Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
THERE, sitting behind the microphones and in front of the cameras, was a college sports success story of the best kind. English a true
success storyLook past the tan and the tattoo and the perfectly coifed, colored hair. Beyond a jump shot and a smirk.
Look past the early entry into the NBA Draft. This story isn't about that. Not really.
Here was a young man, Carl English, who'd arrived cocky and confident, yes, but soon found himself frustrated, and so far from home.
He said that in those days associate head coach Bob Nash was "probably the only guy that believed in me." Which is ridiculous, when you think about it, considering he'd just been awarded a basketball scholarship. But that just shows how easy it is to lose yourself when you're young. How thin the line is between succeeding and getting knocked off course.
"I came in and it was rough at first," English said. And it's easy for the rest of us to forget just how far from home he really was. How big a leap that first year of college can be.
How much teammates and basketball can mean.
How all the little things can add up in a life.
"People don't realize," he said.
But each day on the scout team, Nash coaxed him back from the brink. Kept his head up. Got his confidence going again. Gave him courage. Which was a good thing, it turned out. "Because I was gone," English said.
But he stayed instead. And hit big shots, and scored points and won games and went on the kind of ride most of us could only dream about.
And on Tuesday, he told us he was ready to turn pro in the sport he loved.
We don't know yet, if he's that good at basketball. But we do know he's ready to leave.
"I mean," he said, "I graduated. I didn't know ... I'm sure my family didn't think I could ever graduate. I don't even know myself if I could, when I was coming out.
"But when I got here, I realized that I could do it."
This is a college sports success story of the best kind.
"I didn't want to be one of these guys that just went to school to play ball," English said.
He wasn't. But he made this journey with basketball, found this family with basketball. And Riley Wallace became a father figure, Nash became a mentor, Jackson Wheeler became a friend.
"It's tough to have players come out here, because they don't realize what it is," English said. But after four years, he knows, more than anyone.
"It is paradise," English said. "And people don't realize that until they get out here."
Or until it's time to go.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com