Professional Basketball After Loading Trucks
Knowing that his basketball-playing career would eventually come to an end, he used his spare time to develop his ‘Plan B’ career: coaching basketball.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
IU was born in Portland, Oregon to Nigerian American parents.
CHILDHOOD THOUGHTS OF AN ADULT CAREER
IU was obsessed with playing basketball from his earliest days. In high school, he skipped his senior prom to play hoops.
EDUCATION
Following graduation from a public high school, IU earned basketball scholarships to play at Utah State University, then the University of San Francisco before transferring to Portland State University, where he was considered a ‘star’ of the team as one of the country’s leading defensive players.
ATHLETIC CAREERS REQUIRE STAYING HEALTHY ENOUGH TO PLAY
IU’s athletics career path – from player to coach – was a straight line for basketball, but his journey took numerous detours along the way. Despite his high level of college basketball performance, IU damaged his knee before the NBA draft and was unable to play at any level until his knee was fully rehabilitated.
ATHLETES NEED TO EARN MONEY WHILE REHABING WITHOUT A CONTRACT
Without basketball, IU had to earn money somehow and wanted to keep busy, so he found hourly work loading trucks for FedEx, while hoping to rehab sufficiently to earn another opportunity trying out for an NBA team.
ATHLETIC CAREERS REQUIRE PERSISTENCE
(Editor – Details of IU’s many careers stops and starts are provided to demonstrate his persistence.)
Following successful knee rehab, IU was signed in the 39th draft round to play in the NBA “D” (development) league. He was called up briefly to play with the LA Lakers but soon waived. So, he found an opportunity to play in Europe until returning to the U.S., where, now completely healthy, IU was drafted third overall for a D league team.
The next year, IU was signed by the New York Knicks but waived by the Knicks soon after the regular season commenced. He soon found an opportunity to play with his hometown Portland Trail Blazers, receiving a try-out invitation when another player failed his pre-season physical exam.
Despite the recent death of IU’s father, he played hard during team scrimmages, impressing the coaching staff with his defensive skills and made the final cut to remain with the team for its regular season, starting 75 games. But IU was not re-signed by the Trail Blazers for the next season.
As a basketball free agent, IU signed a player contract with the San Antonio Spurs, playing through two full seasons but was not re-signed by the Spurs for a third season. Again, a free agent, IU returned to play for the Trail Blazers but was soon waived and within a month, signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings, where he finished the season but was not resigned.
Once again, a free agent, IU rejoined the Spurs but less than 2 months later, was waived and did not find another NBA playing opportunity until almost a year later, signing with the Brooklyn Nets, where he lasted for only a week before being waived in favor of another player judged by management to have a more productive and longer future with the team.
Not yet willing to give up his pro playing career, IU signed with a pro team in Spain but soon realized it was time to proceed with his ‘Plan B’.
GOOD TO HAVE A ‘PLAN B’ (BACKUP PLAN)
While roaming the basketball courts as a defense-minded forward, IU was already plotting his future – by coaching a bunch of teenagers in his spare time. IU had made a pitch to a marketing executive at Nike, to sponsor an AAU team; the benefit to Nike would be publicizing their brand and earning loyalty among any of the players who might later make it to the NBA.
Coaching a youth team was something that IU had talked about for years with his friends and now they could make it happen.
As soon as his NBA season ended, IU would rush to the airport, and he’d be in the gym with his youth team the next morning.
For four summers, while his NBA teams were on vacation, IU patrolled the sidelines for an elite AAU team which he helped to launch. For IU, it was a formative experience and set the foundation for everything that followed. He said, “I got the (coaching) bug, being around those young guys.” With his elite team, IU’s involvement ranged from jumping into team practices to laundering his players’ dirty socks. “Talent” he told them, “Was not as important as effort.”
AAU basketball teams were known as a breeding ground for well-funded streetball games. IU, though, was going to do things his way, which meant the hard way. “We were never just going to roll the balls out there,” IU said. “We were going to teach them how to play. Structure, discipline, defense – those were the things I stressed. And that’s how I was as a player.”
IU was always willing to offer instruction, but his players sensed there were limits to how much he felt he could team them. Sometimes, he needed to show them. So, IU would hop on the phone and summon old friends from the local neighborhood. These were former high school teammates, ‘hoopers’ he knew from the playgrounds and even a few pals who had played overseas. The request from IU became a familiar one: “Could you swing by practice and toughen up my guys?”
A former player from IU’s first elite youth team recalled: “His friends were older, stronger, and smarter and they would just run us off the court. But you’d learn.” As another former player put it: “They’d punk us.”
IU’s first recruit was a 15-year-old forward, awe-struck that an NBA player – from his hometown, no less – was showing interest in him. IU worked with his recruit at the Trail Blazer’s practice facility and invited him courtside for games. But IU also challenged him. From his spot on the bench, IU noticed that his recruit tended to stand around when teammates launched shots. IU wanted him to pursue offensive rebounds.
“Stop watching!” often shouted IU at his recruit, who eventually got the message. (Really, he had no choice.). Later, as a sophomore in a Division 1 basketball program, the recruit emerged as one of the country’s leading rebounders.
There were more talented teams, but IU squeezed his players for every drop of potential. Weekend practices were rigorous. IU had a soft spot for role players and ‘glue guys’, for scrappers who treated every possession like it was a final exam.
Communication, IU understood, was not “one size fits all.” Some players needed more discipline while others needed more encouragement. Some were from the suburbs while others were from the city. IU tailored his approach, seeking to learn as much as possible about each of his players. He offered them rides to practice. He ate meals with their families. He knew, even then, that relationships were essential to coaching. But he refused to compromise his standards.
“It wasn’t hard to get on them and hold them accountable,” said IU. Very rarely, he added incentives. Once when the team was scuffling through an uninspired practice, IU paused the proceedings. “Who wants $100? Winner of the next scrimmage takes the prize.” As one of the players still remembers, with amazement: “And it was $100 per players, man. IU was not cheap!”
The temperature in the gym went from lukewarm to molten. “There were some prison fouls going on,” the player distinctly remembered. “But that’s how he encouraged us to be – a tough, hard-nosed group.”
Another player recalled that during a road trip for an AAU tournament, talking to a college coach who was interested in recruiting that player, the college coach asked, as an aside, having heard about this NBA player coaching an AAU youth team: “What is IU like? What was he like to be around?” Just then, IU walked around the corner cradling a heap of sweaty uniforms. The player told the college coach: “He’s in the NBA and right now, he’s washing our clothes at the hotel.”
INTEREST IN A CAREER IS THE FIRST STEP; THE SECOND IS LEARNING YOUR CRAFT
As it became clear to IU that he might have a future in coaching, he worked at his craft, attending coaching clinics organized by the NBA players’ union. Eventually, a famous NBA head coach, for whom IU had once played, called to offer IU a job as an assistant coach. IU wrestled with the decision. Did he want to close the book on his playing career?
IU discussed his dilemma with several close friends, now including his first AAU recruit, who he had once screamed at to “Stop Watching!” His now friend said, “It was unusual for IU to hesitate because he was usually very decisive. And then he just kind of decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to do it!”
(Editor’s note – This decision was not taking an unreasonable risk because IU had proven himself worthy by taking several years to immerse himself in learning his craft by doing it. It is not unusual to have some anxiety about whether you know enough to jump to a higher level. Indeed, those who have zero concern about their future success will probably not be motivated to dedicate themselves to continued learning which is required for virtually all successful careers.)
CAREER SATISFACTION
IU never looked back. He spent nine seasons as an NBA assistant before the Boston Celtics hired him as their Head Coach.
IU had shaped his youth team in his no-frills image. His former players have seen him apply the same blueprint, years later, after he became the Celtics’ head coach.
This career story is based on a news article written by Scott Cacciola, published in the New York Times on 5/6/22.
