Connect with us

Sports

Kareem Maddox, American 3×3 basketball player, is working hard to get to the Olympics

Published

on



PARIS – For Kareem Maddox and the struggling USA 3×3 men’s basketball team, their anticipated path to a medal at the Paris Olympics will likely be derailed. But for the American, simply making it to the Olympics from a singular Ivy League path has made his journey unforgettable.

“It’s been an absolutely beautiful experience,” Maddox told Andscape. “I’m enjoying it with my family, having the full support of everyone I’ve worked with at USA Basketball, all in one place. I can’t wait to reflect on it when it’s all said and done. But we’re keeping our heads down, still working hard.”

Since 2015, Maddox has been certainly one of the most decorated Americans in the short history of 3×3 basketball, a discipline that may appear on the Olympic program in 2020.

Advertisement

The Los Angeles-born player has played for the U.S. in two FIBA ​​3×3 World Cups, two FIBA ​​3×3 Men’s AmeriCups and two Pan American Games. Maddox was a member of the U.S. men’s 3×3 national team that went 3-2 in the 2021 FIBA ​​3×3 Olympic qualifying tournament. He is also a member of the USA Basketball 3×3 men’s team, together with former NBA point guard Jimmer Fredette, Dylan Travis and Canyon Berry. The U.S. was 0-4 with Fredette sidelined with an injury before Friday’s first group-stage victory, 21-19 against host France.

“I won’t lie, it was a tough time on the court,” Maddox said. “The rules and the length of the game make it unpredictable enough. Then you think about every thing that happened outside of that, and you’ve gotten a tournament that is like this. The game is the game.

“It’s not over yet. We’re still fighting. I’ve seen worse things happen. We just have to dig deeper.”

Kareem Maddox (right), a U.S. men’s 3×3 basketball player, blocks a shot by Polish player Adrian Bogucki during a men’s group stage match at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at the Esplanade Des Invalides on July 31 in Paris.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Advertisement

Maddox was born on December 9, 1989, in Los Angeles to an African-American father and a Sudanese mother whose father was once the director of the Sudanese boxing federation. Maddox’s father, Alan, had been to several Summer Olympics and worked as a volunteer at the media center. Kareem Maddox was able to go to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he dreamed of becoming an Olympian.

Before specializing in basketball, Kareem Maddox grew up playing other sports, reminiscent of track, tennis, water polo, and cross-country, at his father’s request. Maddox was not a widely known basketball player in Los Angeles when he played at suburban Oak Park High School. The late-blooming 6-foot-8 winger didn’t play AAU basketball and was not a sought-after recruit by Division I programs. Alan Maddox, nonetheless, believed his son had the talent and grades to play college basketball at an Ivy League school.

In the summer of 2007, Alan Maddox sent his son to an elite basketball camp at Princeton. Then-head coach Joe Scott was impressed with Kareem’s play at the camp and commenced recruiting him. Penn, Harvard, Yale and Puget Sound showed interest during his senior season, but Kareem Maddox signed a letter of intent to play for Princeton on February 7, 2007.

“I didn’t play AAU or have any recruiting experience, so nobody had heard of me, I didn’t have any letters,” Kareem Maddox said. “So we flew out to New Jersey and just signed up for Princeton’s elite camp. I used to be like, ‘Okay, whatever, this sounds cool.’ So I played, Joe Scott was the coach, and I used to be just with the other campers. But I played pretty much. I used to be an athlete and a superb, decent basketball player, but probably not that sophisticated.

Advertisement

“(Scott) said, ‘Who are you and where are you going to school? How’s college going? And I said, ‘Oh no, I don’t have any letters. I don’t know if I’m going to play basketball in college.’ He said, ‘Well, can you come here? How are your grades?’ I said, ‘They’re good. I have a 3.8, 3.9 (grade point average). And I don’t know if they’re good enough for Princeton.’ He said, ‘I’ll worry about that. You don’t worry about that.’ And the rest is history.”

Maddox averaged 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game during his profession at Princeton from 2007 to 2011. As a senior in 2010-11, the 2011 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year averaged 14 points, 6.9 rebounds and a team-high 1.7 blocks per game. He also holds a level in English literature.

After Princeton, Maddox played professionally in the Netherlands and England for 2 seasons. In 2013, he retired from basketball and have become a news producer for Los Angeles radio station KCRW. Maddox also hosted NPR’s All Things Considered, which focused on vital public affairs.

Maddox began playing 3-on-3 basketball for Ariel Slow and Steady in 2015, which finished fourth in the 2015 USA Basketball 3×3 Nationals. His desire to return to basketball grew after watching the Cleveland Cavaliers come from 3-1 down in the 2016 NBA Finals to defeat the Golden State Warriors. In the summer of 2016, he traveled to Las Vegas and took part in basketball tryouts with foreign teams searching for players. This led to him working as knowledgeable basketball player in Poland during the 2016-17 season after a three-year hiatus.

“I was more surprised when he came out of retirement and decided to come back and play 5-on-5 in Poland again because his radio and TV career was going so well,” said Alan Maddox. “I would say I was 50-50 on that. But again, by that time he had the skills and the education to support himself even if it didn’t work out or if it did work out. It worked out in the end. We’re really happy for him.”

Advertisement
United States 3×3 forward Kareem Maddox (right) throws the ball towards Serbia forward Strahinja Stojacic (left) during the men’s group stage match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Esplanade Des Invalides on July 30 in Paris.

Lars Baron/Getty Images

In 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced that 3×3 basketball can be added to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. That’s when Maddox began to consider his Olympic dream could come true. In 2018, he earned MVP honors as Ariel Slow and Steady won the 2018 USA Basketball 3×3 Nationals title. It was that honor that led to his first time on the USA Basketball 3×3 roster as a member of the gold-medal-winning team at the inaugural 3×3 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Maddox has had other interests outside of 3×3 basketball over the years, including work in media. He has been a journalist for NPR member stations in Los Angeles and Colorado. He has produced each day newscasts and hosted “All Things Considered” for a statewide audience on KUNC News. He has produced podcasts for Spotify-acquired Gimlet Media. He also produced “The Pitch,” a real inside take a look at the enterprise capital fundraising process.

Maddox didn’t make it to the NBA, but he became a component of it through the Minnesota Timberwolves. He lives in Minneapolis, where he works for the Timberwolves in video, scouting and player development. Maddox was hired by Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, whose younger brother, Dan, was the director of basketball operations at Princeton when Maddox played there.

Advertisement

“I’ll be out there warming up and shooting and stuff like that,” Maddox said. “Whatever they need. I’ll jump into practice if I need to. And then I’ll just put together some videos for the scouts.”

Maddox was devastated when the USA Basketball 3×3 team failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, the U.S. qualified for the Paris Olympics after ending second at the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup in Serbia.

“I felt grateful working out and training for the last three years that I was able to do it, that I was healthy enough and fortunate enough,” Maddox said.

Alan Maddox is a part of a bunch of relations cheering on Kareem Maddox in France. Alan Maddox hopes more kids will get involved in sports by watching the Olympics.

“Only a limited number of people will be in the major leagues, but anyone can play an Olympic sport in their youth, high school, college and, in many cases, professionally,” said Alan Maddox. “Some of the most amazing people I meet are athletes who’re much more amazing of their careers outside of the Olympics. They have amazing careers because, again, coming back to those sports and specializing in something and having the ability to concentrate on something and stick to it, that’s just a very good thing, so far as I’m concerned…

Advertisement

“We saw (Kareem’s) work, discipline and travel. We were really excited to see that when someone puts that much effort into something, they succeed. That’s not an easy thing to do.”


Medal or no medal, the Olympic experience was definitely memorable for Maddox. While most of the American athletes stayed in the Olympic Village, all of the USA Basketball teams stayed in a secure hotel in Paris.

That means Maddox and the USA Basketball 3×3 men’s and girls’s teams will likely be staying at the same hotel as NBA stars LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, and WNBA stars A’ja Wilson, Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart, who’re all members of their senior national teams. The Olympic 3×3 competition is also happening in the heart of Paris at La Concorde, a city park that has been transformed into a brief outdoor arena that also hosts BMX freestyle, breaking and skateboarding competitions.

“We’re just keeping a small footprint. And no, no, we’re definitely not trying to take pictures with anyone or anything like that,” Maddox said. “We’re hoping to get tickets to the finale, but we’ll be there to watch them.”

Advertisement

Playing basketball has given Maddox the opportunity to visit some 25 countries, and he’s enjoyed every trip. He’ll be 38 when the 2028 Olympics are held in Los Angeles. If USA Basketball still wants him on the roster, he’d like to try to win a 3×3 medal on American soil. In the meantime, he plans to proceed playing for the Timberwolves and begin a each day podcast.

“I’ll play as long as it makes sense, as long as I love it and enjoy it,” Maddox said. “It’s been the biggest blessing. It’s just every thing I like to do. It’s the traveling. It’s the time to myself while I’m traveling. It’s the competition, and also you only play for the weekend, after which you’ve gotten time to do whatever you wish.

“I’m going to try to get as much out of it as I can. And at this level, who knows? We’ll see. I think the game is evolving and it’s going to be harder and harder for a 38-year-old at this point to make it to 2028.”

Marc J. Spears is a senior NBA author at Andscape. He used to find a way to dunk, but he hasn’t been able to for years, and his knees still hurt.

Advertisement

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Ryan Clark breaks down in an emotional interview with Greg Brooks Jr.: “This child did not deserve it”

Published

on

By

Ryana Clark “The Pivot” podcast It boasts “key conversations”. However, the host of the podcast was not prepared for the emotional variety of his last interview with a former footballer of the State University in Louisiana Greg Brooks Jr. After almost an hour conversation with Greg Brooks and his father, Greg Brooks, Clark, Clark Put in tears a moment after Brooks was thrown out of the interview.

“Sometimes I miss it. I look at the screen and I think it should be me, but I’m just glad that I’m here.”

Advertisement

“You are amazing. You are an inspiration, I mean that you are a superhero and I expected that from a very young age, when I met you, to achieve great things,” said Clark Brooks Jr. “I never expected you to achieve what you have man. I love you.”

For Clark, Ałunu LSU and the super Bowl master, this conversation was particularly annoying because he was there to witness Brooks Jr.’s journey. from early days of recovery.

“It’s hard to see, old,” Clark continued. “My tears are like a part of pride, but also just anger, because you are right, this child does not … does not deserve this man, and to be honest, GB (Greg Brooks Sr.), the most difficult part is for me that he has no anger. He is so happy of everything he has, he is so happy because of how far is.”

While the previous LSU football captain is grateful for recovery, his father, Brooks Sr., explained that Brooks Jr. He still experiences the extent of pain.

Advertisement
Trailer

“Don’t you think that this child suffered, old? Don’t you think that he had the successes of all his friends? Not hear from the trainer for over 17 months? Seventeen Fu ** months … it’s painful, old” – revealed Brooks Sr.

In a lawsuit against the University and Mother of God of the Lake Regional Medical Center at Baton Rouge, the Brooks family claims that LSU staff and medical staff performed neglect in the Brooks Jr. And that the varsity did not inform the athlete’s family about his injury.

“I just want young athletes in the identical place, if something hurts, tell them.

(Tagstranslate) LSU Football (T) Ryan Clark (T) Sport

Advertisement
This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
Continue Reading

Sports

Coach San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich leaves the legacy of expressing injustice

Published

on

By

Gregg Popovich, the most important coach of San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich, won the highest and maybe the largest coach in NBA history outside the side line. It also disappeared, but actually not forgotten, Popovich used his platform to talk against racial, social and political injustice.

“He was probably one of the first trainers of the modern generation, who really spoke about politics and social injustice,” said coach Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr, a former guard of Spurs near Popuvich. “One of my favorite trainers is (former basketball coach of men from the University of North Karolina) Dean Smith. Dean Smith in the 1960s. He helped break the racial barriers in the south, refusing to take his team in some places for staying or eating. Coaches who really distinguish me. “

Spurs announced the retirement of Popovich from coaching on May 2 after 33 years as the most important trainer. Naismith Hall of Famer is the NBA leader in the field of coaching victories with 1422 wins in the regular season. The three -time NBA coach led Spurs to 5 championships. The 76-year-old also took third place in winning the playoffs.

Advertisement

Popovich trained the Spurs dynasty, which included the NBA championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, Hall of Famers David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Future Hall of Famer Kawhi Leonard. With the NBA All-Star Center Victor Wembanyama, in its composition, Popovich trained only five matches this season, after which he suffered a stroke in a team facility on November 2, 2024. He never returned out of bord.

Popovich will remain in Spurs as the president of basketball operations and was replaced by Mitch Johnson, who was a short lived team of the team this season.

“It’s a sad day. It’s also an encouraging day,” said Kerr on May 2. “This is a natural transition for him organizationally to go to the next role. He also gives him space and time that he must regain after health problems.

“So I got a lot of mixed emotions … mainly my love for pop. My empathy for what has gone through with the Spurs organization. All of the above. This is a very emotional day for everyone involved. Thank you, pop.”

Advertisement

Coach Houston Rockets, Ime Udoka, former guard of Spurs and assistant coach near Popowicz, said on May 2: “This is a sweet -bitter day, of course, for all of us. But I am glad that he is in the good place. And I am glad that he is good with his family. A special day. A special person. One of the best for it. I am happy that I have a chance to work with him and call him.”

Coach Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr (on the left) and coach San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich (on the right) meet after the match at the Chase Center on November 1, 2019.

Cary edmondson-us today sport

Popovich also had an impact on the world, undeniably using his platform to speak about injustice. What made his openness much more unique was that he was a white man who spoke about marginalized individuals who didn’t seem like him.

Advertisement

Former San Antonio Spurs Forward Lamarcus Aldridge once described Popovich as “color blindness” to Andcape. Popovich was also known that he normally had an inventory with international talent.

“When you meet him, color doesn’t matter to him,” Aldridge said about Popovich. “It can refer. People can say that he and Stephen Jackson are really close. Stephen Jackson is the opposite of being from Europe. It doesn’t matter who you are. He connects with all people … He is so open to everything.”

Popovich once expressed respect for the playmaker San Francisco 49ers Colin Kapernicka and his national protest. These were the words of a person who attended the American Air Force Academy and obtained a bachelor’s degree in the field of Soviet studies. He served five years of the required lively service in the Air Force and once considered a profession in the CIA.

“A quite good group of people immediately thought that they did not respect the army,” said Popovich once. “It had nothing to do with his protest. In fact, he was able to do what he did because of what the army was doing for us. Most people think about it, but there will always be an element that wants to jump on fashion and this is unfortunate in our country.”

Popovich once took Spurs to the private screening of the film “Chi-raq” with the famous film director Spike Lee. Popovich had a former John Carlos track star, who joined Tommie Smith to get a controversial salut of black power on the podium medal during the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968, confer with his team. Popovich gave his players the book “Between the world and me” by Tahisi Coates, who was written as a letter to the writer’s teenage son about reality, emotions and symbolism of being an African American in the United States. Popovich also took his team for the show “The Birth of the Nation”, the film Parker invested about Nat Turner, who managed the historic riot of slaves in 1831 and see the famous art of “Hamilton” in New York.

Advertisement

“It is obvious that the domestic plane of slavery still penetrates our social system in this country,” said Popovich once. “People want to ignore it, they don’t want to talk about it because it is uncomfortable.”

Popovich also described the race in America as “elephant in peace.” He believed that the White Americans didn’t understand the pain and stress related to being an African American. Popovich remembered listening to the black assistants of trainers about how that they had to confer with children about the best way to cope with the police in the event that they were confronted. He said it was something that as a white man never had in common together with his two children.

“It’s easier for white people because we haven’t experienced this experience. For many white people it is difficult to understand the everyday feeling with which many black people are dealing with,” Popovich once said. “I did not talk to my children about how to behave in front of a policeman when you stop. I did not have to do it. All my black friends did it. There is something that is wrong in it and we all know it.”

From left to right: coach San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich and former players of Spurs David Robinson and Tim Duncan during Tony Parker’s pension ceremony on November 11, 2019.

Daniel Dunn-Us today sport

Advertisement

Popovich also also talked about what he thinks were injustices in the American government, particularly against President Donald Trump. During October 27, 2024, a press conferencePopovich described Trump as “pathetic” and accused him of supporting the culture of racism and division in America. Popovich also added that he believes that Trump has confirmed racism, which normalized and legitimized discrimination on this process.

Popovich recurrently talked about the control of weapons. In 2023, Popovich gave an unnecessary, nine -minute lobbying lobbying for the laws of weapon control in America and criticizing “cowardly legislators who are selfish” before the match in Dallas. Popovich criticized republican legislators in Texas and Tennessee, and in addition expressed contempt for the expedition of representatives in 2023 Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Chamber of Representatives in Tennessee. Two black democrats were demonstrating weapons control on the floor of the chamber after a shooting in Nashville. Popovich called the provisions on the resistance of weapon control, an try and “clog all these things (in) the myth of the second amendment.”

“I was wondering because we have a governor and governor governor and prosecutor general, who made it easier to have more weapons,” Popovich said, referring to politicians from Texas. “It was a response to the murder of our children. I just thought it was a bit strange decision. But it’s just me.”

So how did Popovich develop into so conscious, caring and vocal?

Advertisement

The son of a Croatian father and Serbian mother organized naturally about other cultures, growing up in a racially diverse eastern Chicago in Indiana, 18 miles from the Chicago center. According to the universal census of the United States of 2010, Eastern Chicago had 42.9% black, 35.5% white and 19.1% of other races. Popovich attributed his military origin for making him aware of the world. He also learned about the world when he played basketball for the American Basketball Team of the Armed Forces in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

“When you meet him and learn about his upbringing and his origin, raised in (suburbs) Gary, Indian, in a multicultural district …”-said Udoka. “He all the time talked about the neighbors he had – an Italian family, a Jewish family, a black family. Everything around him was immigrants and his.

“This is the core of who it is. It is appropriate, regardless of whether you are black, white or different.”

Kerr also spoke about social injustice, racism, violence with weapons and political problems during the training of warriors. He recognized Popovich for uplifting him to make use of his platform to talk.

“I was 100% inspired by pop for the courage to speak and take the hits you do,” said Kerr. “I met POP after I signed a contract with Spurs in 1999 during the blockade. You can see the sacrifice for his country. A proud air force graduate. From the first national anthem (played in the game Spurs) I saw how he stood on an unusual American flut.

Advertisement

“This is a belief together with, say, the Shenanigans of this country politically – in actual fact all BS began at the moment, at the turn of the century … between social media and Buffoners politically, on this era, wherein everyone screams against one another.

Marc J. Spears is a senior NBA author for Andcape. Once he was capable of immerse himself at you, but he was unable for years, and his knees still hurt.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Why America still makes the black fathers of sports villains

Published

on

By

In the sports industry value a billion dollars there isn’t any image more quietly threatening to the system than a robust, engaged black father.

We see it time and again.
Lavar Ball is known as boastful.
Deion Sanders is known as selfish.

Advertisement

Richard Williams was crazy long before the world learned the names Venus and Serena.
Lebron James is in some way criticized for being too publicly supporting his son Brony.
Earl Woods was presented as a controlling character, even when he raised one of the biggest golfers he had ever seen.

Cecil Newton Sr. He met with public control simply following his son CAM.

The plan is evident: when the black father stands at the center of his child’s success – leading, protecting, moving away from exploitation – the media paint him as an issue.
As Egomaniak.
As someone “bothers”.

Why?
Because strong black fathers disturb the narrative.

Advertisement

The system is just not only invested in the talent of black athletes – it invests in controlling them.
A young black athlete without suggestions is less complicated to control. Easier to pay. Easier to face against others. Easier to the brand, profit and reject when it’s comfortable.

A powerful black father changes the terms of the contract.

Requires higher contracts.
He asks about coaching decisions.
It protects the mental health of your child from the franchise.
He reminds the world that his son or daughter is just not only an asset – but a human being along with his family, dreams and dignity.

And that is where real fear lies.

Advertisement

The image of a united black family – not broken, absent, not broken – a challenge of deeply rooted stereotypes on which American society has long been about the justification of inequalities.
A powerful black man standing next to his child and says that he is just not perceived as an act of love, but as an act of revolt.

It is less complicated to submit a father than to confess that the system is designed to make use of athletes, while they’re young, sensitive and isolated.
It is less complicated to make fun of yourself than to confront the truth:
Black families who stick together support one another and are fiercely in favor of their very own, are irrefutable, not a threat.

The experience of NFL Sanders Sanders shows what black men know too well - confidence is a threat

When Deion Sanders tells his sons that they’re kings, not goods, it worries the old order.
When Richard Williams insists that his daughters are larger than tennis, he prescribes the rules.
When Lavar Ball dreams loudly for his sons, he scares a system that prefers black athletes to be grateful and quiet.

But let’s be clear:
It is just not their trust that threatens the sports industry.
It’s their love.
Their refusal to permission to their children used and rejected to the side.
Their impudence is consider that they deserve sitting at the table – and pull up the chair without not asking for permission.

Black fathers in sport should not villains.
They are architects.
They are defenders.
These are a shield between industries value a billion dollars and kids, otherwise they consumed.

Advertisement

Or possibly this can be a real story that America doesn’t wish to tell.


Jonathan Conyers

)

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending