I remember when, as a kid, i got my first real basketball.

I loved the feel of it in my hands. I was so enamored with the ball that i didn’t actually want to bounce it or use it, because i didn’t want to ruin the pebbled leather grains or the perfect grooves. I didn’t want to ruin the feel.

I loved the sound of it, too. The tap, tap, tap of when a ball bounces on?the hardwood. The crispness and clarity. The predictability. The sound of?life and light.

Those are some of the elements that I loved about the ball, about the?game. They were at the?core and root of my process and craft. They were?the reasons I went through all that I went through, put in all that I put in,dug as deep as I dug.

It all came back to that special tap, tap, tap that I first grew infatuated?with as a boy.

This book is dedicated to the next generation of great athletes.?May you and the power in understanding the journey of others to help?create your own.

Just make it better than this one.

To my family, thanks for your love, support, and patience.