Rec Sports

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton and becoming one in a million — Andscape

Published

6 months ago

June 18, 2025

OKLAHOMA CITY — Vaughan Alexander makes no bones about how wonderful he’s felt about watching his oldest son, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, living his dream. Indeed, living an entire family’s dream.

His 26-year-old son is the All-Star guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA Most Valuable Player and has the Thunder one game away from winning the franchise’s first NBA championship.

What’s not to love? Life is good.

“This is going to be a year that is going down in the books,” Vaughn Alexander said during a recent conversation with Andscape.

As long as I’ve covered sports and watched young people and their parents, what has fascinated me more than anything is the one-in-a-million phenomenon. Out of tens of thousands of aspiring basketball players around the world, how does a player who grows up in Canada — like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, for example — find his way through the youth sports maze, the high school gauntlet, receive a college scholarship, find his way to the NBA, becomes a league MVP and put himself on the verge of winning an NBA championship?

How did he beat the odds? How much is talent? How much is drive?

“It’s more drive,” Vaughan said. “It’s more mental, it’s more who you are, its more discipline. There are so many talented people out there. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force them to drink. They just won’t take the teaching you give them. It’s more about making that kid be a receptive, principled, respectful-minded person; they’ll probably listen to their teachers, they’ll listen to other elders besides you.

“Who wants to be that one who does what people don’t want to do? It’s hard work, it’s not easy. You’re going to have to do some stuff that most people don’t want to do. If you’re comfortable in your own skin, and comfortable with saying, ‘I’m not going to parties, I’m not going to do this, I’m not going to do that.’ That’s one way to get yourself in that elite space.”

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (left) handles the ball while Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right) plays defense in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 16 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City,.

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

How do you become that one in a million?

I suppose you can ask the same question about anyone in any profession who has achieved success. There is something admirable and challenging about climbing the pyramid, especially in the bloodsports of basketball and football. Black athletes often, not always, have to traverse a minefield of a less-than-ideal environment and the lack of family wealth and connections.

“It’s more about being that sponge, being humble, understanding that you’re a kid and you don’t know anything,” Vaughan said. “Kids today know everything. I’d say eight out of 10 think they know everything because of social media.

“Be that two out of 400, be that kid who’s really humble, realizing, ‘I got to listen, ask a lot of questions.’ See the people who are doing the things you want to do and be around them.”

Vaughn and his former wife, Charmaine Gilgeous, were born in Antigua. Charmaine participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Vaughn played high school basketball in Toronto, Canada. In addition to Shai, Vaughan and Charmaine’s youngest son also plays college basketball.

What advice does Alexander give parents as they put their children in the youth sports cauldron. Most simply want their children to have a good experience. Many want their kids to become pros.

He encourages parents to have their children embrace the qualities that make them different rather than aspiring to fit in with the crowd. Most of all, he advises parents to develop an unshakeable sense of self in their children.

They’ll need it.

“Sometimes you’ll see your kid moving around and you’ll say, ‘Hey, chill. Who do you think you are?’ But you’d rather that than under-confidence, not being confident in yourself. It’s hard to build that back up.”

Long Island Sharks head coach Rod Strickland watches during the first half against the Ole Miss Rebels at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion on Nov. 4, 2024.

Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

My frame of reference for the one-in-a-million question is Bronx-born Rod Strickland, the former point guard who enjoyed an All-America college career at DePaul and a 13-year NBA career. Strickland is currently the head men’s basketball coach at Long Island University.

You never know where young people you’re involved with will end up. For the last 25 years, I’ve run a sports and recreation program at the Church of the Intercession in Harlem. A number of years ago, when Strickland was with the Washington Wizards, I happened to mention the program.

His eyes lit up. He said that when he was 10, Intercession was where he played in youth basketball tournaments at halftime of the older kids’ games. I’m sure back then if we asked the kids on his team how many of them wanted to play in the NBA, everyone would have raised their hands. Then the adults in the room would recite the familiar refrain about how nearly impossible it is to become that one in a million who reaches the league.

After Strickland told me he was one of the 10-year-olds in the gym, I changed my perspective from lecturing about the insurmountable odds of being that one in a million to preaching that somebody has to be that one in a million and it might as well be you.

The question then becomes how do you get to be one of those needles in a haystack? How do you get to be that one in a million?

Fact is, no one thought Strickland would be the one. After Strickland reached college, one of his early mentors told him there were other 10-year-olds who were favored.

“He was like, ‘Back then, there were other people that they might’ve thought was the one,’ ” Strickland recalled during a recent phone conversation. ” ‘Nobody thought you were the one at that time.’ At 10 years old, I probably was one of the better kids, but then at some point between 10 and 15, I might’ve dropped off a little bit and had to recover.”

Strickland, 58, said the difference between his journey and more recent generations is that his aspirations were different.

“I think now, everybody thinks they’re going to be a pro, like it’s automatic,” he said. “I didn’t think I was going to be a pro. I admired guys; I wanted to be like Magic [Johnson] and pass, I wanted to be like Dr. [Julius Erving] with the layups. I wanted to be George Gervin with the finger rolls. I had all these idols, I had this vision, I had a creative mind and I wanted to be something, but I never knew what I was. I kept trying to attain the goal of being good and then getting better and then being able to compete against people, so there were steps to it.”

Because he always played against older competition, Strickland said he spent most of his early life trying to prove himself — in junior high and even college.

“There was never a time where I just thought I was a pro,” he said.

Then there was a game against Georgetown when he was a freshman at DePaul when he made one of his patented drives, showing the ball then going to his other hand to finish. The late Al McGuire, who was broadcasting the game exclaimed, ‘A star is born.’ At that point, Strickland felt he had a chance.

“So, for me, being that one in a million was a journey,” Strickland said. “I was just trying to figure myself out.”

Rod Strickland of the New York Knicks shoots a jump shot against the Dallas Mavericks at Reunion Arena in Dallas in 1987.

Joe Patronite/Getty Images

Before getting the LIU head coaching job, Strickland spent several years as an assistant coach where he worked in the youth basketball space.

Many young players never had to go through a journey. Some received too much too soon.

“There’s a lot of kids who are the chosen ones, but they are the outliers,” he said. “There’s these other kids who everybody puts in play to be the next pro. Sometimes they don’t make it because you’re telling them they’re there already, so they don’t get to go through the journey. It’s almost like you already know.

“I never knew until I knew.”

The secret to being that one in a million is a combination of confidence and humility; resilience and defiance.

“People can throw you off so easily, you have got to have some ‘F-you’ in you,” Strickland said.

I began covering Strickland when he was at Truman High School in the Bronx. As a junior, he led Truman to the New York State High School Championship. Strickland transferred to Oak Hill Academy (Va.) for his senior year, then went to DePaul University where he was a first-team All-American as a junior.

Strickland was drafted in the first round (19th overall) by the New York Knicks in the 1988 NBA draft and played 13 NBA seasons. He knew how to play the point guard position. He understood at an early age that the essence of the position was giving, sharing and putting teammates in a position to be successful.

“You have to be talented, but you have to be self-aware, you have to know how to make others feel good,” Strickland said.

That’s what impresses him about Gilgeous-Alexander and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. They are star players—one in a million—who made the journey by making their teammates better.

Gilgeous-Alexander has created space that’s allowed a teammate like Jalen Williams to break out and become a star. Haliburton, while not a prolific scorer like Gilgeous-Alexander, knows how to put his teammates in position to be successful.

“All you got to do is listen to them talk,” Strickland said. “Their sophistication and their maturity and their thought process of the game and their teammates. You got two unselfish dudes, and they play differently. Shai is scoring that ball. You could see how his teammates love him and how he embraces them and all that.

“And then you watch Tyrese play in the way he plays; he’s about everybody else. But they’re mature, articulate, they have creative minds and their thought process is just different.”

Before I ended the conversation with Vaughan Alexander, I wondered how he has maintained the father-son relationship with a son who is not only well known but wealthy. He admires his son, admits that he enjoys being in the limelight, but he is not his son’s employee or a groupie along for the ride.

“The upbringing, the product of his environment, it just doesn’t change because he’s got hair on his chest,” he said. “I’m still going to give you advice, whether you want to take in or not. They can tune me out, I’m going to tell them the right thing. That’s just how you’ve got to move with your kid.

“You’ve got to deal with them like men from early on. When they become men, you let them go do their own thing, make their own decisions. But at the end of the day, I’ll always be his father.”

There are myriad formulas for a young athlete to become that discovered needle in a haystack. Vaughan Alexander and Charmaine Gilgeous had a formula for Shai and it has worked fabulously.

The formula is rooted in a tenacious belief in possibility. Someone has to be that on in a million. It might as well be you.

William C. Rhoden is a columnist for Andscape and the author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete. He directs the Rhoden Fellows, a training program for aspiring journalists from HBCUs.

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Long Beach Poly vs Los Al Girls’ Soccer – The562.org

Published

1 hour ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Long Beach Poly Seniors Play For USA Football

Football is the quintessential American sport, but organizations like USA Football are trying to take it worldwide. The International Bowl, held last weekend in Dallas in the Cowboys’ stadium, featured games between the best USA high schoolers as they took on youth national teams from Canada, Japan, and Mexico. Three Long Beach Poly players represented […]

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SunStar Davao – The spirit of youth basketball crackled…

Published

2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The spirit of youth basketball crackled through Davao City as it hosted the SBP–Passerelle Twin Tournament 2025, one of the country’s longest-running grassroots competitions. For decades, the league has been a launching pad for players who later shine in high school, college, and even professional basketball. This year, Davao’s young hoopers once again showed why the city remains a hub of talent, discipline, and passion.

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Youth basketball program Slime Time Hoops prepares for 2026 season with skills training

Published

2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Slime Time Hoops, a nonprofit youth travel basketball organization co-founded by Onslow County businessman Andy Pittman, is gearing up for its 2026 season.

The program, open to both boys and girls, aims to help young athletes gain skills to become more competitive. Slime Time Hoops will host a skills training session this Sunday, Dec. 14, at Jacksonville High School.

The event, costing $20, is open to boys and girls in grades four through eight.

“We basically do individual and group skills training. We run through multiple drills. At the end, we typically let – we break them into teams to let them scrimmage to get some live action,” said Pittman.

The training will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The organization plans to host season tryouts in February.

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Future Archery Pro Invitational Returns to NYC, Championing Inclusive Youth Sports

Published

2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Height doesn’t matter but Focus does!

Hidden Gems Archery hosts its 3rd Annual Future Pro Invitational on Dec. 13, uniting NYC students for inclusive archery, focus, leadership, and teamwork.

QUEENS, NY, UNITED STATES, December 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ — Hidden Gems Archery proudly announces the return of its 3rd Annual Future Archery Pro (#FutureArcheryPro) Invitational, to be held on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at Grover Cleveland High School in Queens, New York. This citywide tournament brings students together to compete in an inclusive, skill-building environment that promotes leadership, focus, and teamwork through the sport of archery.

The Invitational is part of the Future Archery Pro Initiative, a program designed to increase access to archery for young people across New York City—particularly in underserved communities. Participating schools are invited to bring up to ten students, with additional slots made available as capacity allows. Teachers and coaches oversee student selection, transportation, and on-site supervision, creating a seamless partnership between school communities and the Hidden Gems Archery team.

“Every student deserves a chance to aim higher, both in archery and in life,” said Natasha Green, CEO & Founder of Hidden Gems Archery. “This event builds more than athletic ability—it develops patience, discipline, and self-confidence while expanding access to a nontraditional, inclusive sport.”

*Empowering Partnerships with Schools*
Educator partnerships are at the heart of the program’s success. School leaders across the city have embraced the opportunity to bring archery into their physical education programs and after-school offerings.

Luis Torres, longtime supporter and former principal of CS 55 in the Bronx, shared:
“Working with Hidden Gems Archery over the years has shown me the powerful role archery can play in building student confidence. It’s more than a sport—it’s a tool for focus, motivation, and growth.”

The Invitational is hosted at Grover Cleveland High School, where Hidden Gems Archery also provides adaptive archery instruction to students on the autism spectrum.

Principal Pascente added:
“We’re proud to support adaptive archery as part of our inclusive physical education model. Events like this show students they can succeed in spaces where they may not have traditionally seen themselves.”

*Building a Movement, One Arrow at a Time*
Participating students will compete in both individual and team events, with prizes including the coveted “School with Highest Points” award. All participants are encouraged to have completed at least four archery sessions in advance to ensure familiarity with safety protocols and competition standards.

Transportation assistance—including a Bronx-based bus route—is available for schools that need support, and planning meetings are open to all educators involved in the event.

“Thank you for this opportunity for our students!” said Principal Kelly Nepogoda, reflecting the enthusiasm and commitment from school leaders citywide.

Since its launch, the Future Archery Pro Invitational has engaged schools across all five boroughs and continues to grow as a model for how sports can drive equity, confidence, and leadership in young people. Hidden Gems Archery welcomes new school and community partners interested in bringing this innovative program to their campuses.

*Event at a Glance*
What: 3rd Annual Future Archery Pro Invitational
When: Saturday, December 13, 2025
Where: Grover Cleveland High School, Queens, NY
Who: Students from NYC schools participating in competitive and adaptive archery
Contact: info@hiddengemsarchery.com | (475) 328-2339

Natasha Green
Hidden Gems Archery
+1 718-924-9538
email us here
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Future Archery Pro May 2025

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Who is Detorit’s first ‘first gentleman?’

Published

2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield wed Rickey Jackson Jr. in a private ceremony at The Godfrey Hotel on Sunday.

There’s no official title for the spouse of the mayor. Sheffield is Detroit’s first woman to serve as Detroit’s head executive.

Jackson is program manager for Project Play: Southeast Michigan at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and the brother of WNBA star Rickea Jackson.

Jackson hasn’t appeared much in local news reports. A LinkedIn profile shows Jackson had past roles as an advisor at New Paradigm for Education, a student mentor at Adrian High School and assistant director of admissions at Defiance College in Ohio. Sheffield wore an engagement ring during her campaign but declined to say who her fiancé was until after the wedding.

In a Monday statement from her mayoral transition team, Sheffield and Jackson said they were “grateful for all the love prayers and well wishes we’ve received during this special moment in our lives.”

Sheffield posted more thanks and images from the ceremony on her Instagram page on Tuesday.

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is serving as fiduciary for Sheffield’s transition process. It launched Project Play Southeast Michigan in 2017 to build youth sports opportunities. The initiative is a collaboration between the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and the Aspen Institute.

Jackson’s LinkedIn profile states he is “passionate about expanding access to quality sports, play, and physical activity opportunities for all youth across the region.”

BridgeDetroit requested an interview with Jackson to learn more about his background and public service experiences. Sheffield’s transition team said they would follow up after the newlyweds have some time to celebrate their nuptials privately.

*Hey, it’s Malachi. Thanks for reading.*

The Detroit City Council was sworn in this week and started an orientation process organized by the City Clerk and Legislative Policy Division.

The agenda included sessions on Monday and Tuesday focused on council responsibilities, meeting rules, ethics, contracting, city agencies, staff appointments, safety protocols, media services and technology.

Formal sessions will resume in the first week of the New Year.

In the meantime, help me improve this newsletter! I’m overhauling the Notebook for the new year and genuinely need your help.

What kind of information would be most useful to you?
How should we cover the new City Council and mayor?
Do you want me to focus on 2026 elections for state and federal offices or keep it hyper local?
Do you prefer short summaries in your inbox or all the detail I can muster?

Shoot me a note at mbarrett@bridgedetroit.com.

I remain chronically online, and, by consequence, come across lots of great information I’ll never have time to report on myself. I’m sharing with you and closing these tabs on my computer.

Detroit’s RoboCop statue in Eastern Market is like a meme come to life, but Daily Detroit’s Jer Staes convinced me there’s more to the story than you’d think. He got the inside scoop on how the saga unfolded, and the details will surprise you

Staes also reminded me that for as much as people may scoff or cringe at Detroit’s derelict depiction in the film, “RoboCop” remains a caustic, prescient satire of the soul-consuming nature of corporate greed. Maybe it’s worth revisiting art that explores how the human spirit perseveres against the forces of predatory capitalism and fascism.

Congressman Shri Thanedar introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday. Thanedar accused Hegseth of allegedly murdering Venezuelan civilians suspected of trafficking drugs and mishandling classified information by discussing war plans in an unsecured chat app.

Read Thanedar’s reasoning in the articles of impeachment here. The effort may end the same as Thanedar’s failed attempt to impeach President Donald Trump earlier this year. Axios explains why.

Thanedar is running for reelection in the 13th District and faces a primary challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who was endorsed by dozens of Black leaders, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Justice Democrats.

Mayoral candidate Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. called for a renewed focus on eradicating childhood poverty in his first public statement since losing the 2025 race. Kinloch, writing in Deadline Detroit, said the city can’t celebrate its recovery while half of children are under the poverty line.

Kinloch, senior pastor of Triumph Church, also argued that most registered voters didn’t participate in November elections “not because they didn’t care — but because they didn’t feel connected.” He earned just 22% of the vote.

The Detroit Ice Boiz are back on Belle Isle, hosting weekend pickup pond hockey games as long as the weather allows. Last year, we covered how the inclusive community group is preserving a historic tradition of casual hockey on Belle Isle’s frozen waterways.

I was out with the group again last weekend and can confirm it remains chill and open to all. Consider donating to a GoFundMe page, which will fund equipment and community events.

Detroit’s heavy embrace of tax abatements is considered necessary when developers face high property taxes and construction costs, but what happens when tax breaks expire

Clara Hendrickson at the Detroit Free Press took a sharp look at Detroit’s reliance on abatement programs that need Legislative renewal. One thing that stood out to me is how much we actually don’t know — there’s no cost-benefit analysis to draw from.

Many are trying to emulate the annual Spotify Wrapped feature, which recaps each user’s unique music consumption over the year. The Detroit Institute of Arts did it better than most, listing which pieces in its online collection attracted the most attention.

It’s a fun read, and a great reminder of how many iconic pieces the DIA has in its inventory. Here are my most-listened-to songs of 2025, and no, I will not explain myself.

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Rec Sports

URochester students learn, work, and research across the globe

Published

3 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Students don’t have to make the journey abroad alone. URochester faculty often go abroad—for work and for plays.

English 252: Theatre in England is a four-credit course led by Katherine Mannheimer, professor and chair of the Department of English, that sends students to the British capital for two weeks over winter break to attend and discuss around 20 plays in theatres across the city. The syllabus includes Shakespeare and work by up-and-coming playwrights. Recent highlights have included Antony and Cleopatra, Oedipus, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

In between morning classes and attending all of those plays, students visit the British Museum, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and other cultural sites. The annual trip is open to undergraduates and graduate students regardless of major.

“I’ll remember this experience for the rest of my life,” says Brittany Broadus ’24, who was an English and psychology double major. “From the start of the class to the very end, I felt like I was living in a dream.”

ROC Galapagos has been a semester-long program for undergraduates offering hands-on field research and intense learning in evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation. Based in Ecuador, with field work in the Amazon rainforest, the Andes mountains, and the Galapagos Islands, students have taken in-person formal courses from URochester professors, conducted field surveys, and collected data on topics such as invasive species and endemic wildlife.

“My experience was incredible,” says Christine Bresnahan ’25, who majored in ecology and evolutionary biology. “I loved living with my host families. I got to grow my Spanish and learn about their country’s culture and history. And the life skills I learned were invaluable.”

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