Bonzi Wells | Ep 155 | ALL THE SMOKE Full Episode | SHOWTIME Basketball

00:00:24
Speaker 1: Welcome back all the smoke. Summer League two coming to you live from the Legend Suite and uh the wind. Yeah, Las Vegas, Boss, we're here. Uh introduce our next because what y'all been doing before the cameras came out. I'm mad the cameras weren't on. Introduce you man as my real brother man, Uh, somebody I hate for real in real life, real time, which everything bad had happened to him and only him. No success in life is ever coming this way. And I'm happy to say that now my real brother, somebody who I'm proud of to see what he's doing in hbc U space. Um, we did some great things together and hung out the whole time. I ain't be a career and somebody who I really love as a real brother, bondsy Wales. I ain't shaking your hand. I shook your hands by ten times already that when Jack was on No Block, would you say, I was kind of hoping that he got robbed, But it was all love though. It was a big conversations on the back and for all. I think if you if we could just get we had to start going on Twitch and uh just streaming. Yeah, these mothers do on that game. It's classic. Uh, man, welcome bonds, long overdue. Let's get right to it. Man, you had a great idea that you said came together in five weeks you put on the first ever HBCU combine at this year Summer League. Talk to us how that came about it, Who helped you put put that vision together? Um, you know, when I first got the job at HBCU at lamoine On College, I told myself, I want to do everything I can to help it, you know once especially once I got there and met the people and saw how it really goes down, and um, you know, I actually attended the NBA Combine in Chicago this year and met some great people there, you know network, and I met this guy named Brooks and we just got to just you know, hitting off talking and he told me he had an idea that he wanted to run by me, and I said I had some stuff too ended up coming, and we was on the same page about doing a showcase for the kids to be able to, you know, take the HBCU kids who don't get recruited, don't get looked at. We just have careers and just kind of just trying to make it somewhere, to really give my opportunity to um be recruited and looked at by pro personnel. So this is about five well whatever, the coke combine was five six weeks ago and became an idea and the the moment start going and he asked me, could I find some coaches and that's HBCU NBA lineage that could come through and help us. So I called Kenny Kenny Anderson, I called Moe Williams and I called this immediately jumped on board. We put our heads together and we had our first one yesterday and just to see it, you know, come together bringing thirty young fellas that's chasing the dream just like us. You know, we're all parents, so you know, you see you see that the sun and you know, so you know, it just felt good. You know, I got kind of emotional because you know, we know the grind, we know how it is, so it just felt good to be a part of it and just you know, just just to be a part of HBCUs culture period head coach in lamon Owen. How did that opportunity come about? And how's it going over there? Well, you know, um, you know with this with this fool over here stack. You know, we support each other and everything. I know, we play around, but you know, we got a serious side to us where we support each other and everything we do. And um, a few years back to Alan Iverson Classic came about and came to us a couple of years ago, and um, you know we had our podcast let's get technical when my brother Rahi Wallace and you know, you guys got your wonderful podcasts, and you know when I Bow and the people came to us to have like a battle against you know, our part against y'all. We've got all all Americans during the pandemic and it was just a great move. And you know, obviously you didn't get to a teen but you know, I don't want to put you on the stor the bus. But but honestly, you know, when we got there, we didn't know we was gonna really see he's just like you now. Honestly, we didn't know what we was want to see. And when we walked into the gym with you know, we had chat, we had POWLO, we had all the first round kids that basically got drafted this year, you know, on our teams, and we walked in. We saw all the NBA personnel and all these agents and everybody kind of in there, and we had a real practice like we were you know, we don't won't be sucking around, you know, so we don't got no time like once you get in that rectangle, if you ain't hooping for real, you know, you gotta get the funk about the gym. You know. That's kind of the model. So they saw how we were kind of handling them kids, and we don't give a funk about all Americans and all that ship. You know, we don't did that. They just kissed us, you know what I mean. So we had them as such, and people was coming to us like, yo, what y'all do what you're doing now? Me and she and we're like, yo, we just kind of volunteer high school coaches because you know, once we just volunteer our time for kids and do whatever we can. Didn't want to really really get locked into anything. So people are just saying, I need to do more. You can be a college coach. And about a month later a guy called me. It was like, Hey, I got an hbc U opportunity. Would you like to know spearhead the movement? You know, you see what Dion is doing, and you see what you know kind of the way it's going, would you like to do it? So no, I was nervous. I didn't know how to even answer it. So I just you know, talk to guy, prayed on it and just you know, let him just take my heart. And I woke up the next warning get Lamoion on Colleges on my heart, called it and told him Mama dood And that just been you know, just taking a day for day, you know, because I didn't know if I was strong enough to be a leader, a man like that, leader of this thing. But you know, God, you know, kept me around for a reason, and I'm just thankful that I got this opportunity to be the person. I mean, that's beautiful. Obviously, Dion's made such a big impact at Jackson State, and uh, you got more Williams over there now what you're doing, you said, Kenny Anderson. There's enough people out there to continue to bring attention in an opportunity, and we want to salute you obviously typically for you know, being uh kind of the brain behind this combined idea, so you know, best elucted them young fellers out there man in your journey going to raising Munsey. But nobody knows you. You're probably the most least famous person to ever come from out of the Let's talk about your upbringing. Man. You know Indiana you know, if you know Indiana, Indiana is a basketball state. I was raised old school, you know, in basketball, you know basketball. You know, we have a blue collar country. I mean started in town. Um A lot of people either honestly that it is sell dopeer. They're working a factory. That's kind of what it is where I'm from. So we kind of eat the blue collar. My dad was the one who worked in the factory. So I was blessed to you know, have a father that not not saying, you know, I'm not saying, that's just kind of what it was back then. I said, against those guys who did it or whatever. But you know, my dad is kind of raised men, had two parent home and basketball was life. And my parents were you know, very close. Now I got five brothers and sisters, you know, grew up. My mother is one of eighteen kids, so I have a really big family. Brothers just came home. Yeah, one of my brothers just came home from the joint but you have a really big family. So I'm monthly about sixty thousand people. But we have just a small community of um of color, Blacks and you know, people of color, about ten thousand of us. So we all know each other, some kind to each other or dated each other. So it's just kind of like a small community I've always grew up in and basketball is kind of life. And you know, I kind of grew up where you know, when you get to a certain age thirteen, fourteen or fifteen, if you can play some ball, they throw you to the vets, the o g s, the grown people. And that's kind of where I learned how to play basketball. You know, I could play a little bit, but once I really started learning how to play, they threw me to the vets. And I've been playing with grown men since I was fourteen or fifteen. So basketball was just life for me, and it kind of gave me a pathway to what I'm doing now. And you know, but I just had a great upbringing in term of community. You know, we didn't have we have violence just like everybody else, but you know, we were community driven where everybody kind of policed theirselves and protected each other. So I was just blessed, you know, to be able to go through the process and just kind of make it through it in Munci growing up playing basketball. Who are your influences? Like? Who you looked up to? Who are you packing the game? Like? I know you told me you looked up the bembo codes? Come out? Come out? Bro? Where the fun you get that name from? Oh? What's wrong with you? Stupid of the mother? Can we be serious? Okay, I'm trying, bro, I'm trying um influences. I mean, you know you have a lot of innociting influences. But you know, me, growing up, I should really want to pattern my game after a glam big big dog Robert you know. He he's an Indiana guy from Gary, Indiana, you know, and he was a legend to us. You know, he was a guy that I felt like I'm more related to because he was you know, Gary is a real tough neighborhood. You know, they kind of you know hood, and that's somebody wanted to be like. I mean, he went to Purdue, he was an All American, he swept all awards. He wanted to, you know, the state championship in Indiana, which was tough back then because we only had one state champion. We don't have class basketball, so he did that's even harder. Yeah to Purdue, did all the awards, number one pick and he had a great career. So that was one of my guys who are really really really pattered my game after and just trying to be like and it's the craziest thing. I never really really met him off the court. And that's the craziest thing because still to this day, still to this day, and he's one of my favorite players. You know, ever I swear the high socks like him might try to. You know, we had almost a similar game, you know, coming up, big dog. What was your recruitment process? Like, oh man, uh, you know, I never had an opportunity to go to a basketball camp. You know, I just kind of played ball in my hood. And you know, back where we're from, you know, you don't really go to camp. You kind of playing hood tournaments. So where we're from is is that you know, you get the best people from your hood and play against the best peoplehood and we're gonna meet at this tournament. We're gonna play. It's like, you know the Rutger Park type joint where everybody's around and you know everybody. So that's the only way I really knew how to play ball. So I'm playing that when I'm like fourteen and fifteen, playing with the grown men doing that stuff. So that was kind of, you know, how I got found. But so I got recruited by Indiana and Purdue, and I remember crazy story. Indiana came to recruit me and I was around the time when Bob and Knight was on his bullshit and he was had to whip out and whip and keep picking all that ship. I saw him come in. It was like, man, Bob, are you I left the gym. I was like, man, I ain't gotta time for this ship. Like man, I've been like, kicked you on my fucking ass and be the black ball forever because I know me, you know, I know my daddy and my uncle them, you know they ship. So you know I got you know, I I even't Purdue was big. I really wanted to go to Produce because, like I said, Big Dog was my favorite player. So I was gonna go to Purdue. But had a guy named Ray McCollum. He's from my born and raised in my city, went to my high school, went to ball State and he was at Wisconsin with Mike Filling all them guys happened to get the job at ball State. Knew my pops and all them, and he was just like, hey, if you come to ball State, I never recruited at your position. You know, you go to these other schools, they're gonna be having a top counor people, they're gonna recruiting at your Spoties like, I'll let you flourish and I'm gonna get you to the league. And I was like cool, and it just worked out. And you know when I got there, you know, just you know he's starting me from day one? Is that where Jesus shuttles Worth with who Jesus shuttles Worth? No? No, no, no, crazy? Were you with off the movie? No? What was it called? It wasn't Ball State? No, it wasn't Ball State. I know was in the real school? Uh man over four year career, twid points. Uh. You were in a heavy draft class eleven and pick of the Draft heavy litter with Vince Carter, Jamison, Paul Pierce Dirt. Did you get a chance to see these guys in the workouts? How did that happen? Please? Explain I ain't gonna lie, man, I was cold to my Yeah, just to be honest, man. You know, like you know, playing that ball stake, you know you're kind of getting that mid major. They tell you really ain't. You know, they kind of kind of put you in that shelf like you know, you're not you know, I don't care what your status is. You're not at a you know, the top division one. So they kind of kept me in a bubble. But this crazy, this is a true story. As a sophomore, I had a chance of coming out. I was asking like twenty five and a half, I was leading nation and steals and this is how I've never left my city in my whole life until I went pro. So I don't know ship in my city. So a guy came in. This is a true story. He was a general manager for the Pacers and he came in and then general manager. In my mind, I'm thinking he that manager to kind of get the bags and do all this ship. Don't know nothing about nothing. So he's telling me like, Yo, if you come out, I'm pretty sure we're gonna pick you. Don't care what pick we get, We're gonna pick you. And I'm over here in my coach looking at me, hype like I'm telling you, I'm over here looking at like I'm thinking he's a manager manager. So I didn't come out, and they ended up you know, picking like um Eric Damp. They had a lottery pick, like a number eleven and nine six. So this is a This is that heavy draft in ninety six where you know that the real draft where cold back and that's that. That's that draft. I'm scared of death, so I don't leave. And come to find out this guy was Billy Knight. I don't know if you know Billy Knight. You know he's a big time executive league and all this stuff, but I didn't really know who he was. And he was like, man, we got you know, we were the NBA really want you. And this is really before the internet and all this ship, you know, when no computers or nothing like that. So I couldn't really see my my draft history and where I was gonna go. So, you know, my senior year, I did about twelve workouts, worked out for teams, met a few dudes that they was had us against. I ain't see Paul or nobody like that, but I killed them foods everywhere I went, you know, everywhere I went. And then when Detroit they picked me at a level, it was just like crazy because I went right after Paul Person. You know, you know what Paul has did with his career, but just where I'm from and all that heavy draft, I was just blessed. First impression in the Portland and that team, damn man, that seem was wild, like I was. I remember my first day, you know, when I got traded, you know, because when I first I got bed drafted by Detroit. So I'm supposed to be hanging with Joe Dumars and grand Hill to him. So you know, my life is, my experience is supposed to be totally different, you know. So that's not so. Now I go out to Portland. I remember I worked out Grant right before I got traded, and I'm like, dang, I'm about to be on some Grant stuff. We're about to be square and straight lace. And then next day I got traded to Portland. I remember I couldn't practice for like the first day, and I'm looking at it and I'm seeing Jerr Riders. She you know what I'm saying, Jermaine, you know, Damon Stardo Mars, Sabonis All and Who's Who Stacy Agman walk Ways. I remember sitting there, literally, I was nervous, scared because I'm like, this is the who's who of basketball, and I'm like, damn, I'm just staying to myself like, man, I ain't gonna never play. I just remember saying myself, I ain't gonna never play because these guys are established pros. Jimmy Jackson at the two, you know, I gotta go, you know, JR. Rider, Jimmy Jackson at the two, you got Damon Stardom, Gary Grant at the point, I'm sorry, Greg Anthony at the point, walk Williams, Stacy Amant, the three, Rashid and uh Brian Grant the four, Sabonus and Jamaine nil at the five. So these are like real names. I'm just sitting back in this mug like, man, I don't know if I'm ever gonna play. But once I got in there and got my feet wet a little bit, and I realized I can get down with him a little bit. You know. After about no a month or two, I got my confidence together. Talk about she y'all know, y'all, I know, y'all super close. You have partners in the media space as well. What's what she means to you? Everything? That's my brother man, and like he's been everything to me, you know, Like you know, I know we play around and all that stuff, but people don't understand she's hard and the type of person he is in real life. You know, we all get a bad rap, you know, from the Portland bullshit and all the stuff they try to put on us. But in real life we're really good people. And she's is an even better person I could ever want to be because he's a true friend, you know what I mean. Like, you know, any time I've ever needed somebody to talk to, somebody to check me and all this stuff, I can call she, you know what I'm saying. So it's been a blessing to have him to kind of help me in my journey, you know what I'm saying, to be a big brother, somebody would really can almost bow down to, you know a little bit in terms of you know what I'm saying, I could be brody and all that stuff. You know, it's cool to have a big brother because I don't have one. So you know, she has been great for me, and you know when I went on this journey to the HBCU. You know, people don't understand this that she was supposed to be the head coach of the HBCU, but Penny came in last minute and brought this and he was like, Hey, let's just live together. We're gonna help each other. So we lived together down in Memphis, just been helping each other mentor And that's just what big bros do, man. And you know, just to see what he does and you know the type of person he really really is, and you know, all the stuff he does behind the scenes. People people don't know credit all the stuff he does behind the scene. Man, just to see that, you know, it's inspirational for me and just kind of keeps me going, you know, and all that good stuff. A year two in Portland, you played Big Medicine Playoffs. Were talking about this yesterday and you was going at CODE, what was that series? Like, Man, that's a piece of cold man. Like, you know, Man, I was new, you know what I'm saying. I didn't really know what they I didn't know the moment. You know, I'm still my first time really playing and I was just you know, I was competitive, so you know, Kobe Kobe. Even though he was Kobe, he was still a young boy. To mean, he was younger. So you know how I go. You ain't gona letting no young boy get off, But I'm just not gonna. I mean, I I guarded him well. You know, we competed well. I competed well against him, but we had great team defense. People don't understand the reports of team defense. The only important understanding the ports of who was behind me telling me to push him here and pushing there. I got Scottie Pippen telling me Rashid Wallace are two of the best defenders. Then I got really some bonus was almost a real giant in real life protecting the rim. So don't get me wrong. I chested him and kind of kept him at bay. But you know, it was a total team effort because you know, guys like him is unstoppable, you know what, I know, the drill with him, you know, once he gets to go on and this was afro Kobe, you know, you know, that's when he was uber within the basket, uber athletic right leg you know, phades and all that, and you know, but you know, just being able to compete with him was was a blessing. And you know, one of my biggest regrets, you know, since he's been going, is that I never got to know him off the court. You know, I only know him as a competitor, and you know, I prayed to him a lot, you know and stuff. You know, just talk to him in my own way, like we all do, you know, But I just that's one of my biggest regrets in basketball. But you know, back then, you know, when no friends off the court, once we could back and we ain't working out with each other, hat we ain't cool. I'll see you post career, but we ain't working out. I want you to see my sauce. I don't want to, you know, none of that. But yeah, that was one of my biggest regrets that I didn't get a chance to And when I see other interviews and all the stuff me I was blessed to do the stuff, I just get chills because you know, he was just such a great, you know, person, human being, and he meant so much for so many. Were talking to she yesterday and uh, we asked him what was his point of view from that lib that Kobe threw shock against ya when he dumped on the whole organization, mr work. That's how it looked. When I look at it, I get mad because I was supposed to being Guarden cold and don't leave it kind of switched the whole script up within the fourth quarter and kind of went with the vetsy. I was on code. He would never had no room to cross. You know, if you ever go back and watch the tape, he only think he did us a move like that against me because I wasn't going so when he switched to that, I'll think about it like that, like I would never let that happen. But when you see it, that just changed everything. And if y'll be honest, we could have easily won those championships and our whole trajectory in our lives could have been different, you know what I mean, Like validated that's one of the best teams never to win it. Yeah, no question. And if you you know, if you add you know, if you ask Shacker, you know, I think Colvin might have said this that they were just happy to get past us because we were that was the final We was wearing an ass out because we had so many good players. And don't get me wrong, they have some great role players and I hate to call the role players because we know how tough it is to being a league and a role player abust your ass. But league standard wise, their role players always hurt you, you know, And you know you get the Robbert Orris and the Brian Shaws, and the d fish Is obviously as we know, and the Devin George and those guys. They you know, they hit big shots in big moments in But we could have easily won the championship and we have. We could be having a totally different conversation right now. What what do you feel was it them? Was it the Western Conference? How how come you feel you guys never really got over the hump with those great Portland teams. This is my conspiracy theory and we all talk about it, but you know, the league is about money, and you know that. You know, would you have to have a Western Conference team and a small market like Portland's, Would you have the glitz and glamor of a team like l A and the finals every year with two of the most marketable guys in the history of the league. You know, it don't make you know, we thought they they we thought were the jail Blazers. We're the guys that man, listen, they're gonna steal your person. Better hold the time if they walked past. That's how they portrayed us. And you know that the craziest thing is that when you get a trade like that, that staining is something that can never come off of you. When we you know, we've dealt with. I've dealt with my whole career, and you know, to be honest, I took the blunt, most of the blunt of the stuff, and I was the one who never really did ship, you know. I mean we talked to Sheet about that yesterday. You know, when the media, you know, labeled you guys to jail, Blazer and and and and she said, like, yea, literally none of us has ever been to jail, but it was just the time where they said it. It stuck, and you guys didn't have a platform to respond order to tell your side of the story. But like you said, I mean, that ship stuck with you your entire career. You feel like, yeah, and that's why we started let's get technical, you know. And I appreciate my brother stack Man. You know when we all first got into space man him, we should talk a lot. I remember he first started and he was like, man, it's time for us to tell our story. He was like, man, it's a lot more more fucker's out there like us than it is, like you know, question he's just saying to me all the time. He was like, man, people relate to your bonds and you just gotta start telling your story. Because I was never got to be talking and ship. I was never in the media. He probably got no quotes from me because I was I was just a hooper. I just wanted to hoop, and he was like, you need to get into it. I was kind of like naa. So I watched him move and then he finally gave me the confidence to do it and talk Sheet in the door and you came, you came to New York. When I came to New York and saw y'all, I said, man, this is what you do. And it motivated me so much to do And I called Sheet when I left there, and I was so hyping he wasn't hurting my voice, and he agreed to it after about two years of saying no, and you know, about two years of saying no, but he you know, and then it just it's been as you know, it's therapeutic, you know what I'm saying. We got on narrative out there. We can talk our ship. You know, people get to knows for the human side instead of just the building that they portrayed us to be. And because you know, people don't know, your perception is their reality, you know what I'm saying, So people only here reading associated presses of quotes of it we don't did in the text and all the bulls and people don't understand. We're just competitive. We're gonna get texts because we really want to win, you know what I'm saying. That text ship. As you know, you've seen the rests be cheating and all that dumb ship. So a lot of that ship was fluff anyway. But for the most part, we was fighting for the name obviously on the front of our jerseys, but we represent the name on back of our jerseys the most part, you know, because the family me and everything to us, and so they just kind of had us twisted. But I'm just glad we did this and you got your brothers, you know, you gave me the confidence and to see y'all just to kind of put our own narrative out there. Now, I think it's needful. I mean forever it's been other people telling our stories. You don't have nothing to do. So um, when you think back on your run, your first five years in Portland, yeah, I mean Western Conference finals instead of franchise record at the time forty five points in two thousand three, what's your fondest memory of that running? Your experience, whether it be on or off the court, I mean the court on the court is basketball, but just off the court, you know, if you knew us off the court, man, like we were so crewe thick brothers, you know what I'm saying, Like, you know, anywhere we go, we ten eleven, twelve deep. You know what I'm saying. You know Stack, you know here tell a funny story. But we ain't gonna tell him. You know, we get forty five on y'all. If you and ship with me, ship with me. I'm trying to. I just want to know who you had? Party five? It was a playoff game too. Who's that Dallas man? You know that somewhere state Kmart State, you know Kmarche Town. You know the old Cliff Boys was in the building. You know hype Party five, Yeah, forty five it was they beat us in seven games, but Dirk had forty six in game one at forty five game too. Okay, Yeah, and then kind of what helped us a lot that Joel Blazers rep was kind of like the best bodyguard we could ever have to Blazers lead him. Yeah, so you know, kind of that helped a lot too. And if you know what's in real life, you know, you know that bullshit we ain't playing with. You know you're gonna be able to handle us with people on the team that was not to be played with Brian Grant. Now, if you handle us, you know it's gonna be a problem. But we ain't never get pushed to that really to that extent. Officially, you don't have official stuff that people don't know about, but but it was just really the look, it wasn't you know what people really knew about y'alls with the media painted at all time. After Portland, you make a few different stops, Memphis, Sacrament of Houston, New Orleans played really well and with all those teams did what was your from what I remember was the motherfucking monster. You can talk all the ship you want, but I'm just trying to make sure that we're talking. What do you remember about that last kind of the the last half of your career. Man, I started traveling around a little bit, and I remember the first time, you know, getting away from you know, Portland, I went to Memphis. I wasn't even trying to be cool one of them dudes that I'm so Portland. I'm over here, like, man, you know, shame batty. You know what I'm saying. You know what I'm saying, pala soul, you know what. I don't even really you know, before I met him, Know, I'm like, no, I don't really funk with your dudes like that. So then you know, something like, okay, they got my boy ram and resting piece of my boiler Rens and right right, you know that was one of him and Posey, James Posey one of the first two, the Earl Watson only one of the first three dudes. I still big hair Earl last night. So I'm messing with them news and coming to find out. Jason Williams White Chocolate is one of the funniest and the coolest white boys boys in the history whiteness. Man, listen, in the history of white boys, Jason willis I mean he's However, he literally just texted me this morning he said, I'm being so Callot's put one in the air, like literally, the more his motherfucking world, he'll tell you a five minute joke and he'll do magic tricks like he got a country as accents when he listened to random and he had chained smoker. Yeah, we went golfing one day. Eighteen holes is motherfucker smoked twelve at least holy and we're still nicest golf though, too, the nicest. I said, yes when I got there. You know, Memphis, Memphis was a good stop for me, man, because Memphis was my first chance to kind of branching out a little bit. But what I really had a great stop that was in Houston. You know, she was my first time being in the city where you got more than just we're the only game in town. Portland on the game in town. Memphis were on the game in town. Sack was on the game in town. So now I'm in Houston. You know, I linked on my boy's big fifty down there. You know, he kind of runs the city, kind of put me onto everything and you know, kind of just let me get move around a little bit. I'm at the concerts, baseball games, football games, and daughter lit parties and all this was doing this in Portland, so you know, Houston was probably one of my best stops. You had, you had a list of real good coaches are done leaving Hubby Brown, Van Gundy, Adaman? Uh? Any of those guys your favorite or who did you feel like he really picked stuff up from? Man? I know who I don't funk with. I like to hear that to us for Tello, Mike for Tello. Here's at Memphis. Yeah, yeah, asshole. Him and Jeff Van Gundy like assholes. You know what I'm saying. In real life, you know what I'm saying. But don't get me wrong, they can coach their ass off, but in real life assholes. And I don't care about saying that. Ship you know, but it's all the smoke here. But I really like the way Hugh boy, Hubby Brown was all about Brown because he's looking your like he you know, because I loved him because he had come up to us and he's the point that me and j Willing, all the guys and he from the old schools, so he don't know about smoking weed. He called us to coking freebase guys. He was like, man that he was on the powder, they on coping, because he'd he'd be back in the day. He think we all had this only things. So he was the coking free base crew. Me poy, he don't even know pose them don't even smoke. But he just thought we all crewed up. Like, yeah, I don't hang with him. Let coking free bays. That's so funny because talking ship. But he was just a real one. He has come to us every day. He's back. Listen, I got about nine of you motherfucker's that can play in Pollasolis our man, they're gonna play six minutes or six minutes off. I don't give a funk who starts. And we did that ship my first year in Memphis, and you know, and it wasn't like hard practice. It was just consistent stuff every day. And I learned so much about the game in terms of execution, you know, being consistent. And he be was just a teacher. You know, he was teaching us like a motherfucking I was. You know, I'm coming off Portland and ship. You know, Portland was wind the motherfuckering. I really had to set out and learn the game. So he taught me so much about the game. And like I said, Jeff Van Gundy is a great coach too. He knows that he knows the game. He like if he wrote a thesis on the game of basketball, a fucking plus did getting but you know, just being cool and trying to teach the game to look at him like, no, I'm straight man, because you ain't even know type of motherfucker I want to learn from you know what I'm saying. So and that's just been the mindset, just reality, you know what I'm saying. But he knows, but he knows the game. But if he gives you that game, then get that that played book before the year, that heavy, it was this thick. We had the thesis in your life. I know somebody who did for me? What about you? You know, damn we I don't even know what it is. That's why I'm trying to do. And I'm a college graduate though, Yeah, that's why I'm That's why I'm asking this the motherfucker. On a serious note, um man, you we're on Big three time. We were really talking about getting this shape and doing a lot of things together, and that's also playing the game. But while we were playing, you went to some real stuff, your stuff at the artitack, and you know, it really fucked me up because you know, you're my real friend and you were just going through a lot of the time, and then we didn't know, you know, you really weren't telling us. You know what I'm saying. We had to find out, you know, when when you when you ever really was in the hospital and everything I went down. But talk about going through that, bro, and and you know, staying strong through all that and you know, trying to figure out what was next, because I mean that's what that's really what you was going through that whole time. We was trying to figure out what was next for all of us. Yeah, man, hold on second, bro. It's tough times. But I know it's tough. Hold on a second, take your time. Yeah, man, I can't blow yell whatever to me in here crying. Huh s We was crying together. You want a second, bro, Gonda, take your time, bro. I mean that's the moment we was in the whole time. That's all we could do, all right, ready my phone. But yeah, man, it was it was a tough time man, for you know, myself, my family, you know when you go through something like that, you know you don't you know us We can feel invincible at times you feel like you realize you're not. It's not invincible right in that moment, think about your children, parents, your brothers and sister taught me everybuddy. I just remember when I was kind of going through it and I fell out of my house. My son and family say, but give me to the hospital. See his face, crying came hard. It kill me given more than the paint was through. It's my baby, it's my son. He's twenty two years old. I saw him as a baby. Did you notice. Mhm. It was tough, you know, to change my life forever because you know, I love different Now. I'm not afraid to tell us my love him. Now, I'm afraid to be be me, you know what I'm saying. Like I was more reserved later back, more important to people now, you know, pouring to them in different ways, you know, me and joke and play, but that's why we're pouring to each other here. It's love, you know, and you know I just do that more down than anything, you know, because life's too short. I know it now. I was forty years old, you know, fidays for my birthday just kind of let should go through stuff like that. Man, just be thankful for every day, you know. With this HBC stuff, came around to was God just working in my life and this stuff that's been stacking them for me ever since. And you know, I appreciate guys like yourself, Kmart and my brothers who always keep me encouraged and always checking on me and all that ship. And I never even played with these dudes, you know what I'm saying, but they just know we real ones and they were just clicked up. And I just appreciate, you know, everything. But you know, when you go through that, you just you know, you know who loves you for real too. You know, you learn a lot about people, you know, and there's some people that are senior vanilla texting like you're okay, But it's some people that really make sure you're okay, you know. And you know, I just really appreciate my children around that time, just you know, being there. I'm just you know this, every day I try to be a good dad. I try to be a present dad most best I possibly can. And I'm trying to be even better son than my father. And you know, because you know, parents are getting older, and you know, so I try to spend more time with them and understand what's most important. And you know, funck this hoop ship suck the money and all that bullshit. Families and memories the only thing that's important to me now, and you know, and that's what I try to do. And I know this basketball keeps me away from my family and you know, back in Indiana or whatever. But I know God got me on the mission to touch more than just my family, and that's just what I'm doing. So and I'm thankful for every day. And you know, I just like I said, I don't take it for granted. Thank you for sharing that with us. Good Yeah, def your glasses go ahead. Man. Favorite part about retirement and the hardest part about transitioning from something you've done your entire life into that next phase of your life. Man. You know, you know when you think about when I think about my career, you know I wasn't blessed enough. You know, like I said, rest in peace code to have the Kobe fairwere tour. You know where everybody was. You know, this my last year. Hey, I'm done this my last year. You know, I kind of in my mind got kicked out the legal a little bit, so it was a little different. I remember, I'm after year ten. You know, I'm just fresh off averaging twenties five in the playoffs. So now I can't even get a job as a fifteenth man. So you know, that doesn't do a lot on the psyche. And you know, I didn't know it, but you know what I'm saying, I didn't realize what I was going through mentally, and people don't really understand how much we really go through when the cheering stops. You know what I'm saying, People don't truly understand what we go through because that's all we used to is rocking the crowds and whooping and doing this and that. And you know, I'm thirty two years old, thirty three, and I'm knowing I still got a little bit of action still in me, you know what I mean. I couldn't get a job, I couldn't play him. You know, I end up going to China. No disrespect to China, but it's like, oh nine, I'm like one of the first real team of NBA players to go to China. It's serious over there. But I'm over here shitty Maan. It was like forty, I'm shifty because I can't and I'm a league dude, you know what I mean. I'm like, I'm trying to come back here. So and it was tough for me. So like between like two thousand nine and two thousand fourteen, I don't even really remember that ship because you know, I was going through it so much mentally. I was just I remember all that time, I was just partying. I was out the league. I was partying, I was gambling every day. I was chasing, you know what I'm saying, And she ended up losing my woman, my kids, you know, every you know, all this ship goes when you're out the league and all that ship, you know what I'm saying. So I was just going through all that bullshit and I just remember just just having a dark day and I probably needed to talk to somebody. You know, we all, you know, but we're too badly to talk to people. And I just remember, and I just really appreciated my hugging every time I saying. It was like two thousand fourteen, I'm sitting back and I was having a pitty party for myself, and I end up watching Irish and had a dock and he was talking about what he was going through too. In two thousand nine when the phone stopped ringing and he was going through all this ship and I just remember to start crying like a motherfucker, and I was like, damn, it wasn't just me. I kind of I didn't have his number, but I wanted to reach out to him to kind of helped me snap out of it and kind of just get on all my life, you know what I'm saying. And I was just you know, helped me tremendously, but I probably need to talk to somebody. But I just appreciate that document and when I watched it and not its all like ship, I'm having a pity party, like it's just me. But I wasn't thankful for all this stuff God had already given me. You know what I'm saying. I'm already worried about the stuff that you know, but I was. You know, I'm from the hood, you know, I ain't never had nothing. My family is huge. I was able to put my brother's sister through college by my parents, homes do all the ship that we do. So I didn't think about those blessings I was worried about the other ship. So I kind of snapped out of it and start moving on my life. So I started volunteering more, became a volunteer coach, but a volunteer at a high school about an hour and a half of me every single day. For five years, I was driving an hour and a half every day. St I could tell you every day, just kind of just pouring into the kids, like, man, that's what I'm gonna do. I don't care if people laughing, aw you gooking, Like man, we'll wake up early, like five six and the money to get on the game. But by times, trying to ate something seven class something you gotta drive out of the school. And so I'm doing that and I just like, I just want to do this to make sure I love this ship. You know, I don't do it for fame. I don't do it for cloud. And that's why I loved what the HBC real I'm going because if you see where we're at, this is the you know, it's tough HBC. You know, I'm from Indiana. We don't know about HBC U s there, we don't have any. So when I got you know, I've always been a guy will support HBCUs and all that ship. But now I see it, they got to support a spc US for real, not just in shirts and all that type stuff. Not just support the big ones. It's a lot of small ones out there that people don't understand that ten thousand dollars fifty a hundred dollar dollars and float their whole program. I get all types of stuff, like and all our schools, we've been through a lot of buildings from the fifties and sixty. We don't have no new facilities, So nobody's gonna come to optic Wise. Nobody's gonna come to your school optic Wise because these other big schools got all the glittal and glamours are easy to go there. So it makes it so tough stay consistent, make bringing in money and bringing in top talents. So so when I see these people, you know, donating tens and twenty whatever to these top schools, I'm like, man'll just broke down a million dollars in a ten little small schools. Man, I just don't even understand what that would do. So that's why I just be trying to, Like, you know, I watched Dion every single day you know, I'm watching his quotes and watch how he moved, and I'm like, let's just do that on the basketball side, you know, let's do everything we can. I know I'm at a D two, but I represent all the HBCUs, you know, and I'll just be trying to do what I can. And when I was doing this showcase, like I said, I got emotional just kind of seeing these young fellows kind of I'm looking at all these tags and these different names of these teams, just looking at these kids are walking around. I'm like, Damn, I did these you know, we did this for these young fellas and just only get in the beginning. So you know, I'm so excited about how moving right now. Even even I went to the game Dog and Justice for the players to see our relationship. When I was able to go in the locker room and go like they was they was it all because y'all see how we talk to each other. But they was in allder to see us. That cool, you know what I mean. Then I was able to talk to some some of the last if I had going on. It was the perfect time to come talk to them kids, you know, just to see the effect he having on on all those players and even other kids on the other teams, was come and talk to him after the game. That's what they need. They need players like us have done it to show up and show them that, you know what I'm saying, we're here to help y'all get us. So y'all don't have to go through the ship we went through. I mean your journey, you know well documented. You open up about your struggles. What would you tell a younger player about some of that stepping into the journey we've all taken. I mean, you know, I know it's ear hustling earlier, but he's gotta listen, man, you gotta really listen and stay humble. Like I told my kids all the time, I don't care how high or a lot, you know, how high you get, you gotta stay humble. Because we all seen the ship go from zero to a hunter, but we obviously don't go from a hundreds of zero quick. And you know, we've all pupped our chest out a little bit one day and then baship happened to us the next moment. So I tell these kids, stay humble, just work, you know, I do a little dumb ship his shirts made and all that ship with all my little one liners and quotes, and I wear my practice and I post them online and it because that's just the reality of this ship, because you know, we all know it's somebody out there working a little bit harder than us to try to get our job or our spot or whatever funk we got going on. So I just tell our guy to stay humble and work. Who and what got you into coaching? We all coaches in real life. We got kids, You're gonna coach a you, you're gonna do stuff. I got five sons, so you know, I've always boy. So I've always been a you know, a you dad and dad is you know, and then when we hoop, you come back, you run your camps. You're always kind of in the gym. But just like I said, um, I just wanted to just start volunteering to make sure I love it and just became a process. I did it almost five years and when this opportunity came, I just prayed on it and I'm just I just keep remember talking about it. Yeah you know what I was, You know, I was on the fence. So I'm just you know, people don't I mean, I'm not overly spiritual, but my grandfather was a pastor, you know, someone a real you know, a real he you know, deep in church family. But I really believe in the power of prayer, you know, and I just let God work in my life and he's been working. Give me five dinner against dead alive. I'm family are in it. See. I want my uncle, my cousin, she passed my cousin dabbye Michael Marville, my grandfather. You know all the people I can't get back, I don't you know. I would love to talk to some people that I don't know, but f families everything for me. Album you can listen to with no skips, no skips, how many how many picks I get? However you want to give us three of them? Damn a reasonable doubt. Jay Z for sure should have been triple. I'm a here huge m j G ball, m j G fan. So I'm a huge so dank what's that? The space age pimp and c D And then I'm a huge thing. I got between you G King and Ghetto Boys, you know their resurrection Ghetto Boys, huge Ghetto Boys fans shout out the scarface, you know, one of the first dudes to pick me up when I got to Houston to show me around. Yeah, and I'm a huge U. G. K fan, you know, Rest in Peace pimp. But I just you know, we're from the Midwest, so we don't really have a you know, a sound like that we have. You know, you know, up in Chigan, you don't have this sounds and stuff, but we don't you know, twisting them in Chicago. But in Indiana, we don't have a sound. So we flirt with everything. So those are my some of my favorites. The first thing you do when you wake up, the last thing you do before you go to bed. And I'm gonna get up and prey for sure. You know, I'm gonna get up and talk to guy before I get But then at my age, I stretched. I gotta stretched, Yeah, because I still get out there with the kids. You know what I'm saying, baby talking that fly ship, and I'll be trying to get let them know. And I still got some action. You know, I ain't moving too bad. I'm just getting a little ask but that stuff still is real. So I stretch a lot, and really I try to go golf, you know, that's one of the first thing I'm trying to do golf every single day. Golf changed my life. You know, Golf got me in a whole another world, got me around different people. You know, I'm you know, when I used to come home in the summertime, I'm in the hood, I'm we're over that shooting dice, stay over there, We're doing all the fun ship. So now when I'm coming home now, I'm on the golf course trying to play thirty six holds, So it kind of weeded out. You know, some of my friends, like I see them in the shorter term instead of you know, seeing them all day. But no, you know, golf is therapeutic too, you know, kind of got to clear your mind. You hit the ball. You know, I've been playing twenty years, so I don't got pretty good. So you know, people don't expect me to be good, so I always kind of play I hate I'm telling people now, but always kind of play like I'm no good and kind of as I don't even know the rules, but I gotta hear how good he is daily and I don't even know the rules tied of here and that ship. If you can have one guest on all the smoke, who would it be? But you have to help us get your answer on the show. I mean, I haven't had jay Z have you You don't know hoes, I don't know, but we can. We gotta be somebody. You can't you here. I just said, they gotta be somebody. You know. We don't shook holes handle phone so we can out like you don't know so were you're talking about, we can't reach out the hold here, gonna say, what's up Bossy? What's up? Stacking Matt the funk? Can I ask you the question again? Go ahead? I'm just saying, can I help you get kind kind of asking the question again? Go ahead? Because you gotta you know, you speak with a list, and I ask you a question, you speak cut your mother, Funcker. I don't even know what you'd be saying all the time. Go ahead. If you had a guest, if you could see a guest on the show, see mother to see with my eyes, yes them too. Yeah. If you can see somebody on this show, who would it be? But you have to get them on this show. I would have to call him. Yes, nigger, I think I really like and you know I'm all about brotherhood. I really need to get Damon on here. Yeah, Mighty Mount. Need to get on him. Yes, st call Stoddy Man. You know Stoddy. I really appreciate him all year long. He kind of helped me in my process. Man talked to him about the coach and if you ever talked to Dame, he's real like laid back, he talked slow like man, you know, you know I got that. You know what Dame is, and you know, I'm just proud of him. You know he's doing big things. You know they got beating the finals in Boston, but you know they were there, and you know he's doing this thing. But dam it will be a great guest. And I can definitely call him right now and get yeah, you know him. I know you know he's out here right now. He can get here tomorrow. All right, Cool, we need their love. Got you what that is? Yeah? Man, this is the legends and collapse. So this is for you. Thank you, my brothers. I appreciate you. We appreciate you. Man don't do that. But makes six exes, But I got you a six x wife beater in there and a nice little bikini for you. He no longer not because I'm a power guards. You know what it makes people like me power guards, no more man, everybody, Yeah, man, could you imagine me in today's game? Y'all bad man punishing? They couldn't play Draymond Green at the center in the game. No, No, I love Draymond Love. We all love them to death. Different animals. Yeah, well, bondsy Man, we want to thank you for coming through and and and the worst episodes, but to really open up and be vulnerable all bushi decide. Man, we appreciate you. We love what you're doing, man, beautiful things. Like you said, it's a mission now you love different So we love to hear that. We appreciate that, man, So thank you now prettr time, good luck with everything. Man. You can catch this bondsy Wells episode on Showtime Basketball and the I Heart Platform Black Effects. We'll see you all next week.