Knicks and Liberty Players Lead Discussion for Middle and High School Students
Knicks and Co. Impart Ideas For Life
by Tom Kertes


NEW YORK, January 24, 2006 -- Yes, success does leave clues.
That down-the-middle fastball of a truth is what inspired the New York Knicks to hold a panel discussion on the deck of the beautiful Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum for the second year in succession. The profound face-to-face created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for over 300 middle and high school students -- from the Henry Street School for International Studies and the Dr. Susan McKinney Secondary School -- to interact with New York Knick forwards Malik Rose and Trevor Ariza. New York Liberty star Kym Hampton, classic Knicks guard John Starks, and hit filmmaker (and enormous Knicks fan) Spike Lee participated as well.

The discussion was the latest installment of “The Power of One”, a wildly successful program which allows leading members of the community to impart ideas to, and exchange ideas with, students. “But ‘The Power of One” means even more than that,” event MC “Talent” (from KISS FM) stated with emphasis. “It also means that one particular event -- such as maybe this one -- may be life-changing to a young person. And it also means that one person has the power to make a difference, to change the direction of your life. And that person, ultimately, is you.”

The initial issue under microscope was “the one obstacle that stood in your way as a young person.” Hampton talked about the difficult age of 14 when “my hormones went crazy, I started basketball, and my mom had a nervous breakdown all around the same time. When it’s not even comfortable going home – the place that should be your one safe haven -- that’s very tough to deal with, especially at such young age,” Hampton recalled. “But I coped because, through it all, I had my talent and my love for sports. I knew that was my way out.”

Rose talked about the rough Philadelphia neighborhood he grew up in. “I lost an older brother to violence and I saw what that did my mother,” he recalled. “At the time, my best friends were gun runners and drug dealers -- but I didn’t want to see my Mom so sad. So I began to participate in everything -- I learned instruments, I was in the chess club, I even got myself on the “Mock Trial” team. Anything to keep me away from trouble.”

“Later, when I was playing basketball, I was running on the playgrounds with all the Philly guys like Rasheed Wallace, Kobe Bryant, and Cuttino Mobley,” said Rose. “And everyone was talking about how great Rasheed was going to be and how unstoppable Kobe is -- and how I was never going to make it playing ball. Not even to college. Well, I ended up winning the NBA championship -- and playing an important role on that team -- before any of those guys. And it was all about never giving up no matter what anyone said about me. It was all about perseverance.”

Spike Lee talked about his real role models, “my parents and grandparents. Growing up, I never had an idea about becoming a filmmaker -- at the time there was only one African-American filmmaker around, Michael Schultz. But my parents supported me, no matter how farfetched my ideas may have seemed. It kept my value system strong and correct. These days, all too often, if you care about your education, if you don’t walk around with your pants hanging below your butt, you are called ‘white boy’ or ‘Oreo’. Do not succumb to that type of peer pressure. Do not devalue your education just to fit in. Acting intelligent is ‘white’? Acting dumb is cool? That is treacherous.”

“And so is the idea that you can only become a rapper or a professional athlete in order to be a success,” added Lee. “The truth is, you have a better chance to hit the lottery than to be a pro athlete.”

“In just 20 years of life, I’ve seen a lot and I traveled a lot,” said Ariza. “When I was about 9 years old my brother died, my Dad left us, and times were hard. I started to hang out with tough guys. I was angry with everybody. The guy who was my best friend is now in jail 15 years for a double murder.”
“Now I realize that that is not the way for a young person to live and grow up,” added Ariza. “So my advice to you is to just be your own person -- you don’t have to impress anybody. I left school early for the NBA-- my family needed the support -- but I’m going back to school in the summertime. Guys like Malik are my role models. He always tells me ‘no matter what may be in your way, just keep working hard and never lose sight of what you want to accomplish.’”

“I’m inspired by just being here,” smiled Starks. “Thing is, if you want to learn, you’ve got to listen. I’m listening to these life stories and I know I’m still learning. Basketball used to use me because that was all I cared about -- but I learned to use basketball to get ahead in life. Be careful, because the line between success and failure is so thin. The biggest thing is to find a passion about what you want to do in life -- and then do whatever it takes to follow that passion all the way to success.”

A student asked Kym if “it was difficult to be a female ballplayer”? “Very much so,” said Hampton. “I was going against the norm. But I used that as a source for inspiration.” Randy Henderson, a college ballplayer, asked Rose what to do “now that both coaches I’ve played for left the school for another job”? “That is the type of very difficult obstacle we’ve been talking about,” said Malik. “Keep going. Put forth even more effort. When you make it, it will be even sweeter.”

Greg Jackson asked Lee about where he gets ideas for his movies? “You can get them anywhere, books, news articles, or just living life,” Spike said. “The most important things are to truly care about your subject -- and to distinguish yourself from the pack.”

Henry Street 8th grader Joseph Mercado was practically aglow as the electric afternoon drew to a close. “I’m a huge Knicks fan,” he said. “I go to games at the Garden all the time. Basically, I just came here to see the players up close -- but this turned out to be much, much more worthwhile. I got a tremendous amount of ideas out of this afternoon. Ideas I can really put to use while growing up. Ideas I can use later in life.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Go ahead Reezy...Get that bentley
He's gonna set a great example if he does go back & hopefully he'll follow through.
lol...I wonder if the fact all our rookies this year having stayed for 4 years in college had any impact on his decision.

Posted by MinsHeartsReezy:

“The Power of One”

that's my all-time fav book.

nalod - Starks was a crack dealer?

Really?

Perhaps you have a personal story to share