Lillard set to cash in on investment
Damian Lillard made an investment when he enrolled at Weber State in the fall of 2008. Not in stocks or bonds. In his basketball future. “It wasn’t a typical college experience that you might see in the movies,” the 6-3, 189-pound point guard said of the school in Ogden, Utah. “You might think it was all fun, but there was a lot of stuff I had to sacrifice from a smaller school to make all this possible.”
While his friends were ripping shots, Lillard was practicing his jump shot on the court. While they were barhopping, he was bar-lifting at the gym.
Weber State coach Randy Rahe met Lillard, then 17, during a visit to campus and knew immediately there was something different about him.
“There were a couple guys shooting and a rack of balls. He walked right down the steps, jumped on the court, took his coat off and started working out,” Rahe said. “If we’d have spent the whole visit in the gym, he’d have been happy as a lark.”
The world Lillard knew was out having fun while he was busy building his assets.
“I don’t drink. There’s a lot of stuff I didn’t do,” he said. “I just didn’t have that fun experience that some people probably have in college just because I chose to do something else. But I’d do the same thing all over again.”
Probably because the Oakland native went from a lightly recruited high school player to a third-team All-American and the nation’s second-leading scorer in his junior season this year.
Lillard averaged 24.5 points in 201112 and is expected to be a lottery pick and the top point guard selected in the NBA draft.
NBA director of scouting Ryan Blake says Lillard will be taken off the board early because he is quick, strong and physical and can hit from NBA range.
“He’s a scoring point guard who can get inside, and he’s improved his threepoint shooting,” Blake said. “He’s a great free throw shooter; he’s versatile as a scorer; he uses the pick-and-roll well; and he can finish in traffic.
“When you have someone with good size, good strength, good speed and you have someone who can shoot the ball and play defense,” Blake said, “that’s just a great package.”
Lillard was always a gym rat but not always in a gym.
After school as a young boy, Lillard passed the time at his godfather’s house in Oakland by shooting hoops at a milk carton nailed to a telephone pole while waiting for his mom to pick him up after work.
Lillard was not allowed to go to the nearby basketball courts in the rough area of Brookfield. But a makeshift basket and a made-up passing game called “curb,” played with his older brother, Houston, 25, allowed Lillard to hone his skills.
“It wasn’t a basketball court, it was a milk crate. When that crate fell, his godfather would put another crate up there,” said Lillard’s mom, Gina. “Every- body that knew him as a little boy and sees that he’s going to the NBA knows that he diligently worked his way there. Because as a little boy he wouldn’t be out there running and doing bad things. He would be right there at the curb shooting.”
To Lillard, it doesn’t really matter where his office is, be it an NBA practice court or the streets of Brookfield. He is going to put his work in.
“I’ve been coaching Division I (basketball) for about 22 years, and I’ve never seen a kid work this hard in the gym,” Rahe said. “The more success he had, the more he wanted to get better. It’s all kind of coming to a crescendo right now.
“He understands what he wants, and he understands there’s no easy way to get it. It’s going to take hard work, it’s going to take dedication — and he’s willing to give up whatever it takes to reach his goals.”