 Gerald J.R. Inman A few days ago, I talked with an international star who might be in the NBA one day. His name is Gerald (J.R.) Inman and it was an honor to speak with him. I asked him about his life and about the history of his basketball career. I was fascinated at some of the things he said and I wanted to share his sayings with the world. He has been to many NBA training camps, played with some of the players you see daily, and was once a Harlem Globetrotter. Also, he gave me an EXCLUSIVE! Read to the end to find out. Mike: When was the first time you ever touched a basketball and do you remember the very first shot you made? J.R.: Well, can’t say I remember the very first shot that I made, I can just reflect on my earliest basketball memory when I was 8 years old I played at PAL in Rockland County, New York, and my father was my first coach, and he encouraged me to work hard and basically I played multiple positions because he believed that at the age it would be at my personal benefit to just maximize my skills everywhere on the court and we won the championship that year when I was 8 years old. As a young kid I was exposed to success, competitive greatness, and just wanting to win and achieve my goals.  NYC Gauchos - Home of the Big Strick Classic! Mike: What was the first AAU team you made? J.R.: First AAU team I made was the New York City Gauchos in the Bronx New York. Mike: Who did you play for in high school and college? J.R.: In high school, for St. Joe’s Regional in Montvale, New Jersey, I also played AAU basketball with the Tim Thomas players which is a world renowned organization. I played with the likes of J.R. Smith, Gerald Henderson, Wayne Ellington, Earl Clark, and so many other players that you probably see on your television set all the time. For college, I played at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Mike: When did you make the choice that you were going to commit your life to basketball? J.R.: Once I realized that with a little rubber ball with black lines running through it, one could open up windows of opportunity that will not only expose them to futuristic happenings in the future but it also gave me an opportunity to receive a full college scholarship and not have to pay for my education.
J.R.: Humbling, I was away from friends and family, I was in a different environment unfamiliar to my own, I really had to adjust to different cultural customs and eating habits and just the life of a professional athlete in general just getting paid for playing the game you love is a big responsibility because you are on a public sphere where people can evaluate you daily and most of the time you’re judged based off of two things, wins and losses. Mike: What was your greatest game of all time? J.R.: Greatest games of all time, I have to take it in levels, high school, it was when we, St. Joe’s Regional vs. Episcopal Academy at Kennedy High School and that was fall 2005 and Episcopal featured 2 players I already mentioned Wayne Ellington who went on to play at the University of North Carolina and got drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Gerald Henderson who played at Duke and then went on to play for the Charlotte Bobcats. These two were McDonald’s all-American players and I was a top 75 recruit but I was certainly not ranked as high as they were and I remember telling the tournament director that St. Joe’s was going to win because we had the greatest defensive backcourt in the country, I was talking about Jason and Devin McCourty who are NFL quarterbacks to this day, they were in the backcourt with myself and two other players so I remember telling the director that we were going to win the game. When the game starts from start to finish, I just dominated the game, I wound up with 36 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks, something like that. We won the game by 5. Wayne Ellington had 19 points and Gerald Henderson had 21. So for me, that was when I realized how good or how high of a level I am able to play this game on. Mike: That’s Awesome! J.R.: And in college I had certain things you know I would say probably my last game was my career high and I had a 26 point and 13 rebounds game, there are a couple of games out of my career that I kind of remember, but those two probably stick out the most. Mike: Was that your highest scoring game? J.R.: No, I played in the Pro AM East Orange campus in East Orange, New Jersey summer league one year and actually I was still in college I was only 19 years old playing against grown men so it was a good experience and I had 40 points in that game, I played for the NJ Roadrunners with Randy Foye.
Mike: So what I understand is that next month is a big month for you can you explain to me what is going on and how you are feeling? J.R.: Well every year the D-League has a draft with11 rounds I believe, on November 1st of every year where players will be selected and report to their teams and they go through a 2 week training camp period where cuts are made and the talent is being assessed and evaluated and if you are lucky to make it to the end of November and the season starts early December, then from there they go over every D-League player and they might get an NBA call up. Basically, that means the team contacts your agent and says they want to extend a 10 day contract to play for us.  Mike: What is your career high in rebounds? J.R.: I had a couple of 22, 23 rebound games. Mike: Which coach were you most influenced by? J.R.: Coach Reginald Sainte Rose he was my first coach at St. Joe’s and he was my Theology teacher pretty much my four years there I looked up to him. Mike: What did he do to make you feel this way? J.R.: He did not show favoritism and he did not expect or demand a lot out of his players. Mike: When you were younger, what player or players did you look up to? J.R.: I looked up to and my favorite player of all time is Kevin Garnett, I love the intensity and enthusiasm that he brings to the game and he is a fierce competitor and a future hall of famer. Tracy McGrady was another one of my favorite players growing up, obviously he was hit by the injury bug but in terms of natural talent in his prime there was no one else who was better besides Jordan himself. Mike: Have you had any game winners? J.R.: Yes I have, actually. My junior year the first year of the Prudential Center when it was built I hit a fade away one legged three pointer at the buzzer against Seton Hall, our last game of the season. It was crazy because I caught the ball with 3 seconds left and I kind of like jumped up and threw it up but I always remember to hold my follow through because that is the most important part, it’s not really your feet but like your follow through will direct where the ball goes so that is just what I focused on but and like got my picture in the Star Ledger so it was kind of like a big deal.  Available at Authorhouse.com and Amazon.com Mike: So what I understand is that next month is a big month for you can you explain to me what is going on and how you are feeling? J.R.: Well every year the D-League has a draft with11 rounds I believe, on November 1st of every year where players will be selected and report to their teams and they go through a 2 week training camp period where cuts are made and the talent is being assessed and evaluated and if you are lucky to make it to the end of November and the season starts early December, then from there they go over every D-League player and they might get an NBA call up. Basically, that means the team contacts your agent and says they want to extend a 10 day contract to play for us. Mike: Good luck with that. J.R.: Thank you I’m trying to get there. Mike: Has any NBA team shown interest in you? J.R.: There was the San Antonio Spurs training camp, I was invited to the New York Knicks training camp, and I have been to some unofficial practices for the Nets and their affiliates. I was drafted by the Sioux Falls Skyforce in 2011, most recently received interest from the Springfield Armor which is the minor league team of the Brooklyn Nets, so it is pretty much all coming together I guess the next step is meeting Jay-Z and me asking him for a sit down conversation. Mike: What advice would you give to younger players with basketball dreams? J.R.: I would tell them to work hard for their goals and strive for perfection and encourage them to look at basketball as a window of opportunity to make their ultimate dreams become reality. Mike: When you were growing up, what NBA team did you route for? J.R.: Bulls. Mike: Are you still a fan of that team? J.R.: I was not a fan of them, I was a fan of their players, Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc were two of my most favorite players of all time. And obviously there was Michael Jordan. Mike: Which teams do you think will lead the NBA this year? J.R.: I think the Miami Heat, I know everybody does not want to admit it but they are good, man, now that they have added, what’s his name? Mike: Oden. J.R.: The big man Greg Oden, I think he could give them something but Michael Beasley was who I was thinking of, huge pickup for them.  Mike: Can you tell me something about your Harlem Globetrotter days? J.R.: It was cool, I went on an East Coast tour, it was like 7 cities, I got a chance to touch some people’s lives with the game of basketball and that shows you an appreciation of the social status of a professional athlete that there are kids that really admire and look up to you and they have fun and they want to see you and you have got to always give back and show your appreciation on the court.  Mike: Is there anything that I haven’t asked you that you might like to add? Possibly an Exclusive?
J.R.: Yes, actually. On August 13th of this past year I signed with J.R. Harris and his sports agency “PEM360, Personal Emissary Management”. J.R. Harris is an NBA certified agent who represented Cliff Robinson who has over 18 years of NBA experience. This is the presentation I have been waiting for that could be the difference maker in me getting a realistic shot at the NBA. Mike: WOW!!! Is there anything else? J.R.: Just hoping Spike Lee reads your article and contacts you about it for further questions because at this point everyone in the NBA knows who I am because of where I have been and my resume speaks for itself and that’s all about that connection and that is what we are talking about. Social media has impacted our society so much more than it ever has in its most recent years, and that’s what I am trying to and that’s how I plan on taking that extra step just getting out there, talking to people, meeting people, seeing who knows who, so if I was blessed to have an opportunity to meet somebody like Mr. Spike Lee or Jay-Z, somebody like that and I feel that it will be that easy because once they submit my resume with my video footage and player profile it becomes easier when you can match all of that with a face. That’s what I hope my life brings for me next. This is the end of the interview. I cannot believe it! J.R. Inman has the agent that Cliff Robinson had! This is insane. Now, J.R. has an even more realistic shot at getting into the NBA! You might see him on your television sets. I’m extremely excited about his chances and I’m rooting for him all the way. Well, thanks for reading and please comment!
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Mike V.
My name is Mike V. I am an enormous basketball fan. I also am a die-hard Knicks fan. After graduating 5th grade, I started writing this blog at the age of 10 in the summer of 2012. Archives
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