In The Know w/ Finke & Hill

Now is the time of year when players are allowed to have a physical and mental reset with the season. For me, it’s an opportunity to do that and also reflect on the journey that I’ve been on throughout this whole season. Also, it gives me the chance to enjoy some downtime with some fam and my friends in America. It’s a pleasure to enjoy this opportunity since I’ve been overseas the past few years during this time of year. 

To start the year, I was with the Birmingham Squadron(The G league affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans). To think I would be where I’m at right now would be a tough belief. I’m grateful to have gone through the journey and to have met the people I came across in the G League. The G League provided me with the opportunity to get better and be ready for the NBA whenever the opportunity would present itself. We practiced every day for a few hours and spent around 10-15 minutes every day watching film. Our gym wasn’t the nicest. The floors had a few dead spots here and there and we had certain hours that we wouldn’t be allowed to be in the gym. I learned to love it honestly because I understood that this would allow me to appreciate the next level (NBA) even more.

Our practices would include a lot of drills simulating the situations we would find ourselves in the game. I would have so many thoughts going through my head throughout the whole experience whether they be positive constructive thoughts and even sometimes negative. The G League was a grind, mentally as much as physically. For me, there were constant thoughts of wondering if I would be good enough or if the opportunity would ever present itself. Either way, I was going to make the most out of being in the G League.

I enjoyed the time with my teammates and coaches and then getting to know everybody’s journey on how they got to where they are at. I was able to realize that I wasn’t the only one that had/has a unique story and journey. This made me want to help others on my team win and help them realize their ultimate goal. We grew a lot closer and had a closer bond throughout the season game by game. I’ll never forget the traveling that was required to go to the games. Some travel days would take the full day to get to some places. Sometimes the flights would get canceled or be delayed and we would be stuck sitting in the airports. It’s almost like similar experiences playing in some of the places that I played at overseas. 

The cool thing about having to play in the G League though is that my people were able to keep up with me easier than the past few seasons. In the past, my people would have to go on some website that’s not in English hahaha. Only a few overseas players and residents reading this blog would understand the struggle. It was also cool for a few of my friends to come to the games that I had this year around the country. For a few people, it was the chance to see me play for the first time in over 5 years. 

I’ve been living the league lifestyle for around 2 months now and it’s been an experience. I’ve talked about it in my past blogs about the pros and the cons of being in the league. Things have settled for me since then. I went from staying in a hotel for a month and living out of a suitcase, to having a permanent place to stay and my things from Birmingham all with me, including my car. I missed my baby. It’s like I got thrown into the fire in the middle of the season and I had to get everything figured out in the middle of a stretch where we had road games. That’s part of the grind you don’t really think of until you’re in that situation. 

So far I can’t have any complaints about how things are. I’m in the NBA. Just a year ago I was in Israel getting DNP’s (Did Not Play) figuring and psyching myself into believing that I am an NBA player. Grinding every single day in practice before and after. A year later, here I am. 

The lesson that I learned most so far with being in the position that I’m currently in is to always stay ready. There’s been games where I have played a lot of minutes and there have been games where I haven’t played at all. Mentally, it can be a battle and a challenge, but the main thing is to always have that mentality of a grinder. I still have the mentality I had in the G league to where I’m motivated and determined. It’s easy to be settled with the things that I have and are provided. The lifestyle is sweet, at the same time it’s understanding personally that I’m not out playing basketball only for the benefits. For me, it’s doing this for the love of the game. Everything else just comes with it. 

I’m grateful for all the things that come with this. Throughout this whole personal journey with being in the league, I’ve also gotten a chance to see some high-level talent and performances on my team. It’s been an honor to see Ayo play at the level that he’s playing at because just last year I was watching his highlights and following his journey all while I was overseas. Now I’m able to see it live in person and be able to have talks with him like it’s common in the locker room. We always hear the chants of “I-L-L” at every game, whether that’s home or away. Who would’ve thought? Another player that I’ve been honored to see and hoop right before my eyes has been Demar. We’ve had Zach playing and then not playing some due to an injury. So to finish off our games before our break, It’s been a stretch of about 2 weeks where he’s been on another level. I’ve never had a chance to see Kobe play in person but if I could find someone who would be just about similar, it would be Demar. The footwork, the patience, the getting to wherever you want, and the consistency. It’s been a pleasure to watch and learn from him because what he’s doing in my opinion is as close to “MVP” as I’ve ever seen before. As a kid I used to watch his mixtapes all the time, now I’m out there hooping with him. It’s crazy examining my life from the outside how things have just seemed to play themselves out like this. In such a short period of time. 

The break has been a good opportunity to sit back and appreciate all the things that have happened for me throughout the season to start and a good opportunity for me to relax. It’s like things have been on full go for me and now is the time where I can pause. This will also be a time to get back to a lot of people. Lord knows I’m not the easiest to communicate with haha. I’m progressing. It’s about to be time to kick back things into gear and finish up the season the ideal way. The team is going to be at the best version that we can be in to finish out our season. For the team to be at their best version, that will require me to be at my best version. The name of the game is staying ready, that is way easier said than done. For now, I’m going to spend the rest of my time messing around with my siblings until we’re back to the swing of the season.

If you’re aiming for something in life, taking a rest wouldn’t be the worse thing to do. There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.

– Hillboy

P.S.

As always, leave any questions or comments that you might have for Finke and me. We appreciate all the support!