Was texting with somebody today and we got around to this. Now I’ll probably leave some good dudes off here accidentally. And if they aren’t on this list, it doesn‘t mean they are bad guys. These guys have stood out to me on a personal level as just really good guys. Has nothing to do with how well I knew them. These are just former players that make you think - I’d like to have him as a next door neighbor, not because he was a Rebel or athlete, but because he’s just a good human being.
Mark Dickel - I admit, I didn’t like him before I met him. On the floor I saw not good enough, too cocky, a choker. I was Team Greedy. A glowing example of don’t judge a book by its cover (I’d say the exact same about his head coach). He was the opposite. He WAS a bit cocky, but he was such a hard worker, he set an example. Held his teammates accountable, he died with losses (trust me, it doesn’t bug some guys). But very down to earth, approachable, didn’t have that cockiness off the court.
Demetrius Hunter - Nuke. He looked like he could be near the weights in a prison as an extra in any such movie. Chiseled, strong personality, the bald head. Talk about an every day guy. Zero entitlement, same fears as ever other person, very humble, bright, understanding. Very poised, balanced and stand up. This is the guy you want to mentor young people.
Romel Beck - genuine, funny as hell, unassuming. Not a mean bone in his body, I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did internationally because he was so nice. Personally, I’ll never forget. I didn’t know he knew … but there was a game where I was sitting Gucci Row, Romel pops a three, runs by me, high five, points at me, and says “that’s for your mom”. She was terminal at the time, that particular game was the game I intended on missing to break my streak, but my mom threw a fit for me not wanting to go. So it was kind of fitting. He’s an assistant at Liberty right now.
Joe Darger. A lot of people here know Joe. Straight up regular guy, no ego, sacrificer, never complains. Admirable. Great with kids.
Brice Massamba - I have a special admiration for people who have kids in their heart. You just needed to see Brice interact with Mike Peck’s daughter one time to know Brice is a good dude. Peck‘s daughter, Maddy, is special needs, and Brice was amazing with her. Brice also is a non-stop jokester, just a light hearted, fun guy.
Along this very same line, Lafonte Johnson. I served as working press at a home game back in 2000, a tough home loss, Lafonte was dejected. Walked Back with him under the stadium, bottom of his shirt pulled up in his mouth. A kid, maybe sever or eight … Mr. Johnson, can I have your autograph. Lafonte stops, drops to his knee, looks the kid right in the eye with a smile … how are your grades? Do you listen to you mom, do you stay out of trouble? Gives the kid his autograph. Now players are given tips, expectations, on how to relate with the fans. When you take extreme time, when you drop down on your knee … you care about kids.
Ernest Turner. I feel he had a ton of offensive talent, but his biggest basketball weakness is a great personal strength. He’s too nice. Too big of a heart. Very unselfish, very caring, doesn’t want to hurt anybody, always a huge smile. Again, just a regular guy. No ego. All those attributes make it tough to compete at the cutthroat high level. But he’s an honorable kid. An example, again with my mom. I was in a daze when she passed, her and I were very close, no doubt I was a mamas boy. It was a surreal time. But Ernie showed for the funeral. It blew me away that he cared enough for that. Sadly, his mom passed a few days ago.
Louis Amundsen. His overachievement is unmistakeable. I didn’t believe he could become what he became. I was blunt with him about it. He’d laugh it off. I’m so happy he was right. But here’s a kid, silver spoon of sorts (dad is some big time engineer) … but grounded as shit. No entitlement even though he grew up with it. Again, down to earth, never asked anything of anybody.
Jermaine Lewis - not many made a worse first impression with me and he didn’t do anything wrong beside having the look. It was my own biases. Gold teeth, do rag, just had that look like Omar from The Wire. Plus the dude just didn’t talk, so it added to the persona. He was scary. Again, don’t judge a book by its cover. For a year, I didn’t hear him string more than two words in row. Yes sir, no sir, to coaches. He’d run through a brick wall for the staff. I noticed that he didn’t bitch or moan, it was just yes sir, no sir and he’d go hard even though he wasn’t athletically gifted and always injured in some manner. Then he gets hurt over summer pickups. Has to sit out a year. We sat together quite a bit, he opened up. He was using UNLV. He knew he wasn’t a pro. But he was using the scholarship to become the first graduate in his family. His grandma went heavy on him, it’s why he had the drive and discipline and the respect. He cheated nobody. This guy was as tough as nails. I never seen him lose it on anybody, but I saw tough guys back down just from his stare and demeanor. Nobody fkd with JLew. He didn’t abuse it, he didn’t even show it unless it was necessary. Never a bully, but would never back down, always humble and appreciative even though those around him appreciated and respected the hell out of him. And he did what he set out to do and made everyone proud. Bless him.
Michael Umeh - I watched him go through a lot. Some extreme ups and downs, played for three different staffs, dealt with lots of injuries, his mental toughness was constantly tested, he was recruited over, had to fight to remain, showed frustration at times but ultimately rose above. And it was not easy for him to take a back seat as a senior. But there came a point in his senior year when he just let it all hang out and had a nice personal stretch at the end of the season and was a key in helping UNLV to the S16. God, I’d have to look back, but I think i recall that Umeh single handedly kept us in the BYU game in the MWCT in the first half. It ended up a glorious win. But again, extremely grounded, came from a stable household, in fact, oddly enough, his dad has the same rare degree/job that I have. But seeing the humility and perseverance up close was cool as hell for me. And even when he was down and out, he didn’t lose his cool, point fingers. Stayed humble. Great guy.
Im sure I’ll remember more players.
Mark Dickel - I admit, I didn’t like him before I met him. On the floor I saw not good enough, too cocky, a choker. I was Team Greedy. A glowing example of don’t judge a book by its cover (I’d say the exact same about his head coach). He was the opposite. He WAS a bit cocky, but he was such a hard worker, he set an example. Held his teammates accountable, he died with losses (trust me, it doesn’t bug some guys). But very down to earth, approachable, didn’t have that cockiness off the court.
Demetrius Hunter - Nuke. He looked like he could be near the weights in a prison as an extra in any such movie. Chiseled, strong personality, the bald head. Talk about an every day guy. Zero entitlement, same fears as ever other person, very humble, bright, understanding. Very poised, balanced and stand up. This is the guy you want to mentor young people.
Romel Beck - genuine, funny as hell, unassuming. Not a mean bone in his body, I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did internationally because he was so nice. Personally, I’ll never forget. I didn’t know he knew … but there was a game where I was sitting Gucci Row, Romel pops a three, runs by me, high five, points at me, and says “that’s for your mom”. She was terminal at the time, that particular game was the game I intended on missing to break my streak, but my mom threw a fit for me not wanting to go. So it was kind of fitting. He’s an assistant at Liberty right now.
Joe Darger. A lot of people here know Joe. Straight up regular guy, no ego, sacrificer, never complains. Admirable. Great with kids.
Brice Massamba - I have a special admiration for people who have kids in their heart. You just needed to see Brice interact with Mike Peck’s daughter one time to know Brice is a good dude. Peck‘s daughter, Maddy, is special needs, and Brice was amazing with her. Brice also is a non-stop jokester, just a light hearted, fun guy.
Along this very same line, Lafonte Johnson. I served as working press at a home game back in 2000, a tough home loss, Lafonte was dejected. Walked Back with him under the stadium, bottom of his shirt pulled up in his mouth. A kid, maybe sever or eight … Mr. Johnson, can I have your autograph. Lafonte stops, drops to his knee, looks the kid right in the eye with a smile … how are your grades? Do you listen to you mom, do you stay out of trouble? Gives the kid his autograph. Now players are given tips, expectations, on how to relate with the fans. When you take extreme time, when you drop down on your knee … you care about kids.
Ernest Turner. I feel he had a ton of offensive talent, but his biggest basketball weakness is a great personal strength. He’s too nice. Too big of a heart. Very unselfish, very caring, doesn’t want to hurt anybody, always a huge smile. Again, just a regular guy. No ego. All those attributes make it tough to compete at the cutthroat high level. But he’s an honorable kid. An example, again with my mom. I was in a daze when she passed, her and I were very close, no doubt I was a mamas boy. It was a surreal time. But Ernie showed for the funeral. It blew me away that he cared enough for that. Sadly, his mom passed a few days ago.
Louis Amundsen. His overachievement is unmistakeable. I didn’t believe he could become what he became. I was blunt with him about it. He’d laugh it off. I’m so happy he was right. But here’s a kid, silver spoon of sorts (dad is some big time engineer) … but grounded as shit. No entitlement even though he grew up with it. Again, down to earth, never asked anything of anybody.
Jermaine Lewis - not many made a worse first impression with me and he didn’t do anything wrong beside having the look. It was my own biases. Gold teeth, do rag, just had that look like Omar from The Wire. Plus the dude just didn’t talk, so it added to the persona. He was scary. Again, don’t judge a book by its cover. For a year, I didn’t hear him string more than two words in row. Yes sir, no sir, to coaches. He’d run through a brick wall for the staff. I noticed that he didn’t bitch or moan, it was just yes sir, no sir and he’d go hard even though he wasn’t athletically gifted and always injured in some manner. Then he gets hurt over summer pickups. Has to sit out a year. We sat together quite a bit, he opened up. He was using UNLV. He knew he wasn’t a pro. But he was using the scholarship to become the first graduate in his family. His grandma went heavy on him, it’s why he had the drive and discipline and the respect. He cheated nobody. This guy was as tough as nails. I never seen him lose it on anybody, but I saw tough guys back down just from his stare and demeanor. Nobody fkd with JLew. He didn’t abuse it, he didn’t even show it unless it was necessary. Never a bully, but would never back down, always humble and appreciative even though those around him appreciated and respected the hell out of him. And he did what he set out to do and made everyone proud. Bless him.
Michael Umeh - I watched him go through a lot. Some extreme ups and downs, played for three different staffs, dealt with lots of injuries, his mental toughness was constantly tested, he was recruited over, had to fight to remain, showed frustration at times but ultimately rose above. And it was not easy for him to take a back seat as a senior. But there came a point in his senior year when he just let it all hang out and had a nice personal stretch at the end of the season and was a key in helping UNLV to the S16. God, I’d have to look back, but I think i recall that Umeh single handedly kept us in the BYU game in the MWCT in the first half. It ended up a glorious win. But again, extremely grounded, came from a stable household, in fact, oddly enough, his dad has the same rare degree/job that I have. But seeing the humility and perseverance up close was cool as hell for me. And even when he was down and out, he didn’t lose his cool, point fingers. Stayed humble. Great guy.
Im sure I’ll remember more players.
