Overtime Elite, a program that’s coaching the subsequent era of basketball gamers with a professional league for these 16-20 years of age, is providing skilled alternatives and a scholarship possibility, disrupting the normal school basketball system and pathways to the NBA.
OTE, led by a bona fide basketball legend in Damien Wilkins, may also be the topic of a brand new six-part docuseries, One Shot: Overtime Elite, premiering Sept. 5 on Prime Video.
M&F sat down with Wilkins to seek out out why evolution is important for the expansion of basketball, whether or not he needs that OTE had been accessible to him as a younger participant, and what he hopes individuals will be taught from the present.
A pacesetter like Damien Wilkins speaks from expertise. While he’s at present serving as the overall supervisor of Overtime Elite, he’s additionally one of many NBA’s most enduring athletes. Wilkins performed for 10 seasons, representing groups such because the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder, and is a second-generation participant, studying the hoops from his father Gerald, and uncle (nine-time NBA All-Star) Dominique Wilkins.
In this new sequence, cameras will comply with Wilkins and a forged of workers and hopefuls, reminiscent of current NBA Draft lottery picks Amen and Ausar Thompson; undoubtedly two trailblazing athletes navigating their very own challenges in pursuit of a profession within the NBA. In every episode, audiences will go behind the scenes of Overtime Elite in Atlanta, to learn the way these younger upstarts examine and practice, whereas maturing not simply as athletes, however as totally rounded human beings.
The OTE facility in Atlanta appears to be like fairly unbelievable with an ecosystem devoted to particular person participant improvement, schooling, and enterprise coaching. It have to be an awesome place to work.
Oh, it’s. From a highschool perspective, we’re truly dishonest [laughs]. I say this on a regular basis as a result of, and never that we are actually dishonest as you understand, however the sources, the individuals, and all of the issues that we provide in our constructing from the courts, the burden room, simply the house itself is unbelievable. There’s simply no higher place for top degree, highschool basketball than OTE and I actually imagine that.
The NFL is discovering new methods for younger individuals to chase an expert profession so it is sensible that the NBA is doing the identical factor. Why is it necessary that we’ve got these new pathways?
I feel it’s about optionality, proper? To give athletes totally different paths to success and totally different recipes to get to the identical aim. The previous methods don’t at all times work for everybody. Sometimes you’ve bought to be versatile in your considering, and evolve. You know, individuals don’t have to remain in school for years, you don’t must go to conventional excessive faculties, sitting in lessons for seven hours, all day, and beg for gymnasium time at your native highschool when the cheerleading or the wrestling workforce has the gymnasium reserved for 3 months. It’s simply, like, an entire bunch of variables that we simply don’t have (getting) in the way in which of that path to success for our guys specifically. And, in some other entity that’s adopting that very same mannequin, you’ll discover that these athletes are studying at a a lot accelerated and faster charge.
Looking again in your improvement as a participant, do you would like that this sort of possibility had been accessible to you?
Oh, completely. Knowing what I do know now, and having one of these platform the place I may haven’t solely grown my model, grown as an individual, grown as a younger man, and in addition grown as an athlete at such a quick charge, proper? It would have been excellent. Once you make the most of these sources, as a result of there needs to be a ‘buy in’ by the precise athlete, when you get that and also you come out on the opposite facet, are you able to think about what number of careers would have been lengthened? Plus, what number of careers (on the court docket) would have ended, however these athletes would nonetheless have careers (within the media or as executives) as a result of they realized a lot at an early age?
OTE pays its gamers, however there’s now an possibility for these which are enrolled to forego the wage as a way to keep school eligibility standing. How necessary is it for OTE to be versatile and hearken to gamers and tweak issues on this method?
I feel, in yr one, we had our limitations however we additionally had a really profitable yr. We had been very, very disruptive in that yr due to what we had been doing. Then we had been in a position to provide the scholarship possibility and gamers didn’t have to surrender their school eligibility and I feel that opened up new doorways for us.
One large prospect that gravitated to this new possibility was Naasir Cunningham. At 6’ 7,” he’s a specimen!
He’s a super-talented child. A really versatile athlete, and doesn’t have many weaknesses to his sport. Obviously, he’s bought to get stronger, and he is aware of that, however he got here right here extremely proficient, a particular expertise. He has a shiny future.
Amen and Ausar, the Thompson twins, characteristic closely on this new sequence. What are you able to inform us about their story out of your perspective?
It’s unfolding properly. You discuss two guys in a single household that bought drafted high 5 within the newest draft. It’s a testomony to their arduous work, a testomony to their ‘buy in.’ We put challenges in entrance of them daily and so they simply met ’em. They stored working and stayed diligent and disciplined and that is the results of that work. And now, they’re at an entire different stage the place they will have to fulfill new challenges and, I don’t assume there’s anybody extra assured in them than the individuals at OTE.
OTE places lots of emphasis on tailored packages which are centered on every particular person. Can you give us a taste of how that is achieved?
We can’t give each athlete the identical recipe as a result of each athlete isn’t the identical. So, actually, all of what we do right here is cater to the particular person, from teachers, to social and branding, to participant improvement, to well being and efficiency, energy and conditioning…all of these issues. We attempt our greatest to fulfill the gamers the place they’re, and construct them up from there. We break down a number of the unhealthy habits, work on lots of the issues that they aren’t so good at, and generally that will get uncomfortable, and irritating for lots of those guys, proper? Your used to doing the issues that you’re super-duper good at, on a regular basis, and we focus quite a bit on their weaknesses in all of these departments. We construct these issues as much as meet their strengths, after which they arrive out as an entire, profitable particular person quite than only a full, profitable athlete.
You talked about energy and conditioning. This is one thing that helped you vastly in your profession. How necessary is it to guarantee that gamers are coaching off the court docket in addition to on it?
It’s about being the entire athlete. Numerous what you do off the court docket determines your success on it. You must eat proper, it’s a must to get correct relaxation, it’s a must to raise weights. All of these issues show you how to to change into your finest self.
OTE additionally helps gamers mentally, and that is one thing else that most likely wasn’t provided once you had been coming by?
Well, that may be a sport changer, proper? It’s one thing that has been talked about far more loudly, lately. Here we’re in an area the place it’s comfy to speak about being uncomfortable. It’s okay to not be okay. Whereas up to now, you couldn’t actually try this as a result of it will be thought-about as complaining or whining. And this in itself is a motive why evolution shouldn’t be questioned as a lot as it’s.
I feel we’re doing a very good job, clearly there’s lots of work forward for all of us, too, and we perceive that, however I couldn’t be prouder of our workers, of the gamers that got here and went, and I’m enthusiastic about the way forward for what we’re constructing.
One Shot: Overtime Elite premieres September 5 on Prime Video