Episode 9: Just get over it.‘So that’s it for me Kevin. I’m done with this game. I’ll either stay at St Johns and get my degree, or drop out and head back home.’
“I understand Mike. I don’t think you should give up on your dreams like this though. As Coach Richmond said, you’re a victim of circumstance. Maybe you should go back and talk to him.”
‘I don’t know, it seems like it stinks of desperation. I don’t want that bandied around about me.’
“I know, image is everything. Listen, I hear Gerry McNamara is coming down to speak to the local AAU team today at 12pm. You should go down to listen and see if you can pick up any tips.”‘Yeah why not, you want to come with?’
“Alright let’s go Mike. Give me 5 minutes to grab a few things.”Kevin was right. I googled it. McNamara was asked to speak to a youth AAU basketball team in Queens coached by Adrian Autry Sr. McNamara is an Assistant Coach with Syracuse, and played when the Orange won the National title in 2003. To make the trip worthwhile for everyone, Autry was rounding up some players for an open tournament after the speech. There were open spots for local ballers to join in too, I might bring my shoes.
Kevin was “retired,” so to speak, but still loved basketball, so he thought he’d bring along his gear too, couldn’t hurt to lace them up. I wanted to see if I could earn a spot to play against the best of the local ballers. I wanted to see how I stacked up against Oshae Brissett, Syracuse’s 4 star recruit this summer from Canada. McNamara and Autry Sr. brought a few of the Syracuse guys down for a workout.
Our plan to try and play Brissett was foiled when we were put on what looked like the worst team. Kevin’s friend Sean was well known on this court, and he managed to get us a spot on a team. We got eliminated after losing two games, but we won the final one 5-4. I hit the game winner.
The Bullets team topped the pool with 3 wins and the prize was supposed to be to face a team consisting of Brissett, and 4 guys who were walk-on’s at Syracuse last season, Adrian Autry Jr, Braedon Bayer, Ky Feldman and Ray Featherston. But Coach McNamara and Autry Sr decided to mix it up and select new teams. They decided to pick an All-Star team of 5 based on what they had seen for the last 2 hours.
“Hey big guy with the Nuggets throwback on, what’s your name?”‘It’s Mike…’
As I turned around I realised it was Carmelo Anthony. I was wearing his Nuggets powder blue throwback uniform. I had heard a commotion during our last game, but didn’t pass any heed to people crowding around off the court. They saw Melo walk in and were swarming him for selfies.
“I want you to play in this game, on my 5. I’m coaching. Show me more of what you did earlier kid.”I said yes, thank you sir and turned to Kevin and Sean who high fived me. I had to calm them both down as they were dancing like two little kids.
The ball was checked up. All of us just kind of stood there and watched Brissett, like, ‘Let’s see what you got'
But Brissett was equally curious as to what his teammates could do. Before the tournament, Brissett had asked Autry Sr. what kind of players he expected to show up, and Autry Sr. trying to build his players’ reputations, boasted that many of them could contend at the college level. Hell most of the walk-ons last season were spotted by McNamara and Adrian Autry Sr, so they were good talent evaluators.
“A couple of them are going to go D-II, but I think there’s one kid that can go play D-I. He’s a big Irish kid, has been down here a few times. Think he’s playing for St Johns” Brissett asked who it was, and Autry didn’t know. “That’s what I want you to tell me.”
Brissett drove toward me on the wing, looking to pass. I took a backdoor cut past my defender, received Brissett’s bounce pass and dunked over a second defender for the first basket of the game. He gave me a wide-eyed look and said “Whoa, I didn’t know you could jump like that kid!”
It wouldn’t be my last good play, either, as Brissett, his Syracuse teammates and I destroyed the opposition 11-3. Kevin and Sean told me later they overheard Brissett talking to McNamara. “We just started hooping, and I was looking at Mike and (thinking), 'This kid is pretty good”. “He’s a really athletic kid who can shoot too.”
Curious as to just how good his teammates and new friends were, Brissett asked Davonta and I where we are playing next year. Davonta mentioned that he was going to walk on at Buffalo, I said I was just going to St John’s as a student. I was overlooked as a walk-on with Mullin resigning his post last week.
Ray Featherston who had nearly done the exact same thing two years prior before enrolling in a prep school and getting a walk on spot at Syracuse didn’t approve of what had happened me. Neither did an interested eaves dropper Mr Carmelo Anthony.
“Hey man, you’ve got to be playing college basketball. I’ll talk to a few people. I think all these Cuse kids saw something from you here tonight. You have a similar playstyle to me. Doing work inside and out. I like that.” Anthony told me. The three of us hung out a little bit more, trading stories of life growing up in basketball-crazed families.
I made a comment to Carmelo as I was leaving, completely jokingly honestly, that ‘If coach Boeheim needs any walk-ons, you know where to find me.’
But Anthony wasn’t laughing. He just smiled and turned to Gerry McNamara. After five players graduated in May, and three walk-ons left for various different reasons, Syracuse actually did need walk-ons.
“Hey Mike, most of our walk-ons actually just walked,” shouted Gerry McNamara.
“You should look into that. Leave your contact info with Adrian please.”