Basketball could have been 1 of 1000 things but it wasn't. It was exactly what I needed. Basketball has this round about way of giving clarity to what hard work, discipline, but most importantly intelligence collaborates to. Often I would find myself thinking outside of the box, outside of my existence. In other words, something larger than myself. I'll always go back to those moments of nostalgia on game days, practices, or work outs. Thinking of how I could make it even better for my brothers on the court.
To me, every kid should find their "basketball". I don't care if a kid has their whole life planned ahead of them or if they are most comfortable on their best friends couch. If they find something that teaches them about life, about themself, about peace and security, that is where they should lay their head at the end of the day.
For me, it was an escape. No idea what I was escaping but I loved exactly where my head went when I was playing. The adrenaline after several games of pick-up had me always wanting more. The aggression, the decision-making, the brotherhood! Often times it created a monster that I knew would not fit into "normal" but, that is exactly where I found my identity.
Basketball taught me far more about life than a classroom did. I am sure that one will get me some shots but it's true. Especially since I had some of the worst coaches to ever do it. Now, I realize that is far more realistic than anything I learned in a classroom. Life, Life. Life. Nothing to do with fucking Pythagorean Theorem.
Basketball taught me life will be different than I was raised. Didn't matter bad or good, it was going to be different and the choice of the ladder was mine. That is why I fell in love with being great! The high road made so much more sense to me. Failure was never an option. Never. That translates far more in my life than a classroom could have taught me.
-Coach Nicholson
"Go be great, silence the noise".