You still can’t dance. But you’re going dancing. Congrats.

 

That was my text message to Demetrius Walker on Saturday night, after New Mexico defeated San Diego State to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament. In the celebratory aftermath, Demetrius and teammate Jamal Fenton did a dance, something they call “Cookin,” which I won’t even try to describe. You can watch it here:

 

While watching Demetrius do that silly dance it hit me: Demetrius is going to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos have had a bid to the so-called Big Dance sewn up for weeks, but it hadn’t settled in that the kid I have known since he was 10 years old would be playing on basketball’s biggest stage. Watching him dance with a huge smile on his face brought it home. There were many days when I’ve wondered whether Demetrius would even make it through a college season without transferring, and now he is vital cog on a top 25 team that has a chance to win a game or two in the tournament. It is amazing.

 

He is not the first kid from Play Their Hearts Out to participate in March Madness. Justin Hawkins played in the last two NCAA tournaments with UNLV and he and the Runnin’ Rebels are back. They take on Colorado in Albuquerque on Thursday. But because Demetrius’ future has always been so fragile, seeing him reach this point feels more monumental.

 

The Lobos play Long Beach State in Portland on Thursday. If you watch that game, you are likely to see a totally different Demetrius that the one who played most of the season for New Mexico. He’s confident but restrained, dedicated on defense, a team player. After the San Diego State victory, when I asked him how he felt about where he was in his life, he said: “I really feel like I have found my place.”

 

It’s the perfect way to describe what has happened. Demetrius has developed into a key sixth man for New Mexico, something I didn’t see coming. Early in the season, you he was too focused on his offense. He’d enter a game and immediately look to get his shot, which often led to several low percentage attempts and a quick hook from coach Steve Alford. About midway through the season, he was unhappy and he told me so, but he didn’t look for an exit like he had so many times in the past. He kept working, and in the past few weeks everything clicked. He learned how to play defense at the Division I level, and he stopped looking for any shot and instead took (almost) only good shots. He found his role: Defend well, make your free throws, take the offense that comes to you. This may seem rudimentary, but remember Demetrius’ history and the lack of coaching he received for much of his career.

 

In the quarterfinals of the MWC Tournament against Air Force, he scored 19 points on 5 of 6 shooting. In the semifinals, he scored 14, making 3 of 7 shots from the field and all six of his free throw attempts in a huge victory over UNLV. I can’t remember a single shot of his from those games that made my cringe. It was Demetrius’ play in the final, however, that signaled to me that he might be on his way to becoming a good college player.

 

Coming off two good performances, I worried that the old Demetrius might surface, the one hell bent on getting his shots. But after he missed his first three attempts against San Diego State, he didn’t start jacking. He took only one shot the rest of the way as his teammates were hot and he deferred to them. He came in late and made 7 of 8 free throws to help ice the game, and finished with seven points. It was an important contribution in an important game. He wasn’t the star, but that was okay. He was content being something else: Part of a team.

 

I worry that the bright lights of the NCAA Tournament might lead him to revert to his old ways, I worry that a tough loss will send him reeling a bit, and I worry about the unknown, because with Demetrius that is a requirement. Stuff happens. But for the next few days, I am going to just enjoy watching him play, enjoy that he’s found his place.

 

* * *

I will be in Albuquerque covering the games from that site for Sports Illustrated. As a bonus, I get to watch Justin in person. Carmen Hawkins will be there and I’m going to coax her into attending a PTHO reading/signing/ discussion on Wednesday night at Bookworks. It starts at 7 pm and the address is: 4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW.

 

I hope to see PTHO readers and Rebels and Lobos fans.

 

* * *

Demetrius and Justin aren’t the only PTHO kids in the tournament. Kendall Williams, Demetrius’ teammates, is another, and there is Justin Cobbs at Cal. Gary Franklin Jr. plays for Baylor, and I will get to see him in Albuquerque as well. Make sure to check them out and root hard.

It is a big week for Roberto Nelson and his family. On Thursday evening, Oregon State plays at Stanford and on Saturday the Beavers face Cal, two tough and important contents. Those games take on even more significance for Roberto as his father, Bruce, will be in attendance both nights.
 
Those who read Play Their Hearts Out or the eBook I wrote, Hand-Me-Down Dream, know how close Roberto was with his father. They understand how it gutted him to lose Bruce just before his senior year of high school. While Bruce has been in prison, Roberto has matured, but he has felt Bruce’s absence every day.
 
Bruce was released from prison Dec. 24, but he hasn’t been able to travel to Oregon to see Roberto because of limitations that the state put on him. He is not on parole, only probation, so eventually he will be able to see Roberto play in Corvallis, Oregon, but probably not until next season.
 
I’ve talked to Bruce and Roberto a few times lately but not about their reunion. It seemed silly asking Roberto: “So, are you excited to see your dad?” I know how he feels, and I know how Bruce feels, and their emotions are going to be what you’d expect. I get chocked up thinking about it.
 
I’ll be at the Stanford game (and Cal on Saturday as well). I want to see Bruce and Roberto. But I’m not going to stick around after tonight’s game. I’m not going to lurk by the team bus so I can witness the moment that Roberto and Bruce reunite. I did a lot of lurking in order to report Play Their Hearts Out, but this is one scene I am going to intentionally miss.
 
It is their moment and I’m going to leave it alone.
 

Some sad news to report. Pe’Shon Howard broke a bone is his left leg and is likely to be out three months, meaning he won’t play most of the first half of his sophomore season at Maryland. He’s in a walking boot and said doctors will cast his leg next week.

When I messaged Pe’Shon to ask how he was doing, he responded: “I’m fine, how are you?” Typical Pe’Shon. Readers of Play Their Hearts Out will remember that Pe’Shon has always been an astute and composed kid. He was also one of the smartest kids profiled in the book (at one point Harvard was recruiting him. If this had happened to one of the other boys I might be more concerned. Pe’Shon will deal with it. He will find ways to contribute to the team while he is sidelined, and he will be ready to go when he’s cleared.

I had planned to travel to Washington, D.C. to see Pe’Shon and Maryland take on Notre Dame, my alma mater, on Dec. 4. I may have to push that date back now. It’s probably a blessing. I was going to have a hard time figuring out whom to root for

* * *
If you get a moment, read the excellent story in the Washington Post by Eric Prisbell and Steve Yanda about NBA player Michael Beasley and the civil lawsuits he and his former agent have filed against one another.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/michael-beasleys-lawsuit-alleges-he-received-improper-benefits/2011/10/22/gIQAn40AKM_story.html

The filings in those cases provide a glimpse into the world of big-time AAU ball, much of which will ring familiar to readers of PTHO.

I doubt that during the middle of labor negotiations NBA commissioner David Stern is going to pay much attention to this story. I also doubt that even if he did read it that it would change the league's stance and prompt the NBA to be proactive about fixing youth basketball. That said, what is it going to take? NBA talents like Beasley are being exploited. It changes who they are as people and players and that is bad for the league's future.

The PEN American Center named Play Their Hearts Out winner of the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. The judges were Madeleine Blais, Buzz Bissinger, and Phillip Lopate, three writers I really respect. Here's the press release:

http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/6109/prmID/1528

I talked to Demetrius Walker for the first time in a long time the other day. We hadn’t spoke in almost a month, and it was weird to go so long between chats. I went on vacation and then got caught up in some SI work. At the same time, he went to see his mom in Arizona and we just kept missing each other. He is in New Mexico now and fully engaged in summer workouts. His knee, which he had surgery on, is healthy and he feels good. “Everything about my health and my game is where I want it right now,” he said. “I’m just hoping nothing happens to mess it up.”

To say Demetrius has matured during this redshirt season after his transfer from Arizona State would be an understatement. He needed to be out of the limelight, and although the release of Play Their Hearts Out brought him some attention, it wasn’t anything like the pressure he faced when he was in high school or during his freshman season at ASU. That has allowed him to work on his game, get healthy and gain a little perspective. We joked about LeBron and his failings in the NBA Finals, and we discussed how some of the kids he played with and against were now entering the NBA. Mostly, we talked about the coming season and his teammates and how he sees himself fitting in with the Lobos next season. It was nice to see his focus on the here and now.

As for next season, he thinks he will be one of the team’s top three guards (along with Kendall Williams, another PTHO kid, who had a great freshman season), which means if Demetrius doesn’t start he would be one of the first players off the bench. Personally, I’d like to see him come off the bench early in the season, just to ease him back into it. I know D wants to start, but I also don’t think that if he doesn’t start it will bother him like it would have in the past.  He’s grown up a ton.

Here are updates on a few other kids and parents from the book:

Roberto Nelson is still at Oregon State, where he should be a starter and key player next season. He recently went on a cool trip to Macedonia as part of Beaver Without Borders, along with another PTHO kid, Joe Burton. Here is a video of them talking about why they decided to do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhCePi5z0so Here is another that covers their visit to Stobi, Macedonia: http://www.youtube.com/user/BEAVERSwoBORDERS#p/a/u/0/pEa4k7tu2eg (You can also see the video of Roberto breaking a backboard that made the YouTube rounds a few weeks back. It is in an earlier post.)
I recently talked with Bruce Nelson, Roberto’s dad. He is in prison still (at Chino) but could get out as soon as December. He seems to have settled in at Chino, where he transferred last year. He has been asked by prison officials to organize a 3on3 basketball tournament for the inmates.

Justin Hawkins is adjusting to Dave Rice, his new coach at UNLV. Rice was an assistant at BYU, and Justin says he likes him and is especially excited to be working with former UNLV star Stacey Augmon, who was known as a stellar defensive player (like Justin). Augmon is one of Rice’s new assistant coaches. Justin is also doing a summer internship at the MGM Hotel in the corporate offices. Marcus Hawkins is doing an internship at Morgan Stanley in New York. Empty-nester Carmen Hawkins sold her house in Baldwin Hills and moved into an apartment in downtown Los Angeles.

Darius Morris and I have played phone tag the last few weeks. The Los Angeles Lakers, his hometown team, took him in the second round of June’s NBA Draft. Here is an interview Darius did with the Lakers website: http://blog.lakers.com/lakers/2011/06/27/no-41-pick-darius-morris-q-a/ Some people will say that Darius made a mistake leaving Michigan after his sophomore season since he didn’t land in the first round. I disagree. Next year’s draft is loaded, and Darius would have had to make a significant jump in production to have been drafted any higher in 2012. He already made a big leap from his freshman to sophomore seasons and it is unreasonable to think that would have happened again. He is what he is: a big, smart, yet not overly athletic guard. Another year in college wasn’t going to change the scouts’ projections, and so he was smart to strike now. He also landed on a team that needs guards, in his hometown. Tough to beat that.

Darius wasn’t the only PTHO alumnus selected in the draft. Texas’ Jordan Hamilton was picked late in the first round and eventually traded to the Denver Nuggets. He went later than expected and some reports suggested it was because of questions about his shot selection and attitude, which I find interesting since those were also the knocks on him when he was a kid.When I ask Demetrius, Roberto, Justin and others what is like to see their peers enter the NBA, the response I get is almost always something like what Justin said about seeing Hamilton, his old nemesis, get drafted: “It’s just weird. Really weird. I mean, because you knew what they were like before and what they couldn’t do and all that. They are different now and it shows how hard works pays off, but it is still weird.”

I have some good news to report on Rome Draper. He enrolled at Pierce College and will play there next season along with Terran Carter, another PTHO kid. Rome didn’t play basketball last season and I’m not sure he was even taking classes. Those close to him wondered if he would ever play again or, more importantly, continue his education. It looks like both are happening, and that is huge news. “He’s working out and he looks good,” said Terran, who said Rome is living with some teammates near the school, which is in the San Fernando Valley, a good distance from Inland Empire (and the bad influences there). If Rome were to dedicate himself 100% to school and hoops (and that is a big “if”) I don’t have any doubt that he’d get a Division I scholarship. Keep your fingers crossed.

I wish I had more to report on Aaron Moore. He de-friended me on Facebook and has ignored my messages. He played at Valley College in San Bernardino, Calif. last season and had a good year and was named first-team all-Conference. He averaged 12 points and six rebounds in 19 games. I heard from someone that he wasn’t enrolled there in the spring, which is a concern, but I can’t verify that. Hopefully, he will play another year at Valley and attend classes and then find his way to a four-year school in 2012.

Andrew Bock (at Pacific) and Jordan Finn (at Nevada) are doing fine. Andrew had to sit out last season after transferring and used that time to get stronger. Pacific is in my hometown of Stockton and I’ve coaxed my brother into getting season tickets so that I can have good seats for Andrew’s games. It is big year for both Andrew and Jordan. Andrew should start for Pacific and it is time for Jordan to make a leap and be a big contributor for Nevada.

One boy who had a small part in PTHO was Vondrae Tostenson. Joe Keller recruited him to Team Cal from Nebraska and he spent a few months on the team before returning to the Midwest. Vondrae was a big-time football prospect and was recruited by several major programs before ending up a community college. I reached out to him on Facebook and this is what he wrote in response to my question about what he was up to: "Just landscaping and marketing for Visalus. l am also doing a little bit of coaching for some little ones. Three major knee surgeries kinda put me out, but I’m living well and enjoying life."

Gary Franklin Jr. was recently in the Virgin Islands working out with that country’s national team. He intended to play for the V.I. in some international competitions, but then there was some difficulty proving that his mother hailed from there. So, he ended up returning to Waco, Texas and workouts with his Baylor teammates. He will be eligible to play for Baylor midway through next season after transferring from Cal.