. We're all very similar and like we have strong work ethics, like we have a good header on our shoulders. And I think that comes. Obviously, family is a huge part of it, but there's a reason why our families chose to put us

in a school like this, right? We come out stronger. We come out with a certain kind of like, I don't even know what the word is, but like character is the one that I, you know, that keeps coming to me. It's a breed, right? And we have a specific breed that when you come and you're a Columbus guy,

you carry that shit with you for the rest of your life. But you see even the older alumni, right? They're willing to come back and help the younger guys, right? Like, everyone's always willing to help. And I think that's really what separates Columbus from a lot of different places. Yeah. And just like that, you touched on something. something, the difference is the brotherhood. Like, we, we have a group chat of guys that we graduated

with. Yeah. And, you know, somebody will come in there with some sort of business proposal or maybe you'll drop a latest episode and try to get us, and we all support each other. Yeah. You know, it truly is a brotherhood. And again, you said it. When we walked here, we would always hear that. They would always tell us that from the beginning until the end that we don't realize what we're a part of now, but we will one day. And I definitely think that I realize it now. And I try to push that on to our kids that are here now. Absolutely. Because they also, don't understand. But we've, we've walked that line. And we've brushed off when they would tell us, hey, listen, the guys that you meet here, the guys that you spend these four years with are going to be

your brothers forever. And there's some real truth in that. So just to be able to continue to push the message, you know, this school does such a great job of shaping young men. Forget the athletes. Forget the athletics. Everybody across the board, when they come here, they leave a better man. You leave with a different perspective. You leave around people that are motivated to do well in life. And that's what you need to be around. You know, when you get older, we grew up with people that didn't have the same opportunities that we did. And I'm extremely grateful for that. I'm the type of guy. I like to put things in perspective always. I'm forever grateful the sacrifices my parents had to make to send me to this school and my brothers to this school because I didn't know it all at the time.

But now as I'm older, I know it wasn't easy. I know they went through a lot. And But they knew the value in it, even if we didn't at the time. No. And now we can kind of just appreciate those things and get to spend these, you know, these events together where we had the October Fest day here for Boyo. We had a great time. Absolutely. We were both in the leaderhoses, you know?

Oh, yeah. And just for me, that's just something so amazing to be a part of. It is. Columbus is always having stuff like that. And I just love the community aspect of it. I think a lot of other schools don't have that. And I'm just extremely proud to represent this and be a part of this community. And how rewarding.

is it now for you to be back here and be able to give back at that capacity, right? Like continue the Columbus traditions, keep that culture alive, and educate the youth that's here walking in these always now. Well, definitely full circle for me. Yeah. You know, it's not exactly what I expected. Obviously, I sort of ended up in this position just, I want to say accidentally, but, you know, it never goes part of the plan.

Exactly. I was playing. I was playing extremely well. I was overseas. It was my fifth season. You know, I felt like I had developed a level of momentum that, you know, with some more consistent play, I was really going to walk into some really good opportunities, some, you know, really good contracts where I'd be able to change the trajectory of my life, you know, my family's life. And that's the plan. And that's what you strive so hard. You work so hard for in the off season. And even while you're there. And, you know, we'll get into that more. But

Yeah. Being a professional overseas comes with so much. I mean, you leave home. You're away from family. Whether you have a good game or bad game, you have to internalize that yourself. You don't have that support system that you always had. So you really have to stay grounded in your purpose and in your work and just understand your why and the goals that you have because it's grind. It's really, really tough to have that and, you know, try to sustain that type of lifestyle. But, you know, unfortunately, my last season while I was playing in Europe, while I was playing in Norway, I had a really bad injury. I hurt my knee toward my ACL in a practice, was having an unbelievable season at that point, up until that point rather. And, you know, it just, I've had my moments. Right.

I've had my really dark moments to deal with that. And, you know, at times I still think, you know, why did that happen to me? But I think that's natural. I think that's the human aspect of it because things are always going to happen to. But again, as I mentioned before, things perspective, you know, it's an injury, but it's an injury that I can recover from. The team helped support. I was able to have the surgery done. And, you know, it was on me to work on my recovery and things like that. But there are people that are in situations that don't have that luxury, that don't have another chance. Right. You know what I'm saying? So I always try to find ways to stay motivated and things like that where I realize, listen, yeah, this stuff.

like I feel like I'm down in the dumps. I don't know what's next. But I'm going to figure it out. I've always been able to figure it out. And, you know, luckily that that ended up being here. That ended up being back home. I had a teacher. I don't know if you had Mr. Oasis.

I didn't have Oasis, but obviously very familiar. He's a legend. Very familiar with Oasis. So I had Mr. Osses and he made a joke one time. I think it was my sophomore in my junior year. But he said, hey, no matter what, if it doesn't work out, you could always come back to Columbus. And at the time I laughed, right?

It's so true, though. I was like, I never want to end. up like this guy. You know, you laugh about it. And he kind of said it sarcastically, but there was truth to it. Yeah. And, you know, when the opportunity came and once I came home and I was dealing with the recovery of that injury, I didn't really know what direction I wanted to go to, but I know I wanted to stay close to the game. You know, I contacted Andrew and Andrew gave me an opportunity. He told me, come by practice today and I haven't missed a practice since. You know, it's just kind of how the world works. Right when I came in, it was the end of,

the first state championship. So I was able to catch the, you know, the playoff run before the first state championship. But I really joined and got on board that offseason leading into that following year.

Yeah. Where we were on the chase for our second state championship. And yeah, you know, just the journey is always going to take an unpredictable path. Yeah, you can, you can paint the picture in your head,

you could write everything down and say it's going to go this way and I'm going to do all these things to make sure it goes. it goes this way, but God, the universe, you know, whatever you, you know, however you want to perceive it, will always have its own plan

and its own destiny for you, right? And I don't believe there's really mistakes in life, right? Or accidents in life. I think everything is, you know, given to you from the man above. And that's the cards that he dealt to you for a reason. And you could choose to take it or not,

and you could fight it and you could fight it and you can fight it. You won't win. You're going to end up probably back exactly where you're supposed to be, right? And by fighting it, you're actually digging yourself in a deeper hole rather than just taking the path that you're meant to be. Right. And unfortunately, in those moments when they happen, you know, the why me's? Like, why is this happening to me? Like, how is this going on? Like, I just busted my ass for, you know, 20 something years and then this happens to me, right? So in those moments, it may not make sense. But right, like, now you're here sitting here in an amazing opportunity, right? And you're able to look back at those moments and be like, yeah, maybe this is it, right? And you don't know. Like, that's something you figure out along the way,

and those are things that you're going to continue to digest as you go. And I always use this, but it's the seasons of life, right? And that was your season there, and you played pro. Injury happened, and then it's the next season of life, right? And you're here now, and there will be another season of life. But they're all interconnected at some capacity. They are, right? And here you are, and now you take the opportunity that you have here,

and you make the best of it because the people that fight that are the ones that are they're not happy, right? Because they're not happy with what's available to them. They're not taking things into perspective. They're not looking at the bigger picture. And I think something that you said is very true, right? When you look at everything from, you know, the outside in and be like, damn, people would kill to be in the spot that I'm in.

People would kill to have the opportunities that I have. And when you look at it that way, it, you know, kind of grounds you a little bit. For sure. for sure and I found purpose in what I do um which is huge I truly love basketball like I love basketball yeah when I'm home I want to watch it when I'm in the gym I want a ball in my hand I want to play you know in practice I'll jump in and mix it up with the guys sometimes it just it's I think the real dream for everybody is to wake up and love something so much yeah that it just fuels you know what I'm I feel like that's got to be the goal.

It's got to be the goal. Because there's always levels you can take it, right? Like, no matter what you're doing. Yeah. You want to be a doctor, you want to have your own practice one day. You want to be a basketball player. You want to be a professional one day. Whatever the case may be.

But when you truly love something, you have to have something to fall back on when you run into those dark days. Absolutely. And when you're grounded in purpose, that's what has continued. That's what has helped me continue on, you know, dealing with the cards that I was dealt with, but still to move forward and say, hey, this was an amazing window, an amazing opportunity. I'm extremely grateful for, one, the people I met,

the experiences I had, the places I got to see around the world, you know, the levels I got to play at, I mean, I'll be able to tell my kids one day about my experiences as a player. And that's just amazing, but to be able to be here and come back to a place that I truly consider home and help them achieve their goals because now now I'm dealing with these kids who have their whole life, their whole path right in front of them. And they could take it anywhere they want to go. That's the thing I want them to understand the most because I don't I don't really think I had too many of those guys come back and tell me that. That's true. And, you know, instead of continuing that trend, I want to myself along with a lot of other guys who are currently doing it or have done it,

be able to come back and tell these kids, listen, if this is what you want to do, this is what it requires. Right. Right? Because you can't just say, hey, yeah, I kind of want to do it. And you got one foot in, one foot out. This is what it requires. And this is what's going to separate you. If you're able to get through this and, you know, do these things and have this level of focus, you'll get there.

Yeah. But being able to shape these young guys, not only as basketball players, but as men, it's been amazing. I can't stress it enough. Do you know Inky Johnson? I do. So his story is, when you're telling me this, like that, it just, it kind of clicked something in my head. And he was, I think it was a safety or a corner. He was a DB.

And, you know, he's probably going to be a first-round pig. Life-changing money is knocking at his doorstep. And he goes for a tackle and just, oh, forever the arm. Yeah. Shut down his arm, completely non-functional lock. complete function of the arm. And obviously now he, you know, he doesn't, he has, he doesn't have an arm on, I think it's on his right side. And he talks about like those dark days, right? Where it's like, I just did all of this for what, right? I was, I grinded. I did everything right. You know, I worked my ass off and I'm going to be a first round pick. Like everything like you said, like you dream for. And then boom, stripped away, right? Where it's like that's something you have no control over, right? Like, like, you're not going to make that tackle no like that's your job that's what you're going to do every single time and like he says i would have made that same tackle 12 out of 10 times right not thinking like you're

not thinking that that's going to happen in that moment and he used that darkness for power right he used it to create a platform and be like you know what i can use this to either defeat me or i can use this to become better from it and that's exactly what he did and he's one of the best motivational speakers that existed this day why because he went through those dark times to be able to now lift people out of those moments. And I think you're very similar when it comes to that, right? Like you had a journey and you grinded and you hustled and you did everything because you wanted to achieve your dream, right? And maybe it didn't go the way you wanted, but now here you are and you're able to teach so much more and provide so much value to people

that maybe you never even thought that that was going to be the case. And here you are able to offer so much wisdom and knowledge to people. Because like you said, when I, I remember being in high school and yeah you know I had dreams to play baseball and all these things but I mean in the back of my head I'm like you know what like if it doesn't work out it's okay but what what what is the next step of my life right and there's such a level of confusion because you devote so much time and energy into it and I think it's a common theme with athletes right whether you play up to the high school level or you play up to the college level even the pro level and then the game's just stripped from you whether that's through injury or you just don't perform at the same level anymore then it's like

Who am I? You almost lose your identity. You really just hit it right on the nose because that's something that I really had a hard time with as far as like turning the page. Even in my first year as a coach, like when people will call me coach, I felt like a little weird about that. Because I was like, I'm still the player. Yeah. I'm still a hooper. I'm just, I'm dealing with, I'm dealing with this, but I'm still me, you know?

And I think for a long time I had just a really hard time accepting it. Like accepting, you know, what it was or just how things played out. And as an athlete, you really deal with some sort of identity issues because my entire life, my entire life, I've been a basketball player. My whole life. Before high school, after high school, I had the opportunity to play in college. I had the opportunity to play after college. So my entire life, I've classified myself and the people around me have classified me as a basketball player. And you live in that.

which is not the right way to be. I wish I knew some of the lessons then that I know now. But I aligned myself with that. I was like, this is who I am. This is, but this is really just what I do. Currently, athletes across the board, there needs to be more of a conversation about you are more than just what you do on the floor, on the field, you know.

You bring so much more value to humanity to, to your community to everything aside from your performance. Another part of that whole identity thing is like when I play bad, now I'm really struggling. True. You know what I'm saying? Because it's not just, you know, it doesn't always go your way. When you identify yourself as a basketball player, that means your entire mood, everything that you deal with is based on your performance.

And so when things don't go your way, you can really have a hard time with that. So like I said, there needs to be guys that have been in. the position and have turned the page, whether it's as an athlete or someone like Inky who had a terrible injury and terrible thing happened to them, but be able to put things in perspective because when he speaks in those classrooms full of an entire team, all those guys that are there are healthy. They're in line, you know, and you don't know their story by looking at their face. But everybody has a story. All of our kids that come here are from different walks of life. All of them have a story. All the kids outside this gym that play in other parts of

Miami. Everyone has a different walk of life. Everyone has a different home life. Everyone has different goals, different adversities that they've been through. And when you can help make a kid feel like he's heard, cared about, that there are people that are willing to help him achieve his goal, I can't even put in words what that would have meant for me as a play. I can't player, as a young player. And now in this part of my life, as a coach, as a mentor, you don't always get a thank you. But you have to do it without expecting a thank you.

You have to know that this is why you're here. This is your purpose. Your purpose is to push these kids to greatness and whatever that means for them. Doesn't always mean basketball. Every player is different. We have, listen, we have some extremely talented players here at Columbus. I'm very, very fortunate that my first coaching experience, my first official coaching experience, has been with these groups of just unbelievable kids, first of all, and unbelievable players.

I mean, there's definitely nobody else in our city, probably state that can say every day in practice, you know, I'm watching potentially the future of basketball. Yeah. Take that however you want, you know. If people feel away about that, they can say whatever they want. But I know what I'm seeing. I've been around basketball long enough to know that our kids can take their talents wherever they go. But my primary concern is who they're going to be when they get there.

Because as a player, I was able to do enough things where I truly believe the basketball stuff always works out. It works itself out. If you work, it will show. If you don't work, it will also show. But are you a good guy? Do people like to be around you? Are you good in the locker room? Are you good with your teammates?

Are you good outside of the court? Do your teachers like you? You know what I'm saying? Are you involved in the community? Because part of the identity, sometimes people get lost in that. You now have a platform. Exactly. There are kids.

That's the craziest part. There's kids lined up when we show up to some of these arenas, just waiting in line trying to get a glimpse at some of our guys, to get a picture or get an autograph, which is amazing. And our guys are so young. I'm almost impressed by the way that they, They handle it sometimes because they haven't been through enough to handle it as well as they have. But they handle it with class because they understand their platform.

They understand that what they're doing is bigger than them. It's a level of reward that you get. But when you see the players hold themselves, which are still kids, they're kids at the end of the day. And I think when you're dealing with guys like the Boozer brothers, for example, Like you almost kind of like forget that because of the spotlight that comes with them. But I didn't say they're kids, right? Like they still have so many lessons to learn. And obviously I think the parents do a phenomenal job of reminding themselves like, hey, like there's still a big path ahead of you.

And there's still work to be done. And there's still a character that you have to carry that, like you said, you can almost lose sight of that because you're such a good basketball player. Right. And like that's who you are? But outside of that, once you leave the court, who are you? Because you've seen it with. guys at the pro level, right? They have all the talent in the world,

but off the field, they have a ton of issues, right? Maybe they're holding on to, you know, past demons that they've had or whatever it is, and they haven't been able to shake it off, and they don't have the right people around them talking, you know, the right things in their ear. And what happens? Their careers derail because they're not good outside the court.

They might be the most talented person on the field or on the court, but the moment they walk off, they're a different person. But you need that, you need that structure, you need that. I think the most important word in life in general is having discipline. Because if we just woke up every single day, just trying to find the ounce of motivation to do what we need to do, we're going to have a really tough time. Because we're going to run into those days that we don't want to be here. We don't want to do it. I know I have them, you know, where I'd show up to practice.

And it's probably the last place I want to be, but it's where I need to be. So when you have discipline instilled, that's where the good thing start to happen. And we talked about support systems earlier. some of these guys, just like you mentioned, doesn't matter how good they are. It really doesn't matter how good they are. Because if they're caught up in their issues or caught up with their friends

who don't understand what's really going on here and they get mixed up in that, you just veer off. One of my favorite quotes is how you do anything is how you do everything. So I can't approach basketball as a fully driven, fully committed athlete, but then, you know, be a jerk to my classmates

or my teachers. not getting my work done. So true. These are things that I had to learn also. You know, like, these are things I had to go through and learn that maybe I wasn't in the right space on both sides. But when you find that balance, I think that's where things start to go your way. You have all your boxes checked and you're being disciplined. You're doing the things you need to do.

You're doing everything the right way. That's where you get rewarded. Yeah, 100%. So let's get into, you know, you spoke a little bit about your journey when you played overseas, right? Tell us a little bit about that. experience, like how, you know, obviously you spoke about how you got to see so many different places, but, you know, one of the things that you touched on was like, you know, you don't have your family around, right? Like, you don't have your friends around. Like, so you have to

build those friendships, build those relationships. So talk about that experience playing overseas. Well, my first experience was playing in Mexico. That was when I finished playing in Lynn University. And I played in this city, Agues Calientes. It's like right dead center in Mexico. And amazing city, man. Amazing people. But I didn't really know. what to expect when I got there. It wasn't a guaranteed deal that I took. I took just a training camp invitation. That's it. That's all I was given. They said they were going to pay me $2,000 to show up for a week and a half and play. And I was like, let's do it. I don't have any other options. Right. Let's do it. And I was eager and excited for the opportunity. And when I got there,

I earned a spot on the team. I beat the other guy out that they had honestly really had the plans to sign for the year. So they brought me, I don't think they really had any expectations for me. I went to a Division II school. I had some injuries while I was at to Juco because I went to Santa Fe after I left Columbus, had some injuries over there, and then I ended up at a Division II school. And if you just look at, you know, the resume, you can just write that off. Yeah. D2 school, okay, you know, decent player, but whatever, I got this other guy who played Hyde Major for four years, average, you know, he was all conference, he was all this and all that. But none of that means anything. As soon as, as soon as you line it up and as soon as, you know,

you're giving an opportunity, then these guys, these guys are trying to provide for their families. So it's a whole different type of beast when you get out there. And I think I needed one day to learn what that was. The difference seemed like a college practice and a professional practice. There's so much accountability that needs to be done because you're given all this free time. You need to be at your meetings, your workouts, practice, and that's it, and the rest is on you. And I had teammates that, you know, were into other things and did whatever they wanted and stuff. but I was able to have some really good dudes,

some other two American guys, one Stedman Lemon, who actually just played for the same team, Pantera's Aguas Calientes, last year, and had an amazing year. And another guy, Hamid Ali, they were both American guys. I'm also very fortunate because they don't speak any Spanish.

I do. So anytime we went to a restaurant, I had us covered, right? So, you know, I took care of us in that regard. But, man, they really helped me learn how to be a pro. So Sted had played a restaurant. the G-League for a couple of years and played in a couple different spots. So he already had the experience of what being a pro is like. And watching him work every single day and prepare

and prepare his body and stretch after practice and just makes that such a priority was something that I had to learn and add into my repertoire. You know what I'm saying? I also think that's a very underrated trait is having the ability to learn and adapt because now we're in the pros. Now we're dealing with egos. You know, now we're dealing with different contracts. You might be playing better than me. I'm making more money than you,

and you might feel away about that. True. That's your ego coming into play. True. Which is hard to manage sometimes in a team because collectively, if you guys are all on the same page, you can probably be pretty good.

Yeah. I was really fortunate to have Stead and meet, and they really helped me, you know, going through some tough times there. And it was just an unbelievable experience. their fan base over there is unbelievable. Really? Just in Mexico in general,

but we at Aguas had an amazing fan base. They still DM me all the time, like five posts, basketball videos and stuff. They'll always show love. And so shout out to all my Aguas people, if there's anyone out there watching this. That's awesome. But then, you know, I took it from there,

and I got my first taste of Europe. I had never been to Europe before, and I ended up in rural Eastern Europe in the Republic of Georgia, in the capital city, Tablis. Oh, wow. This was 2019. This was my, like I said, my first taste of Europe.

All I had heard was that people didn't respect the South American basketball leagues, which was very incorrect. I would hear that from European sources, but those levels are extremely high level. Anyone can do their research and see the type of players or ex-MBA players and stuff. Definitely a high-level competition down in South America, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic, etc. But I wanted that European strike. I wanted to go get my name in that European market. And so I took a leap of faith and I signed a contract.

And I was supposed to be there for probably 10 to 11 months. So it was going to be a really long season. Again, this is 2019. So I'm playing there the entire fall. And, you know, there was some good days, some bad days. Things, what I forgot to mention was when I was in, I was Galientes, I was the young guy. I'm 22. I'm fresh out of high school. I'm sorry, I'm fresh out of college. And the next youngest guy wasn't, he was probably 27. We had like 30, 34 year olds on the team. So we had grown men,

families, kids. You know what I'm saying? And I'm just like fresh out of college, trying to take all this in and try to understand what this experience is all about. So I felt like the young bull on the team. Fast forward the next season, I got young guys on my team. young Georgian kids, you know, some of them like fresh out of high school, some of them trying to come to college in the States. You know, there were some older guys, but for the most part, I was, I was now put in a leadership position. Which maybe I feel like I've always naturally been a bit of a leader, especially on the court. But I was now put in this position, and I was excited for that. And we had a really good year.

Got to learn a lot. It was my first time being an All-Star in my professional career and getting that experience was amazing. I led the league in three-point percentage. You know, my numbers were good. Everything was starting to line up. We were having a really good year. We were finishing number two in the league. And we have our last regular season game.

We've already clinched the playoff spot. This is January of 2020, and the NBA had just canceled their season the night before. We're there right before a jump ball lined up at center court. Just kind of, you know, doing my thing. the hands of the other team. The reps are still in a conversation. We're trying to figure out what's going on. They blew the whistle and they said, everyone go to their locker rooms. And literally within two hours, they shut the league down. Wow. They said, we don't know what's going on with this coronavirus nonsense. Until further notice, the league is, we're done.

Holy shit. So I'm on the other side of the planet right now. Travel logistics starts to become a nightmare. I've just been here for eight and a half months. You know, I went through You know, you're all dinged up after all that time. Of course, yeah. I'm out here for all this time. We're getting ready for this playoff run, which for anybody that doesn't know, making it to the playoffs as an overseas player is the biggest thing, because that's where the bonuses come in.

You, you, like, aspire for those playoff games as a pro. So I just couldn't wait to get there, right? And we finally got through all this and we're finally there. And this happens. So now we're all in this, like, what now? Right. Position. Put us all on a flight home.

Before I knew it, two days later, my stuff's packed. I'm heading back to Miami. Wow. And we all dealt with that. We all dealt with, you know, coronavirus closing, you know, our offices, our schools, our everything. So we all together dealt with that. It's a little different dynamic, though, considering that you were in Europe. And it's like, all right, my office and the gables is closed.

So I'm just going to work from home. For sure. And I hadn't been home all this time and, you know, wasn't expecting to come home so early. So it was definitely tough. But I think all of us were a little bit, like, didn't know what's exact. Maybe this was going to be over in a couple weeks. No one really knew what the expectation was going to be, how long it was going to last, or how things were going to change after the fact.

Yep, absolutely. So then the league shuts down that year. Obviously, pandemic happens. Nothing's really going on. What happens after the pandemic? So there's a long time in between. And I end up signing and leaving again. to go play for Panthers again.

I signed with them fall of 2020, but to play the 2021 comeback season. So I was their first signing that year and I was super excited because I was like, you know, finally we're getting back and it was a good contract. The terms, everything worked out. It was like, wow, okay, this long period was worth it.

I stayed grounded. I stayed in the gym. You know, didn't know when things were going to change, but finally it did and I was getting my opportunity. And I actually, fast forward before I went to Europe, I actually played, so I played the season in Agua Scalantes and then came home for a couple weeks and then I played a shorter season in Culeacan in Sinaloa. That was insane. Like, I'm going to write a book one day about that experience. That was insane.

For people that don't know, Sinaloa, Culeacons specifically, is the head and the home of the cartel. El Chapo's cartel. Holy shit. It's, it's, like, did you feel like you were? Just watch Narcos. And that is not like a Hollywood version. Like, that's what it is. Right.

And I knew the offices, the owners, I knew those guys were somehow involved. Right. But you stay away from that. Of course. I'm here to play basketball. And there was a fine line. There was these rules. Okay.

When you leave your apartment, we have our bus right here. You're not even outside. You jump in the bus. go to the arena, go to the arena, you practice, you play, and then you come home. You don't go out. Don't do all this extra stuff. I was like, fine. When I took that contract, my family was begging, please don't go.

Like, you know, my big brother knows everything. He knows about every place. And it's like, dude, come on. Like, are you serious? But I'm trying to put my name out there. I'm trying to, you know, build my resume, build my thing up. And so that'll be a conversation for another day about the experiences in Coley Come, but that could be a pot in itself.

In itself, it really could. But spent some time over there and that was... Interesting. Very interesting. So then boom, I leave for Europe. I play the year in Europe. We come back because of COVID. And then once we bounce back, I sign again to go play in Mexico again, which I was really excited about.

Just because I love that feel. I love being there. The fans, everybody really cared. And, man, that makes such a difference to, like, having just really feel like a pro in those moments. And... But it didn't go my way. I was super confident. with where I was at physically when I got there.

I felt like I was really in the best shape I had ever been. Played really well in the Miami Pro that summer. Just really felt like I was ready. Like this was going to be my year that I was really going to show the growth and make a huge jump. And I was excited to go back there too to go back to where I started and show the growth that I had put in. We had a new coach.

He's actually managing Oblie's older brother. Oh, wow. Yeah. And I was super excited about that too because, you know, he's not managed Obli, but he did have a playing career and an extensive coaching career and I was excited to learn.

So immediately, I signed, they signed a couple other guys, and then they signed him, I reached out to him. You know, I just wanted to connect and wanted to understand, you know, what he likes to run and that kind of thing, even before I got there, because all I cared about was just doing right. And, you know, we had spoken a little bit

over text and over calls beforehand, but whatever. Fast forward a little bit of time, I get there, and everything's changed. Like, I can't really get a good feel for the guy. We just don't really mesh well. Like, our, maybe our personalities collide a little bit. You know, I wasn't really too sure. But it wasn't working out, and I wasn't getting an opportunity.

And we were losing, and we were losing bad. And that was really, just really tough for me because, you know, I'm a prideful guy. Yeah. But I can understand if it's in the team's best interest that I don't play because we're, we're doing really well. Like, we're winning these games. The guy in front of me is playing a lot better. And this isn't a knock to anybody, but as a professional, as a competitor, you're always going to feel like, of course.

It should be me. 100%. So I couldn't really accept what was happening. But I, you know, I didn't complain. I'm not a complainer. I just went back to what I know. I stayed in the gym. I just continued working.

I'd be the first one there, last one to leave. And my opportunity never came. And I just felt like I was losing value being there. didn't even get to really have a conversation with the coach, but I did speak with the front office, and they said that they had conversations with the coach, and basically from that standpoint, I said, this isn't working for me.

It's the first time I'd ever really done anything like that in my life. It wasn't working for me, and I asked for a release. And I had no alternative. I was just confident. It's release and then figure it out after that. Figure it out after that. Once we sign this and we pay you whatever's left, keep it pushing.

So I did that. I left. Came home. I was home for two weeks, three weeks. Everybody's kind of like, what are you going to do? That's also a terrible feeling. Yeah, that's the word. It's like, all right, well, you've been doing this.

Now what? It's a terrible feeling. Yeah. You're not exactly where you feel like you need to be, but, you know, you're rolling in the dice and you're betting on yourself. And fortunately, an opportunity in Norway came about. And I was going to join one of my teammates that I played with in college, Rashid Warl.

You know, good dude, he was already up there. He kind of gave me the rundown. And he's like, listen, they really want you. They really like you. They never thought we'd have. a chance to get you but if you're willing to let's do it yeah so I signed and I went and I'm going to this whole other beautiful country then Norway is crazy I played in Tromzo which is the northern northernmost city you can see the northern lights sometimes from like your your house

it's yeah it's unbelievable completely different experience but from a basketball standpoint the team was in really bad shape really bad shape they were dead last in the league or second to last in the league um just when When you, when you go to Norway, do you have an agent that's coordinating for this? I do have an agent. And how, like, how is that facilitated? So I do have an agent. He was, you know, marketing me around to some different places.

So before I decided on Norway, there were a couple other takers. So we kind of narrowed it down and ended up thinking Norway was going to be the best move. Okay. So I went ahead and did that. And I got out there and just had to figure out quick because it was my first time getting to a team that had already started. Like I wasn't going to get there during the training camp period. They already started.

So I just had to pick up on things quick. My first game, we're playing against the top team in the league. So it's like, okay, cool. Like, here we go. Let's hit the ground running. And it was just a completely different thing. I was getting those opportunities that I wanted so bad. You know, while I was in Mexico, just like eagerly waiting.

I was getting those opportunities and I was showcasing why I deserve to be in that position. Yeah. And things started to go really well. We put together a streak of a ton of wins. I think it was like 12 or 13 in a row. Some of the teams we had beat, like our team in their history had never beaten that team in like 20-something years, something like that. Winning a game in Kongsburg, the team had never won in franchise history. And we won over there pretty convincingly. So it was like exciting to be a part of because I felt like I had been through so much just in that season alone and even in the COVID. year before that it was like finally we're here and we're going to make it work and we turned our entire season around and same thing you know around December we're preparing for that same team that we're playing against the number one team of the league we're going to go play them at their place and we kind of just have like a practices are a little different when they lead up to a game especially when you're in the season it's more just like staying in rhythm but there are moments where it's like you want to mix it up a little bit and so the practice kind of started a little bit of a walk

like let's stay sharp and then the competitor in you is like why has this got guarding me so hard like do we need to play like let's get to it then if you want to guard like let's play so it really became like a you know fully physical practice which i'm cool with that i love that right and you know i just i did a move that i've i've done a million times i'm just attacking the left side of the floor and i got the guy right here on my hip and then right as i'm trying to slam and and initiate the contact boom when I put the ball down and put my weight on my left leg and tried to lean it just seemed like everything from my knee down just like like my whole leg just fell off and I had been through it before with my right with my right knee twice so I knew it's the feeling was just all too familiar and you know

at that point my entire world yeah all the emotions start coming out yeah like oh god here we go people are like hey you know it's it's okay you don't know what it is yet but I knew right I knew I went to the hospital I did an x-ray. The x-ray came out negative. So everyone was like, this is great news. Okay, let's do an MRI. Right. Because I know, like, I know something in here is going on.

Sure enough, you know, I showed that I had torn my ACL. And that was, that was it for me. And that was really tough because I had, you know, we talked about it earlier, but I felt like I worked so hard and went through so much to be in that position. And now I'm here. And it's also like, there were no signs that showed, like this isn't it. It was actually the other way. Right. It almost felt like you were on the other side of the curve and like, all right, well, this didn't work out here, but here's my

opportunity to make it work. Now I'm here and now I'm seeing the success. Now I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor. Yeah. To a certain degree. And this happens. This adversity happens. And I had to deal with that and I had to. It's not a quick recovery. It's not like you're out a couple of weeks. It's not like you're out a couple weeks and you'll be back like you're you're done you're a long road of recovery that's the first thing is your season's surgery you know therapy rehab all that stuff and then it's like how do you come back after that you know like it it's just a dynamic of an injury like that at that point in your career is like that's where decisions have to have to be made and it was it was almost it was almost like i knew in my heart

that i i i wasn't going to get it back to a point where i was going to play again right or maybe Maybe it was that in my mind and my heart told me something else. But every day it felt like I was going against myself like, hey, this is it. It's time to move on versus like, no, you've come back from this twice. You could do it again. Yeah. You know, but I just, once I came home. That is the difficult decision that a lot of athletes deal with that at one point,

whether that's in the form of injury, whether that's just like you've been in the league for, you know, whatever that league is for X amount of time. And then you're like, there is that time where you just have to make. that decision. Yeah. Because then it becomes a little bit of like the delusion, right? Like, obviously your heart's still in it and your, you know, your drive and all that's still there.

But it's like, is this where my heart and my drive should be going at this point? Is this God telling me, hey, it's time to move on? And it maybe he gave you signs along the way that he did, you know, that you made me look back and you're like, you know, maybe then was the chance or maybe that was the opportunity. But at the end of the day, it went the way it did, and it got you here. Here. Yeah.

Which, like, you said it, like, shit. Like, you could have been on any other basketball team, but you're on this basketball team now. So it's funny, it's funny you mentioned that, right? Because when I came in, I was talking to my family, and they're like, what are you going to do? Right. I was like, I don't know. I barely walked. Like, I don't know what's going on.

Like, I'm going to be a player again. Like, that's what I'm doing. They're like, okay, yeah. Good luck with that, buddy. Yeah. But initially, there was an open. opening at Coral Park. For a head coaching job? For a head coaching job. Okay. This is before any Columbus, before I ever showed up.

Yeah, yeah. I saw the opening. People had reached out about it. It's right there because I live in Westchester. I'm born and raised in Westchester. I'm like, okay, cool. Like, I play basketball long enough. I can just go and do that. I can just walk in and do this. Right. Right. Naive, naively thinking what is, what's actually required. I go in, I have the interview, I sit down and have the interview and it goes extremely well. They obviously respect me on the level that I'm super knowledgeable about the game, had an extensive playing career. You know, they liked all these things.

There's obviously an entire process, especially when it comes to working in public schools that you have to go through. And again, being naive, like I avoided that and just thought, hey, once I'm in their face, they're going to say, this is our guy. But, you know, there was some other guys that had already been through that registration process

and they just figured, we got to make a decision now. They went with this guy. They wanted it, hey, let's meet up again after the year if you can finish these things. I didn't know what I was doing. I was like, okay, cool, you know, good luck to you guys, whatever. The next day, the next day I reached out to Andrew and I was like, hey, I want to help. Like, I want to be involved.

And he brought me on board. And I'm extremely grateful for that guy as well. 100%. Because, you know, he, him and George as well, you know, because those two are, it's like a two-man game at times. We kind of joke about that sometimes. We really have an incredible staff. Yeah. I'm part of an incredible staff.

But Drew and George, they got their own little rapport sometimes, and, you know, it's brought us a lot of success. But I'm extremely grateful for him for just giving me the opportunity to come back. You know, it kind of took a leap of faith, too, bringing me. Of course, he didn't know. You don't just want to invite people into your program that aren't going to have the best interest. But he had enough of faith to say, hey, you know what? This is the right guy to bring in and at least test it out.

Yeah. I mean, if it doesn't work, whether it didn't work for you, whether it didn't work for him, then you have that conversation then. But obviously, it's worked out well for both sides, right? Yeah, I mean, I hope you would say that too. I hope he would say that too. But for me, it's been incredible to learn. That's the thing, right? You're a coach, you're a mentor.

And you're always thinking that you're the one doing the teaching. But in reality, there's so much room to learn. And that's something I'm extremely grateful for because, you know, watching the way these guys approached, not just in coaching, but also in training because they're trainers as well. True. It's it's really just been a super blessing for me and I hope to really take a lot of the lessons that I've learned and and hopefully one day instill that into my own program, you know, whatever the future may hold for me. Right. I know that these lessons that I've learned here and will continue to learn here are are going to stick with me wherever I go. And now you're here. You got the Boozer brothers,

which have elevated this program. And credit to Andrew, to your point, obviously he's a huge part of that. And the development of the program here at Columbus. So talk to me about what it's like having the Boozer brothers, because they've obviously been here since freshman year. Now they're seniors. Cam is obviously one of the highest ranked prospects in all of high school basketball, has been since the day he walked on the court. And, I mean, if you don't know basketball, now they're sons of Carlos Boozer who played a long time in the NBA,

had a very successful career. But here they are, you know, and their kids came to Columbus, which was like a huge deal. Amazing. It's amazing, man. And, you know, we're blessed every day to have kids like that. It's so special. Cam and Caden have done so much for this school and for this program and for this community.

And they've done it all the right way. There's so many layers of those kids that people don't know and they just see in the, you know, in the highlights or in the, you know, in the banners that are hung up and so. Media. Media talks about them too. Media can portray them however they want, but getting to see them on a day-to-day, see how they prepare, see their character, man. They're so fun to be around. They're so full of life.

And again, sometimes it's easy to get lost because they're so good. They're just mature beyond their years. You forget that they're kids. You know what I'm saying? You really forget that they're kids. You talk to them a certain way. And then you're like, wait, they'll say something back. You're like, wait, you're 17.

How are you saying something like that? You're 6-9, right? Six-nine, but you're 17. So let me rewire that one time. But I mean, man, look, as I mentioned before, like, this being your first experience as a coach, like, this is my first, you know, get to feel and compete and prepare as a coach. Getting to be around some of these guys is just a blessing in itself. Cam and Caden are extremely, extremely special dudes, extremely special dudes. And they've put this program on a level that I think a lot of us only dreamed of.

And as I mentioned before, they've done it the right way. They're just incredible kids. People love to be around them. People love to talk to them. They make everybody feel welcomed, cared for, invited. They don't big time anybody. And they have a right to do that sometimes. I don't want to say a right.

But if anybody can do it, they could do it, right? And they choose not to. and I think a lot of that goes into how C.C. and Carlos did in raising them. And also Carmani, too, who's their older brother by one year, they're just an incredible family. And they're incredibly supportive. I mean, wherever we go, they go. They're going to be at the game. You know, they care about their boys. Going back to the parents, like they're the biggest supporters of them. They care about their boys, but they're gentlemen. They do everything the right way. They're amazing in the classroom. They're amazing in the community. And then just to see the way that they

prepare the way that they go to work every single day. I feel like if I was one of their teammates, I'd be motivated every single day because I'm like, this dude's the best player in America. Right. And, you know, he treats every single practice or every single workout like like a make or break. So if he's got all this notoriety and success and it brings the energy that everybody else. They know where they're going. It becomes contagious. Yeah. But we also got some other guys that are just amazing, amazing kids. 100%. We had the, we had both rich. We had Jace, who's out over at Michigan State this year, and he's doing incredible. And we love to see that.

We have young Jackson, too, who that's my guy. Jack's Rich. That's my guy. I mean, he's a one-of-one personality. Obviously, incredible athlete. We've seen some of the videos of stuff he's done in the dunk contest. Yeah. But really, all our guys, all our entire staff, like, really, really have a special group.

So being able to share this success with these guys is amazing. Another name is Malik Abdullahi, who was this. in this program for four years. And he's over at Princeton now. That's truly like a dream. Not just for us, for like kids in general. Anybody who came up. 100%.

If you know about Malik and his upbringing and stuff like that to be able to have that opportunity and then now do what he's doing, it's just incredible. We put in a lot of work here, both in the film room and the weight room and then obviously in the gym. It's always going to be coaches here in the weekend. It's always going to be kids here at 6 a.m. These kids want it. Yeah. These kids want to be great. That's the first step. They want to be great. They listen. They're attentive. They want to learn. They want to work. And I think that's an amazing recipe for success. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I think that's going back to the Columbus culture. Right. It's like you have the talent, but the culture has always existed. Right. Sure. And when you mix the talent with the culture, I mean, you're going to breed a lot of success. Obviously, that's a big reason why we've had the talent.

three state championships in a row. We've been at the highest national level. And it goes across any sport, right? It's not just basketball, it's baseball, it's football. You know, we've seen it with the football team. They've been extremely successful as well. And I think it all comes back to the culture within, you know, Columbus. And then you add the talent on top of it, you know, the world's your oyster at that point. Like anything is possible. And that culture was laid out long before even we got here, you know, and we got to be a part of it and learning. Now I'm in a position to try to push it. Yeah.

Because the one thing I will say is Andrew and George, I'll always give them all their flowers, but they're not Columbus guys. They didn't graduate from Columbus. That's very true. And, you know, I don't want to make that seem like a more significant thing than it is, but there is a great deal of pride from myself, from Rick Landerer, from Julian Rose, who went to Columbus. And now we get to represent on this level, obviously, it's just an added layer of

motivation for us. Yeah. It's fun to watch, obviously, going into the Boozer senior year. Obviously, there's a ton of hype and anticipation going into this year. I think we're number one in a lot of the national rankings, which is just wild to see, you know, as a fan. And just seeing that the evolution of the program, you know, me as a fan, I'm excited.

I'm going to attend a ton of games and recommend anybody that's in Miami to come. Yeah, I appreciate that. I mean, for sure, if you have kids, I don't understand why you wouldn't want them to see this. Because things like this truly don't happen all the time. You know, we're a part of something really, really special. And, you know, we live in enough gratitude to understand that and accept that. Oh, yeah. And realize that, you know, down the road a couple of years from now,

things might look a lot different. But we're currently here and we want to maximize this opportunity. And we want to bring everybody else up with us too. We want everyone to be a part of it and feel a part of it. You know, we've done fundraisers in the past and we'll do things moving forward. We got some plans for Thanksgiving coming up with our kids. and obviously with the holidays coming up. We want to be as involved as possible.

Absolutely. But we want people to have that same energy. Yeah. And grow the game of basketball in Miami. You know, obviously it hasn't, it's not like the number one sport here, but there's plenty of opportunity to change that dynamic. And I think having, you know, athletes like this, programs like this throughout all of South Florida will only help that. And, I mean, we're excited.

I think everyone in Miami is excited. Columbus Nation's obviously extremely excited. For sure. For sure. And we're excited. We work every day. we're really excited. We want the opportunity.

Obviously, you mentioned the whole number one in the nation thing. That's never happened in school history. We are proud of that. But at the same time, we understand that in the grand scheme, that means nothing. And it comes with a lot, right? Because we were talking offline, like, you're going to have a chip on your, every other team is going to have a chip on their shoulder to take you out. It doesn't matter who you are.

It doesn't matter whether you're the 1,000th ranked team or the second ranked team in the country. You're going to bring it that night. Everyone's going to bring it against Columbus. You're going to bring it that night. They want to be the guys to spoil that. One thing I always tell our guys is we are everybody's Super Bowl. Exactly. We have always been everybody's Super Bowl.

It's true. A hundred percent. We have always been everybody. Everyone circled Columbus on their schedule on a local level before the season even started. Yeah. Because if you beat Columbus, it doesn't matter how the season went. Exactly. You know, you got your win.

You can hang your hat on that. But now, obviously, to be on this platform where we're nationally ranked, it's people from outside of Florida that have that Columbus circled on their. And, you know, we need to embrace. that and understand that and also show up with a great deal of energy and protect that. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So we're excited. So what what's the season look like? What are some games that people listening should circle on their on their schedule to attend? Well, we have, we're hosting Montverid Academy this year. Here at Columbus, that'll be in January. Okay. You know, we're doing a bit of traveling. Obviously for Thanksgiving break, we'll be up in Atlanta. We play in a Jordan classic up in New York. That'll be right after Christmas time. And then this will be the third year in a row that we've play in the hoop hall in Springfield, Massachusetts. We've had some success there over the last couple years.

Usually the top teams in the country are a part of it. And anytime we get a chance to line it up with the best, we're excited for that. We've never ran away from any sort of competition. A lot of people can't say the same. A lot of people, we feel like a lot of people maybe duck us sometimes or have things to say about us. But we're in the position where we don't ever run from a fight. We want our guys to learn.

We want to line it up with the best to prove that we are the best. So being number one in the nation means nothing before the season. We want to be there in March and April at the top of that list. These are our goals, and we know that it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of learning and possibly, you know, some tough times. We're going to have to come through that together and bring each other up if we want to ultimately achieve that goal. Oh, yeah. Well, I appreciate you, brother, for jumping on the pod.

Thank you, bro. Good, ass time. Great combo. And we're extremely excited for the season. And I'm really happy for you and your journey and how it's brought you here. Thank you, bro. And being a part of this. Thank you, man.

It means a lot. I appreciate you. It's great to see you doing great things. And it's really happy, man. Thank you, bro. I appreciate it. It's all right here, baby. Hey.

Yes, sir.