50 Years of the Wooden Award, Bucks Buzz & Don Nelson’s Hawaiian Paradise (Hear District Ep. 67)

50 Years of the Wooden Award, Bucks Buzz & Don Nelson’s Hawaiian Paradise (Hear District Ep. 67)

he talked trash to Wil one time the guy got No he didn’t they got Wil so upset come on old old man get this jumper 50 years old 45 46 you know but and Wil was like “Marcus come here man give me the ball every single time give me the ball marcus Marcus give me the ball every single time i want to I want to show this young stuff.” Five time Marcus Johnson alongside Marcus Johnson what’s up everybody hey this is the here district captain of this vessel and I got my first mate my number one son Christian Johnson what up talk to me holla let it rain man let it rain i guess I go guess fight welcome everybody to the here district marcus Johnson you’re listening to a Bucks Plus audio production on the Bucks Plus Network your weekly pulse on the Milwaukee Bucks straight from a Bucks legend this is Here District with Marcus Johnson alongside his son and 1995 NCAA champion Chris here’s MJ all right welcome everybody to Here District i’m Marcus J here in the wooden award room at the LA Athletic Club joined by my son Chris Johnson the only father and son tandem in college basketball history to win a national championship at the same school UCLA there’s been other players that have won championships the Bibbies Mike and Henry the Maze Scott and Sean the Waltons did Luke win a championship i don’t think he did they checked on it and Luke did not got to the championship game against Duke with Gil with Gilbert Arenas and that crew but did not win it so close but no cigar but here we are here district and yes in the background you see a whole lot of photos chris what are these photos man tell tell us some of the greatest college basketball players to ever lace them up the wooden award winners from over the years the first to the last women’s and men’s right yeah when did it start 1977 this guy over here Marcus Johnson the first winner of the John R williams wow wow it was amazing hearing first of all it’s amazing touring the facility growing up here as a youngster you used to bring me up here all the time 20 30 years ago so it looks totally different so state-of-the-art so nice such a great staff and the room we just conducted that interview with I mean just it just feels like so much history in this place yeah everywhere you turn well it’s always been one of my favorite places to work out the LA Athletic Club right in downtown LA just because of all the history and you you know I don’t know what year this place was built but it had to be in the 20s or 30s or maybe even before but you just get this sense man it’s a vibe it’s it’s it’s a I’m not talking like a a ghost fire or anything negative either it’s it’s all a posit not like the Fister not like the Fister the Fister is haunted i’m telling you the Fister is haunted in Milwaukee but that’s a whole another show but no but this place here man it’s got all this this great history great tradition the LA Athletic Club and so the wind award was started in 1975 conceived in 1975 the LA Athletic Club Duke Llewellyn the Hathaway family the people that uh ran the LA Athletic Club so they wanted to give an award to the top college basketball player named after coach Wooden because of not only the great things that he had done as a coach 10 championships in 12 years but just the the human being that he was and and and uh what he stood for in terms of of greatness as a person uh the pyramid of success has been a blueprint for living for so many people so they started the award 1975 they did not give it out to the first winner Chris until 1977 now a little context 1976 I was going to go pro larry Brown came talked to me i went down to Denver watched the Nuggets play the the New Jersey Nets or New York Nets i think at that time they were uh Julius Irvin and that crew in the ABA Championship Series in 1976 i was going pro yeah all of a sudden that deal kind of fell apart because of the merger carl Shear some other things happened because of the merger i was contemplating whether to come back to school or go to the NBA with the Detroit Pistons and my mother found out that they were giving away the Wooden Award the very first Wooden Award in 1977 and she had the brilliant ideas only mamas could have of hey why don’t you be the first winner and so I set my my sights on becoming the first winner of the Wooden Award the dunk shot came back into college basketball after a 10-year hiatus and and uh you know the rest is history i was able to be the first winner and it’s it’s it’s it’s the crowning achievement i can say that the crowning achievement of my basketball career is being named the first winner of the Wooden Award so why would you say it’s the crowning achievement well you know I had a lot of great things that happened won a city championship hall of Fame the college basketball hall of fame well I mean yes yes no without question look I I I I’m part of the LA City Hall of Fame the the Cruncher High Hall of Fame the Southern California Hall of Fame the California Hall of Fame the Wisconsin Hall of Fame College Basketball Hall of Fame the UCLA Hall of Fame all of them mean a whole lot every Hall of Fame except that other one I’ve been How can you be a Hall of Famer in 10 different hall of fames and not be a member of the That’s I digress but the Naymith uh but a three-time finalist i gota I got to hold a record for for being the you know the most finalist in the history beside the point the point is is that being the first winner of the Wooden Award man means so much to me and uh it’s something that I set my sights on Chris uh my senior year UCLA playing for Gene Barto and um you know the year didn’t turn out how I would have loved it to winning a national championship getting to the final four we got upset by Idaho State you like to so unbelievable well see you know always teased me about that until they lost to Princeton but it’s don’t don’t say that to people out why you trying to bring that up now I had something to take Princon the Princeton back door the Princeton cut Pety Carell and then all and and and here’s a little bit of trivia for you i’ve got some trivia here’s some trivia for you if if you want to like slow it down frame by frame on that back list this is ridiculous chris had a bad ankle chris is the weak side defender chris gets a fingernail on the basketball you can actually slow it down you’ll see the trajectory you’ll see the rotation of the ball but it goes in but the ball still goes in so So when they talk about horseshoes and hang grenades man it was close but what were we talking about i had that question horseshoes and hang grenade wait wait no i’m getting to the bottom of that what is horseshoes and hang grenade what does that mean close only counts close only counts and horseshoes and hangers you’ve always used that horses idea horseso and hang grenades you know horseshoes the closer you get the more points you get hang grenades you know the hand grenade man just leave her alone yeah yeah they did the whole hurt locker hurt locker kind of thing hurt locker kind of thing going on i wore hand grenades but but the point is is that Yeah yeah it It’s a highlight coach Wooden first winner for sure you know I used to always kind of self in a self-deprecating kind of way say I’m not I’m like the Jay Burwanganger of of Jay Burwanganger who is Jay Burwanger i’ve got I’m the Jay Burwanganger of the Wood Award who is J so I may put it together who would you who just use your comments i don’t know i’ve never heard that name burw what is a wind award basketball so what is B what is Burwer bwing is a football player the first Heisman first Heisman i thought Heisman was the first Heisman they named it after Heisman but Jay Burwinger jay Burwanganger the Chicago somebody i forget who he played for but Jay B but but but no but for me uh playing at UCLA play and then playing for coach Wooden and it’s funny Bill Walton the late great Bill Walton used to always like every time we’d appear at a Wooden Awards ceremony uh he’d always kind of rub it in and when uh they’d mentioned or I’d mentioned that you know I’m the first guy that played for coach that won the award he’s like well I’d rather have played for him for four years and win a win win an award named by him but that’s Bill but but no but but for me you know it’s it’s such a an honor of high esteem man and and and you know I got it on full display uh in my house in my den and and um it just means so much to me let me ask you this you you’ve said that Wooden’s Coach Wooden’s pyramid of success yeah it felt abstract in college or something along those lines when did that coach yeah he used abstract when did Coach Wood’s lessons crystallize for you post UCLA well that’s a great question man you know it it’s interesting and and and you know this as as someone approaching 50 years old damn getting hard damn wow but but but but the longer you live the more adversities that you go through the more challenges that show up in your life the more you start reflecting and remembering and things that my parents told me and then and then then and and what coach was trying to trying to pass along to us at UCLA with that pyramid of success now he understood he understood that we were like 17 18 years old that we had our wild oats to sew and all that good stuff and that those those lessons so he would always say that he didn’t measure how well of a job he did in terms of of of nurturing a player until 15 years after they graduated and see what kind of productive citizens that they were and he’s had some major you know between Kareem Abdul Jabar Andy Hill uh you know a guy that that that we both know friend of good friend of ours but Andy was a guy that went from UCLA a bench player not playing at all to writing a book uh Be Quick but don’t hurry with Coach Wooden andy produced a bunch of shows um on TV the Merlin Osen Show uh Touched by an Angel Dr quinn all these shows all these great kind of family shows yeah um on CBS Andy Hill was the guy that shephered those in to the network so uh but but you can just go on down the list of you know Fred Slaughter great lawyer who uh represented Jamal Wils and a bunch of other guys as as an attorney who did a lot of good positive things willie Nols was a guy that was my mentor and agent and and friend who passed away a few years back but he’s a guy that taught me so much about life and business and and the and the ways of the business world so um uh so that’s the thing coach when looked at at his players at 17 18 understanding that those life lessons wouldn’t sink in until some adversity showed up then all of a sudden the pyramid of success started to make more and more sense about you know self-control about adaptability about all these things that uh that that that you can take in life to help you kind of soldier through the challenges and the obstacles that if you keep living are sure to sharpen your life yeah yeah so there’s a story about coach Wooden um it’s right after the U bruins had beaten Memphis State in St louis the game that Bill Walton went 21 for 22 greg Lee had like 15 assists an NCAA record but so I’m sitting in the den of my home in Los Angeles and my father and I just watched the game and all of a sudden the phone rings and so my father answers the phone and tells me “Papa,” that’s what he called me “papasta for you.” So I’m like “Okay.” So I I get on the phone hello and it’s coach Wooden on the other line and coach Wooden says “Marcus did you watch the game?” I’m like “Yes coach i watched the game.” He’s like “Well we’d love for you to be a part of this Marcus you think you’d like to be a part of this next year?” I’m like “Yes coach i’d love to be a part of that.” So I don’t know who came up with that as a recruiting uh angle uh but man it sure work with me because right then and there I was sold the fact that coach Wooden the greatest coach in basketball history would take the time immediately following a championship game to give me a call and ask me to be a part of the great UCLA program it was a done deal right then we recently yesterday got the news that former Bruin uh he wasn’t rec uh he didn’t play for Coach Wood yeah but he was recruited by Coach Wood david Greenwood passed away love Greenwood um wonderful man talk a little bit about Greenwood and your enduring memories of him well David Greenwood so there’s four guys Kiki Vanderway David Greenwood Roy Hamilton and Brad Holland all you CLA Bruins uh Brad Holland was on that Laker Championship team uh Magic Johnson Magic Johnson’s rookie year all first rounders david I think it’s number two pick of the Bulls kiki a firstrounder uh I think with Dallas then wind up in Denver roy Hamilton got picked like 12 and 13 by Detroit but they were the last group of players that coach Wooden actually recruited and so coach winds up retiring in 1975 so we all played with Gene Barto uh 1976 but they were the last group of guys that coach recruited so that gives you an idea their talent but David Greenwood specifically man it hit me like a like a ton of bricks out of left field man if I can mix some metaphors but when I found out um someone posted um uh Ben Boch No no no eldidge Rasner oh Elish so Eldidge Rasner sent me a text and and and and and quoted Ben Bolsh of the LA Times and that little blurb that he had on Twitter and it at first I thought Eldidge was talking about Dion Brown a Crunch High great that went to Washington and passed away a couple of months ago then I read it again and he was talking about uh David Greenwood had passed away so So that was a real shock but David Greenwood man let me just say this david Greenwood went to the Veron day played for the great George McQuarin played for John Sneed at verm day he was one of the greatest high school players I’d ever seen in my life one of the greatest college players he came in man with this fro chris so big 69 610 with this big fro that would like he had he had a hard time you know keeping his head up that fro was so big his head be bombing like that cuz that fro was so big he and Roy Hamilton both 69 610 way before his time he had handles he’s the first guy I saw at his size chris come down full speed kind of a KD before KD go through his legs right to left pull up from 20 ft switch so let me ask you well how does he compare to Mickey Johnson as far as the handles and the floor game and being 16 well I mean you know that’s my frame of reference for that era Mickey Johnson cuz he was serious yeah well Mickey probably had a better career but Mickey went to Aurora he went to Aurora College in Illinois had a better NBA career yeah but in terms of coming out of high school collegiately Greenwood I thought in my mind was going to be one of the and I and I say this without any hyperbole i thought David Greenwood would be one of the greatest forwards in NBA history cuz he’s 69 610 he’s long he’s jumping out the gym he’s dunking on people chris talking trash david would just get that you know that’s it he talked trash to Wil one time they got No he did they got Wil so upset i told you about that two-on- two game that Will told me to pass the ball to him every every time down on a on a kind of a casual two-on- two game the the men’s gym after we got through with the run and Will dunked on David about six or seven times in a row and Will was about 50 years old 45 46 you know but but David David precipitated that with the trash come on old man get this jumper your face will and we was like Marcus come here man give me the ball every single time give me the ball Marcus give me the ball every single time I want I I want to show this young stuff and he and he d I’m dunking on him a few times but but anyway David man was was such a man was such a force of nature on the collegiate scene at UCLA uh had a solid freshman year but it really came into his own his his sophomore year my senior year we played together and uh just his game was ahead of his time that’s all I you know like Mickey Johnson he was he was a fluid six he was KD before KD 69 fluid jump shooting another quick story my senior year so David I always went at it and David you know he was hard for me to score him because he’s 6’9 just as quick he was long i blow by him on the baseline in practice i get underneath the hoop and I corkcrew for a dunk he goes up to challenge i wind up dunking but he hit me hard enough to knock me off balance i fall back and I twist my knee this is my senior year like around late November early December i’m out about two weeks i don’t know if I’m going to play again that year my knee is really really messed up at that point and uh and David was really apologetic about it i’m I’m sorry Captain i’m so sorry but the point is is that I w up playing that year and and having a great year and bouncing back and working hard to get back but but man David I was shocked when he got to Chicago that that they used him uh more as a prototypical big man don’t let him shoot jumpers keep him in the post play defense rebound and let some of these other guys flourish offensively but David to me man if he’d have been in today’s game he’d average 25 a game and and be and and and be one of the greats that you talk about who’s this coach kevin Lockery or something oh man either Jerry Sloan oh Jerry Sloan’s on there yeah yeah someone like that back in those days it was one of those those hard ass kind of old school dudes that you’re a big man you’re rebound real quick I wanted to get your take on my top 10 forwards in UCLA history i’ll compile a list for my you know those you’ve been busy haven’t you so we got Sydney Wix number one marcus Johnson number two why Sydney number one well Sydney was was nice artist Gilmore six blocks in the championship game i’ve never seen MJ do that so I have to lean towards Sid cuz he he’s 69 doing that against artist literally globing right in the title game well and and the story with that is that that Sydney coach wouldn’t wanted Sydney to front artist Gilmore so Sydney fronted Sydney fronted he fronted in the first half you know and artist was killing us ucla Sydney and Curtis wrote that after halftime Sydney’s like and Sydney was just kind of doing coach coach I’m playing behind him well no Sydney I want you in front no coach I’m playing behind let let me play behind him and Sydney blocked like two or three of his shots i mean but goend and block one of the greatest performance I ever seen number two it’s you right 75 NCA champ you can say Keith i’m going you going you number three number three I’m going Ed O Bannon right and this is why Regency bias but I’m going Ed number four Jamal Wils number five I got to give some love to Seni Valley’s own Don Mlan the alltime leading scoreer in the pack to 2600 plus points come on man donnie Mack doesn’t get enough love number six Curtis Ro baby got to got to number six number seven David Greenwood 18 a game 11 15.3 R shares number eight your roommate uh yeah your roommate richard Washington richard Washington number eight most outstanding player in the 1976 uh 1975 yeah yeah yeah put 28 points in the semi deal semi against 28 against Kentucky in the final that’s ludicrous yeah he’s definitely top 10 kiki Vanderway makes it in is nine for me this is my list again it may differ from yours and coming in at number 10 Mr soulville Foundation lily NS i like that honorable mentions Tracy Murray Charles Lean Haimey Hakez and Dave Meyers what do you think about that list MJ i like the list um give me your honest assessment you don’t have to you know try to like agree with it well no i mean and and again this is personal preference dave Meyers because of the uh the the integral role that he played in our championship season in 75 he was kind of our our heart and soul our leader as a senior of that basketball team we had a game up in Oregon chris was 103 to 101 he had 39 get the Ducks the kamicazi kids up at Oregon 103 to 101 no overtime 40-minute college game no three patches no no three-point shot yet you know Greg but Greg Ballard and Stu Jackson and Ernie Kelse not State these are the Ducks dick Harter was the coach but Dave Myers I I try and find a way to fit him in somewhere on that list but other than that that’s a pretty solid list so the amazing part about the 70s and all the talent that Coach Wooden back to Coach Wooden Yeah as a recruiter right six or seven top five NBA draft picks in the 70s alone right that’s incredible your team when you talk about you Richard and Dave you’re talking about two two number two picks and a number three pick on the same squad i mean how often do we see that in basketball how my question for you what was it like as a player to have to play with guys that are just as talented as you better than you we talked a little bit about it upstairs but like you got two other top three picks that you’re competing against every day what did that do for you MJ well you know iron sharpens iron steel sharpen steel and and I’ve shared this story with you and others countless times but my first week of practice was the hardest week of basketball I ever had in my life at UCLA guarded by uh Keith Wils at that time later Jamal Wils but Keith had it low and man it just just I I get mad thinking about it wouldn’t let me touch the basketball chris and if I got by him Bill Walton was on the back uh back line blocking everything out of bounds and talking trash to me this is UCLA get that cringark crap out of here this is not This is not high school buddy what do you want back to Bill or what you say oh no so nobody would come back i was Meek instead of Meek Mill i was Meek Marcus that was me for my Yes but I I you know what I did i wound up calling my mother come on Dad i can’t play you can play these off it’s okay to play that off i can’t play UCLA they’re too good my father’s like “What’s going on?” I was like “Bill Keith Wils they’re blocking everything i can’t get his shot off.” He’s like “They’re the two best defensive players in the country you’re fine.” And so uh so yeah but you know but I started now i blocked Bill’s shot i blocked Bill’s jumper in a threeon two drill goending i was like get that weak San Diego bull crap out of here this is college you know so I was able to go back at him like later in the season but it wasn’t until I got my my my Bruin legs under me that I was able to feel like I like I belonged on this level it was such a an elite level of basketball with coach wouldn’t it build I mean just look just sitting around looking around the locker room would just be so imposing and and man intimidating as a young player so it was a whole different world for you back then man staying staying on that you’ve played in these elite settings you play for some seriously elite coaches i’d like to segue to coach Nelson Don Nelson winning the Chuck Daily Lifetime Achievement Award coach Carlile Gabe McFinals Nelly obviously the second second in all time wins most wins in Bucks history won 250 plus games for three franchises right i mean that’s incredible now let me ask you this were there any similarities between Don Nelson and Coach Whitten from a philosophy standpoint uh the the the the biggest similarity between Don Nelson and So here’s Nelly by rookie year um Nelly would approach you as an empty vessel like you didn’t know anything about the professional game and as a collegiate player you really did didn’t know a lot of the tricks and the nuances that were involved in being a successful pro and so he would kind of approach you as an empty vessel and fill you up with all this great old Boston Celtic knowledge should always tell you not how fast you run it’s when you would run in transition hell yeah i was the slow I was the slowest white guy out there on the floor but I got a lot of layups because I knew when to anticipate a rebound defensively and get that edge in transition little things like that that Nelly had a had a really good insight on and so coach was the same way coach would would have the approach that he had to really teach the game to you so both were were were consummate teachers in terms of passing along the knowledge nelly of course played in that whole red arback system i think he was coached by Red he was coached by Red the late 60s when he first got to Boston and then Bill Russell was his next coach tommy Hines was his coach so he played for some great coaches coach Wooden had some great coaches you know back in his day playing for Purdue when he was a three-time all-American at Purdue so um uh it’s a lot of similarities in that sense those old-fashioned kind of Midwestern values even though coaches were were a little bit more pure and a little bit more pure purity to coach Wooden’s values than Don Nelson’s uh Nelly was Nelly like to have a good time like to have a lot of fun but uh both guys were guys who taught me a whole lot about the game of basketball and um I really have a lot of respect for them had a chance to spend time with Nelly in Maui and this is where he’s moved to Maui with his with his He’s not a weed farmer with his wife with his daughter he owns all kind of businesses oh he owns half of Maui over there real estate wise but also grows Nelly’s he got coffee he got kush all that he got agriculture all that nelly doing everything over there chilling chris at his house overlooking the overlooking the ocean and Nelly’s like picked up a little pipe mj you mind if I smoke a bowl like hey do your thing and then I said now is this something here we are 30 40 years later talk about it and talk about it you’re getting high and I’m sober who would have who would have thought it like 30 years ago but but we played golf he plays golf barefooted he plays speed golf him and his buddy over there they play 18 holes in about two hours they just go you know every day if you can’t keep up you know we’re gonna have to leave you behind and so he’s still doing he was still doing that at 80 years old 85 years old now and so it’s just a lot a lot of great memories playing for Don Nelson and and some of the things that he meant and coach Wooden the same thing i mean just in terms of uh of of the basketball knowledge that he instilled in me that I think helped me get to that next level and Don Nelson helped me with that also i I always found it unique that uh one of the fascinating things about coach Wooden was you know his propensity to be play those smaller versatile athletic lineups early on and Nelly kind of had the small ball thing but that’s not necessarily one didn’t necessar but but it’s it’s unique to for you right well the thing is is that they both placed a high value interchangeability on quickness quickness quickness was the key those Celtic teams you think back on you know John Havich and Sam Jones Casey Jones and and Don Cheney and some of these guys that Nelly played with during this right behind 17 no no no that’s Kevin Stum from Well no that is Honda kevin Stum is playing yeah I’m getting ready to take Kevin Stum to the hole take his ass to the I’m getting ready to break him off a little bit but that’s Hondo that’s an old Hondo that’s Honda Hondo like 36 can I tell you the craziest compliment I ever got speaking of Honda I was at Mid Camp with the Atlanta Hawks yeah when they had Lenny Wilkins was the head coach so I’m there with Jeff Shepard and Rashan Mloud all their first round Jamal Williams i’m just in my I’m in best shape of my life right i’m about 6 I’m about 210 right so I’m just running running the floor going crazy lenny’s there watching i’m knocking down jumpers lenny comes to me pulls me to the side he’s literally like “Man you run the floor like guy used to play with John Hler.” I was like “What?” Then I had to call and find out what he meant cuz I didn’t understand and then I then I did a little research i was like “Man that was the craziest thing someone’s ever told me on a basketball court.” Had to always there was always a reputation that he was like one of the best condition athletes of all time that’s what Lenny said to me man lenny W he was like “Man you must before I hear him though.” Yeah yeah yeah no so so so but but but again the quickness aspect uh the versatility the the the the willingness to try uh to fit your philosophy as a coach into the personnel that you have at your disposal no coaches don’t always do vice versa so they usually you got to fit in here we got a system son we got a system son you got to fit into our system no no you know if Bill Walton is a great high post passer you know you play him at the high post they play him down low if he’s got a mismatch and then can overpower smaller defenders uh the Sydney Wixs and then Steve Patterson and Curtis Row that lineup in the early 70s won a couple of championships with with that lineup you know Steve Patterson was the high post guy because he could shoot that 15 foot jumper and knock it down curtis Row would work down on the on the on the uh on the on the on the duck move weak side block cuz he was so good at overpowering smaller defenders in in the key so yeah just that ability to adapt adaptability is key well that’s one of coach Wood’s precepts in the pyramid adaptability ambition all that good stuff is something that that they both preach and coach the pyramid speaking of the pyramid coach always talked about competitive greatness be at your best when your best is needed and and that’s something that Don Nelson learned as a Boston Celtic passed on to us when he got to Milwaukee we were kind of the the Celtics light if you would celtics 2.0 by the time he got to us in 7677 you know his first year 778 my first year his first year 7677 he wanted to pattern everything we did after the Boston Celtics even had the old Celtic assistant coach John Kille as our assistant coach so everything we did was kind of what Boston did and so it was a it was just a great learning experience but you could never beat Boston except that one year we swept them we swept them that big year well look you know think of their front line muel Parish Bird then go yeah but you guys had a decent front line yeah we had But the difference Bob Laneir 32 with bad old Bob if Bob would have been two years younger i always said this we would have had a much better chance of winning a winning the championship at least getting to the final round who’s messing with Male Vac from your from your Well I mean you know he was a but he wasn’t the Kevin Male that you think of in the mid to late 80s what was he what was coming off the bench i mean he he may have been coming off the bench big shoulder yeah yeah yeah great still still the great same footwork the great length the great ability to control the game from the inside out uh unstoppable in the post but you know it was it was a pecking order back then cedric Maxwell was cornbread Maxwell he was finals finals MVP in the early 80s against Houston he was the guy you know that they’d run the ball through in the low post so he and Larry Bird complimented each other even though they were similar size but Kevin McKel once he started to come into his own he became an unstoppable force but those Celtic teams man come on they they were some of the greatest teams of all times did you see where this new all-star format is gained traction the International versus USA giannis actually was the first one to really tweet about it yeah kind of like this is how the format should be then Adam Silver goes on I can’t remember what show he was on but he kind of confirmed that um sort of like the AHL’s Four Nations format if you will what do you think about that format well look man I first with all due respect to Giannis I first brought this up to Commissioner Commissioner David we’re we’re looking through the archives now for this interview for Fox Sports but I I I was I interviewed David Stern in New York and I brought up the the the the suggestion that why don’t you have the the international players which was you know Dirk Ditzy I believe at that time there was some really great international guys sure and and and Commissioner Stern’s point to me was that you know there’s so many that that that there’s so many that they kind of bleed into each other so we don’t really want to you know delineate international versus US because we want it to be all one commonality in terms of basketball greatness and so we’ll look at other ways but I like this I like this aspect of it because anytime you’ve got that kind of situation in the Olympics whether it’s the Canadian team with Shay and all these great Canadian players or the the some of these uh European teams that they put together the Spanish teams the French France got to the finals right the Olympic finals tough tough tough tough uh tough out to beat them for the goal so now I think it’s the right time for that and uh I’m not so sure if the United States players would have a chance to be that successful against a team of Jokic and Giannis and Shay Gil yeah but you ain’t going to be able to name what how many guys internationally can you really name that are iconic superstars other than the tops right so I think it’s six it’s six right so you got Yiannis you got Wimi yeah that’s enough that’s But you need five to play yeah well you got But you got shape but you got the Nimhars Nimh you’re telling me you think that an international squad can beat a team of homegrown USA guys like who’s a homegrown guy who’s everybody else except them guys you know Yeah but like who let’s go let’s go every team let’s just go with Steph Katie let’s just say two guys right now that turned it out the last Olympics they They’re all here 40 years old they’ll be 40 years old i’m I’m talking about who what what young young established and homegrown players can you think of that compete with Giannis and Joic and with the last what four five six MVPs have been you know Joel MB who’s he identified with now I know he’s been hurt on and off he’s international is the US you know you make some good points you know so make some good points but we got there’s there’s there’s that I mean you’re talking about like how many players in the NBA there’s 300 something players pick yeah yeah versus 10 that you’re picking of the top internationals Yeah yeah so if you get you know your JTs and and some of these other guys I mean it’s it’s going to be interesting i think I think the game is going to be interesting i’m looking forward to it i think it’s going to add elements to the Allstar game i’m kind of tired right of this normal this all these gimmicks i’m tired of the gimmicks yeah yeah yeah what did they do this past year the points i don’t even remember it was so bad that I don’t even remember we were there so I was there with Joe um we were there we went to All-Star Saturday night the dunk contest you know it was you know it’s still live it’s still interject but you just wish segue to that you just wish some of the stars with name brand recognition yeah would take place in that general offer take place and play hard nothing against Max uh Mac Mlung and all these other guys on the dunk contest nothing against them guys but you know I want to see some real dogs and then on on the game aspect I think man you got to I mean people hate it but you got to put some money on it yeah put some money up million dollars each player you know win winner or take all just be moving to overseas formats right you got to put money on the All-Star game and have bonuses involved that’s I played overseas we had bonuses involved in every single competition that we did right and it matters yeah and and guys come alive when there’s something at stake and there’s something to play for i mean look at the end season tournament when they make get you get the 500 600,000 or whatever for winning right you know what I’m saying guys you know it’s not chump chain yeah and I just like the fact that it was Giannis who gets credit for uh you know bringing that to Adam Silver and I just like Giannis’s the his growth as a player in terms of the way he views the game the way he tries to grow the game i think he was in Brazil now or recently doing some things giannis is in Brazil watching volleyball okay front row with his bros watching volleyball let me ask you this we a lot has come out about Giannis the last couple days what are your what is your take on just all the scuttlebutt first and foremost Giannis has been really good at using his leverage and so he’s the last two big trades that the Bucks have made have been in response to Giannis exercising the incredible amount of leverage that he has and so he talked about uh bringing in better players we bring in Drew Holiday trade Eric Bledsoe championship then he talks about how you know he wants to win more than one we bring in Dame Lillard get Drew out of here you know and so um Yiantis’ use of his leverage has been masterful so I’ve always looked at it from that perspective that this was a leverage play to get management as hamstrung as they may be in terms of the Second Apron and all the things that we talk about i think it went under the Second Apron with with the uh with the Chris Middleton trade uh with Cal Corver so we’re under that but but the point is is that John Hen and and and and Mil Newton and all those guys look they want to win a championship as badly as his players do no question but this puts even more pressure on them to get creative to do some creative stuff to bring in a a Gary Trent type free agent you know for a minimal salary and get ma masterful production from so Giannis is so embedded in the Milwaukee community he’s got his businesses there his family is there he’s talked about all his kids have been born there he loves the the slower pace to raise his family he’s as loyal as they come based on the fact that the Bucks we talked about a David Greenwood picked number two and never reaching that superstar status jiannis picked what 16 or 17 and nobody really gave him a chance to be this this this this this transformational type player that he’s become so that gives you an idea of his work ethic so I’m not surprised at all you know I I I fully expect him to come back in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform as Don Nelson talked about with the Luca Dantis trait you know you don’t trade that that once in a-lifetime type transformative player uh you know you try and and and make him finish his career with you and then get his name up in the rafter well to me the idea of actually trading Giannis was just something that I just think didn’t think anybody in the NBA had the assets to really get off especially when you go through the history of some of the the most recent trades you look at the Miles Bridges trade the Paul George trade you’re looking at five first round picks you’re looking at you know all type of assets some more Bucks news i know that Kyle Koosma is in the lab right now early on in the summer locked in with his crew Clint Parks clint has got a whole team of guys they’re out here in LA working out so CS is actually in the lab last summer I didn’t see KS in the lab this early i didn’t see Coos in the lab at all now I see Coos in the lab so I’m excited about that a little birdie informed me that Giannis has taken or will take the younger guys Ryan Rollins and AJ Green bring them over to Greece work them out for a week or two put them up have a good time do all that good camaraderie bond building stuff that you do as as young people so when I hear hear a guy thinking like that Giannis has donated a bunch of money to women’s shelters in Milwaukee he’s really activating himself in that Milwaukee community so I just don’t see that those types of actions are being the actions of a guy that’s thinking about uprooting and going to a whole another city and I think most of all Giannis’s recent Twitter activity the Buckscentric fan account has really just shown us what time it really is he’s been amazing to the Bucks fan community online reply his mom is even liking stuff from people so you know he’s all in well he’s got his Bucks jersey the big statue in Brazil what is that statue the big the big statue he’s right there you know what a Bucks why Why have a Bucks uniform why have any uniform at all just have a the generic night or no or no you don’t just be there but he’s got that Bucks uniform to make a statement so I think it bodess well for for Milwaukee and the fan base and everybody that loves everything about Giannis that uh that uh you know he he’ll suit up and show up on opening night next year so that’s that’s the hope absolutely all right well again we’re down here at the LA Athletic Club we’re in the wooden award room you see all the photos behind Chris of the of the ladies winner some of my favorite players Caitlyn Clark you got Ju Guu i got the Wooden Award behind me and some of the all-time greats and Larry Bird and Michael Jordan and Ralph Samson and and then Kevin Durant and some of the current winners radic is in the building and talk about a basketball environment does it get Does it get any better than this it does not man i’m chills that’s why I’m so I’m so hyped this episode i’m like man we had to build it it’s a lot of fun all right here old school Marcus Johnson son Chris Johnson we’ll see you next time peace this has been a Bucks Plus audio production

Marques Johnson & his co-host/son, Kris highlight 50 years of the Wooden Award with a special episode of Hear District from the L.A. Athletic Club, where they reflect on the legendary coach’s legacy, philosophies & his impact on a young MJ at UCLA, inspiring him to become the first ever Wooden Award winner. They also discuss Giannis’ proposal of a U.S. vs. the World All-Star game, his trip to Brazil & what his offseason signals to Milwaukee so far, plus some buzz from around the team. In light of Don Nelson winning the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, MJ reminisces about his former Bucks coach & his visit to Nellie’s Hawaii estate. They pay respects to the late David Greenwood and share the story of the time he trash-talked Wilt Chamberlain, rank MJ among UCLA legends, dive into iconic coaching styles and much more on this week’s Hear District.

0:00 – Intro
1:54 – 50 years of Wooden Award
12:11 – Remembering David Greenwood
14:59 – Trash-Talking Wilt Chamberlain
17:12 – Top UCLA Forwards
22:32 – Comparing Wooden & Don Nelson
24:41 – Visiting Don Nelson in Hawaii
30:19 – USA vs. the World All-Star Game
34:41 – Giannis’ Offseason & Bucks Updates

Subscribe to the Hear District podcast to enjoy the biggest names in basketball sounding off on your favorite team.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hear-district/id1733360203
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