When I was home for the Hall of Fame induction I had a lot of time to reflect on my career as a basketball player and what that all meant.
I got a chance to catch up with some friends but not as many as I would have liked.
We chatted about some games and things that we had played over the years and teams we played against and who we hated then,
The reality was that I didn’t really remember a whole lot when it came to the games.
My dad sent me a list of stats and records that I had no idea I even had…… 🙁
Most of what I remember would resemble a very quick film with flashes of plays on a screen.
I can probably only honestly remember about 5 games out of my almost decade of playing through high school and college.
I rember the first one, the last one, the best one, the worst one and the one that hurt the most. (I remember those vividly)
That’s it.
You would think that playing hundreds of games I would remember more than 5?!?!?!
Nope.
Do you want to know what I do remember?
I remember all the practices, all the shots, all the Friday nights training by myself, the victory laps in the team van, the banter in the locker room, the road trips, the conversations about how we would execute the game plan.
I remember all of that stuff like it happened this morning.
I remember the guys sitting next to me in the locker room, on the bench, on the buses and planes and team meeting rooms.
I remember learning what being outworked in practice was like. I remember watching film with my dad and the long talks about what it meant to be a good teammate and leader.
I remember sharing in the pain and joy of wins and loses.
I have a lot of memories from my time playing basketball……..and virtually none of them have anything to do with basketball.
All that to say that winning and losing is important, awards are important, but not as important as who you share those moments with.
Be selective about who you choose as your teammates and the people you spend your time with.
Be a good teammate.
When it’s all gone and the lights are off and the games are over, you’ll only be left with those relationships.
Make them good ones.
Fern
