THE BEGINNING
My first defensive assignment was given to me in the summer of 89'. That was the summer that I became the 'Defensive Specialist', aka 'The Sheriff', aka the 'Defensive Stopper'. They all were great nicknames, names that I never made up for myself-they were given by coaches and peers. It felt good to get that validation, but with validation comes expectations. Once you develop a #reputation, you have to #produce. Not once or twice, but every time you step on the court!!! Let me take you back to the beginning-before the #defensive titles were given to me.
I told this story before, and it never gets old. I always believe in giving credit to people when it's due. To all of those guards that I shut down, and harassed over the years-it's not my fault! I formally apologize. Eric Harris Sr. is the one to blame. He's the one that put the battery in my back. He instilled the #mindset/#mentality that it takes to be a defensive assassin. His rationale was very simple, but it made a ton of sense. (Keep reading and I will tell you why.) That 1989 Gauchos team that I was blessed to be on was serious. When I say serious, I mean we didn't lose games. Period!!! If you weren't there, that was when NYC basketball was the best in the country hands down!!! There weren't 1,000 AAU teams. You had to be good enough to make the two majors. Gauchos or Riverside. That was your goal. Eventually, you wanted to make one of those rosters. On the Gauchos side, player development took place on a daily basis. Mr. Paige was the #wizard/#mastertrainer! Everything started and went thru him. His teaching tools & methods were so advanced and ahead of it's time. He's the GOAT, there will never be another like Mr. Paige. The #architect of that team was Coach Dave Jones. He was the #disciplinarian/#fatherfigure that everyone respected. Both of those guys were straight shooters and always told you the truth. They didn't care what your response would be. They didn't care if it would hurt your feelings, or if you decided to go to another team based on your feelings getting hurt. As a matter of fact, they wanted you to go elsewhere-because that meant you weren't mentally tough! Besides, you didn't want to leave once you cracked the Gauchos code.
You don't become the best team in the country by accident. We bust our ass physically and mentally every single day. (Everyone was the right age!!!) We also had a lot of talent, as well as guys that played their role to make the team successful. Our #big3 was #TylerBrown, #DennisKeenan, and #WallyLynch. Wally was the point guard & the orchestrator of the show. He always set the table on the court, and made sure that guys did what they had to off the court. He was a natural born leader! Tyler Brown was our main #scorer. He was 6'5 at 12 years old, and dominated the game from the very beginning. Tyler was a child #prodigy! You can still catch him on the summer circuit today getting buckets-one of the most underrated players in NYC history. Dennis was our Chris Mullin. A pure #shooter at 6'5 that could also get to the rack. A tough as nails white boy that wasn't going to back down from anyone. We had so much other #talent on that team as well. Here's where Eric Harris' genius kicked in. With that #lineup, my dad knew that my major contribution wouldn't be on the #offensiveend. However, a #defensive contribution was much needed! He said, "Don't focus your efforts & energy on the offensive end. You can be more #valuable to this team by being a #lockdown defender. Your points will come off of your defense. Coach Dave, and any coach that you play for moving forward will always need you on the court. Offense comes and goes, defense is consistent. Defense will be your weapon!" I took heed to what he said. Mr. Paige and Dave Jones prepared us physically and mentally to be great. The rest was up to us. I was ready!!!
We travel to Indianapolis, Indiana for the 1989 AAU tournament and it wasn't fair. We go undefeated, and win all of our games easily by #doublefigures. It was a total #teameffort that whole tournament! From an individual standpoint, my sole purpose was to shut down any guard that I matched up against every time I stepped on the court. It didn't matter if they were from the midwest, down south, or the west coast. I wanted the competition to be put on notice that there was a 'Defensive Specialist' that they had to deal with from NYC for years to come!!!
Contact Info:
1-833-LOCK-U-UP
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