From the Outside
Page 22
“You were as high as the backboard,” the guy said. “I never saw anything like it.”
One day, I’m sure, I’ll drive by another group of kids playing hoop in some playground, and I’ll stop the car again.
I might be an old man by then, and they won’t have the slightest idea who I am, but the kid inside me will still be there.
Remembering when I was like them—just me, my dreams, and the game I loved.
“You have room for one more?”
Acknowledgments
So many people are responsible for the inspiration behind the writing of this book! First and foremost, I owe everything I am to my mom and dad. Through our travels as a military family, I saw the world and gained a unique perspective on people, and how to think beyond myself. Thank you, Mom and Dad!
To my siblings, John, Kim, Talisha, and Kristie; I always carry you guys with me everywhere I go. Each one of you has shaped me and helped be the man I am. I’m forever grateful for the sacrifices you have made to support my dreams. I love you.
To the teachers who have influenced my thoughts and challenged me in the classroom: Mr. Barrett, Mr. Huggins, Ms. Kypriotis, Mr. Hathaway, Mr. Brown, Mr. Barth, thank you all.
Thank you to the coaches who have taught me the skills to compete not only in sports, but in life: Jeff Lensch, Phil Pleasant, Mark Wade, Dwayne Edwards, Dale Wilson, James Smith, Karl Hobbs, Tom Moore, Dave Leitao, Howie Dickenman, Jim Calhoun, Chris Ford, George Karl, Nate McMillan, Bob Weiss, Bob Hill, Doc Rivers, Erik Spoelstra., Gerald Oliver, Armond Hill, Mike Longobardi, Tom Thibodeau, David Fizdale, Dan Craig, Octavio De La Grana, Dwayne Casey, Dean (Bustercrab) Demopoulos, Lawrence Frank, Kevin Eastman, Tyronn Lue, Sam Mitchell, and Terry Stotts. And thank you to my GMs: Mike Dunleavy, Bob Weinhauer, Rick Sund, Danny Ainge, Pat Riley.
I want to thank the strength coaches who pushed me to be stronger and healthier. Coach Martin (RIP) Tim Wilson, Dwight Daub, Bryan Doo, Bill and Eric Foran. And to the trainers: Mark Pfeil, Troy Wenzel, Ed Lacerte, Rey Jaffet, Mike Shimensky, and Jay Sabol.
I’m also grateful to the doctors: Dr. Andersen (RIP), Dr. Brian Mckeon, Dr. Harlan Selesnick, and Dr. Richard Ferkel. And to the public relations professionals: Cheri Hanson, Marc Moquin, Robyn Jamilosa, Jeff Twiss, Heather Walker, Tim Donovan, Rob Wilson, Mike Lissack. And to the equipment managers: Harold Lewis, Marc St. Ives, John (JJ) Connor, Rob Pimental.
Thank you to the military personnel at Castle AFB in California, Ramstein AB in Germany, Altus AFB in Oklahoma, RAF Bentwaters in England, Edwards AFB in California, and Shaw AFB in South Carolina—you all had so much to do with my upbringing. Thank you for showing a little kid what it means to be disciplined, respectable, and on time. Thank you to my friend Dorel Simmons. The muffler of his car was my wake-up call every morning as he was coming into my neighborhood to pick me up for school.
I especially want to thank the men I grew up playing ball against at the Shaw AFB gym with my dad and brother John. You were my biggest inspirations as a young man trying to figure out who I wanted to be.
I had so many great teammates throughout my career who have shaped how I think, and how I play basketball.
To my middle school and high school teammates: Raymond Wiltshire, Shawn Harbert, Shawn and Shannon Looney, Marc White, Deandre James, Kelvin Keith, Derrick Wright, Tee Morant, Phillip Morant, Corbin Deas, Richard Cooley, Dennis Nickens, Tony Yates, Brian Keith, Julius Gallishaw, Orvin Holliday, Berry Winn, Jamie Winn, Tyrone Dawson, Antoine Grant, Gerard and Anthony Keith.
To my brothers at UConn: Rudy Johnson, Scott Burrell, Kevin Ollie, Donny Marshall, Nantambu Willingham, Donyell Marshall, Kirk King, Travis Knight, Doron Sheffer, Eric Hayward, Jeff Calhoun, Marcus Thomas, Steve Emt, Rashamel Jones, Antric Klaiber, Dion Carson, Brian Fair, Greg Yeomans, Justin Srb, Ricky Moore, Kyle Chapman, and Ruslan Inyatkin. Thank you for challenging me and propelling me to the next level. I want to thank Tim Tolokan for all of his work as the Sports information director at UConn and Phil Chardis for taking over that role and providing me with everything I needed from my days at UConn.
I played with some incredible teammates in the NBA! Thank you Elliot Perry, Michael Curry, Joe Wolf, Armen Gilliam (RIP), Johnny Newman, Sherman Douglas, Robert Traylor (RIP), Vin Baker, Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell, Michael Redd, Toni Kukoc, Ervin Johnson, Jason Caffey, Jeff Nordgaard, Mark Pope, Jason Hart, Darvin Ham, Tyrone Hill, Terrell Brandon, Rashard Lewis, Antonio Daniels, Brent Barry, Nick Collison, Johan Petro, Mickaël Gelabale, Vladimir Radmanović, Ansu Sesay, Vitaly Potapenko, Reggie Evans, Jerome James, Mateen Cleaves, Damien Wilkins, Luke Ridnour, Flip Murray, Earl Watson, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Glen Davis, James Posey, Tony Allen, Eddie House, Avery Bradley, P. J. Brown, Leon Powe, Rasheed Wallace, Kendrick Perkins, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Chris Andersen, Dexter Pittman, James Jones, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Juwan Howard, Roger Mason—just to name a few.
Thank you to John, Jackie, Sara, Jamie, Brandyn, and Charlie Girl, for allowing me to be part of your family, and for allowing me to steal a part of you all and make her the center of my universe.
Thank you Rosalind Ramsey for teaching me how to grow up and be a man when I was just finding my way and thank you for giving me my beautiful first child, Tierra!
I want to thank every person who has rooted against me, or wished that I failed. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you kept me sharp and on my toes.
Thank you Spike Lee for believing in me enough to cast me in the movie role of a lifetime.
To my right-hand man, Orin Mayers, thank you for keeping the Allen household on point and for your continued commitment to our off-the-court success. Thank you Bianca Ramirez. Your friendship and love for the family has meant the world to us all.
Special thanks to the amazing team of professionals who cross the t’s, dot the i’s, and spend countless hours protecting my brand and creating opportunities for my future: Jim Tanner, Helen Dooley, Meredith Geisler, Lon Babby, Mike Horsey, Jon Hayes, Yolanda McBride, Rob Morris, Will Rose, and Glen “G-wiz” Parrish.
Thank you to Michael Jordan, for the inspiration that he has provided. He gave me something to strive for, someone to aspire to be like. Someone to model my life after. And thank you for picking me a long time ago to wear your shoe as one of the original members of the Brand Jordan shoe.
Thank you to everyone at Brand Jordan for keeping me in the freshest shoes anyone has ever seen. Thank you Howard White, Steve Riggins, Ric Wilson, Mark Raveling, Dale Allen, Samir Hernandez, Larry Miller, Kimo Farm, Gemo Wong, Josiah Lake, Jamal Lucas, Phil Simmons, and Tinker Hatfield.
And thanks to my community relations people: Tony Shields, Skip Robinson, Matt Wade, Matt Meyersohn, Steve Stowe. Without you guys I would’ve never been able to be so connected to the people in each city where I played.
I owe so much to Al, Darryl, Tamir, and Doctor D, and all my nieces and nephews, Little Tamir, Christopher, Courtney, Jamil, Little Darryl, Jade, Kayla, Kaden, and Kaleb, for spending the better part of your lives cheering me on in NBA arenas around the country—so many hours spent standing around waiting for Uncle Ray to come out of the locker room. Up way past your bedtime, no doubt.
A special thank you to my friends around the country for supporting me, championing my career from city to city, through all the ups and downs. Thank you to: Ralph Giansanti, Fred Martins, Ben Zieky, Al Foreman, Gentry Humphrey, Mike Nau, Anthony Ng, Tyrone Fleming, Will Rubinow, Bobby Rosetti, Cyrus Walker, Danya Abrams, Alex Wertheim.
Of course, this book would not have been possible without the remarkable team at Dey Street Books: Lynn Grady, Benjamin Steinberg, Serena Wang, Maria Silva, and Ploy Siripant. The team was anchored by editor, Matthew Daddona, whose passion and commitment were evident from day one, and never wavered. The same goes for my agents at William Morris Endeavor, Jay Mandel, Margaret Riley King, and Carlos Fleming, who believed in the project before I had any idea of what it would entail. I also want
to thank WME’s Lauren Shonkoff.
As for my co-writer, Michael Arkush, it will be odd not to receive almost a daily e-mail or phone call from him. Mike brought the same work ethic to this book that I brought to the court, and I’m very grateful. I know he couldn’t have made this effort without the support of his wife, Pauletta Walsh.
Last, I want to thank my beautiful wife, Shannon, for constantly keeping me focused and motivated and for providing the best, most loving environment that a man can possibly ask for, and for our awesome children. Thank you guys for being incredible and amazing in your own right!
Tierra, Rayray, Walker, Wynnie, and Wystie, let this book always remind you that life has its twists, turns, and good and bad people, but if you always believe in yourself and the direction you’re headed in, you will create a life that will change the world. Your love is the thing that sustains me through life and fills me up on the inside. I love you.
Photos Section
Me as a little guy, three years old.
Courtesy of the author.
Me, Mom, Kim, Dad, John, Kristie, and Talisha in the first official family portrait we ever took while stationed overseas in England.
Courtesy of the author.
Dad and Mom, Germany, 1977.
Courtesy of the author.
Edwards AFB, me at ten years old on the first organized basketball team I ever played on—disregard my ashy knees.
Courtesy of the author.
This is a photo of my mom doing her thing in her semi-pro days with the Bentwaters Lady Phantoms. Flo, aka “Truck,” is seen running toward the action (not dribbling the ball).
Courtesy of the author.
Hillcrest Wildcats circa 1991–1992 season; my junior year in high school.
Courtesy of the author.
My dad and his hoop team the Edwards Rattlers at Edwards AFB in California, sitting in front of a B-1 Bomber on the flight line.
Courtesy of the author.
Dad, Mom, and me. This was taken while I was home on summer break from UConn—it was a shot for Sports Illustrated on Shaw AFB posing with the F-16s.
Courtesy of the author.
Tierra and me doing a little karaoke at home.
Courtesy of the author.
This was a picture taken of Shannon and me after she surprised me with a party on my twenty-fourth birthday—we were babies.
Courtesy of the author.
Me and our boys in our home in Miami (2013) for our Christmas card shoot. Rayray, me, Walker, Wystan, and Wynn.
Courtesy of the author.
Rayray and me cruising the beach in Hawaii.
Courtesy of the author.
Me and the fam getting geared up for the Championship Parade in 2013.
Courtesy of the author.
This was taken while I was watching a UConn football game during my official visit to Connecticut in 1993.
Robert W. Stowell Jr./Getty Images.
Me trying to stay in front of the greatest player to ever play the game.
Gary Dineen/Getty Images.
The Big Three—us versus everybody else.
Fernando Medina/Getty Images.
Doc Rivers and me during one of our many sideline meetings, in which he would frequently tell me to keep everybody calm out there in tough situations.
Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images.
EPIC. Making this shot was the moment that every kid dreams of!
Nathan S. Butler/Getty Images.
There’s nothing like hitting a game-winning shot at home to bring the crowd to their feet.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.
The King and I.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.
About the Authors
RAY ALLEN, the most prolific three-point shooter of all time, played in the NBA for eighteen years, winning two championships (2008 Boston Celtics, 2013 Miami Heat). Allen, who went to the University of Connecticut, was the 1996 Big East Player of the Year. He lives in Florida with his wife and children.
MICHAEL ARKUSH has written or co-written fourteen books, including The Last Season with Phil Jackson, The Big Fight with Sugar Ray Leonard, and The Fight of the Century about the first duel in 1971 between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Arkush was a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, and has also contributed to the New York Times and Washington Post. He lives in Oak View, California, with his wife, Pauletta Walsh.
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Copyright
FROM THE OUTSIDE. Copyright © 2018 by Walter Ray Allen Jr. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Cover Design by Ploy Siripant
Cover Photograph © Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images
Digital Edition MARCH 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-267549-1
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-267547-7 (Hardcover)
Print ISBN 978-0-06-287181-7 (B&N Signed Edition)
Version 03122018
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