"D. Brown, who is recruiting you?" "What college you going to attend?" These were some common questions being asked of me during the fall and spring of my senior year. In the summer of 2001, is when I got my first taste of what a recruited athlete feels like. That summer I was able to position myself to be an attendee at the West Coast All-Star Camp being held on the campus of Cal St. Dominguez Hills over in Carson, California. When I say position myself, it was literally that. My two godbrothers were two highly touted football and basketball players in Las Vegas at the time. They had gained the fondness of Coaches Shawn and Merril who would help put them in a position to showcase their talent for college coaches. I ended up getting myself onto the AAU team through my association with them, just trying to see what I could make of the opportunity. By July, we had started to formulate a lot of buzz around the squad which meant we started to attract more talented players in the area. For a brief stint, we had my boy CJ Watson who went on to spend years in the league along with guys like Frank Brown (no relation), Martrell Johnson (Rest in Paradise Big Dawg), Robert 'Smokey' Young, Tae Matthews, Jason Petrimoux and of course my godbrothers, Keith and Kevin Richardson. Based upon that list of talent, I had to be like the 12th man on a ten-man roster.
The day came to travel to Cali for the camp. I had no spending money nor did I have the $500 fee associated with the camp. I don't know what I was doing. Who was paying for this kid to get to camp? The question never came up as we drove the I-15 headed to Los Angeles. Every second along the way I am just waiting for the bomb to drop, "do you have your camp money?" We had finally arrived in Carson on the campus of Cal St-Dominguez Hills. Outside of attending a football camp at UNLV or a quick stop at USC, it was the first college campus outside of Vegas that I would stay overnight--or that what I was hoping for. Seeing the college students walk on campus and knowing were would be housed with the summer school students, got me super excited. I thought to myself, 'bruh you can't stay, you don't have the money!'
The moment of truth came the next morning. We were lined up at the registration desk. I am looking around at the other campers with hopes of getting that college scholly. Some I recognized on the AAU circuit and others I would learn that such and such was the number X rated player in the country. As each camper gets processed, I become more and more nervous. I would be so embarrassed getting to the front of the line and being denied. I played it cool until they asked for the camp fee. I quickly moved to the side and looked at Coach Shawn, my heart was beating out of my chest. I'm thinking oh shit! But just like my other teammates who went down, the coaching staff took care of the bill. UNREAL. MOMENT. OF. MY. LIFE. From that point on, I knew it was on and popping at camp.
In the 8th grade, Coach Williams gave me the green light to be the man. That was followed up in high by the likes of Coach Washington and Thompson (God rest both men's soul, thanks coach!). While at Dominguez Hills, I had the opportunity to continue to showcase my talent. Though I loved being a part of a talented team, my role was strictly that of a reserve and defensive specialist. I had more to offer than just energy and making the opposing team's best player as miserable as possible. I could shoot, handle, pass, and still defend at a high level. I had just come off helping lead my team the state tournament and made some divisional/conference teams my junior years. Coach Zach (pseudo name) allowed me to flourish and put in positions to show what I had to offer. I will be honest, being a 5'9, 140ish pound guard really didn't scream D1 but it did say I could compete.
Camp was everything to me that summer. It was five days of being away from home, making new friendships, being able to learn more of the game, and gave me the chance to step out of the shadows of my teammates. There were some rumblings that I was being considered one of the best players at camp that week. That was a major ego boost, but I knew who the top guys were, it was a clear separation, but hey for a day or two, I was being talked about in the same category. My greatest memory from the camp came when we got the center stage game against University of Texas signee Kenton Paulino. My hopes for the game were to not be embarrassed and just to hold my own. I was able to do that and a bit more. Camp coaches were impressed with the D I played which led to some love being shown my way after the game. He did he thing as anticipated but I went out firing. They won the game but I won some hype.
My stellar play led me to be in one of the camp's end of week all-star games. What an honor that was. At the beginning of the week, I came with hopes of just getting into camp with no money in my pocket, and by the end of the week, I was standing on the floor with 19 others who performed well enough to get invited into the game. Out of the 8 players or so that traveled to LA, there were maybe two of us that made an all-star team.
All I wanted was an opportunity. Walking passed the board daily where college coaches would sign to show their presence inspired me each morning we had a session. I took advantage of the early morning camp sessions and evening sessions that were optional. I did everything I could to position myself for an opportunity to play at the next level. The only regret I had about my experience was not believing in myself beforehand as if I didn't belong. I proved that I belonged.
In fall 2001, I received my first letter. It was pinned on Coach Thompson's bulletin in his office. When he said, "D, I got a letter for you", it all changed for me. It was from Western Washington University. YES!!!! My first letter. I don't know why the letter had already been opened but the excitement I showed quickly went away when I read who it was addressed to. It was addressed to Frank Brown (my AAU teammate) but he name was crossed off and mine was written just above. I had to call the coach and ask if it were meant for me and excited he said yes! Again, it was on and popping.
Though I never laced them up to be a Viking, that moment was everything to me. Receiving a recruitment letter is one thing but then talking with the coaches is another. That year I received some other letters and interest but nothing like WWU. They couldn't offer me a scholly but there was a small school in Caldwell, Idaho that was willing to take the chance on the skinny kid from the Northeast side of Vegas. Much love and respect to Coaches Owen, Matlock, and Holly for seeing something in me. I believe what set me apart were my grades and character.
Never underestimate the power of timing and blessing. I am living proof of both. Ball was the vehicle but who I was the hook.
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