[OT] Hanging out with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson)

[halfHAVOC]

Whats up everyone, didn't feel like sharing this on the general board so i'll only share with my nets fam

I had the honor of meeting Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf formerly known as Chris Jackson yesterday. He came to speak for an event at rutgers and I was basically his speaker shadow so i just hung out with him all day, grabbed lunch with him and we just talked and also got more time to hang out with him after the event just grabbing some dessert.

This guy was one of the most humble celebrities I have ever met in my life. I've met plenty of musicians and even NBA players in the past but this guy is by far the most down to earth dude. I was just asking him a lot about the NBA and what not, crazy story: when he was in this basketball camp in princeton during high school, michael jordan came for a short period. He actually grabbed Mahmoud out of the stand and told him to come at him with everything hes got. Jordan checks him the ball, he crosses jordan and extends for a finger roll scores on him once mad quick. Second time he fakes left goes right and gets a layup on the right side. The crowd was going crazy and Jordan said "go sit back down" hahaha

His life was pretty inspiring too, dealing with Tourette's syndrome his whole life but he said although it was rough he doesn't think he would have gotten to the NBA or been as good had he not had this disorder because it forced him to continiously repeat actions like if he didn't swish a 10 straight shots he would start all over again ect. He used to wake up at 4 AM every day and go play basketball in the dark and practice for a ridiculous amount of hours.

Fun note, i asked him who was the toughest player to go up against...he said "Matchups are a lot like boxing where it's more about the style of the opponents. The toughest player to go up against was Rod Strickland, although he couldn't shoot, he had quick hesitation moves and got into the paint with ease"

Anyway so we're out to eat after, lol decided to shoot my first Vine ever and he was down to join in so a little fun but (He's Muslim by the way and good friends with Hakeem Olajuwon)

https://vine.co/v/hdFXAjqJP6h

Edit: Right now he's training some NBA players including Ben Gordon and orlando wanted him to train Victor Oladipo but he couldn't because of his schedule.

[SpeedyG]

Legit

[LamarMatic7]

What's up, halfHAVOC?

Abdul-Rauf is the 30 for 30 I keep waiting for. It has everything that documentary of that series needs. A rather forgotten athlete who was actually pretty damn good, a unique story and plenty of time that has passed since it happened. And there's so much to focus on. His high-scoring days in UNLV, his Tourette Syndrome, the whole controversy of him not standing up for the national anthem, thus him leaving the NBA too early.
I've sent this to Simmons like three times. I hope he at least has read it.

Not surprised at all to hear that's he a humble dude.

[halfHAVOC]

What's up, halfHAVOC?

Abdul-Rauf is the 30 for 30 I keep waiting for. It has everything that documentary of that series needs. A rather forgotten athlete who was actually pretty damn good, a unique story and plenty of time that has passed since it happened. And there's so much to focus on. His high-scoring days in UNLV, his Tourette Syndrome, the whole controversy of him not standing up for the national anthem, thus him leaving the NBA too early.
I've sent this to Simmons like three times. I hope he at least has read it.

Not surprised at all to hear that's he a humble dude.

whats goin on bro. Yeah he's gotta get on that, he got offers from HBO and stuff but he said they take alot of what he says out of context and wouldn't do a documentary like that unless they paid him ofcourse and agreed to have his approval over the context in which he was quoted so his message wasn't portrayed incorrectly.

[vincecarter4pres]

IDK how I missed this thread, that's pretty cool man.

I remember watching him ball on the Nuggets, he was a pretty good, more like a 2 guard in a point guards body.

Did you get into the whole national anthem thing?

[halfHAVOC]

IDK how I missed this thread, that's pretty cool man.

I remember watching him ball on the Nuggets, he was a pretty good, more like a 2 guard in a point guards body.

Did you get into the whole national anthem thing?

Lol we cracked a little joke about it, but i didn't wanna like offend him or get into anything too controversial because he was a guest. I was watching highlights of him vs the bulls lol he had jordans number every time they got switched off, said jordan didnt score on him. But that story of him schoolin jordan when he was in bball camp really surprised me. The most amazing part of him was his work ethic since he was a kid - out every day at like 4 AM and just practiced. He said he trained in the dark so if he played with light he would be even better. And he used to practice his jumpshots until everything was a swish and barely even touched the net. He also said alot of players don't do this but what he did was learn to shoot at any angle, and release at any point on his jumpshot. He shot in ways that are uncomfortable for most people, until they became comfortable. He was basically capable of getting off any kind of shot he wanted at any angle and release point he was demonstrating some stuff for me like how you basically have 360 degrees to work with and get off any shot you want even if you're jumping off the wrong foot or whatever or fading any which way you should be able to get it off.

Other than that i was just talking to him about NBA life and just other things that he does on his free time. He said he got rid of his TV about 8 months ago and all he does is read now which he really enjoys. I was really shocked at how intelligent and knowledgeable he was. He grew up in a town in Mississippi where basically education was at the back burner and he didn't grow up around anyone educated so he really put a ton of energy and effort into exposing himself to the world.

but for real, this guy was the most humble and just chill person i have ever met.

[jerseyjac]

Always loved his game, I actually met him also, while he was playing for the Nuggets back in the day...everything he has accomplished w/ the condition he has, is amazing...

[halfHAVOC]

Always loved his game, I actually met him also, while he was playing for the Nuggets back in the day...everything he has accomplished w/ the condition he has, is amazing...

truly amazing, he said in his speech that if it wasn't for Torette's he might have not made it to the NBA. It's truly inspiring cause we all have problems but when you look up to someone like him who was able to embrace his condition and use it to take him places he only dreamed of, we can all learn something from that.

[SpeedyG]

#BeWell?

[halfHAVOC]

#BeWell?

whats that?