In New Orleans we have music, food and culture, it is a part of who we are. You can tell who we are.  Being a team player is a part of who you are, you don’t grow out of it, it becomes who you are, you become that person. I will go home early from work because I want to watch that game and that certain player. After Katrina the best thing that could have happened was the sports teams came back because New Orleans is a sports town, they love their teams and they love to hate them. It gives you a release, you go and do something else. We love the game just like we love New Orleans.

Basketball to me was the sport that had the most easy access. It doesn’t cost a lot, you don’t need a lot, you don’t need expensive equipment, everyone gets to play, one on one, three on three, however you want to do it, it has easy access. In New Orleans you can go into just about any neighborhood and find a basketball court. There is nothing that can hold you back, when you are little here in New Orleans you see everyone playing, either on a roll up hoop or at the courts. It’s a great outlet. And especially after the storm it has been an outlet for so many of us, young old and in between. In became a comfort zone for so many of us. It’s just who we are it’s what we do, it’s a part of me, it’s who I am.

What I would like to see is a serious focus on renovating the facilities that we have, making sure the places where we did have the trailers accessible again. We did have the trailers and I will not minimize the importance of giving up those properties so people could have a place to live, but I’d like to see them restore that, bring it back to life and make it viable so people have that easy access again. We need that easy access back, so you don’t have people who live downtown going uptown to play basketball. We need nice courts, lit at night, a place where everyone has a place to play. In the whole recovery effort I understand that it is probably not high on the radar but I look at it as quality of life. Having nice accessible recreational facilities adds to the quality of life, when you have a certain level of quality you then have people who can co-exist and live with each other and you don’t have as much stress. If we are going to talk about this whole thing, you have to consider the recreational component of all of this is as important as the quality of life just as electricity or a mowed lawn, people need that outlet. I really hope that this doesn’t take 20 years. I know the NBA is coming here for the All-Star Game. If they want to leave something that will make a mark on New Orleans, leave something here that means something to basketball, renovate the courts, outdoor, indoor, give us that easy access back. 

Interview by Will Steacy

All photos courtesy of -Wyatt Gallery
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