Club 520 - John Lucas III on Derrick Rose Bulls era, LeBron James DUNKING on him, Kobe Bryant story

Summary

Podcast Summary: Club Shay Shay - Episode Club 520

Release Date: January 6, 2025
Guests: John Lucas III, Derrick Rose, Brandon Hendricks
Host: DJ Wells
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts, The Volume, and Shay Shay Media

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Introduction and Guest Introductions (02:29 - 03:57)

The episode kicks off with DJ Wells warmly welcoming listeners back to another exciting installment of Club 520. He introduces the guests: John Lucas III, a seasoned NBA coach and former player, alongside prominent NBA star Derrick Rose, and Brandon Hendricks. The camaraderie among the hosts and guests is evident as they express their anticipation for the episode.

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Origin Stories and Early Careers (03:57 - 10:05)

John Lucas III shares his journey into basketball, highlighting his unique background in tennis and how it influenced his mental game on the court. He recounts his freshman year with the Atlanta Hawks during a minicamp where he first encountered Derrick Rose.

• Notable Quote:
  John Lucas III (04:03): "My dad always taught me, change lives. You know, pay it forward."

Derrick Rose reflects on his early interactions with John Lucas III, emphasizing Lucas's role in mentoring him during his rookie year. Lucas's disciplined approach and mentorship are credited with helping Rose navigate the challenges of early NBA life.

• Notable Quote:
  Derrick Rose (15:06): "When we started, like, when it started happening, I started caring. We doing these workouts. I'm gonna come off the bench. You remember?"

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College Journey and Challenges (10:05 - 21:18)

John Lucas III delves into his college basketball experience at Baylor University, describing it as the worst decision of his life due to the demanding environment and personal struggles. He discusses conflicts with coaches, disciplinary actions, and his eventual transfer to Oklahoma State.

• Notable Quote:
  John Lucas III (34:10): "We all did was push-ups, dips, and pull-ups. We didn't touch the weights. Cause my dad was like, you touch the weights, it's gonna mess with your shot."

Despite leading his team in scoring and assists during his freshman year, Lucas faced increasing challenges, including being benched and dealing with off-court issues. His father's guidance proved pivotal during these tumultuous times.

• Notable Quote:
  John Lucas III (15:21): "Bro, you got about four, five years left in you."

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Professional Career and Overseas Experience (21:18 - 41:12)

John Lucas III narrates his journey through the NBA, highlighting stints with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, and experiences in the D-League and overseas in Italy. He discusses the difficulties of undrafted players, the differences between playing in the NBA and overseas, and the financial aspects of his early professional years.

• Notable Quote:
  John Lucas III (69:52): "The game is very strategic. They wanted me to be a playmaker like they were. They really want me to be a point guard."

Lucas shares anecdotes about coaching relationships, team dynamics, and the competitive nature of the NBA. He emphasizes the importance of mental toughness and adaptability in professional sports.

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Impact on Derrick Rose and Team Dynamics (41:12 - 87:15)

The conversation shifts to the profound impact John Lucas III has had on Derrick Rose's career. Rose credits Lucas for helping him rebuild his confidence and performance during his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

• Notable Quote:
  Derrick Rose (101:58): "But we're gonna do another episode probably. And Andy, you know I know you got some big stuff coming up. We gonna let you announce that when you're ready to announce it."

Lucas highlights their collaborative efforts to support Rose through injuries and personal challenges, fostering a resilient and winning mentality within the team.

• Notable Quote:
  John Lucas III (77:24): "We played against the Warriors. I never forget it. Play against the Warriors."

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Personal Growth and Coaching Philosophy (87:15 - End)

John Lucas III reflects on his transition from player to coach, emphasizing the lessons learned from his father and the importance of mentorship in sports. He discusses his coaching philosophy, focusing on building mental toughness and fostering a supportive team environment.

• Notable Quote:
  John Lucas III (112:00): "You stack your bread. So what I used to do with my first check, I used to keep a check. And then I send a check to my financial people."

The episode concludes with heartfelt acknowledgments among the hosts and guests, celebrating their shared experiences and the enduring bonds formed through basketball. They express gratitude for the opportunity to support and uplift one another, highlighting the sense of family within the Club Shay Shay community.

• Notable Quote:
  Derrick Rose (116:57): "But he be. He mess with me all the time. Cause we used to always play one on one."

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Conclusion

This episode of Club Shay Shay offers an in-depth look into John Lucas III's basketball journey, his pivotal role in Derrick Rose's career, and the enduring importance of mentorship, mental toughness, and personal growth in professional sports. Through candid discussions and personal anecdotes, listeners gain valuable insights into the challenges and triumphs that shape an athlete's path both on and off the court.

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Highlighted Quotes:

1. John Lucas III (04:03): "My dad always taught me, change lives. You know, pay it forward."
2. Derrick Rose (15:06): "When we started, like, when it started happening, I started caring. We doing these workouts. I'm gonna come off the bench. You remember?"
3. John Lucas III (34:10): "We all did was push-ups, dips, and pull-ups. We didn't touch the weights. Cause my dad was like, you touch the weights, it's gonna mess with your shot."
4. John Lucas III (15:21): "Bro, you got about four, five years left in you."
5. John Lucas III (69:52): "The game is very strategic. They wanted me to be a playmaker like they were. They really want me to be a point guard."
6. Derrick Rose (101:58): "But we're gonna do another episode probably. And Andy, you know I know you got some big stuff coming up. We gonna let you announce that when you're ready to announce it."
7. John Lucas III (112:00): "You stack your bread. So what I used to do with my first check, I used to keep a check. And then I send a check to my financial people."
8. Derrick Rose (116:57): "But he be. He mess with me all the time. Cause we used to always play one on one."

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Note: Advertisements, promotional segments, and non-content sections have been excluded from this summary to focus solely on the substantive discussions and narratives shared by the guests.

Transcript

[John Lucas III]

SephiRun Season 2 is coming to Apple TV. What you all did five months ago was one of the most painful moments in the history of this company. Our message got out.

[Ryan Seacrest]

We're famous.

[John Lucas III]

All of us equally or one of us is like the star.

[Derrick Rose]

What did you see? My audi's wife was Ms. Casey.

[John Lucas III]

If you want to find out what happened to her, I'll help.

[Derrick Rose]

She's still alive. I want to see my wife. He should have left Severance new season.

[John Lucas III]

Streaming January 17th only on Apple TV plus Spectrum business knows that small business owners put in the work. It's unlimited hours, unlimited effort and unlimited passion, all to unlock the unlimited potential of your business. Get fast reliable Internet, advanced WI fi with security shield and an unlimited mobile line, all only $49.99 a month. Learn how Spectrum Business can connect your business to unlimited [e-mail] business. It's your business made limitless. That's Life Unlimited. That's Spectrum Business. Restrictions apply often not available in all areas.

[Ryan Seacrest]

What's the best time of day to get a deal? All day with Jack in the Box's.

[John Lucas III]

All day big deal meal.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You get to choose from four entrees.

[John Lucas III]

Like the supreme croissant and five tasty sides like tiny tacos, plus a drink starting at $5.

[Ryan Seacrest]

So hurry in or take your time. You've got all day at Jack.

[John Lucas III]

Every bite's a big deal.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. This new year, make sure you take some time to take care of yourself and your family. Stock up on your favorite personal care Items now through January 28th and earn four times the points to use towards discounts on groceries or fuel. Shop in store, online or in the app for items like Pantene Shampoo, Old Spice Body Wash, Pampers, Swaddler's Diapers, Venus Razors and Crest Complete toothpaste and earn four times points on your purchase offer ends January 28th. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[John Lucas III]

This message comes from Greenlight. Ready to start talking to your kids about financial literacy? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money.

[Ryan Seacrest]

App that teaches kids and teens how to earn, save, spend wisely and invest.

[John Lucas III]

With your guardrails in place. With Greenlight, you can send money to.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Kids quickly, set up Chores Automate allowance.

[John Lucas III]

And keep an eye on what your.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Kids are spending with real time notifications. Join millions of parents and kids building.

[John Lucas III]

Healthy financial habits together on Greenlight.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Get started risk [e-mail] iheart the volume.

[DJ Wells]

All right man, we back another wonderful episode of Club 520 podcast. I'm the host. My name is DJ Wells. We in Chicago with it. Special guest in the building, man. We've been waiting for this episode, man.

[Derrick Rose]

He ain't even a guest.

[DJ Wells]

It's like family here. We got a lot to talk about, man. We're going to introduce my man's last to my far left. I got my dog Bishop B. He and out the Pearlies.

[Brandon Hendricks]

How you what nasty Cool and nasty in the shy. Let's get to it, baby.

[DJ Wells]

For a show. We in the shot one time, J. Look, listen, we your foot game always been proper, but you know, if this man known for it. Have you ever seen the black forces with the white laces before?

[John Lucas III]

Nah, I ain't never seen that.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I'll get you a pair of. Look what you about nine?

[John Lucas III]

Nah, I wear a size 11. Big dog. Damn.

[Derrick Rose]

Normally when you check somebody feel like my size, I need to let you.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Know I'mma take care of Luke. Don't worry about it. I got it.

[DJ Wells]

Got the black necks on to my right. My dog, young Nacho, Young Teague. How you what?

[Derrick Rose]

Chilling, bruh. We got. We got family in the building. We in Chicago with it, you know, supporting some of our other brothers, supporting D. Rose, our guy. But we got my brother in the building, bro. I'm gonna let you do the honors, but I'm geek for this episode for sure, man.

[DJ Wells]

We've been waiting for this episode, man. Come on, man. Decade plus professional, man. The best walk on ever to do in the ncaa, man. We got a lot to talk about. We got a lot to talk about today, man. JL3, John Lucas III. Coach Luke, appreciate you sliding on this big dog, man.

[John Lucas III]

Thank y'all for having me.

[Derrick Rose]

For sure, man.

[Brandon Hendricks]

We've been.

[DJ Wells]

We've been waiting for this episode, man, ever since the Minnesota stories came out.

[Derrick Rose]

This is the high Request a guest, man.

[DJ Wells]

Listen, we got a lot to talk about. But first, man, I wanna talk about how y'all first met, man. Yeah, let's go to y'all origin story first.

[Derrick Rose]

Well, you know, I met him by busting. You know, killing. Paul's almost crazy, but I met him by killing. When I was a rookie, the Hawks, we didn't have summer league, we had minicamps, right? So we had a minicamp and they had some veterans come and he was a veteran in the league. He was, you know, and he was trying to work his way on the team. Well, make the Hawks team a roster or whatever it was. It was a minicamp and it was My rookie year, I never been in the NBA, nothing. And me and him got in a battle. So we get to playing. Me and him going back and forth. He giving me the blues. I'm doing my thing. At the end of the day, I end up getting the best of him a little bit, right? But in the middle of the game, this nigga started coaching me. This is what I knew. He was gonna be my guy. He was gonna be a coach. I'm going away. I'm doing my thing. I'm calling Pickett Rose. He like, hey, yeah, young fella, when you go on that pick and row and you guarding it, don't turn your head. Cause I'm just gonna go blow. I'm gonna blow by you. I'm looking at this nigga like, man, what? Like, nigga, we playing against each other. Nigga coaching me. N. I'm like, who this nigga talking to? So I go to Randolph Morris, right? I'm like, who is this nigga? He was like, no, he can play, man. This nigga. Nah. Then the rest of the day, this nigga just kept talking to me. That's how I met this nigga. He was killing, though. I ain't gonna hit on either. So I had about 50, though. I ain't gonna hold it.

[John Lucas III]

Damn, that's a fat.

[DJ Wells]

Oh, okay.

[John Lucas III]

You know, you get drafted, you get to take every shot you want to take.

[Derrick Rose]

That's a fact.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I mean? You get to take every shot you want to take. So I just like. I remember. Cause I was like, you know, we all had to pull up in the little van or the bus. They pick us up a hotel, you know, He a rookie. It's like, maybe. I think I'm like, maybe five. I'm going through my sixth year.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And he pull up and he got. He brought himself a brand new Dodge Challenger. We called it a Dope boy car.

[Derrick Rose]

Dope Boy 95.

[John Lucas III]

I said, man, look at this.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Look.

[John Lucas III]

I said, all right. I used to always try to find something. If I had to go against somebody. Like, if I didn't know him or something, I had to find something I didn't like about him.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Oh, okay.

[John Lucas III]

For me to, like, just, like. What I don't like about him was gonna make me, like, when we step on that corner, I'm gonna turn up.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So I just, like, off me. I was like, oh, his swag is too high.

[Derrick Rose]

Like, he was swaggy.

[John Lucas III]

He was too. Like, I was just like, it's swag. Like, he walking now, you know, He Had a little speakers in the trunk. I'm like, that's cute. You know, we've been doing that.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You know what I'm saying?

[John Lucas III]

He, you know, he doing this and doing that. He walk out. He acting like he don't acknowledge, like.

[Brandon Hendricks]

The old head, you know, say, what's up?

[John Lucas III]

And we had. We had some hitters in there, though. Like, the guys who like, solidify, who's like, probably on the edge. Like, I was just like six years in, like I said. But we had guys that was at like 10, 12 years that still trying to fight, still could play. But everybody know when the lead, the older you get, the more you kind of get weeded out. So once I started seeing that, I just started playing the game. I was like, all right, cool. Like, I know I probably ain't gonna make the Miami, you know, make the Atlanta Hawks team. You know, they drafted T with point guards. They had Mike Beebe still. Who else was on? You had nothing.

[Derrick Rose]

Jamal, Kane.

[John Lucas III]

Jamal. You know what I'm saying? So it's just like, okay, it's a mini cap. Let me just do what I gotta do, whatever, and just get up outta here.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So once I seen Woody, he was like, let him take every kind of shot. I'm like, like, damn. He wanted to, like, turn backwards from the three and throw it like this. He wasn't gonna say nothing. I'm like, oh, they really gonna try to build this team around this young, you know, young boy. So I'm like, all right, how? Let me figure it out. And my dad always taught me, change lives.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

You know, pay it forward. And I was like, he fast, stupid, athletic, got a crazy right, like, crazy like. He kept hitting me with this one simple move. I could never stop. I always bid on the crossover, and it was a step back to the three. Had a little jumper, too. But his pick and roll game was trash.

[Brandon Hendricks]

He didn't know the game.

[John Lucas III]

He didn't know the game. He was a one on one player. So in the pick and roll, I just started. We icing it. He turning the ball over. And I was like, yeah, I'm just gonna start talking noise on. Like, turn him up, turn him up. Cause I was like, basketball to me is 8% mental, 10% physical. So I was trying. He a rookie. He ain't never been in no situation. I'm getting his ass. We're like, yo, we icing him. He ain't got it low, man. Pull over. He turned. He turned it over left and right, left and right.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

And so then I Was like, I felt kind of bad. Cause I saw him getting frustrated.

[Derrick Rose]

I mean, I had 50.

[John Lucas III]

No, no, no, no, no, NO, NO. You had 50, y'all, for, like, 25 free. They started calling TJ tax, though. I kid you not. He took about 25 free throws. And then the other 25 was legit. The other 25 was legit.

[Derrick Rose]

I'm gonna tell you what started happening. They had. Y'all had that big, slow dude on y'all.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. I was in a no win situation. Big man. He no win situation.

[Derrick Rose]

In and out by him. By him. I figured it out. I was like, oh, they icing. I'm just gonna keep the ball in the middle of the floor.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Can I. But what I noticed was, I was like. For him to have, like, longevity, right? And you could see it, like. You can see, like, Mike Bibby was on his way out, a little bit older. You know what I'm saying? And I'm like, it would be selfish of me not to, like, pay it forward.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Help somebody else along the way. Because that's what Nick Van Axel did for me. That's what Damon Stoudemire did for me. That's what Bubba Chuck did for me. West side Tennis Club, Houston, Texas. Everybody used to come to Houston to train in the summertime. So as a high schooler, that was who I'm playing against. And they did the same thing to me. And I just was like, I gotta pay it forward. So I did it with Tyus Jones.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

I did it with T. I tried to do it with Chris Dunn. You know what I'm saying? So it's just like, for me, I was like, I know, I know. I can go to bed at night and lay my head down on the pillow and be like, yo, did I get. Did I Was. Was I better today? And did I get somebody else better as well?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Nah, that's love.

[John Lucas III]

And that was just. That was just my way of, like. Cause I. I want no superstar in the league. You know what I mean? But my whole thing was, like, I wanted to play 10 years in. So I gotta be that locker room guy. I gotta be that guy that's always ready. So when the opportunity presented itself, I was ready. And that's. I took full advantage of it here. Playing for Chicago Bulls. Those two and a half years I was here is probably the best years I had in the NBA, besides the Pistons. The Pistons year I came in, and I just stayed ready.

[DJ Wells]

We gotta talk about your NBA career, man. Let's start to the origins of it. Cause you gave us an interesting tidbit before we recorded. You never played AAU basketball.

[John Lucas III]

Y'all only played one tournament in AAU's the eight. Was it out in Vegas or the Adidas? Big time, big time. And I didn't play. I played for this team called the Houston Superstars. John urie. They had T.J. ford, Daniel Ewing. There was no room. They backcourt crazy. I played tennis in the summer.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So I was top 50 in the country in tennis. Every weekend I was playing in a tennis tournament like everybody else was playing basketball. But this year I was just like, all right. I told my dad, I was like, man, I wanna play. Yeah, I do both. He didn't want me to quit tennis. My dad didn't really want me playing basketball. He wanted me to play tennis. He was like, yo, you little motherfucker, you only five. It's gonna be so hard for you to make it. And I was just like, yeah, but this what I love. So I quit tennis one day and I was like, this one.

[Derrick Rose]

Think about how you would've been in tennis, though. I know you was nice.

[John Lucas III]

I go back, you would've been, man, you know what's cr?

[Derrick Rose]

It ain't too many black dudes play tennis.

[John Lucas III]

That's what like I said. And that's who trained my pops. So my people don't realize my pops play professional tennis.

[Derrick Rose]

Ain't none about OG Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And he won the NCAA tournament and the NC doubles and he won the singles. So he had a national championship in tennis. And while he was at the University of Maryland. And the number one pick. So for me, my dad loves tennis. So when I picked up tennis, it was for. I was living in Philadelphia at the time. I was a kid that never wanted to be in the house. Like if they was outside playing street hockey. I learned how to ride skates and play hockey, played lacrosse. I never wanted to be in the house.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

I just wanted to be active. So when my dad found out I was going to go out for the tennis team, bro, he turned into a monster. Like the way that kids train now for basketball. We was like that for tennis.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Like Serena, daddy worse. Damn.

[Derrick Rose]

That guy know his pops, man.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, imagine playing tennis with a 40 pound weight vest on. Damn. And he knew I love basketball so much. He was like, it all going transition. Like he knew it's all going to make sense. Trust the process. That's all he used to say. So now lateral movement, angles, all basketball is geometry. All Kyrie do Is just geometry. Just angles on the glass. We doing that in tennis. Topspin, slice. If y'all hit. If I. If I overhead and it goes to the right, just know the whole left hand side of the court gonna be over. Now, I got my backhand going cross court. I got my forehand run around, nigga.

[Derrick Rose]

We don't play tennis, you know what I'm saying?

[Brandon Hendricks]

But I played on a video game. I'm tennis, but you know what I'm saying?

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, it all translate over to basketball, though.

[Derrick Rose]

Not straight up.

[John Lucas III]

It all translated over to basketball. So then the game of the. The basketball game starts slowing down to me, and I was like, oh, you know what? If I'm having a bad match in tennis, now I gotta tap into my psychic. I gotta will my way into, like, whatever I got going on tennis, I gotta. Cause I don't have four other players to depend on to get me out this hole. But now in basketball, if I'm having.

[Derrick Rose]

A bad game, you can lean on somebody.

[John Lucas III]

I can lean on somebody. So tennis helped me with my mental game to where I could will my way to be. Like, let's check the boxes. Okay, I'm missing a couple shots. Is my elbow tucked in? Do I got a pancake gooseneck? Like, I just started checking the boxes, and then I would correct whatever mistakes I'm making.

[Derrick Rose]

Nah, your mental is crazy. I'm gonna say that because even when you helped me my rookie year, but then when I seen you throughout the league, then when I got with you in Minnesota, like, I know I'm skipping ahead. We wanna talk about your journey. But when I got to Minnesota, you know, I was turned, and you like, yo, let's get some extra shots. I'm like, n. No, no. I didn't come here for extra shots. I came here to pass the ball to Jimmy and Wig and Cat. But you used to. I was like, come on, bro. You gotta lock in on what we gonna be good is if you do this. And then that first year, I was doing that shit with you, and we had a good season.

[John Lucas III]

I agree.

[Derrick Rose]

Jimmy got hurt, but we was having a successful season. And then you was like, year two, you gotta keep going. And, like, you would push me. And then I seen you doing it with D. Rose, and, like, your mental always just been different. I'm like, I'm gonna show love to that. Cause obviously, tennis has helped you a lot, so maybe I should start putting people in tennis on my team.

[John Lucas III]

Nah, it just. For me, it was more like, for me, it's like, we need Some mental toughness? Nah. For me, I think I saw something in you that you didn't really see in yourself. I think you was already kind of planning your exit. And I.

[Derrick Rose]

In Minnesota.

[John Lucas III]

You in Minnesota. I'm like, bro, you got about four, five years left in you.

[Derrick Rose]

And I would be like, nah.

[John Lucas III]

I was like, don't let these people discourage you.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Right?

[John Lucas III]

And have you be in a role that ain't really you. Like, yeah, you gotta play the game. But I said, yo, this ship don't move without you. You are starting pg the point guard. Control everything.

[Derrick Rose]

That's a fact.

[John Lucas III]

And he. I'm like, yo, bro. He's like, you don't realize you can get another big deal.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, I said. He used to say that. I used to be like.

[John Lucas III]

I said, bro, you can sign another 80 ball. And his goofy self used to be like, man, I'm cool. I'm straight.

[DJ Wells]

And I'm like, yep.

[John Lucas III]

I'm like, what's wrong with you?

[Brandon Hendricks]

I don't know, bro.

[John Lucas III]

They giving money out.

[Derrick Rose]

I ain't see it too.

[Brandon Hendricks]

He got too comfortable.

[John Lucas III]

Not too comfortable.

[Derrick Rose]

But when we started, like, when it started happening, I started caring, like, we doing these workouts. I'm gonna come off the bench. You remember? I'm gonna come off the bench. I'm getting another bag. Be the sixth man. I was hooping. Then I get hurt. I said, what the fuck? And he was like, see, when you play with the game, the basketball guys.

[John Lucas III]

I'm big on that.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, I'm big on that.

[Brandon Hendricks]

All this nigga say now is basketball.

[John Lucas III]

I'm big on that. But I never disrespected the game.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

And I was disrespecting it. And then when I tried to get serious, and he like, yeah, we locked in. I get hurt. It's like, damn.

[John Lucas III]

But we got back, right?

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, we got back, right.

[John Lucas III]

We got back, right. But I was a. See, my pops raised me and my. My hope, me, my brother and my sister, that he raised us on principles.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And he was like, you never want to disrespect the game, hoss. So, like, when my teammates in high school, they all wanted to wear hot socks. I never wore hot socks before. I always wore, like, either ankle socks or little crew. So I was like, all right, I'm gonna wear hot socks. Cause the whole team wearing it. I wanna be a team player. Yeah. One thing about my pop, he crazy.

[Derrick Rose]

His pop's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

Like, he crazy. Like, so we warming up. He see I got high socks on. He walk in the middle of the court. I was like, what you doing? Go put your socks on.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

I'm a junior in high school. I'm like a junior senior in high school.

[Derrick Rose]

And when nobody gonna say, shoot the pops.

[DJ Wells]

Not a damn song.

[John Lucas III]

Nobody say. And I was like, all right.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Bet he was like, don't be no follower.

[John Lucas III]

Don't be no father. But he was also saying, that's. That's. That's not you.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Like, so now, mentally, you're not even ready to play. Cause you so worried about how you look and making sure you fit in with everybody else that you ain't even ready to go seek and destroy. That was his whole thing. His whole thing was like, our thing was. His thing was protect my last name. Every game. He used to tell me that.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, that's a hell of a lineage, though.

[John Lucas III]

He tell me that. Cause I didn't play au. Like I said, so I'll go back. So when I played high school, I only played basketball. Four, four and a half months.

[Brandon Hendricks]

When'd you get cold?

[John Lucas III]

I always been cold.

[Derrick Rose]

Let him tell it.

[John Lucas III]

Hey, look. Okay, talk to me now. Hey, I'm telling you was doing good. No, I always been cold.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Listen, listen, I understand that, bro. I'm just saying. When did you be like, damn, I can do this. You feel me? You was Arthur A.

[John Lucas III]

The day I came out my mamas, that's when I knew I was cold. I came out like this. That's my daddy. I came out with my hand form like this. They got pictures.

[Derrick Rose]

Hey, what you call that when you hit a jumper?

[John Lucas III]

Make that dog sneeze.

[Derrick Rose]

In my neighborhood, you say, make that dog sneeze, then step.

[John Lucas III]

You know. You know that. Make that. You ever heard a dog sneeze before?

[Brandon Hendricks]

No.

[John Lucas III]

He go, so every time I shoot. That's the nets. I'm a country boy.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I understand. I was just saying when. When did you had to feel like, damn, I can do this for real? Like, at a high.

[John Lucas III]

My whole life, I'm telling you.

[Derrick Rose]

But you got to tell. You got. You got to tell how you grew up. Cuz he grew up differently than us.

[John Lucas III]

My whole. What people don't realize I led the whole state in scoring. What year I got, what year? Every year I played, he went to.

[Derrick Rose]

He went to Bel Air like real life.

[John Lucas III]

I was a Fresh Prince of Bel Air before Will Smith.

[Brandon Hendricks]

One of them schools?

[John Lucas III]

No, it's a public school. See, people always thought I grew up in a private school. My pops weren't for that.

[DJ Wells]

Okay, We.

[John Lucas III]

We published. I'm a public school, baby.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I Mean, Bel Air. Will Smith was trash.

[John Lucas III]

So. So Will. So Bel Air is like the same, though. Yeah, the Bel Air is like the Bel Air you would think of. I grew up nice. I grew up next to the Enron people.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

I grew up next to Chevron people. Exxon people. Yeah, we was good.

[Brandon Hendricks]

What year did you play with Mecca?

[John Lucas III]

My. All through high school. We graduated 01 together.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

He's on to my school. I had Lawrence Roberts. I don't know if you remember Lawrence. We end up going to bail again. We all was zoned to the same school. My school. My school is a public school, but like Bel Air. People think I'm from the suburbs, I'm from the center of the city. But we our own city inside of the. Inside of Houston. But when you go over here, every school we played was in the hood. Madison, where Vince Young went. That's Herm Clark. We had Sterling Worthing. Lil Flip went to Worthing. That's Sunnyside.

[DJ Wells]

Shout out to Lil Flip.

[John Lucas III]

All of our schools was in. Our district was all hood schools. We only had one other school. That's kind of like us. That was Lamar High School who went there. Lawrence Roberts ends up transferring our freshman year. And he went to our rival school. But they had a guy out there named Corey Smith who ended up playing at Vanderbilt in the sec. He was nice too. So we had a lot of Hoopers.

[Brandon Hendricks]

How was that playing with a Mecca though? Like, was he always good?

[John Lucas III]

Nah, he was trash. He was trash.

[Brandon Hendricks]

That's like the greatest big ever for.

[John Lucas III]

He was trash. Our fresh. He want trash, but he couldn't. He was uncoordinated.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay.

[Derrick Rose]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

But he wanted to be a doctor.

[Derrick Rose]

He's smart as fuck.

[John Lucas III]

He's smart. He graduated our junior year in high school. He already graduated. So our senior year, he was taking courses for college already. Okay, so Mecca was smart. He. He didn't think about even playing in the NBA. He didn't think nothing. He was like, I'm just gonna use basketball and get into medical school. Like, get into.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, that's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

That. So my dad one day. Cause I always did player development. My dad trained me my whole life. Yeah, he was. He was in my life though. You know, it don't matter if he had a job in Denver. I used to. We'll fly for the weekends to Denver and I'm practicing with the team or I'm practicing with Nick Van. Like, I'm working out.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So a Mecca ended up going from being like 64 in freshman year to 67 our sophomore year. Then he kept going. My dad one day come home, he was like a Mecca. You a pro. He was like, you got a chance to make 80 million?

[Derrick Rose]

That's how his dad talked to me.

[John Lucas III]

He said, you got a chance to make 80 million.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And a mega was. Oh. And then even a mecca dad didn't see. He was like, no, he need to focus on his books. He gonna be an engineer, a doctor, you know, he. You know, so that's what they think. Okay, man. We get to our junior year. He started playing with the Houston Hoops, having success. Summertime, he every day we in the gym, 6am I used to go pick him up from his place. Pops had us. It was the workouts was crazy. Cause it'd be me, Emeka Lawrence, Daniel Ewing, T.J. ford, Carlos Hurt.

[Derrick Rose]

Killers, right?

[John Lucas III]

Phil Williams, guys you don't know of.

[Derrick Rose]

Like that in E and Houston, Carlos Hurt.

[John Lucas III]

And it was like. My pop was like, yeah, they better than you. And I used to be like, man, they ain't better than me.

[Brandon Hendricks]

They ain't you anyone better than you?

[John Lucas III]

Nah, they were cold. But at the time, my mental game was like, I'm the best thing in the court. Yeah, but iron. But I didn't realize what my pops was doing. Iron sharpens iron straight up. So we was all getting each other better. Well, at the same time, we was all kind of dissecting each and each one of our games. So we was gonna all play against that one point.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, that's an interesting point.

[DJ Wells]

You say with that, you talk about. Both of y'all obviously are coaching. You see it now, like a lot of kids now duck that competition back then, y'all had to embrace it. How do you kind of translate that now for kids? It's just like, hey, you. At some point, you have to show up and play against the top man.

[John Lucas III]

You know what? Kids scared of competition now. Kids are so worried about if they're going to get posted on social media. Kids are scared of being embarrassed. I grew up to where if you ain't been dunked on, crossed over, or embarrassed, you ain't playing at a high level.

[DJ Wells]

That's real.

[John Lucas III]

So all my best friends aren't from the neighborhood I'm from. All my best friends are from the other side of the tracks. Yeah, that's where the best ball is at. So when I used to leave high school, I'm in Sunnyside. I'm in 3rd Ward. I'm in 5th Ward. That's where the ball was at. It didn't matter. I wasn't worried about going over there. I wasn't worried about. It's like. It's basketball. It's a universal language. Now. I knew how to conduct myself when I was over there. So where I can, you know, I can come back, you know, get back to the crib. But at the end of the day, like, I wasn't gonna get better playing against my neighbors or staying in my neighborhood while I'm playing against Billy and Tommy and John. I had to go play against Tyreek, Ray Carruth or somebody like that. But I'm just saying. I'm just using, like, at the hella.

[Derrick Rose]

One on one game. Boy.

[John Lucas III]

But I'm just saying.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, Wait, wait, wait. You played against me?

[John Lucas III]

No, no, I'm just using that name as an example. I'm saying I had to go play against like a Kareem or somebody like. Like that because. No, no, then that Ray could root like that. That. But I'm just saying I had to go. I had to go what the kids call trenches now.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

I had to go get that so I can get better at basketball.

[Derrick Rose]

Say, Ray.

[John Lucas III]

I don't know. It just came up. I don't know. Hey, Jeff, you know me. I'm just gonna say whatever come up to my mind. Good. Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

We not gonna look that bad.

[John Lucas III]

You know me, Jeff. I'm gonna speak. That's the name that popped up in my head, so I just said it. But that's why I got better at, though.

[Derrick Rose]

Is he out here?

[John Lucas III]

I don't know. That's why. But the crazy part, I'm not even. I wasn't even thinking about the. The football player when I said it. I was just saying the name.

[Derrick Rose]

Perfect pop up for sure.

[John Lucas III]

I was just saying the name. But that's why I got better at. And you know, you and Daniel, the same class, though. We all.01. Class of 01. We probably had the best class coming out of the United States that year. Daniel Ewing is one of the less 01.

[Derrick Rose]

It's not better than 07.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Oh.

[John Lucas III]

Oh. I'm just saying that year, Texas as a state.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, you saying Texas?

[John Lucas III]

No. 07 had the coldest class. My little. Oh, yeah, yeah, little bro. McDonald's all American. Yeah, yeah. We. We can talking.

[Derrick Rose]

You know what I'm saying?

[John Lucas III]

Listen, that's the first thing. That's the first thing. He go, you know, your little brother should not make McDonald's. I said, how, bro? Look what he was doing.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, N. I played him.

[John Lucas III]

Look what he was doing.

[Brandon Hendricks]

But he. He had a late, you know, pause Coming out party. So, I mean, you know, that played into it, too.

[John Lucas III]

It did.

[Derrick Rose]

Shout out to Jay. He doing great things at. Dude.

[John Lucas III]

He doing. Hey, you know what? He the only Lucas that can brag about being a McDonald's All American. My pops wasn't McDonald's All American. I wasn't. He the only one.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Nah, that's.

[John Lucas III]

And he doing his thing. I'm proud of him. He's doing his thing.

[DJ Wells]

We talked about opening the show up. You know what I'm saying? You the best walk on ever.

[Derrick Rose]

Let's.

[DJ Wells]

Let's walk through this. Obviously, you went crazy in college. I mean, high school. You make a college decision. Your first school.

[John Lucas III]

Baylor University. Worst decision I ever made in my life, man.

[DJ Wells]

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[Derrick Rose]

I'm Brandon Hendricks, and we are road.

[DJ Wells]

Partners over here at Club 520.

[John Lucas III]

Man.

[DJ Wells]

Listen, Rose Sparks, if you're trying to get it cracking the right way, if you want to make sure tonight's extra special, all you gotta do is tap in. It is a prescription. Just follow the instructions online and they will get you squared away. If you qualify for this, and if you do qualify for this, man, you're gonna have a hell of a time. Be here and tell the people about Rose Sparks, man.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Rose Sparks brought me back to life, man. Me and my wife had a great time out of town. And this. This got the moment going, though. So shout out to Rose Sparks.

[DJ Wells]

Come on, man. Simple and easy to use. Let December get that playlist cracking, you know what I'm saying? You might have a little bit more on that playlist. Be here.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Take it at dinner, use it at dinner, you know what I mean? When you're about to cash out on that bill, ride around, hit the highway, take the back ways home. And you know what I mean, by the time you enter the crib, it's going down.

[DJ Wells]

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[Brandon Hendricks]

Tap in get online is easy. They'll connect you with a medical professional.

[DJ Wells]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[John Lucas III]

Oh, such a clutch off season pickup, Dave. I know, right? I was worried we'd bring back the same team. Oh no. I meant those blackout motorized shades. MVP of the room lines.com made it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Crazy affordable to replace our old blind.

[John Lucas III]

Hard to install? No, it's easy.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Even you could do it.

[Derrick Rose]

Nice.

[John Lucas III]

I installed these and then got some for my mom too. You fly across the country to do the install? Nope. Blinds.com can do it all. All she had to do was pick what she wanted. She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and install. Look at you, hall of Fame son. Oh, I just picked the winning team.

[Ryan Seacrest]

They're the number one online retailer of.

[John Lucas III]

Custom window coverings in the world. Oh, blind stock is the goat. The goat. Shop blinds.com right now and get up to 40% off select styles, plus a free professional measure and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Save up to [e-mail] blinds.com rules and restrictions may apply.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Hey guys, this is Matt Jones.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Drew Franklin from the Fade.

[Brandon Hendricks]

This podcast we got a great episode coming up.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Picks in all the sports.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Football, basketball, we do them all.

[John Lucas III]

But here's a preview of this week's episode.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I've seen people in the gambling community kind of make jokes about Fade this. And we just goof off and don't even talk about the games. Bring your records and set them on this table right now. All you out there that are spend two hours talking about the games and will in the last seven years and night games, they've come in and haven't scored 20 points and you get too detailed. Bring your records right here to fade this.

[John Lucas III]

We'll.

[Ryan Seacrest]

We'll talk about books and cooking and Kevin Costner and still make more money betting on sports than you will.

[John Lucas III]

And this episode was brought to you.

[Ryan Seacrest]

In partnership with DraftKings. To hear more, listen and subscribe to fade this on iheartradio or wherever you listen to podcasts.

[John Lucas III]

Get in zone. AutoZone. Welcome to AutoZone. What are you working on today? Ah, thinking about gas mileage. You know, changing your oil with a full synthetic oil like Mobil 1 can help your engine get more miles. Right now you can get 5 quarts with an STP extended life oil filter for only $38.99. Get started on your next job today with the parts you need when you need them at autozone or autozone.com get in the zone. Autozone restrictions apply.

[DJ Wells]

The worst.

[John Lucas III]

The worst.

[DJ Wells]

If it wasn't Baylor, who was it gonna be?

[John Lucas III]

I really wanted to go to Texas A and M, okay? And I remember I verbally committed to Coach Watkins at Texas A and M. I said, but I don't want to sign early because I want to make sure my guys that I came in as a freshman year, they all get scholarships as well. But if me and Ameka Okafor signed early, ain't no more schools going to come to our games. So my pop set us down. So we talk a Mecca because he was supposed to go to Georgia Tech.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, okay.

[John Lucas III]

Originally.

[Derrick Rose]

I can see that, though.

[John Lucas III]

So he was supposed to go to Georgia Tech originally. So every time I see coach here out in la, cause you know he's part of the Ontario Clippers, he get mad at me. Cause he was like, I had a mecca ogle for it until you and your daddy taught him that to sign.

[Derrick Rose]

Him, y'all was hating.

[John Lucas III]

So that's when UConn came in. But my dad was like, bro, y'all came in like, everybody gotta eat. Everybody need to. So he was like, if y'all don't sign early Y'all gonna have all the colleges still come in. And after that, I took a visit to famu. Cause if I would have went to famu, if I took a visit to famu, they was gonna get one of my teammates a scholarship just for me coming on campus. And by far, that was the best visit I ever took in my life.

[Derrick Rose]

Almost definitely shout out to famu. Beautiful, right?

[Brandon Hendricks]

That thing.

[John Lucas III]

Something else, right? Tallahassee, Florida State, right across the street. You know, but my pops is all about, you bring somebody along with you. You never. And that's just how we grew up as a family. So we talked to Mecca. So I really wanted to go to A and M because I wanted to play for a black coach. And I gave him my word. And he was like, okay, we got you. We're gonna wait on you. Seven days later, they signed a point guard at the juco.

[Derrick Rose]

Damn. It's over with.

[John Lucas III]

So then now going to Texas A and M. Yeah. I'm back at square one. So I had Baylor, I had Rutgers. I had. Everybody really recruited me for basketball. But I had more offers in tennis.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Oh, okay.

[John Lucas III]

So. And everybody who was recruiting me wanted to redshirt me. Cause I didn't lift weights. I only. I was only £140 my senior year.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

Damn. Right. But I was just like. We all. We all we did was push ups, dips and pull ups. We didn't touch the weights. Cause my dad was like, you touch the weights, it's gonna mess with your shot.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[DJ Wells]

Hard to argue with us.

[Brandon Hendricks]

140 at 18 is crazy.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I was 150, a D1 athlete. But you came back. They put you on that shot. You came back in the summer.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. When I went to college, I was only. I was like 150. And then they made me like, you had to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich like every four hours. And I would gain, like three pounds. And then you would run it off. I run it off, and I'm right back. And I just was like. And I had to run anyway. Cause they tried to make me lift weights in college. And I was fighting against not lifting weights in college. So the knockoff was, well, you gonna have to run for punishment. Cause you don't wanna lift weights. I said, me, I'm just. My mental game. I was like, all right, I'm just gonna be. I can outrun everybody. And I still got my burner. Cause I used to. If I lift weights and I miss my first three shots, I will always blame the weights. Cause I'm Stiff, I'm sore now. I'm shooting like a running back and a football player. When you see the football players play at the rec center in the real game. Yeah. You know, it looked like T. Rex. Kevin Willis.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I mean? But for me, I had to be.

[Derrick Rose]

No, I was nothing. I was 150. I came back 185, 190. That's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

That could be.

[Derrick Rose]

I came back home that some niggas.

[DJ Wells]

Was like, all right.

[Derrick Rose]

It was in three months.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Facts.

[Derrick Rose]

I gained 30 something pounds like a.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Grown man coming back to the city.

[John Lucas III]

No, I. Man, Baylor was like I said the worst because it was too close to home and I had.

[Derrick Rose]

You went back home a lot?

[John Lucas III]

Every day.

[Derrick Rose]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

I used to take that two hour drive. It was like 45 minutes away.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[Derrick Rose]

God damn.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You had a lady or something?

[John Lucas III]

Nah, I just. I was home. I had the whole house to myself. Cause my pops took the coaching job in Cleveland. Yeah, it was up. So it just.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Boy, that's like us going all over every day.

[John Lucas III]

When you're not having fun somewhere, sleep when you're not having fun somewhere.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And me and the coach started end up having problems and issues. Coach Dave Bliss, you know, I was just trying to find comfort, trying to be around love, really. And all my boys back home, cousins, best friends that I grew up was all back in Houston. And I would rather be there than that Baylor, like miserable. I mean, Waco, Texas, nothing to do there.

[Brandon Hendricks]

First of all, right?

[Derrick Rose]

I watch a show based out of Waco, Texas. They be selling homes and rebuild.

[Brandon Hendricks]

The white, white dude and his wife.

[Derrick Rose]

I think they split up.

[John Lucas III]

I actually think they Baylor alums. Oh yeah, I think they Baylor alums.

[Derrick Rose]

He said they split up and got back together. I don't know why he knows that.

[John Lucas III]

But yeah, they did.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Cause I really tapped in.

[John Lucas III]

Nah, they do some good work.

[Derrick Rose]

But.

[John Lucas III]

I just hated Baylor. I just hated. Like my freshman year was cool. I led my team in scoring and assist.

[Derrick Rose]

As a freshman.

[John Lucas III]

As a freshman.

[Derrick Rose]

That's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

Um, Big 12, you know, TJ obviously did his thing for sure. Yeah. So it was just like. And then my sophomore year, it just got tricky. It got weird all of a sudden. Just, it's like everything shift. It's like I come back as a starter still leading the team and scoring assists. We playing and I think we got like 10 games left for the season. All of a sudden coaches like just own me all day in practice, Own me all day in practice. And we had a. We had a point guard Becca. His name was Matt Saman. And I like, in practice, if it was boring to me, like I told Jeff, I had to find something bad about something.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So I just started talking trash the whole practice like, you can't hold me, like hold that. And that's when Gene came out. So every time I shot, he's like, g, G, G. Like I used to do like that. And so coach, Coach pulled me. Coach was like cursing me out and he talking about, you think you so and so wooty woo. He was like, you grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth. I was like, wait, what silver spoon? I said, man, my spoon was platinum.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Respect.

[John Lucas III]

Kick me out of practice, right? Kick me out of practice. He come in the locker room, we get into this full blown argument and I don't play for the next eight games.

[Derrick Rose]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

I went from starting, not playing, they playing. I walk on, they playing. Everybody had people like asking questions like, why this, why that? And nobody could get the answer.

[DJ Wells]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

So then now I'm like, damn, what'd I do? Yeah, you know what I mean? I said, it can't be that bad for me just, you know, you trying to be this to me. I'm like, nah, it's not silver, it's platinum. Cause platinum, yeah, it was popping then.

[Derrick Rose]

That shit was popping.

[John Lucas III]

The best of the best big timers had.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, sure. You thought you was popping like, nah, I got.

[DJ Wells]

Nah, it was better than what you think, right, Like.

[John Lucas III]

Cause I just felt like you could talk to me another way. If you trying to just say yo. Instead of trying to put me down in front of everybody. Cause of my background, where I come from.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, yeah.

[John Lucas III]

I was like, okay. And me being who I am, I could be an asshole a little bit. I was just like, nah, it's platinum. And I was ready to hoop again. But he just took it to a whole new la, kicked me out of prayer. So it just went downhill from there. And I just was like calling back home because my pops was living in Cleveland. They was in Cleveland coaching at the time. And I was telling him how I was being treated and this. And he was like, be professional. My dad was all about don't disrespect the game, keep coming to practice, stuff like that. So I did. And one day I had a Nextel phone. Cause I had two phones in college, so I had a Nextel to chirp, chirp, yes, sir. And you could record. And I was like, yo, damn. I'm telling you, he be talking crazy to me. I'm gonna snap on him one day, like, he just talking crazy, and I just recorded. I let my dad hear it. My dad still. Then my dad eventually got fired from Cleveland, so he started coming to the games, being around me more, making sure my mentor, making sure everything was straight. And when he first got there, he sat behind the bench, and we was doing so bad that the Waco newspaper people don't know this Waco newspaper. Like, yo, wouldn't it be a trip if Coach Lucas ends up becoming the head coach of the Baylor Bears?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

Cause he already had it. Cause he's already training all of us in the summertime in Houston.

[DJ Wells]

He was already locked in, man.

[John Lucas III]

The next game, next home game, we had. They had my mom and pops in the nosebleed.

[DJ Wells]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

They had my mom and pops in the nosebleed. My dad be who he is. He grabbed my mom and said, man, come on, we going back down. He sat right down. He went right back to his normal seat. But they had our ticket. My ticket was all the way in the nosebleed.

[Derrick Rose]

That's crazy.

[DJ Wells]

That's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. And then.

[Derrick Rose]

Get the fuck out of here.

[John Lucas III]

And then all of a sudden, you know, unfortunately, what happened? What happened, you know, RP to my teammate, Pat Dennehy, all that stuff started happening in the summer. And obviously, you know, we went through. You know, what we went through.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Right, right, right, right, right.

[John Lucas III]

You know, it's. That was a crazy time. Yeah, that was a real. A real dark time.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

Like, I can ask the question, like, when that time happened, like, to go through that or whatever with your teammate, it's a tough. I can't even imagine what that feel like, to even go through that. Like, where would you think was you thinking, like, yo, I'm getting out of Baylor. Like, I gotta leave this place. Like, it ain't for me. Or would you. Like, damn, let's.

[John Lucas III]

Well, before. Before all that happened, I was already checked out.

[Derrick Rose]

Okay.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And I'm like, man, I'm transferring. He was like, you ain't transferring. I'm holding your payment. You stuck here for two years. That type of vibe. So I was like, I'm like, I'm transferring. I don't know what's gonna happen. You know what I'm saying? Like, but I know I'm. I ain't playing for. I ain't playing here no more. And then that situation happened, and it was crazy. Cause, like, everybody was in Houston training with us that day. And then we get the phone call asking if we seen Pat. I was like, nah, he not down here. Left it like that. Then we didn't think nothing of it. We just thought, okay, so we still going in now. Weeks go by now all of a sudden, you see on cnn, you see the FBI involved, you see all that's going on. And my. My teammate RT Gwen started, like, recording, like, all the conversations. And like, one of the conversations popped up. I never forget this. When I got. When my name got cleared from everything from like, you know, if I accepted any money or anything like that is they got on tape, said, well, we can't go to Lucas. Cause he ain't gonna lie for us.

[DJ Wells]

Damn.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Wow, boy.

[John Lucas III]

Like, that was a bit like seeing my dad chest poked out.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Because of all the teaching and the principles and stuff he taught me and my brother.

[Derrick Rose]

You ain't fuck with him at this point either.

[John Lucas III]

So it's like, yeah, and I ain't talking. I'm just this. I like. I just wanted a hoop, bro.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And it was like, when that came out, I remember getting that phone call saying, you cleared like, you enjoy the rest of your college career. You don't have to worry. Because they started like, how did he get his car? Like, I had my car my sophomore year in high school. Yeah, how he get his rims? Steve Francis brought my rims. How he get.

[Derrick Rose]

How you gonna get to your life?

[John Lucas III]

Like, how you get your system in your car? Katina Mobley, you know what I'm saying? Like, those are my big brothers. So they saw me doing good, and they like, I'm training every day with them. I'm in it. So they like, man, like, different.

[Derrick Rose]

That's different.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You know, it was not a regular nigga, bro.

[Derrick Rose]

It's different.

[John Lucas III]

It was just like, I grew up different, and it's like, it's normal.

[Derrick Rose]

I get back to that. Cause we didn't even get to the good shit when he grew up in Philly. Oh, let's talk about it. We here now. Let's see.

[John Lucas III]

Well, I grew up in Philly.

[Brandon Hendricks]

How old were you when you moved to Philly?

[John Lucas III]

Sixth grade, middle school. I went to Bally Kenwood Middle School. There's only two NBA players ever come out of Bally Kenwood Middle School, and they are. Who is that? The goat, first of all.

[Derrick Rose]

So Jordan went.

[John Lucas III]

Nah. Kobe Dean.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, okay.

[Brandon Hendricks]

The fuck you looking at me for?

[John Lucas III]

I look and. Yeah, it was only two that came out. Ballycorn Middle School. Kobe Bryant, John Lucas III.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Oh, J3 says the womb.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

I'm telling you, it's just like. It's crazy. Cause we like, we just literally moved to Philadelphia. My dad was the president and the general manager, president and head coach of the 76ers when he was there.

[Derrick Rose]

What? Hold on. This is just me. Like, what is that? Like, Like, I grew up. My mom and dad work down the street and shit. Like, you know what I mean? I'm being for real.

[Brandon Hendricks]

No, yeah, I get you.

[Derrick Rose]

You know, you my man.

[John Lucas III]

I get you.

[Derrick Rose]

You my nigga. But, like, what is that like to know, like, your dad is like an NBA coach, your dad played in the league, but, like, he.

[DJ Wells]

He the guy.

[Derrick Rose]

Like, what's that? What's that like, normal?

[John Lucas III]

I ain't think that was just normal. Day every day.

[Derrick Rose]

To me, that shit was.

[John Lucas III]

I mean, bro, when I was, like, five years old, I remember going to the barbershop with Michael Jordan, and my dad. Michael Jordan picked us up in the Corvette, and I'm sitting in my dad's lap. We driving on the south side of Chicago while they go get haircuts during the Eastern Conference playoffs when my pops are playing in Milwaukee. That's fire. Like, I got every Michael Jordan shoe he ever played in signed.

[Derrick Rose]

I know. Listen, I know.

[John Lucas III]

I'm talking about the shoes he played in. Sign. Like, the shoes he got crossed up in against Allen Iverson. I got it in my garage sign.

[Derrick Rose]

I know.

[John Lucas III]

I was a ball boy.

[Derrick Rose]

I'm just speaking for the people who don't know, so. I know. I know your lineage.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, I know.

[Derrick Rose]

I'm just saying.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, the culture. Yeah. I've been a ball boy my whole life.

[Derrick Rose]

That shit is crazy.

[John Lucas III]

So I've been around. I've been around like my dad. I was like, you know, every. Like a kid who just want to be around. So when my dad went to the gym and matter, I was a ball boy. So I used to mop the floor like free throws. I was that kid mopping the floor. I was that kid, you know, doing everything. I learned how to talk to girls by going into the. Into the stands getting numbers. And I used to. I used to. And the players used to give me, like, $50 to go get a number, and they'd give me $100 to go get a hot dog and. And pretzels and be like. I'd be like, here, your change. But nah, Luke, you got it. Keep the change. My change. $85. I'm walking home with 3, 400. Like, 6 years old, 7 years old as a ball boy. And getting paid on top of that as a ball boy.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Nah, that was hard. What was it like? First seeing Kobe hoop, though. When was your first glance at Kobe Bryant?

[John Lucas III]

Amazing.

[Derrick Rose]

He the biggest Kobe fan in the world.

[John Lucas III]

You can't say nothing amazing.

[Derrick Rose]

Like, I love Kobe too. Not as much as I love Jordan. But you, I'ma let him go.

[John Lucas III]

You got let Lou get his shit up. Amazing, bro.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Give me that time. We want another time. Story time with J3.

[John Lucas III]

All right. My mom is the one who discovered Kobe. Not like, overall, but she the one who. It's newspapers and everything. So I can give you all. All day. It's all facts. I never lie. It's all facts.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

My mom comes home one day. I just got back from tennis practice with my dad. She come home one day and tell my pops, I think I seen a better high school player than you. My dad, like, what?

[Derrick Rose]

You gotta know his dad. So this is funny.

[John Lucas III]

Like, he low key, about to bring a drug test out to test my mama to make sure she's straight.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So my dad was like, all right, next time they play, we going to the game.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, okay.

[John Lucas III]

Like, my mom come in. It's a kid named Kobe. It's a kid named Kobe. Go to Lord Mary High. Go to. Go to. My sister. Come. My sister graduated Lord Marion. And so my dad. I never get. It was a Friday. So we go to Little Main High School. They got a home game. So my dad picked me and my little brother up in the car. We just got done working out. So we go all the way to the game, and he see Jelly, you know, Jelly in there, his pops. And my dad was like, jelly, what you doing here? Like, oh. He was like, oh, man, I'm here to see my son play. He was like, yeah, man. My wife come home, talking about it's a kid up here named Kobe that's supposedly better than me in high school. Like, she. He the next best great thing ever to play the game. And he was like, oh, man, that's my son.

[Derrick Rose]

Right?

[John Lucas III]

So we. So he was like, for real? Like, you know my dad. So we sitting there watching, and then the game start. Kobe starts off at the 5, right? He win the jump ball tip. They throw the ball ahead. He outrun. First play of the game. He wind me up.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[Derrick Rose]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

And that day, I was locked in. Cause I never, you know, you don't see it. Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

So you was like, 11?

[John Lucas III]

Nah, 12.

[Brandon Hendricks]

12.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. Sixth grade, I think, like, 11. 12. About to turn 12. I got a late birthday, so I probably wasn't about to turn.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

But, yeah, and then we start. Then we started going to every high school in my dad. And then my dad started having him come practice with the Sixers. Cause we. They didn't have a practice facility at the time. They used to. Saint Joseph University was a practice facility.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Got you.

[John Lucas III]

That's why I say basketball is a full circle for me.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, right?

[John Lucas III]

So I live right down the street from St. Joe's used to go hoop every day.

[Derrick Rose]

We don't get there. Cause I still hate you.

[John Lucas III]

So now we. You know, my dad got him practicing. And what my dad used to do is he big on competition. So he used to match Kobe up against all of the draft workouts. So Jerry Stackhouse, all those guys who got drafted, right. Kobe beat them all one on one.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

And they was like, man, what school he went to?

[Derrick Rose]

Like, what high school?

[John Lucas III]

Like, what college he went? My dad was like, man, he a junior in high school. This is junior year.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[DJ Wells]

And Jerry Stackhouse, if y'all. If y'all accepted, was phenomenal, amazing.

[John Lucas III]

So, like. Like, y'all have. Y'all have. Y'all have my OG on here. Vernon Maxwell, I got stories about him for days, but we ain't gonna get in there. But, Vern, what he said about Cole ready to fight? He was ready to fight coke, then back down from there. I was there. I was at that party. Cole was ready to get his. Like, Vernon crazy, bro.

[DJ Wells]

Oh, we know.

[Derrick Rose]

Like, Vernon got the record for. On her.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah.

[DJ Wells]

Vernon said in the first five minutes.

[Derrick Rose]

He said 37 motherfuckers in the first five.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. Vernon Crazy.

[Derrick Rose]

47. My fault.

[John Lucas III]

So Vernon was ready to fight Kobe. Like, Kobe was really going at him.

[Derrick Rose]

And he was, what, 17.

[John Lucas III]

17. He ain't back down.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

And I was just like, ooh. And then I started. Like, then I started. He started picking me up from school. He was picking me up from my house.

[Derrick Rose]

Like, your life different.

[John Lucas III]

I remember. I never get. When he got his car, he got a Forrest Green Toyota Land Cruiser.

[Derrick Rose]

This nigga life different.

[John Lucas III]

I remember he picked me up. Cause we was going to work out in the city. I was like, ooh, this cold. And he had, like, two trash bags in the trunk of his car. I was like, man, what you got in the trash bag? He was like, young bull. You know, in Philly, they said young bull. He was like, young boy, it's a game everywhere in Philly. I. I ain't got time to go back home and get my gear and then come back and the game might be over. I gotta be ready right now.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

Damn, boy. When I got my Dodge Durango, my sophomore Year I ain't put no trash bags in my bag. I had like, Nike duffel bags. You know what I'm saying?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah. Cause shit, plastic, platinum.

[John Lucas III]

Hey, that's the first thing I did. Motherfuckers said in the trunk of my car, I put four pair of hooping shoes and a bag of just hoop gear.

[Derrick Rose]

But this is a fact. Cause when I went to Minnesota, this nigga was retired from the league. That nigga still had a bag of shoes in the back of his car.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Did you wear your hoop shorts under your pants?

[John Lucas III]

Absolutely. Yeah, we used to get busy at lunchtime. Like you didn't have time. Like you had your shorts on then. I was living in Philly at the time, so we always wore Tim. So you be hooping in Timbs Bonafide NBA street, you know, it was just different. But yeah, you had shorts on underneath. That was normal.

[Brandon Hendricks]

That's just kids, though. I just, like, bring it up for the nostalgia of the show.

[Derrick Rose]

But like, kids.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Our kids don't understand that shit, bro.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, we always wore shorts.

[Derrick Rose]

I went to parties with my shorts. Like, n. I'm not about to go hoop. I'm really about to try to go get something. But yeah, to have my hoop shorts definitely under my jeans.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah. You supposed to pull your pants down a little bit at the. At the. At the parties, man.

[John Lucas III]

You know what's crazy? I could. I couldn't say it.

[Brandon Hendricks]

The g. The hoop shorts combo is crazy.

[John Lucas III]

I couldn't. I couldn't say it.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Sorry, J.

[John Lucas III]

This what we do. I could. I couldn't sag. Pops won't play in that. Yeah, Pops won't play, so I've always.

[Brandon Hendricks]

We was sagging. We was second at that party, though.

[John Lucas III]

I used to be scared my pops would come in the party, wherever I was. I used to be scared. I get caught. And so I was always, like, on alert.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Nah, I respect.

[John Lucas III]

He be like, ah, no sagging. I. Boy, I used to have my. You know, the little belts that is like one size fit all the little we.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Man, they come in the cargos.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, I had all that. I had all that.

[Brandon Hendricks]

One, two, plato.

[John Lucas III]

Hey, you know what's crazy? Hey, you know. You know what's crazy, though?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Feels weak as hell.

[John Lucas III]

Hey, hey, you know what I love, though? You know what I love, though?

[Derrick Rose]

You gotta have some rgbt.

[John Lucas III]

Nah, you know what I love?

[Derrick Rose]

That was the denim.

[John Lucas III]

You want. Think about it, right? All of our clothes came from Gap or Target.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

We didn't wear, like, how now NBA kids wear, like, the Gucci and all that.

[Brandon Hendricks]

But look, take that bill. One of them pants.

[John Lucas III]

Nah, we like that. We used to go shop at wieners. We used to go shop at. And all these different. Like, my mom used to be like, yo, we going shop. You good, boy.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You gonna take that belt out of the.

[John Lucas III]

Nah, I mean, it work. I need to hold my pants up so it works as long as I get.

[Derrick Rose]

That's about as bad as a shoestring.

[John Lucas III]

But I'm keeping it. So at the end of the day, I mean, that joint never. So when we used to get hooped, I ain't have to worry about lifting my pants up to go buy nobody. They won't move it. They won't move it. They won't moving. They won't move. That's crazy.

[Derrick Rose]

You get schooled by Kobe, bro. Like, that's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, so it was just like, for me, I just was like a sponge soaking up all the game.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Is that the best high school basketball player you ever seen?

[John Lucas III]

Yes.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Cause you saw LeBron, too?

[John Lucas III]

Yep.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You saw him do. Can you speak on that? When you seen LeBron in high school with his workouts with the pros, that was a better showing. Kobe's showing with the six was a better time.

[John Lucas III]

You gotta think about it. Kobe had an impact on me as an individual, so I saw a different work ethic. I saw what it took to be a pro.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So the impact was a little bit different than what? Like, now, that could be my little brother's story about LeBron.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I'm saying? But for me, I was in college when I first saw LeBron.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Ah, understand.

[John Lucas III]

And my pops was coaching in Cleveland, and I never. I remember coming. I just got done with my, like, second year when I was going through everything, and my pops are still in Cleveland, so I used to fly back on, like, holidays or the summers, and we was in Cleveland, and, you know, I trained with the guys, stuff like that. And my dad was like, man, it's a kid up here better than Kobe. And I was like, man, whatever. Like that. He was like, yo, take your little brother. So my little brother's playing on LeBron's high school coach, Druce Droy.

[DJ Wells]

Yes, sir.

[John Lucas III]

He had an AU team called Akron Superstar. My little brother played on that team.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

And they practiced at the University of Akron. So I took my little brother to a practice one day, and they were hooping in the back gym. Come to find out, a lot of guys, a local Akron, was hooping in the back gym while my brother was practicing. I was Also hooping, too. So that's when I first saw LeBron. And when I first saw him, it was just him, you know, it was some mild sauce, no Chicago mouth. That's just my opinion. It wasn't like. But then my dad started inviting him, like he did with Kobe. Cause he was like, man, you know, I'm just gonna get him a game and let him just come work out. I don't think nothing of it. I ain't trying. I don't want nothing from this kid. Just, you know, let's get some good. Some good bump in. So we had a little mini camp, and my dad used to fly in guys from Ohio State, Kansas, you know, guys. And we have a mini camp, and we'll play against the rookies who was already there getting ready for summer league, little scrimmage, little minicamp. And Bron came and, like, nobody was passing Bron the ball. Cause everybody knew he was in high school. And we was all, like, not passing the ball. My dad, like, stopped practice, like, hey, hey, hey. Y'all little motherfuckers back. Get him the ball. He the best one on the court. Like, not talking about his players, but he was just talking about guys on our team. And we like, man, whatever. So I had the ball. I'm a point guard, so I can control everything. So I was just, like, disgusted. I was just like, man, here, like, threw the ball to him, like. Like, he ain't gonna do nothing with it. So we'll get it right back. Hey, bro.

[Derrick Rose]

Get real.

[John Lucas III]

We. He on the right side, right hand side of the court. He's being guarded by Ricky Davis. He make a move. Just do something. Go baseline. So now you got Chris, Mims, Sagana.

[DJ Wells]

Diop, Carlos, Buddha, the whole Cav scene, by the way, if y'all.

[John Lucas III]

They all help side. So they all come down. He jumps from outside the paint, like, jumps like. And, like, Sagana, Chris Williams, they go up and try to fly. And this man goes underneath the rim. Reverse it, throws it in without looking at the rim, throws the ball. And then, you know, he lands on his tinky toes. You know, he runs like this and just keep going, man. He got to ball every possession after that. Cause it was unbelievable. He's like, what else can he not. What else can you.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, he unbelievable, though.

[John Lucas III]

He the. I got to coach him, and they still chose to hate on, like. You know what I'm saying? So I'm seeing that, and I'm like, yo, he, like. And then all of a sudden, you get to see. And then. Then I'm around Maverick. I'm around Rich. Like. Like before Rich became clutch. Rich sold everybody the throwback jerseys out the trunk. Every throwback I got, I brought from Rich.

[Derrick Rose]

That's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

Every throwback Mitchell Ninja I brought from Rich in Cleveland. He had a van. He used to sell out the van. That's where I got my jerseys from. He overcharged me, too. But, you know, we had to get him the real stock X. Yeah, real stockx. But, yeah. So my. And then all of a sudden, you know, my pops get fined 200,000 because all the other teams start complaining, saying he had, you know, because he was going to be a number one pick. And then, you know, he got fired, you know, and then, you know, Von ended up getting drafted by Cleveland.

[Derrick Rose]

But what them moments do for you? Cause I know you leave Baylor and you go to OK State and this where we, like. I felt I, like, fell in love with your game and found out who you was. Because at OK State, y'all had a squad and you was hooping, you was killing. But I love St. Joe's and we gonna get to that game. Jameer Nelson, Delonte West. I wore T shirts under my jersey. Like, I hooped in Barkley's Bronze and all that shit. Cause of Tamir Nelson and. Go ahead. Cause you fucked up my. You fucked up my momentum. Cause them niggas was cold and they was undefeated.

[John Lucas III]

Nah, they were.

[Derrick Rose]

They was doing they thing.

[John Lucas III]

They were cold. They like my genius. So when I man was a black, like, God had my back, bro. That's all I can say. Cause I literally.

[Derrick Rose]

I walk on ever. You right?

[John Lucas III]

I was literally going to Memphis.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Well, you gotta talk about your. How you left.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. Like, I had Memphis, Rutgers in Georgia. And I was already like, I'm going to Memphis, Coach Calipari. I already been out there summertime, you know. Like, now that I coach, you know, you do go to different places and pick each other's brains. So my pops is doing that, like, in between, like, jobs. He'll be like, I gotta go to Memphis and we'll go to Memphis. He in there talking to Coach Caliper. They talking X's and O's. And now I'm practicing with the team, shooting, getting my workout. So everywhere we went, I've always worked out. You know what I'm saying? So I was like, man, Memphis, you know, that'd be a great look, Coach Cal. It was gonna be. Darius Washington was coming in. He'll be coming in my senior year. But then Victor Williams was. He went to Oklahoma State point guard. He was the man at O State, too. Victor Williams was a point guard. And he did his draft workout with my pops. And he kept telling, like, yo, you should go to ostage. Go to O State. By the time, like, I was wilding, I had braids. I used to wear a grill.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Like, I remember them braids.

[Derrick Rose]

I remember them.

[John Lucas III]

I was Houston. So Paul Wall, one of my. One of my really good friends. So when that song Let Me See youe Grills came out, he made me six at the bottom. All diamond out.

[Derrick Rose]

Damn different.

[John Lucas III]

So. And I was in a rap song. See, people don't even realize. Paul Wall and Chameleon, they had this group called Color Changing Cliques.

[DJ Wells]

Come on, bro. Still in love with my money.

[John Lucas III]

And yeah, and they. Paul Wall said. He said, I swerved down to Baylor to watch John Lucas score. And Jordan came back to the game because the game was bored. It was on the mixtape.

[Derrick Rose]

Respect.

[John Lucas III]

So that was like, my man, right?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Don't forget the bars.

[Derrick Rose]

Hey, I see T go to baseball.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, you don't forget stuff like that, right?

[Derrick Rose]

That nigga said, I see T go to baseball.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You niggas don't never forget to.

[John Lucas III]

You don't forget it. Because at the end, I wasn't even expecting it because the mixtapes used come out every. Every Friday. So I'm. I'm up here driving back to Baylor, and I just brought the mixtape, that color change equipment. And I hear it. I said, hold on. What did he say? I rewind it. And I was like, oh. So I walked on campus. Now everybody got the mixtape. So everybody like, oh, like Paul Wild shouted you. I'm like, yeah, you know. You know, I'm playing it cool, but I'm low key hype because he done put me on. Like, I'm at Baylor. We trash. We like maybe 10th in the 12 at the time. But we had a great squad. We just was running flex. So we had horses. We should have been running. But no, that's here and there. So Victor Williams was like, man, you should take a visit to Oklahoma State. It'd be a perfect fit for you. They don't got a point guard.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Boom boom.

[John Lucas III]

But at the time, the NCAA said we couldn't transfer. When they said all this, we couldn't transfer in the conference. So I could go anywhere and not sit out. But if I went, like. And then two weeks later, they said, y'all can transfer in the conference and you won't be penalized. Okay, so originally, transfer portal before the transport. So originally I wanted to Go to Texas.

[Derrick Rose]

TJ had it unlocked.

[John Lucas III]

No, TJ left. He just got drafted. TJ left.

[Brandon Hendricks]

He was in there with Booby. Was on their way in there.

[John Lucas III]

Booby came with me in my senior year. So Rick Barnes kept in a buck with me. I'm, like, trying to, like, yell, Rick Barnes. Like, I wouldn't come. You already know what I can do. Well, my other teammate, Kenny Taylor, who was a shooter, he ended up going to Texas. And Rick Barnes kept it a bucket. He was like, yo, we committed to Daniel Gibson, and we don't want to bring you in because we might decommit, Right? But he wouldn't come in into my senior year. So then I had to respect it. So then I was like, cool. So then the legendary Eddie Sutton called me one day. Cause of Victor Williams. And I go up there. I had a. I never forget. I went up there. I had my braids. Just. My mom used to braid my hair, so I had fresh braids. I had a Iceman San Antonio throwback jersey on.

[Derrick Rose]

He first got.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I'm saying?

[Derrick Rose]

He busted the ass. Pause.

[John Lucas III]

And I go visit the campus, right? I'm like, man, it's in the middle of nowhere.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Like, I'm a city boy. Like, now I'm eight hours away from Houston. I ain't that. I'm not getting on no highway driving. Eight hours.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I'm saying? And then the next best city is Oklahoma City. Come on, now.

[DJ Wells]

That was before KD and them pulled up.

[John Lucas III]

Exactly. They didn't even have a team out there. So I went out there, and they ain't tell me I had to cut my hair.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, damn.

[John Lucas III]

Like, my. My dad been wanting me to cut my hair. Cause that's when the bit like the NBA was changing over to, like, appearances and, you know, it's a business and stuff. But I was fighting. I was fighting. I was like, I ain't cutting my hair. I'm wearing my braid. AI was like, I'm watching. You know what I'm saying? And then TJ cut his hair, like, right before the draft.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And then tj, my dad had TJ call me to, like, kind of talk me and come out. I was like, man, I ain't cut my hair. Like, y'all go on spot that. So I went to Oklahoma State. Fresh braids and everything. I'm like, man, all right. You know, I'm looking at the team. I don't know who Tony Allen is. I mean, I know playing against him, I ain't know, like, the Grams. Cause they was coming off a red shirt year. Cause they transferred. I ain't know who Daniel Bobby was. I didn't know who a couple. But something in my spirit was like, this is where you need to be.

[Derrick Rose]

Okay. Straight up.

[John Lucas III]

So when I was like, commit. They never said nothing about cutting my hair. So now I was like, man, you know what, Coach? I want to come here. So he was like, oh, you know, I got a couple of rules. I was like, okay. I'm thinking like, you know. He was like, one rule. Can't have braids. You can't have facial hair. If you go back and look at our team number of guys, he was.

[Brandon Hendricks]

A drum line motherfucker. Major pain.

[John Lucas III]

And my dad was like, all for it.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, he probably.

[John Lucas III]

So I went back home. I was like, oh, well, let me think about that. So I flew back to Houston, and I never. My barber Marquette. I walked in there, I just freshly picked it up. And, you know, you had braids for a long time. You still got the lines in your head.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, I had the braids.

[John Lucas III]

I was like. Like, chop it off. He was like, what? My mama was mad. Cause she was like, that's somebody. That's another man trying to control you. Like, she barely. She very militant.

[DJ Wells]

Straight up.

[John Lucas III]

And my dad was all for it. So I ended up cutting my hair. And I committed in Oklahoma State. And they didn't have no scholarships, so I didn't even care. I was like, we gonna pay for school. So I end up my junior year, the year I won the Big 12 Player of the Year, John Naismith Award, First Team Hall America. I'm just giving you a little bit of accolades, you know what I'm saying?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Just talking, but talk your shit, bro.

[John Lucas III]

But I was a walk home.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah. Respect. Greatest walk on ever.

[John Lucas III]

Greatest walk on ever. And people didn't know I was walking. I paid. We'll do our research my junior. Go do it. They already came out with the facts. They already did it. They'd already been made.

[Brandon Hendricks]

So shout out to the wacko Texas paper.

[John Lucas III]

So. So I end up paying my junior year. So the year we went to the Final Four and stuff, like, I was a walker. I wasn't even on scholarship. I didn't go on scholarship until my senior year. To my senior. Y'all went on scout.

[DJ Wells]

I'll say. Boost is out of pocket. They should have made that happen.

[Derrick Rose]

Did you? Scottie Pippen was a walk on.

[John Lucas III]

Walk on.

[Derrick Rose]

He's the greatest.

[John Lucas III]

Walk on. Yeah. I gotta give it to him. I gotta give it. Hey, you know, I got. But you, hey, I gotta give it to him. He in Chicago. So. Yeah, Scottie might be the best walk on ever.

[Derrick Rose]

Scotty take that shot to get him.

[DJ Wells]

To the final four, though.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Nah, shout out. Shout out to Jay. Look, that Elite. Elite. A game was big, though.

[DJ Wells]

Talk about St. Joe was about to pay, baby.

[Derrick Rose]

St. Joe was my favorite scene. We was talking before the podcast. Jameer Nelson was definitely fresher than you in college when it came to the shoes.

[John Lucas III]

Respect.

[Derrick Rose]

But you had a good game. That game started off. Let's stop playing Jamer Nelson.

[John Lucas III]

He top five, top five facts all time when it comes to, you know what? Shout out to J. Shout out to Jamernell. That's every time he see me, curse me out. But his shoe game won't battle mine.

[Derrick Rose]

Nah, you crazy.

[John Lucas III]

I mean, you could just.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You had a Nike deal.

[John Lucas III]

I ain't have a Nike deal.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You had a Jordan deal.

[John Lucas III]

I ain't have a Jordan deal. Cause, you know, it wasn't no nil at the time. So Pops had that.

[Derrick Rose]

Pops had it now.

[DJ Wells]

You did.

[John Lucas III]

So I just took advantage of what Pops had, the lineage.

[Derrick Rose]

That's that platinum shit.

[John Lucas III]

And so at the time, like now you can go on Nike Elite and order because you get a little. Back then, they used to bring you a magazine and you had to go in there and order the magazine.

[Derrick Rose]

Then you get to pick your food.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. Oh, I'm 42. Yeah, I know that. So it's like, you know, I see in the transition. So I used to make a point that when I first got to Oklahoma State, I was gonna wear a different pair of shoe every game.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

But then if I would have cooked, like you go to my locker. I had over 30 pair of shoes in my locker at school.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[DJ Wells]

Real PJ Tucker.

[John Lucas III]

But if I cooked in a shoe, I would stay with that shoe. I was superstitious. So I wear the same socks, and then I end up putting the socks on the same way. So if I ever put my right sock on first, it was always be my right sock first, then my left shot. And then I go hoop. And I like. I score another 20 ball. I do the same thing.

[Brandon Hendricks]

So them two K4s is why we saw them so much.

[John Lucas III]

The two K4s I had, you know, it was something about my step back in them two K4s. I got so much separation.

[Derrick Rose]

I could only go on right, though.

[John Lucas III]

No, right would be a fadeaway. Two foot fade away. My left would gather. The gather step, the gather step. And then my left would be a Step back.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, like I didn't.

[John Lucas III]

It didn't matter however you want, but it was gonna be a step back. Yeah, but I wasn't that type player. I wasn't a one on one player like the ISO. My ISO game was trash.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You ain't had no sham God or nothing.

[John Lucas III]

No, I ain't had none of that. I just put you in a pick and roll. I used to hit my hip and I had Ivan McFarlane, Joey Graham come to a pick and roll and then I bump you, put you on my hip, read, read, read. And then I see the low man. He might be all.

[Brandon Hendricks]

And that's what she was teaching youngstroke.

[John Lucas III]

I was trying to. He didn't want to listen to him.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, he want Crawford.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, he want to be Jamal Crawford. I just learned like. Like I didn't have that one on one game.

[Brandon Hendricks]

And I should see this now you have to. In a pick a roll.

[John Lucas III]

You have to go, here, put him on your head. I'm not going to say it again. Get him on your head.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Where the is John?

[John Lucas III]

Coach T. I called John on FaceTime. Hey, I'm serious, bro. Like, I just used to put he right though, but he right though. But the things that I was trying to tell him back then is like, bro, that's the game. And I said, I just used to try to make the game as easy as possible for me.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, that's all you try to do.

[John Lucas III]

Like if I can out there. Because my dad was like, you got 0.5 decision making. Easy to catch you to go. He was like, ain't no coach gonna give you five, six dribble to get. Get. Get your shit off.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, that's a fact.

[John Lucas III]

So my catch, if I was wide open for three, it was going up. If I saw you close out, I was going back. If I was going right, it was gonna be a gather, fade away to my right. Because I wasn't going all the way to pink. Cause I probably got it blocked. If I go left. It was a step back and I made sure I had the right angle just in case you showed me any kind of contest. I was going off the glass. Damn. So it was like I knew my spots.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I wanna move to your overseas run. How was that? Like, did you feel like you had to transition your game when you went overseas for a little bit?

[John Lucas III]

Yes, yes.

[Derrick Rose]

So you do all this at Oklahoma State?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

You killing.

[John Lucas III]

I went undrafted. Undrafted average 17. Crazy 17 and 5. Imagine coming out right now having 17. I'm. I'm lottery probably now yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn. Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

100%.

[John Lucas III]

I mean, people in the lobby getting drafted with six points coming out, eight points. Yeah. So it's like I was like. And my dad told me, like, I was, like, watching. I was like, I know I'm getting drafted. The work I put in, my dad told me, you ain't getting drafted.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected. From big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile, keep your phone and they'll pay it off. Up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. This new year makes sure you take some time to take care of yourself and your family. Now through January 28th, save up to 25% on all your favorite personal care essentials. Shop in store or online and stock up on all your favorite items like Tresemme shampoo, Axe Deodorant, Dove bar Soap, Dove Men's body Wash and Dove Dry Spray. And save up to 25%. Offer ends January 28th. Restrictions apply. Promotions may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[John Lucas III]

Get in zone. AUTOZone. Welcome to AUTOZone. What are you working on today?

[Ryan Seacrest]

I think my battery's dead.

[John Lucas III]

With free battery testing and charging, we can help you get back on the road. So what if I need a new one? We have the right Duralast battery for you only at AutoZone.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And what about my old battery?

[John Lucas III]

We can recycle it right here at America's number one battery destination. Restrictions apply.

[Derrick Rose]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

Like, he was like, straight up, he was like, you're not getting drafted. I ain't even going to watch the draft. I. He went to the casino. Him and my mom went to the casino.

[Derrick Rose]

That's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

He. He knew.

[Derrick Rose]

That's about worse. My. My situation worse than yours, man. Your dad had an inside school.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, he. I think he already knew I wasn't gonna get drafted. So I'm up here sitting in front of the TV like this, waiting like this. I'm like, oh, yeah? I'm going. Yeah. The Rockets, the 25th pick, they took Luther Head. Shout out Luther Head. But I'm like, huh? Like, I'm like, I worked out for, like, every team and my agent at the Time was David Falk, who was MJ's agent. But my dad was David Forks first client ever.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So it was like that was family. So I went with him off top, right.

[Derrick Rose]

This nigga life is crazy.

[John Lucas III]

So it was just like, okay. And then like David was like, oh. Back in the day they used to pair you with whoever the super, he had everybody. So just imagine like Jeff Teague is the man, right? And I'm a rookie, but he a rookie. Like he a free agent, but he the highest free agent. So back in the day, the agents used to be like, oh, if you want Jeff, you gonna have to take.

[DJ Wells]

Here and here package deals.

[John Lucas III]

So. Package deals. So that's what it was like when I came out. It was package. It's not like that anymore, but it was like package deal. So I was like, oh. Day before gas, kg, he got everybody.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So I didn't get drafted. So then I went to go. What happened? I went. I played in three different summer leagues. I played in Vegas. They had one in Minnesota at the time. They had New York, Minnesota.

[Brandon Hendricks]

They didn't have Orlando yet.

[John Lucas III]

New York. They had Boston. Boston was the other one. And they had Long Beach.

[DJ Wells]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

So it was New York in the Minnesota. It was Cleveland, New York, Indiana, Minnesota. Just a four team summer league at the Target Center. That was my rookie year. And then I left there and I ended up playing with Cleveland Cavaliers in Vegas for their summer league.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

But I end up signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a rookie.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Right.

[John Lucas III]

So my rookie year, they drafted Bracey Wright and they drafted Rashad McCants. Those are they two picks. And then I was the third rookie. But I was undrafted. You know, I signed a camp deal.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And so we had Mario Marco Jaridge. We had Lionel Chalmers who played Xavier, who's a dog. And we had Troy Hudson.

[DJ Wells]

Troy Hudson with the braids, with the break.

[John Lucas III]

And. But then KG was there, Wally Zerbiak, you know, Fred was there, Mad Dog was there. So I'm a rookie. Ooh. So I'm there all summer. Dwayne Casey's the head coach. He just got the coaching job. So I'm there all summer. I'm training.

[Derrick Rose]

Boom.

[John Lucas III]

We go training. I'm actually doing. I'm like averaging like 7, 8 points. When I'm getting my times only in the fourth quarter, I'm very efficient. So I end up making the team. And then I went to bed that night and matter of fact, this we. You not gonna believe this. Cause but Floyd, Mike, I think it was like Floyd Mayweather. Somebody had a fight. And I was staying at the Radisson Hotel. You know the Radisson Hotel right there. And that's where they had all the rookies staying at. So one day, KG was like, yo, come to my house. We gonna watch the fight. You know, I'm his teammate. I'm like, all right, cool. So his, at the time, his wife Brandi picked me up and she was like, yo, where your stuff at? I'm like, huh? I thought, I'm just going to watch the fight. He was like, nah. KG said, you moving with us.

[Derrick Rose]

Nah, you told me it's a. I know you know.

[John Lucas III]

So I'm like, huh? So I go upstairs, pack my bags real quick. So KG house. Unbelievable. So I had the whole guest house to myself. His best friend is like T. Lou and Chauncey Billups.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So the guest house was called the Billups estate. Cause I guess when his family come there, that's where they would stay. So I stayed in the guest house. So I didn't have my car at the time. He just brought this brand new cls, cherry beans for his wife. She hated the color.

[Derrick Rose]

So he threw me so much money.

[John Lucas III]

She threw me the key. He threw me the key. He's like, yo, this your car, young fella? Paper plates and everything. I'm the only person in Minnesota, rookie with the CLS, 22 inch rim driving. And I'm like, I'm not on contract.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I'm saying?

[DJ Wells]

My boy out here living.

[John Lucas III]

I'm living. So we playing and I'm doing my thing, like. And so I make the team. I go to bed that night, I'm like, man, I'm like praying like, thank you, God. Like, ooh. I go to bed, I wake up next morning, they made a trade. They made a trade. So I'm walking into the facility, getting ready for the first day of official practice. They make a trade for Ronald Dupree from the pistons. So Kevin McHale pulled me to the office and they had to cut me. KG caused a fit like that was like the fall of KG leaving Minnesota. So KG was like, you ain't going nowhere, Lord Lloyd. You ain't going nowhere. Like that. So he got me staying in Minnesota. He got me staying in Minnesota for two weeks. They trying to figure it out.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

And my dad called me. He's like, man, we don't bring your ass home. Like, you know what I'm saying? I kid you not. So I go home to Houston, right? And we get back to training. Now I'm in the. My name automatically goes into the as the D league at the time. But I even go through the draft because my name was so big in Oklahoma. They allocated me to go to Tulsa with the 66ers. And so I end up playing like the first two months of the season in Tulsa and I'm averaging like 18, 20. I get my first call up. So I get a call up to my hometown team. Houston Rockets.

[DJ Wells]

Yes sir.

[John Lucas III]

We played against the Warriors. I never forget it. Play against the Warriors. That's when they had stack five. They had Baron Davis. That's what we believe. You know what I'm saying? So I check in at the game like last two minutes of the game. It was like. Like I'm like running out there with a. Like my head cut off. Like a chicken with his head cut. And I got a rebound. I done stole the ball. I done like I'm just moving so fast. I'm going crazy. And we ended up losing that game. So then I ended up going. And this wasn't a 10 day. I just got called up. Cause 10 days haven't started yet. So we end up. My next game is in D.C. a lot of people don't know I was born in DC so I got family in dc. My possibly playing for the wizard the Bullets at the time. So me and my sister are born in D.C. originally. But I don't associate myself with D.C. because we moved when I was like 2 years old to Houston. So I'm from Houston. I scored my first NBA bucking against Chucky Atkins.

[Derrick Rose]

We just talked about Chuckie Atkins.

[John Lucas III]

That was my first NBA bucket against Chucky Atkins. Yao mean come sets a side peeking role for me coming to my right hand and I hit a floater and my aunt, my dad's sister at the time she was in the stand so I had a family member stand. So that was my first NBA bucket was a floater at the arena. But yeah, and then I got cut the next. Then we got cut the next day. I got cut the next day because.

[Derrick Rose]

That nigga Journey's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

No, but I got cut the next day because they had to let me go so they wouldn't pay extra in taxes. So I ended up flying back with the team to Houston. I had to miss one day of practice. And then 10 days started. So then me and Chuck Hayes Both sign sign 10 day contracts. And then I signed another 10 day after that. And then they had to make a decision or were they gonna keep me for the rest of the year or they Was gonna let me go. So they end up letting me go. They kept Chuck Hayes. So I ended up going back to Tulsa, finish up that year. And then that's when I went to Europe. Then a team in Italy called me to go play in the playoffs. And that's when I played with Pooh Allen.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, Street.

[John Lucas III]

You know, Pooh Allen University?

[Derrick Rose]

He coached me in Boston.

[John Lucas III]

Correct. So Pooh was. I replaced. I didn't replace him. He was injured, so I was kind of like, coming in on his spot. And I've never been overseas a day in my life. And so I was like, oh, no. I was ready to check out. I'm like, they put me in a hotel. You know, you in the NBA. You was. And they put me in a hole in the wall. And then I was like, I'm claustrophobic a little bit. So I went to go raise the window. No light come in because they had a metal sheet over the window. I'm like, oh, man, you got me in jail. Like, that's why, like. But I didn't know that was their blinds, was a metal sheet to keep the. You know, so. So if I would have went like this, then the metal sheet goes up. I didn't know that, like. And the bed was small.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I was like.

[John Lucas III]

And my dad. I called my dad. I was like, man, I'm about to swipe the car. Just know I'm about to swipe the car and I'm coming home. They can keep this bread. Like, I'm just gonna get ready for some league. My dad was like, just go to the first practice. He was like, just go to. Cause he know when I get around ball, I'm in my comfort zone. I'm straight. So I went to my first practice, and I was like, okay, let me. I can do one more day. And then I just kept letting. And then that was my first time playing in Europe, and I played. Only played playoffs. I got 35,000 for seven games. That was more than my G league content, My D league content. Cause at the time, that was a.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Year in G League, right?

[John Lucas III]

No less.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

My biggest contract in the. In the D league was we had. So this why I feel like they should bring it to the nil. Cause this shit getting out of hand. I was just speaking about this. Like, in the D league at the time, you had three contacts, you had an A contract, you had a B contract, and you have a C contract.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay? This is the game.

[John Lucas III]

Your two top dogs got the A contract, and the a contract was $25,000.

[DJ Wells]

Oh, that was the A.

[John Lucas III]

That was the A. The b contract was 18, five. The C contract was around 15 something.

[DJ Wells]

So many games y'all play a week. Energy three.

[John Lucas III]

Play three. And so me and Bernard King was on the A contract. Bernard Keenan with Texas A. L. No, no, no, no. And then we. And then we had Will Conroy, who's doing his thing at usc. He was Washington. Bernard, he's at usc. He was a teammate of mine.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Okay, Right.

[John Lucas III]

And he was a point guard. So Will and I used to bump heads all the time. Cause he thought he should be playing more than me, but he just made each other better. You know what I'm saying? And when I get called up, he will start. But when I come back, I get my spot back. And it will always call friction. Cause he'll be hooping. You know what I'm saying? But our coach at the time, Coach Myers, wouldn't be like, oh, we gonna ease you back in. It was like, no, you can't. You coming back. You just get your spot right there.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So it caused like, I only made 25,000 my first year as a professional player. Then I went to Italy and made the 35. So my math right, I'm looking at I made like 70,000 a little bit and some change my first year as a professional athlete. And so I was like, man, I'm not going back overseas, whatever it is. But I'm just saying. But I made other money besides that. We have bonuses, though. I have bonuses in my. In my thing. So, yeah, I had bonuses and stuff. Like, if I scored a certain amount of points, I got like this. Because Europe is different. You get bonuses. So I told my partner, man, I ain't going back overseas.

[Brandon Hendricks]

What was your. I mean, what was the difference, though?

[John Lucas III]

What you mean? Lifestyle. And I was home. I couldn't understand nothing nobody was saying in Italy.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Oh, yeah, me either. What's the game though, like?

[John Lucas III]

Huh?

[Brandon Hendricks]

What's the game?

[John Lucas III]

The game is very strategic.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I want you to give them the game on that.

[John Lucas III]

The game is very strategic. They wanted me be a playmaker like they were. They really want me to be a point guard.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Oh, okay.

[John Lucas III]

But I'm a points guard.

[Derrick Rose]

Points.

[John Lucas III]

I got points. And I usually get frustrated. Cause we'll be losing. They put me in the game and I score a quick 15. Then they take me out of the game. I'm like, yo, I'm on five. Why you take me out of the game? They'll go back. And Pablo Pugioni was my team.

[Derrick Rose]

Pablo, Pablo.

[John Lucas III]

I would be like, man, I'm cooking him everything. You know what I'm saying? Why he playing like over me? So I never. I didn't fit Europe, but I played euroleague. Like we lost in the final four in Unleash. I played on some good teams, but I was like, bro, like, y'all put me in the game when we down, and then when I get us back in the game, y'all take me out.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah. Who was the coldest you saw over there when you was across the water?

[John Lucas III]

Bellanelli.

[DJ Wells]

Marco Bellanelle was the first.

[Derrick Rose]

He played for Rome.

[John Lucas III]

And then the other one was. The other one was.

[Derrick Rose]

Gave you work. He was playing in New Orleans. He ran off about 10 screens.

[John Lucas III]

What's the one that. And the big man who got drafted by Toronto first round.

[Derrick Rose]

Bellanelli.

[John Lucas III]

I mean, Barney was the other one. I played him in Italy. Baryani was the other one.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Was nice.

[John Lucas III]

But in Spain, In Spain, my teammate was Thiago Splinter.

[Derrick Rose]

Damn Thiago. I play with him with Atlanta.

[John Lucas III]

So we lost. So that was the year I won. See, people don't even realize I won a d league championship with the Colorado 14ers.

[Derrick Rose]

I left them 14ers.

[John Lucas III]

So it was me. Say it.

[DJ Wells]

Our Colorado 14ers, they got.

[Derrick Rose]

They got it. They should have did better with that.

[John Lucas III]

But I had Sonny Williams on my team shout out to Sunny Williams. So we was. We had an NBA team. Like Hamilton was on that team. You probably play against Vernon Dhamma. So we always team we ran through, we ended up beating Salt Lake City Stars in the championship. Two days.

[Derrick Rose]

That's like a regular name right there.

[John Lucas III]

Two days later, I'm in Spain playing for the year league championship. And then we end up losing in the final four. And then we end up losing to Barcelona in the ACB championship. So I could have tried to win three championships in one year.

[DJ Wells]

That's fire.

[John Lucas III]

But back to, like my first year after I came back from Italy, I said, I'm not going back to Europe. So I ended up playing summer league with the Rockets. I should have got MVP of summer league, but technically I wasn't a rookie. Cause I played. So Randy Fory that year is when Nate went crazy in that. And then Randy Fory was a rookie that year with Minnesota.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yep.

[John Lucas III]

I averaged 28, 8 and 8 in summer league with the Houston Rockets. Guess who my coach was.

[Derrick Rose]

Your dad?

[John Lucas III]

No. Guess who my coach was.

[Derrick Rose]

Was your cook.

[John Lucas III]

Tom Tiber, though.

[Derrick Rose]

Tibs.

[John Lucas III]

My Tibs read every play for me.

[Derrick Rose]

That's. Hey, if you know Tibbs, if he like you. You gonna get every play call every play. What he called for him.

[John Lucas III]

I had angle.

[Derrick Rose]

That's all he going.

[John Lucas III]

I had side peek and roll. Everything was me coming off the pit, getting to all my sweet spots. And he said, if you see the rim, you let it go.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, Tibs.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. I had Pat Carroll who played for T. Joseph. He was on my team. So I got a lot of assists from him.

[Derrick Rose]

And then tell them if you like people you've been with. Tibbs.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, Tibbs, my favorite Tibbs. I love coaches like Tibbs. My best careers in the NBA was coaches that fell underneath the same umbrella. So Tibbs, Van Gundy and Stan Van.

[Derrick Rose]

Gundy, they all the same. They one and the same.

[John Lucas III]

Played for Jeff, Played for Jeff and Yep, Houston. Jeff was my coach and then Tibbs was my workout guy. So every day I worked out with Tibbs.

[Derrick Rose]

They were one and the same.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Damn.

[John Lucas III]

Every day until Yao mean steps on court. Then I had to move to the side and it was time for Ya Amin to get his workouts.

[Derrick Rose]

Most definitely.

[DJ Wells]

But was T. Mac there then too?

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ray for Austin.

[Derrick Rose]

Get to my load. They wanted, you know, we.

[John Lucas III]

So Tibbs ended up coaching summer league. I averaged 2888. I signed my contract in the bathroom. I signed a three year contract for 1.9 million. That's no bread.

[Derrick Rose]

You just trying to get back.

[John Lucas III]

That's no bread. It's bread, but it's no bread. But at the time, you know, I'm.

[Derrick Rose]

Like, you trying not to go back up?

[John Lucas III]

No, I should have went to New Orleans instead. I should have been Chris Paul. Back up.

[Derrick Rose]

What they want to do.

[John Lucas III]

Well, I should have just left the city of Houston when I was in Houston.

[Brandon Hendricks]

You probably got three for three.

[John Lucas III]

It was too much.

[Derrick Rose]

You was in love, huh? You was in love with being at home.

[John Lucas III]

I was work out every night. I'm home.

[DJ Wells]

And that was a great time in Houston. If you.

[John Lucas III]

It was a great time.

[DJ Wells]

Houston was.

[John Lucas III]

I'm the prince of the city. Like, you know, I'm out every night.

[Derrick Rose]

Of the city.

[John Lucas III]

No, I'm being like. Just imagine like.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I don't know about J. Lou 3 to have a battle in the club.

[John Lucas III]

Hey, bro, I don't go to clubs no more. But no, I was him. I was him before everybody started saying.

[Derrick Rose]

He was out that weak in a on that.

[John Lucas III]

You know, just some heat, you know, it's just some heat. I keep trying to tell you. It was crazy team. We had a good team though.

[Brandon Hendricks]

What color were they?

[John Lucas III]

Which one?

[Derrick Rose]

The Kobe. You could be sick of it.

[John Lucas III]

It was blue. It was like the dip. Like, it was blue. Blue, gold. It's like the Denver Nugget ballet boat. It was like the Denver Nugget. It was like the Denver Nugget joke. Hey, you know, you know. Hey, I can tell you exactly.

[Brandon Hendricks]

This was cool.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, they shirt. Let me show you something. Step back was coming on that one. I see it.

[Derrick Rose]

I see.

[John Lucas III]

You see the color, right? Step back coming on there. Cause I was going left.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I seen the feed.

[John Lucas III]

I was going left.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Jerseys ain't bad. Shout out to the 14ers.

[John Lucas III]

No, I had a nice little hairline. Then it just disappeared one day. It disappeared one day.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, she had. So you go from Houston and now you gotta make your way in the NBA. You know, you sign your three year deal, you back at the city. What's that journey like in Houston? I mean, you get to Houston, you got your three year deal, man.

[John Lucas III]

I stayed at my parents house.

[Derrick Rose]

You ain't the only one.

[John Lucas III]

No, my dad was like, you ain't gonna get no spot. I was like looking for places. He was like, nah, you gonna stay right here. You gonna stay right here.

[Derrick Rose]

What's it like? Cause I.

[John Lucas III]

You gonna stack your money up.

[Derrick Rose]

I had to try to sneak girls in my mama and daddy house when I moved back to India.

[John Lucas III]

No, I just, you, you know, hotel room, only about 200. You know what I'm saying?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, we had that.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, you know what I'm saying? I finally got a little paper in my pocket.

[Derrick Rose]

Y'all going two house, going 40s.

[John Lucas III]

But he going to a trap house.

[Derrick Rose]

I got them clear.

[John Lucas III]

But my dad was. But the thing is, my dad, I didn't realize. He was like, bro, you ain't really making money like that because taxes and everything come in. He was like, you just stay at the house, your mama cook every night. We ain't gonna bother you. Yeah, I don't give a damn when you come home. It don't matter if you come home or not. You grown. But he was like, you stack your bread. So what I used to do with my first check, I used to keep a check. And then I send a check to my financial people. I keep a check, send the next check to my financial people straight up. So it was just like. I was just thinking. But my habit was I would buy jewelry.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, I know that about you.

[John Lucas III]

Like, my thing was like. I was like, okay, I'm gonna a new chain. So my dad was like, he'll let me make those mistakes. He was like, oh, you got A new chain. I know. Oh, you got a new watch. And he got a new bracelet. Like, he just kept. It was okay. Like, he'll just let me, you know, because he was like, he going, everybody gotta go through them. But he. I was like, it was a. A teaching lesson. But I'm thinking, like, I'm doing good saving. But then when you go to Jewel and you see a new chain you want and you try to trade in your chain and your. And it's the same chain you just brought from, like two weeks ago. But he trying to knock off 3,000 of the price. So it was like the value difference. So you just learn as you go. My pops. Just like everything my pops did for me was a learning lesson. But I call him the blueprint.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Nah, your pops is the blueprint.

[Derrick Rose]

Definitely.

[John Lucas III]

I call him the blueprint.

[Brandon Hendricks]

For real.

[John Lucas III]

But, yeah, I stayed home.

[Brandon Hendricks]

And how long did you stay home, though? You stayed home three years. Damn.

[John Lucas III]

Well, I got there. I stayed two years. And then they fired Jeff. They brought in Rick Ottoman, and we brought back Steve Francis franchise. We brought back Mike James. Old school Mac James was cooking too.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And then we had. Then we just drafted Aaron Brooks, A.B. we had. We had myself. We had Ray for Austin. That's crazy.

[Derrick Rose]

You coached that. Shout out to AB Wherever you are in the world, I with you.

[John Lucas III]

So we is in. We had seven point guards, all under guaranteed contracts.

[Derrick Rose]

That's crazy.

[John Lucas III]

And so I tried to get cut. I was like, I'm gonna go play for another team. But they owe me like 700. But they wanted me to get money back. And my daddy always told me he don't get no money back. I just went into training camp and I just played my heart out like I was about to change their minds. They just brought back Steve Francis for 4 million. Gave Mike James 4 million. Then they trying to trade Ray for Austin. They drafted Aaron Brooks, you know what I'm saying? So it was like I went in there and then I had a hell of a preseason. Then they kept me all the way to the end. And Rick Adamant was trying to figure out a way to keep me on because I actually was playing good ball. And I just got frustrated. And when they cut me, I was still getting paid. And I was just like, you know what? I'm going to enjoy the holidays most definitely. So I enjoyed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. And then I was itching to play. And that's when I called my agent, said, okay, I'm ready to go play. And so I did my second stint In Europe with a euroleague team called Benetton. It's not there anymore, but it was in Treviso. And Rhys Gaines was a teammate of mine, Mario Austin, Louisville legend. And then Lionel Chalmers was a teammate of mine who I went against in Minnesota, in Minnesota.

[Derrick Rose]

Xavier legend.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. So it was just like that. And then we ain't gonna talk about that situation. But I end up leaving that situation. I got picked up by the Seattle SuperSonics, but the way I left in Italy, they held my release papers. So I took my physical and errors team to play the last year with the Seattle SuperSonics, which was Jeff Green and KD's rookie year. And yeah, I'm about to run out on the court, and Sam Prezzy pulled me to his side, said, they won't. They won't give us your release paper. So they end up signing the boy from y'all hometown, Eddie Gill.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, you talking about. He worked with the Pace.

[John Lucas III]

He worked with the Pacers. And Eddie Gill got that. Got them last 30 days when I was supposed to get that cost me like I'm big. Like, it cost me at least two. 275, 300.

[Brandon Hendricks]

So then.

[John Lucas III]

Then OKC, and then Seattle ended up moving to OKC, and I end up playing on OKC team.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[DJ Wells]

So listen, man, you had a couple great songs. We gotta ask you a couple. Before we get outta here, let's talk about the bull situation. We in Chicago, obviously, great weekend honoring D. Rose. How was it playing in the city of Chicago?

[John Lucas III]

Man? Best city ever.

[Derrick Rose]

It ain't the best city ever, but it's a really nice city for basketball wise.

[John Lucas III]

It's a little bit.

[Derrick Rose]

No, Indianapolis is.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Well, don't let him shit on your story.

[John Lucas III]

Actually, it's nothing like walking on the same hallway. Jordan and Pippin and all them walk in every night in, night out, and then it sold out.

[Derrick Rose]

You saying the NBA?

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, I'm saying. And it's so. And it's sold out. Every game.

[Derrick Rose]

It is sold out.

[John Lucas III]

And we was the number one team in the NBA.

[Derrick Rose]

Y'all was lit. I killed y'all, though. But y'all was lit.

[John Lucas III]

We still won the battle. You see what I'm saying?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, we.

[John Lucas III]

Our whole thing.

[Brandon Hendricks]

They won the war.

[John Lucas III]

We won. No, we won everything about it.

[Derrick Rose]

They won the battle and the war.

[John Lucas III]

We won everything about it. Like, we. They almost. They almost had us in the playoffs. They almost had us in the playoffs. Shout out to Smooth. We used to love when Smooth made his first shot because we was like, oh, he gonna take away Jeff's shots. He gonna take away Joe Johnson shot because he gonna think he owned. And that's what happened in the playoffs. We end up beating y'all game six.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And we. When he hit that first shot in Atlanta in that game six, we was all on the bench like, oh, yes. Like, we got him. We got him. Hold on.

[Derrick Rose]

We ain't first of all, doing that to my nigga.

[John Lucas III]

Smooth, but smooth, my man. But I'm just saying he would. He would be owned. So, you know, as any score would be. You see your ball, you see the ball going, you gonna think you own. But now you're taking shots. Cause Jeff and Joe. Jeff and Joe was cooking us. That's that. That series.

[Derrick Rose]

I was having a moment.

[John Lucas III]

He was. They was playing. They was playing great basketball. But we just had. We had poo. Deenie and Pooh would do some humble. You know, that's MVP here. He did some umber.

[Brandon Hendricks]

That was crazy. That was different.

[Derrick Rose]

What's that like? You know, you've been a part about some. You've been around Kobe, You've been around some great players before. Damn. D. Rose got hurt before he got hurt. Like, where did you rank him? Like, what did you see? Cause N was scared of him.

[John Lucas III]

Oh, bro. We used to have this thing called the Rose Flu. People was ducking him.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, God.

[John Lucas III]

Some of y'all favorite players was ducking him. I'm gonna say that in the camp. Some of y'all favorite players now was ducking him.

[DJ Wells]

Fuck that shit.

[John Lucas III]

And we seen it. I ain't gonna say no names. Cause these all colleagues of my brother. Yeah, but we, like, we'll be. We used to mess with, like, the other point guards on the team. Cause, you know, sometimes he be playing. Sometimes, you know, we be like, oh, he playing today. Oh, he playing today. We used to warm up saying that. And all of a sudden, like, we get to report before the game start. So and so out with an ankle injury. But we just saw him work out a full workout before the game. Hey, I kid you not. Nobody wanted that smoke with that, man. The kids today not even gonna realize how much of an impact with how good D. Rose was.

[Derrick Rose]

Nah, he was unbelievable, bro.

[John Lucas III]

He was unbelievable. And he practiced hard.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Do you think Ja Morant is comparable?

[Derrick Rose]

No, he was unbelievable, bro. Ja Morant is special.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, Ja Moran is special. They two different. I see the similarities in certain things.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I'm just. I'm just asking.

[John Lucas III]

But I don't think you can compare anybody to him at that time.

[Derrick Rose]

He was an animal, bro.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

I'm just. And I'm night in, night out, practice every day, seeing it, you know, you just.

[Derrick Rose]

And at that time, no disrespect to the point guards. Now, it was just like a elite level of point guards.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

D. Will, everybody was. Every point guard was cold, Rondo, cp, Steve Nash, D. Will, like he said, every team point guard was just nasty, nasty. It was like you had Young Kim.

[Brandon Hendricks]

But Brandon Jennings, he separated himself just from everybody.

[Derrick Rose]

He was just.

[John Lucas III]

Man, he just.

[Derrick Rose]

Steph was in the league, but you had Monte Ellis, you know, you just.

[John Lucas III]

It was just. He was.

[Derrick Rose]

Drew Holiday was still, like.

[John Lucas III]

It was just. He was different. And you could tell how this. You know, it's crazy how the city. How the city Showing him love for this, what we're. What we're out here for, right? Just imagine him. He brought that energy they're giving him now. He brought that every night because he wasn't going to let the city down now.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Nah, he did it more than just for him and his family. He did it for the. For the shot.

[Derrick Rose]

Playing against him at that time. Like, I had guarded, like all the firepoint guards at this time. And like, him, it was just like, nah, this just got a different gear. Like, I wasn't scared of nobody. I playing basketball was like, funny. I wasn't scared of him. Like, I played him in high school.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

And then you get every. They used to run his forehead play. They run it every time down. You like, what the fuck? And he just never stopped. Like, you. He missed two shots. You like, yeah, motherfucker. He can't shoot the next four possessions. He's attacking you like, he never quit. Like, he like, yo, this. That's why I tell y'all to guard Steph. I didn't guard Kyrie. I didn't guard. You name him, you guard stepped. He will CP D. Rose was the most ferocious. Like, he was crazy, bro. I'm like, yo, this nigga different.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Who next in line, though?

[John Lucas III]

He guarded some hitters.

[Brandon Hendricks]

So you got D. Rose, who you got next in line?

[Derrick Rose]

Like who? I just couldn't stand to guard. Cause they was just like, Steph is annoying. Cause he not even like a pointer.

[John Lucas III]

He's constantly moving.

[Derrick Rose]

He like throw the ball running. And then all of a sudden, he started running Kyrie.

[John Lucas III]

Kyrie.

[Derrick Rose]

Kyrie is like guarding a two guard, like guarding Kobe Bryant. He gonna post you up. He gonna do all that stuff. But, like, I'd rather guard Kyrie. Cause I know where he gonna catch the ball, right? Like D. Rose, he Bringing the ball up. He getting a pick and roll. He might call pick and roll often. He might ISO you, you know, like you didn't know. And it was all like attacking. Like Kyrie might jab you, jab you three. And if he hit three and you contest, you just gotta live with it. D. Rose wasn't shooting no threes.

[John Lucas III]

He was getting to that bucket.

[Derrick Rose]

He was straight at you. Like you north to south, you either going, getting a foul or you getting scored on.

[John Lucas III]

North to south.

[Derrick Rose]

And it was. And then Westbr kind of like similar. Only thing that held Westbrook back is like he had KD and James at this time.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

And it's like not holding back, but you knew, like he had to pass at some point in time. These two guys touched the rock, right? D. Rose and Haddock Luau was gonna cut. He was finding all them no set plays. It was just really D. Rose gonna make the plays for everybody else. But he was ferocious.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, he was. And you know what made us so good? We had great plans, but everybody knew they wrong.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah. They accepted that role.

[John Lucas III]

We all accepted that role. I knew I wasn't gonna play if C.J. and D. Rose was healthy, you know. But I had to stay ready. Cause Tibbs will always, because of my shooting ability, he'll throw me in at the two guard to spread the court out. Now my guy would go help D. Rose. Cause he's drawing some more attention kick out of me. So you always had this. Even though I knew, like, okay, they healthy. I might not play today, so. But I would just. I was just. I always wanted to be one of the 1%.

[Derrick Rose]

What happened when LeBron jumped over you? I don't know how I got to that, but I was just thinking Chicago.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I was going 15, right?

[John Lucas III]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

Cause that's all I had seen.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I was gonna slide to my nigga transitioning from basketball to coaching. But we're here.

[John Lucas III]

We're here. I mean, shit.

[Derrick Rose]

I mean, hold on. When you woke up and everybody was. That was everywhere, bro. That's on LeBron.

[John Lucas III]

Like, yeah, I'm being the hall of Fame. Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

Every time.

[John Lucas III]

I'll be in the hall of Fame, bro.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Every time the playoffs start and I'm cool with it. JL3 is.

[Derrick Rose]

Hey, what was you thinking, though?

[John Lucas III]

I wasn't thinking. I ain't see it happen until. Until we called time out and they put on a jumbo.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Why didn't you Electric slide to the left.

[John Lucas III]

Cause of rip him. Which I can't wait for him to get here. Yeah. Because it was Rip guy.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

He was supposed to drop back. I called the pick out. He supposed to drop back. He supposed to be the low man. But, you know, we so defensively minded with tips. Okay, you got caught up on the screen, so let me. I gotta take your spot. And that goofy ass player, they still running to this day. Mario, who is one of my really good friends, man, when he did that, I ain't talked to him for, like, two days. He could. I didn't talk to him. It was, bro. He jumped. And when I look, look, I'm like, damn, who he throwing that to? And then like that. But that is my mindset. I'm like, yo, who are you throwing that to? And when I. When I looked up and you see me like this, all I see is feet. And I'm like, he dunked it. And he had a nerve to look back at me, right? So my mindset was like, yo, Harry will take the ball. I'm gonna run. I'm gonna run down and go get a bucket. Yeah. But Tim's called a timeout. So now when Tim's called timeout, they give him. So now when Tim's call a timeout, we sitting down. T was in the middle with Andy and all them. And now they got it going over to Jumbotron. Everybody, like, in Miami, you know. You know, they wear all white at the game. So you looking up and it's all white, and they like, oh, they going crazy. You know what I'm saying? And then he sucked me out. Damn.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I didn't know that.

[John Lucas III]

If you watch the timeline, I'm about to get back in the game. He put Pooh back in the game.

[Derrick Rose]

I'm saying.

[John Lucas III]

So I ain't really get my lick back until two weeks later. Till they came here. But what saved me was, like, two days later. That's when. Cause I was number one for, like.

[Brandon Hendricks]

On me a lot.

[John Lucas III]

Until Blake Griffin dunked on Kendrick Perkins and threw the ball in when I was running. And then he became number one. Then I slid the number three.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

Shout out to perk.

[John Lucas III]

But that's what saved me.

[Derrick Rose]

But you on deck for the show, bro.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah, but when that happened, bro, I couldn't, like. And now you like people like, ooh, you know, you got duned on my LeBron.

[Derrick Rose]

You.

[Brandon Hendricks]

It's Jason Terry. It's a lot of y'all in there.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, but this is iconic, though.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah.

[Brandon Hendricks]

We ain't doing that.

[Derrick Rose]

Cleared on, bro.

[Brandon Hendricks]

He did, but he boomed on.

[John Lucas III]

It got to a point in that game. I Thought he was picking on me, bro. First he jumped over me, right? And then I'm picking up full court. He set a screen on me. I thought it was illegal. I try to fight him. I get up and try to fight him.

[Derrick Rose]

Got a wild out. Look, I got a clip. You feel like I feel about. Bro, I w out. I just said it. I can't beat him. Yeah, it's like I'm taking him out, right? I just ran into him. He went to the stands, popcorn all over.

[Brandon Hendricks]

But see, that's what happened when get embarrassed on the court. They try to play extra hard.

[John Lucas III]

Is playing a in the NBA game? Nah, bro, I kid you not. He said a pick on me. It was a legal screen, like, once you go back and watch. But I was just like, oh, he picked. I got little man syndrome, bro. Like, I feel like I ain't never gonna let nobody tall or get the.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Best of, like, tip.

[John Lucas III]

He's been around me, so he's seen a different side of me.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So I'm like, oh, he gotta see me now. So it's like I'm trying to get up, but it's wet on the court. So I'm slipping and sliding trying to get to him. And when I push him, he didn't move. And I went back. And so now I'm like, ooh, I hope it. All I said was like, ooh, let it be an NBA. NBA fight. Like, let everybody, like, let everybody come in the middle and break it up. And then I'm gonna turn up like, oh, you old boo. Like that. And that's what happened. Cause Taj Gibson ran over there real quick. And like. And like Mario Charmers his whole man. I was like, get off me. He's like, you know what I'm saying? I'm like, woo, man, I got that fine check. I was hot, but I was just like, oh, you got. And then two weeks later, they came back. And for like a whole two weeks, I just kept seeing her. And like, Pooh's one of my best, like, one of my really good friends. Like, he know how me and Pooh rock. So Pooh was really supposed to come back that game when we played Miami here. And I knew if he came back, I wasn't. Yeah, I called him on the phone, I said, yo, G, you gotta sit out this game. And he was like, what? Cause he was itching to get back, you know, he missed like five or six games. I think he had turf toe or it was something. One of the injuries that I was like, bro, just this Game sit out. I gotta get my lick back. Like, you don't realize what it been like for these two weeks for me, you know what I'm saying? My dad called me talking about we about to get put in protective custody. Like, he called me talking about, damn, you done made the name famous than ever. Like, he messing with me.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And so I'm like, I gotta get my lick back right? Man, he was everywhere. I was everywhere. So I'm driving down the highway right here. Cuz I lived out north. Cause we practice out there. I'm driving down. Ooh, he was ig. If you. If I sit out, you better kill. I said copy. Like, no more, man. I had like three Red Bulls. I was turned, man. I check in the game, it was go time. I ain't missing that one shot I missed. The only shot I missed was a wide open corner three. That was the only shot I missed that game. I had 24 points. National televised game. And then I already had in my mind if he. Cause I was gonna cook Mario, and I was gonna cook Norris Cole.

[Derrick Rose]

Norris Cole. Shout out to Cole.

[John Lucas III]

They're my guys. I had one person in mind that I had to get my leak back. But those are the guys that was gone.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

But I knew if I cook, SPO was gonna switch off.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, Bron gonna come over there.

[John Lucas III]

Fourth quarter, Bron switched off on me and Cibs calling a play for Luau. That play went through everyone. All I saw in like that summer. Cause it was lockout year that summer I was playing in New York. So I was like, really working on my game. So that summer, I averaged 50 in Nike program in New York.

[Derrick Rose]

I heard about that.

[John Lucas III]

I had 60. I had the night. KD has 61. I played in that game at Rucker. I had 21. The next night we played him, I had 60, he had 49. But he won. So, you know. But I made my. I made my name in New York as well by going to.

[Brandon Hendricks]

What was your nickname?

[John Lucas III]

Cool Hand Luke.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Cool Hand Lou.

[John Lucas III]

Cool Hand Loop. The Gunslinger.

[DJ Wells]

My name Shooter McGavin.

[John Lucas III]

And so when we came back, I started working on a double Step back.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So I was like, I gotta. It's almost like you. You know, like a boxer. You gotta get your jab. So to me, a step back is like. Like kind of getting your separation. Because of his length and my size, I knew I had to.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, I can't let that ride. Keep it gangster with you.

[Brandon Hendricks]

A with crazy lift. Small is crazy.

[Derrick Rose]

I'm keep it gangster.

[Brandon Hendricks]

That's. That's David and Cat Williams and Friday.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, yo, back to your double step back. The double step back is gonna be. Yo, we been pieing for a minute.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Say I am a boy.

[John Lucas III]

Oh, my God, y'all.

[Derrick Rose]

Nick.

[John Lucas III]

Hey. So anyway, I had to go through a double step back because his arm length, right? So his arm. So his arm lift. Dj, I had. Because I had to see the rim. So when I hit him with the double, I saw.

[Derrick Rose]

Okay.

[John Lucas III]

And then I hit him with. And so then I got my shot off. And so when I hit the shot, I knew what the cameras were.

[Derrick Rose]

What'd you do?

[John Lucas III]

I said, he can't hold me either. Oh, this I read. It's all facts.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

Oh, Louise gonna find it. Can't wait.

[John Lucas III]

I said, he can't motherfucking hold me either. I look dead in the camera, said.

[Derrick Rose]

That you as well.

[John Lucas III]

And my dad called me, said you had an out of body experience. He was like, let's. Let's.

[Derrick Rose]

Pop's always humble.

[John Lucas III]

He always humbles you. So he was like, let's keep it a buck. You had an out of body experience. Like, you know what I'm saying?

[Derrick Rose]

Come back to uncle after you kill.

[John Lucas III]

Like, damn.

[Derrick Rose]

Yo, that's how my pops was, man.

[John Lucas III]

He kept it a buck with me. So that was.

[Derrick Rose]

I had 30 my first game against. In high school, my senior year against Eric Gordon. And my dad was like. I mean, somebody had to shoot.

[John Lucas III]

I coached him, too.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, you did.

[John Lucas III]

It's crazy, because now coaching. Now I'm coaching against guys.

[Derrick Rose]

I.

[Brandon Hendricks]

That's what I want to get into. Like.

[John Lucas III]

And I play against teammates. Coach. My teammates, play against. You know, just. I always wanted to coach after that, after I got done playing.

[Derrick Rose]

I want to show love to you because, like, we talked about it earlier, but what you did for D. Rose, people don't know. I know. I know. Cause I was there. And you brought. When we, like, not to shit on D. Rose or nothing. Cause you know we love him. Like, that's my bro. That's my nigga. But when he came to Minnesota, his confidence was gone. He was done. He was telling us he was done with basketball.

[John Lucas III]

Yeah.

[Derrick Rose]

Like, he was like, I'm done, man. I'm gonna retire. Tibbs doing me a favor kind of thing. And you, like, I watched y'all work and put in so much work to where he got back. And to the point where I was like, nigga, I need to come off the bench. Like, this nigga need to be a story. You know what I'm saying? But I watch you and him and his family, like his wife, y'all all in the gym. I'm coming late night after drinking, doing whatever I'm doing. And y'all like, come in here. You like, t come in here, pool here, shooting. I'm like, yeah, all right. I don't give a fuck. And I come in here, I just see y'all putting in work.

[John Lucas III]

And my thing is, I wanted him to write his own story. And they don't let nobody else write it for him.

[Derrick Rose]

Facts.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And he had a lot left in him. And when you go through what he's gone through, your mental game, and that's one thing tennis. Go back to. Tennis helped me with, but also, it also goes back to recovery. My dad's a recovering drug and alcoholic, so I used. He used to scare me. Because he used to scare me. I used to go to AA meetings with him. He used to make me stand up like, hi, my name is John Luke iii. And everybody be like, hi, John Lukes iii. He'd be like, but I'm Wasn't. Wasn't attic or anything. But he was just showing me the mind of mental and stuff like that. So I'm looking at pool. I'm like, bro, you still Cody. Like, you know who you are. Like, I had, like, kind of reinsurance. I'm like, yeah, you know when somebody's confidence and stuff, because you, like, now, I can only imagine playing in today's era with social media, people always commenting about every and everything, like. And you gotta learn how to black out the noise. So I'm telling him, like, bro, you got about five more years. Like, you can get another big deal. Yeah, like, I know you made. I was with Pooh when he signed that 89. Then the next day, he signed 329 with Adidas. Like, I know you got the bread. Stupid bread. It was like, but, bro, you got so much more to get to this game. Oh, they say you can't shoot. Fuck that. We shooting 1,500 shots.

[Derrick Rose]

That's a fact.

[John Lucas III]

And we gonna. My goal was for him to shoot over 40 something percent from the three.

[Derrick Rose]

And he did it.

[John Lucas III]

And he did it, man. So. But every night we put that work.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

If you ever notice, in Minnesota, he started wearing an elbow pad.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

We shot so much. And I'm like, so when he. When he hit that 50 ball and he was crying, he came and gave me a hug. I was like, the ultimate. Thank you. Because I'm like, forget what Stephen A. Smith and all them saying they ain't ran up and down this court. Like, we ran up and down this court. They don't know.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah. That's a fact.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I'm saying? And there's, like, no knock on them. But I'm like. Like, they just talking.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Like, you gotta. You got a chance to prove everybody wrong. Which he did. And he. And he went on and played, what, six more years after that.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah. I watched.

[John Lucas III]

And I'm trying to talk. I'm talking to him the same way he rated it. Hanging up, too.

[Brandon Hendricks]

That ain't Rose. That's Jalen Rose.

[John Lucas III]

But what y'all don't realize.

[Derrick Rose]

He was giving us the same speech. But I was.

[John Lucas III]

He won't listen.

[Brandon Hendricks]

He ain't listening.

[Derrick Rose]

But it was different. Cause I'm like, D. Rose. Like, to me, you know, 07 class D Rose, MVP. When he giving him this spill, I'm like, the corner guy. Like, he doing his thing. And I'm like, yeah, get that nigga ready, man. He killed. We gonna be nice.

[John Lucas III]

He the hype man. But in a good way.

[Derrick Rose]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Still competitive, but he was like, yo, I rock with him. Yeah. Like, I got his back. It's like. Till he was like, I wanna come off the. He raised his hand. I'm looking at him like he crazy. I wanna come off the bench. Bench. I'm looking at him like, huh? I'm just not gonna give him my job now. Like, if I was playing, I'm like, nah.

[Derrick Rose]

But I'm like.

[John Lucas III]

He wanted to come off the bench because he wanted to go against all the backup. I'm keeping a buck with you. He. He. He, like, he can fool. He'll fool. He'll fool everybody else. He wanted to go against the backup. He ain't wanna. He ain't wanna guard night in, night out, guard against.

[Derrick Rose]

I did that.

[John Lucas III]

But it's smart. But it's smart, though, so. It's smart because it's longevity. Like, you figure it out. So it was just like, for me, I wanted all. Everybody I rock with, I wanted them all to succeed.

[Derrick Rose]

That's a fact show.

[John Lucas III]

And that was my biggest. And I just wanted everybody to succeed.

[Derrick Rose]

And that's why I gravitate to you. Because people that I know in my life, everybody similar to that, like, all of us, we want everybody to win in here.

[Brandon Hendricks]

We want to win.

[Derrick Rose]

And that's when I gravitated to you. Like, you don't naturally gravitate people to. I mean, gravitate to people that you don't rock with. Right. We had coaches on that Staff where you know me, I wouldn't even. You behind a. I'm like, lou, man, what the fuck we running?

[John Lucas III]

Hey, he'll get me in trouble.

[Derrick Rose]

You know what I'm saying?

[John Lucas III]

That's how I get fired. No real talk. That's how I get fired.

[Derrick Rose]

I'm for real. I would really come to the bench. Cause it's like, what do you see? And I'll be like, luke, what the fuck? We need to run?

[John Lucas III]

And I get fired because now, like, they not looking at the main guys.

[Derrick Rose]

Shoot the fucking ball.

[John Lucas III]

He be wide open. I used to.

[Derrick Rose]

I'll be like, jimmy said run.

[John Lucas III]

He like, fuck him. Shoot the ball. He be wide open. And he'll.

[Brandon Hendricks]

He was like, he'll defer.

[John Lucas III]

He'll defer. And I'm like, this ain't. This ain't that same kid. I know that get out the challenger. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm still thinking, like, he. Him, like, with that mentality. And that's. That's like. Once you give me your first impression, that's who I think you are.

[Derrick Rose]

But I appreciate that, though.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, man, we appreciate you, Luke. For sure, bro.

[DJ Wells]

Obviously, man. We saw you at top 100 camp. We was just. It makes purposes, like having your knowledge to help these young youths. Especially, like you said, with the mentals and the social media, playing basketball ain't the full part. So to have somebody. You in charge like, that, we really happy to see. Before we get outta here, man, we had a great story on this podcast, and we gotta reconfirm, you know, before we get outta here, man, we gotta talk about the Minnesota A's, man. Y'all pulled up the club, shout out to the Somalians. They said, y'all good in Minnesota.

[Derrick Rose]

They good.

[DJ Wells]

Club 520.

[Derrick Rose]

But we gotta recap that story. We good.

[John Lucas III]

Look, man, we always good.

[Derrick Rose]

Nah, I'm saying we real good.

[John Lucas III]

What you talking about? We always good.

[Brandon Hendricks]

They with me.

[John Lucas III]

We always. We always good. That night, J. Lou always good.

[Brandon Hendricks]

I step foot, shout out to JB for stepping in them Kirk Franklins.

[John Lucas III]

They go, it's T. Whatever.

[Derrick Rose]

Let's go.

[John Lucas III]

Hey, bro, I don't even go out. You know, I'm. I'm married. You know what I'm saying?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I'm saying? I don't go out.

[Derrick Rose]

He just throw me under the bus.

[John Lucas III]

But, you know, he want. You know, he had a bad game that day.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah, true.

[John Lucas III]

He had a bad game. So we went out to eat. I always go out to eat with the players. I don't go out with the players, but we go eat. I ain't gonna pass up a meal.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Exactly.

[John Lucas III]

You know what I'm saying? I'm on the coaching budget now.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Absolutely.

[Derrick Rose]

Respect.

[John Lucas III]

So we go out to eat. I'm trying to talk him. Cause he ready to jump off the ledge. Not literally, but he, like, mad cause of the game he had. So he was like, you know, I just need. It almost remind me of, like, that scene in Paid in Full. Like, yo, hey, I just need to be around love. Like, it was like one of them moments where he boogie. So. So I was like. He was like, where we gonna go out? So. And so I was like, all right, cool. I'll come out for a little bit. So it's me, Jared Bayless, who wore a suit all the time. There's no dress code.

[Derrick Rose]

I'm making this shit up.

[John Lucas III]

He wore a suit all the time. Clean, though, right? And I ain't your normal coach. Like, once I get out my coaching, I'm back how I'm dressed now. Nike, I'm gonna be fly. So he. He goes out. So we go out. And so, you know, all of a sudden, we just in there chilling in the corner. All of a sudden, like, 30 people come walking towards me, and they speaking to me in. In their language. I'm looking at them like what? I guess they didn't like my. My reaction.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So they start getting a little bit hostile with. It's just me, him, and Jerry, right?

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So see that bottle right there? I don't even know who bottle it was that I grabbed, but I just. I had a bubble cut on too.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

So I like, they doing all this talking. I. I just grabbed that joint. I'm like, we gonna get out of here. I gotta get home to my baby. You know what I'm saying? So me doing all. So I'm woofing back at him. I'm like, bro, I ain't Somalian. Like, I'm from Houston, Texas. I ain't from here. And they like, no, you do. And I'm like, nah. So what saved us was a whole nother argument happened. A whole nother fight started.

[Derrick Rose]

And they had to realize.

[John Lucas III]

And they turned around and turned. And all of a sudden, before me and Jeff could turn to walk out the door, we walking.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Cause I'm like, parting my back. I'm like, you know, I ain't really scared of, like. Like, whatever going. We see Jared, Jared two blocks away from us. And me and Jeff is like, yo. And all you see is them Stacey Adams, like, he sliding. Cause it was black ice out there that day. So he running. He. It's like sliding. And I was like, yo, that's crazy. I said, that's the last time I go out. Like, if I go out, he can't.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Come with me no more because that's my.

[John Lucas III]

And I see him. I love Jared. I see him all the time in Phoenix when I was coaching Phoenix, he the man. But that was a crazy night. But I wasn't supposed to be out. I was like, it was his fault.

[Derrick Rose]

I'll take the blame. It was his fault.

[John Lucas III]

But it is true. But they did think. They. It's true.

[Brandon Hendricks]

They thought that Minnesota shit took a toll, bro. And they be telling they would be here. You good. Them other niggas, they gotta check in, boy.

[Derrick Rose]

Respect.

[John Lucas III]

But he be. He mess with me all the time. Cause we used to always play one on one, yo. And he was coming back from injury one day, and I was getting the best of them. Only for five possessions, though.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

Because I ran out of gas, right? I'm out of shape mentally. I was, like, done hooping.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Yeah.

[John Lucas III]

And they had posted on Twitter at the time. They was like. And we. And I think you was hurt. Pooh was hurt. Ty's was hurt. So we had to bring a point guard in. So I'm trying to get him ready. I'm not even thinking. It was like, yo, we should bring Luke in for 10 day. Like, that's what the fans. Cause it's like, look what he doing to Jeff T. He gonna tweet back, back and post another video. Keep watching. Like, he couldn't let me just have my little five. Cause after that, boy, it was cook session. It was cook session. After that, I retweeted the post. Somebody posted like, okay, yeah. I'm telling my daughter, like, yeah, this how your daddy used to play. And then, boy, he posted. He was like, nah, y'all gotta keep watching the video. He somehow, somehow call out video coordinator video. Who was it? Brian Randolph at the time. He get the highlights of him cooking me 15 straight possessions. He won. He won the left, he won the right. I didn't even touch the ball in the middle of the court. Cause he went five. Five in a row and on the side.

[Derrick Rose]

I just had a little bit of a fucking up. Because in Minnesota, they had me fucked up.

[John Lucas III]

But, yeah, that's my dog, though. I mean, that's my man right there.

[Derrick Rose]

I appreciate you on the show, bro.

[John Lucas III]

I appreciate y'all having me.

[DJ Wells]

For real, man. This is all time coming man, this is like family.

[Derrick Rose]

But we're gonna do another episod probably. And Andy, you know I know you got some big stuff coming up. We gonna let you announce that when you ready to announce it. But we excited for your whole journey.

[Brandon Hendricks]

We need you to announce that before the All Star Game, though.

[Derrick Rose]

We'll talk about that for another another contest.

[John Lucas III]

Hey man, y'all. Hey man, I just want to tell y'all, man, y'all really holding down the culture though.

[Derrick Rose]

I appreciate it.

[Brandon Hendricks]

Real love bro.

[John Lucas III]

Y'all doing y'all theme and I watch all y'all episodes. Episodes. I'm happy I can be a part of it.

[DJ Wells]

Appreciate y'all. Listen man, we're gonna do this again another time. We appreciate y'all like share subscribe all that good stuff.

[Derrick Rose]

We'll be back next time.

[DJ Wells]

Club 520 the volume are you still.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Brandon Hendricks]

Have the great taste you'll celebrate.

[John Lucas III]

That's why over 40 million people choose Kroger brand products products, making them a.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[John Lucas III]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[John Lucas III]

Dad, I'm broke and I need a place to stay until I figure out what the rest of my life looks like. So a couple of days when his daughter moves back in. The last time you walked out that door. You looked back at me and gave me a double bird. I was 18. The double bird was how I ended all our conversations.

[Ryan Seacrest]

The wheels come off.

[John Lucas III]

Can we try to talk to each other like rational adults? Have you watched the news lately? That's not a thing anymore.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Series premiere Wednesday, 8, 7 Central on.

[John Lucas III]

ABC and stream on Hulu.

[DJ Wells]

Odoo is business management made so simple.

[John Lucas III]

A kid could explain it. Sometimes business software can't talk to other programs.

[Brandon Hendricks]

But Odoo, funny word.

[John Lucas III]

Has every program from CRM to HR to accounting in one platform. It should cost a lot, but it doesn't. So you should use Odoo because they save you money.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Odoo makes a lot of sense, but doesn't cost a lot of sense.

[John Lucas III]

Sign up [e-mail] that's o d o o dot com. Good job. Thanks.