How Payton is building team behind his new team at College of Alameda

How Payton is building team behind his new team at College of Alameda originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

ALAMEDA – As Gary Payton discusses inspirations and aspirations, it becomes evident they stem from the same source. Oakland. He was a child of the town, which taught him everything he knows. Wherever he goes, no matter the city or country, he takes Oakland with him.

That applies to Payton’s new job at the College of Alameda, where he is the men’s basketball coach. Following three seasons at private Lincoln University in Oakland, this represents his second attempt to extend a rebate to the town and region that launched his 17-year NBA career that earned him a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“I’m going to get people that are going to play basketball,” Payton told NBC Sports Bay Area. “But they’re going to go to school, too. I don’t want them just thinking about basketball because not all of them are going to get to the pros. Most won’t.

“But they’re going to have to be men. Young men who can grow up and understand how to raise a family and do things like that.”

Payton’s goal, to equip young men with the knowledge to navigate a successful life, is lofty and will not be a solitary pursuit. He intends to utilize the vast Oakland hoops network, a collection of players and coaches whose connection to the town goes back to playing for local high schools and AAU squads.

That begins with Jason Kidd and Brian Shaw, former NBA players who now coach in the league. It includes former Indiana Pacers star Antonio Davis, who relocated to the Bay Area a few years ago. It includes J.R. Rider, the 1994 Slam Dunk contest champion who responded to sabotaging his NBA All-Star potential by building a solid reputation coaching teenagers in Arizona.

Payton, 56, also plans to enlist the likes of Leon Powe and Lester Conner and Greg Foster and Henry Turner and Drew Gooden and Juan Toscano-Anderson and Tony Ronzone and Brent Merritt and any of Rick Barry’s sons – Scooter, Jon, Brent, Drew – who are willing to share their time.

For those unfamiliar with the history, current NBA…

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Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-09-24 14:25:48

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