Transition game fulfilling for Ford
T.J. Ford catches a basketball, his toes just beyond the 3-point line, his shoulders square, his shooting touch the same as during those decorated years at Willowridge, the University of Texas and the NBA.
Ford releases the ball perfectly off his fingertips. Swish. He grins as he moves to the far corner, just a few makes away from winning a shooting contest against Remy Minor, 14, in the Kinkaid gym.
Ford, 30, has the sharp skills, the eye of the point guard and the competitive attitude that made him a sought-after player for more than 12 years.
There’s nothing on the line in this contest, but he wants to win. Ford hasn’t lost what led him to the world’s best basketball league, and he wants to instill that in his hometown’s youth.
Ford, who recently made the transition from player to coach, has found a teaching moment in this spontaneous shooting game. A few years ago, it would have been all about winning. Today, it’s about giving Remy a few lessons.
“I guess I thought about coaching before, but I wasn’t sure,” Ford said. “Now, I see myself as a coach more than anything.”
Born to coach
Shortly after back and neck injuries forced an early retirement from the San Antonio Spurs two years ago, Ford founded T.J. Ford Basketball Inc. He leads camp sessions on Sunday afternoons for all ages, has five Amateur Athletic Union teams and works with college and pro players in the offseason.
But Ford’s lessons go beyond basketball. He teaches discipline, nutrition and life. Basketball won’t always be there, he explains. And he knows.
Ford was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column that causes pressure on the spinal cord, his senior year of high school, just after leading Willowridge to the Class 5A state championship.
Ford, a 6-0 point guard, went to Texas regardless, knowing his playing days could be limited. In his sophomore year, he led the Longhorns to the Final Four, was named an All-American and won the Naismith Player of the Year award. Ford declared for the NBA draft after that season.
Walking away
After the Milwaukee Bucks picked him eighth overall in the 2003 draft, Ford’s injury woes began. He suffered a careerthreatening spinal cord contusion and missed all of his second season. Ford played with Toronto, Indiana and San Antonio over the next several years and continued to suffer with back and neck problems.
When he was playing, his game was top-notch, but every injury was a scare.
“When he walked away from playing, people thought that was a bad idea,” said his mother, Mary. “But you walk away when you can walk. That’s what he did.”
Ford was 28 when he retired from pro basketball in San Antonio. He moved back to Houston with his wife, Candace, and their three children, T.J., Peyton and Austin, who are now 8, 3 and 18 months, respectively.
Houston is a hotbed for the sport and Ford wanted to be home, near his family and in a city that has embraced him since he was the kid with tremendous skill at Willowridge in the late 1990s.
All in the family
Ford hits a 3-pointer from the corner.
This contest has drawn a small group of spectators, including Ford’s father, Leo, who is enjoying the moment and cheering on Remy.
“Don’t worry,” Leo says, laughing. “He will miss one of these soon. You will get your chance.” Swish. Ford’s parents are staples in the gym with their son. His camps and AAU practices have become a Ford family affair.
Leo and Mary can be found on Sunday afternoons at the Kinkaid School gym. Ford’s sister, Karen, handles a lot of the administrative duties for Ford’s business, and his brother, Tim, is a fellow coach.
His nephew, Tim, 15, plays basketball at Manvel High School. He said he loves learning from his uncle T.J.
“He gives good advice,” Tim said. “He tells us that we have to work hard and play hard but that we also need to be good leaders and good teammates.”
The advice, the family atmosphere and the basketball knowledge of a former pro are what draw people to Ford’s program.
Tracie Reed, whose son, Shawn Thomas, 15, attends sessions that helped him make one of Ford’s AAU teams, said she likes what she sees with her son since he started with Ford’s program.
“He is much more responsible,” she said. “His time management is better. He is telling me when it’s time to get to the gym and work. He is getting his homework done on time and just being more mature.”
“(Ford) is teaching them how to be more grown-up and to take responsibility.”
‘A players’ coach’
Ford is three corner shots away from winning the game. He misses a shot off the rim.
The small crowd gives a collective “Oh!”
Ford passes the ball to Remy, who has a chance win with a few makes.
“You better finish me off while you can,” Ford says. “Don’t let your man hang around and beat you.” Swish. Ford’s former Willowridge coach, Ronnie Courtney, was in the gym earlier that day. Courtney, who now coaches at Bush, isn’t surprised to see Ford back in a gym this soon after retiring. He said Ford’s basketball IQ and experience will help those he coaches.
“He is a players’ coach,” Courtney said. “He thinks like a player and he knows what it is like to be on at every level of the game. I think that can go a long way.
Because of his experiences and problems, Ford sees the big picture for his athletes.
In addition to running and shooting drills, Ford stresses strength and conditioning, injury prevention, nutrition and leadership.
Before AAU tryouts began in early February, Ford took players five at a time to the track at Kinkaid and made them run a lap. He kept time on a stopwatch, but he also watched the players to see how they were breathing and asked them all if it was hard once they finished.
In another gym, his mother recorded players’ weights, heights and body mass index.
“I’m sure they had no idea they were doing this today,” she said.
After seeing basketball at every level, Ford said it was important to him to bring things he learned in college and the NBA to younger players.
“I don’t think I understood how what I was eating could affect me until college, when they have nutritionists there to tell you,” he said. “I didn’t always know the best ways to take care of my body. I knew I had a condition to work around, so knowing all the other ways to stay healthy was really important. I want them to know that now.”
He also stresses the idea of being a studentathlete to every player.
“We want to police them at school and make sure they are keeping their grades up,” he said. “We want the parents involved. If there are any discipline issues at home, we want to help them out and bring that into the gym. We are trying to mold these young men into leaders and just allaround hard workers and good people.”
Ford wants to be sure his players understand their time on the court is fleeting. He knew his condition eventually would end his career, but he has seen players who have had theirs cut short because of injuries or by being cut from teams.
More than a dream
“Playing professional basketball isn’t a given,” he said. “You have to get something else out of this game. You have to get joy from it and life skills. It might not become your whole life.”
Texas coach Rick Barnes said Ford’s plans and vision for his program are what will make it successful.
“He is going to be honest with them,” Barnes said. “He is going to tell them to follow a dream, but he is going to tell them there is so much more to it than that.”
On top of having a good plan for his players, Ford also offers great insight, Barnes said.
“He is without question the smartest player I have ever coached,” Barnes said. “He really understands the dynamic of a team and always understood the makeup of every one of his teammates. Young players that are around him are going to learn a lot about the game of basketball.”
‘He still has it’
It’s Ford’s turn to shoot again. He must make three more shots from the corner — the only spot from which he missed in the contest.
The gym has pretty much emptied, but the remaining crowd is into the finish. One coach is recording on his iP- hone. Another is getting rebounds and passing the ball back.
Former Rocket Moochie Norris stands at the baseline with a few parents and players.
“He still has it,” Norris says, smiling.
Norris has helped at camp sessions, and Ford has enlisted the help of other former professional players. Last year, James Posey coached one of his AAU teams.
NBA summer school
Over the summer, Ford will continue workouts with NBA players, including D.J. Augustin, Cory Joseph, Rashard Lewis and Gerald Green, among others.
“He is doing a good thing here,” Norris said. “Young players don’t always understand what’s ahead. He is giving them a real insight here.”
Ford isn’t sure how big this endeavor will get. It started small and grew quickly. He has about 80 players for camp sessions and AAU tryouts. The program has seen a handful of participants earn college scholarships.
“Maybe we will end up having hundreds or thousands of players eventually,” Ford said. “We want them to live through the sport. I want to give them what I can to make them successful. Not at basketball necessarily, at anything they want to do.
“A lot of my experiences with basketball were great, and a lot of them were tough. I want to teach these players that either way, it’s OK. You can still be a leader every day, you can learn to be prepared every day and you can make other people better every day.”
Trademark swish
Ford takes his first shot from the corner. The ball makes a perfect arc and falls through. He grins. “You can’t think about it,” he said. “You just catch and shoot. I need a good pass.”
The ball comes at him, straight to the chest. In one motion, he catches it, lifts his arms and releases. Another perfect shot.
“He is shooting the ball well,” Ford says, nodding in the direction of Remy, who is standing with his parents and a few onlookers. “He will be able to beat me if he keeps working. He almost beat me today. “Almost.” Swish.