From my first dunk at 14 years old to my second NCAA Championship at the University of Tennessee, my intense training with my dad was always to credit.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
My first dunk ever was in middle school. We were playing, me and my church friends, and I dunked it, and I swear I could not sleep that night.
My mother was a champion high-jumper. My three brothers are basketball players. We've all been very athletic.
I knew I was good because I was the only 14-year-old who could dunk backward.
One of the first coaches I worked with on the national team told me that I was too skinny, too puny, and had no natural acceleration. He said I'd be better off looking for another facet of sport to follow. That was a really, really bad moment. For a long time, I felt as if my dad was the only one who had faith in me.
I used slam dunking as a tool for intimidation.
I learned a lot from my father. I'm very lucky to have a father who was a professional athlete.
I could dunk a volleyball in high school. I didn't play football because I knew they were going to put me at a fat-guy position, and I didn't want to do that. I am athletic.
Throughout my journey in basketball, I always have someone to talk to in my father. I know how hard he had to work as an athlete.
My dad was my first coach and drove me extremely hard from a very young age.
I played basketball to try to get my parents from working so hard.