Lecroy Rhyanes and Isaiah Rhyanes

[00:01] ISAIAH RHYANES: All right, everybody. My name is Isaiah Rhyanes I'm 25 years old. Today's date is February 6, 2023, here in El Paso, Texas. The name of my interview partner is Lecroy Ryan Junior, and he is my big brother.

[00:15] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: And my name is Lecroy Rhyanes junior, also known as Lee. Today's date, February 6, 2023. We are in El Paso, Texas. Segundo to be. Exactly. And the name of my interview partner is Isaiah Rhyanes And that's my baby brother. Alright, so, well, we know why we're here, you know, to talk about basketball and the body, also to talk about our lives a little bit and just get that on record. But I figured we start, man, I wanted to tell you a little story about the history of it, you know, how we even got started into it. But it goes back to. I showed you the picture, right? Yeah, you did. You remember the year? Did you catch the year 1991? Yeah. So going back to 91, that was pretty much, I would say my first basketball camp experience. And that was with coach Russ at the time. I didn't know. I didn't know about the don. I didn't know about. I didn't even know they were from college, man. I just knew that my dad was in Desert Storm or our dad was. Was overseas, and they wanted to do something special for you, the young people in the community that had their father overseas. So mom was always active, getting us involved in all kind of cool stuff. So she took me to this camp on Fort Bliss. And so that picture that they snapped that they have in El Paso times is you see me in the back, back there, and you see Russ just doing his thing, dribbling so fast forward. If that's 91. So I get to NMSU and I meet a professor. Her name is Connie Voisin. So something. My bad, Connie. If I'm saying the last thing wrong, but. But Connie Voisin. So at the time, I mean, this was. I mean, Russ had already, I think, transitioned over to New Mexico State to do his coach in there again. I don't know anything about this. I'm not like I'm following anybody, you know, I don't know too much about the local sports. I'm following NBA crazy, though, right?

[02:10] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, yeah.

[02:10] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: So by that time, I'm like a Laker fan. In the late eighties, you know, magic retirees, I switch over to the sonics because I couldn't have LA without magic. I know that's your squad, too, so.

[02:21] ISAIAH RHYANES: Yes.

[02:22] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: And then, yeah, man, we just had a chance to connect and I ended up finding out that Connie and Russ were together. And this is when the whole literature stuff started. And that's how we got invited in. And I think. How old were you in 2000? Hey, 2007.

[02:44] ISAIAH RHYANES: I was ten years old.

[02:45] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Where were you at?

[02:47] ISAIAH RHYANES: I was in elementary school at the time. I was. Yeah, I was ten years old. I was third grade.

[02:51] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Were you already hooping?

[02:53] ISAIAH RHYANES: I didn't start hooping until middle school.

[02:57] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah, I remember that, too. Cause who was your first coach again?

[02:59] ISAIAH RHYANES: Coach Jesse.

[03:00] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah. Shout out to coach Jesse. Right?

[03:02] ISAIAH RHYANES: Coach Jesse.

[03:03] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah. So that was real special, man. Cause I think at this point, I was for sure done hooping, man. I mean, you know, my hoop career, whatever it was, it stayed in high school and then maybe a pickup game here and there. But I know we got real excited about our third, our other brother, you know, who we need to tell the story about to Joshua. You know what I mean? Because, I mean, at the end of the man, that was like, my favorite player. I mean, I was already living in New Mexico, so I was just like a visitor pretty much trying to catch games. But I know you. You were watching every. You saw everything. You know, you guys were like, pretty much like the way me and him were. Big brother, little brother.

[03:43] ISAIAH RHYANES: Yeah.

[03:44] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: That was how you and Josh were. So you tell me, man. Tell me a story about, like, the first time maybe that, like, you knew your brother had game. Cause, I mean, you know, we both used to be like, wow, you know, this dude could hoop. So you tell me, man, what was the first. Give me, like, a first memory you got of Josh just hooping, man.

[04:04] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, yeah. When he was in middle school, Nolan Richardson, I was, I think I was about six at the time. I used to go to his games, and he, you know, it was just something about. About, you know, the love of the game he had for basketball and, you know, you know, the amount of work that him, his friends would just put in day in and day out, you know, we used to have that basketball court in our front yard. We would always be playing, you know, all the time. So I. I just. I just followed him, you know, I would watch his games in middle school, and then when he got to high school, he just blew up, you know.

[04:40] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah, he was doing his thing, you.

[04:42] ISAIAH RHYANES: Know, he was coached, you know, by Jim Forbes. Rest in peace to him.

[04:47] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah. Shout out, Forbes.

[04:48] ISAIAH RHYANES: He was, you know, it was a big deal. You know, back at that time, Andrews High School was a really, really important, important school for sports, especially basketball. So just watching him growing up, he was, I was his biggest fan. Every time he had the ball, I said, hey, dunk it. If you go on a fast break, if you got that whole floor to yourself, dunk it. And one game I will never forget was against Chapin high School when he played against Cliff Tucker. And he. I remember it was a great battle between him and Cliff. Rest in peace to Cliff Tucker, too.

[05:23] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Shout out to Cliff.

[05:24] ISAIAH RHYANES: Definitely one of the greatest players here in El Paso. It was a great rivalry. And so my brother Josh, you know, when Cliff Tucker dunked it, you know, my brother Josh came back and dunked it, too. And it just bought the whole gym down, the whole house down.

[05:37] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: And you were there.

[05:37] ISAIAH RHYANES: I was there.

[05:38] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Oh, man. See, I don't know. I had to watch that. Cause, see, being in New Mexico, I don't even know if I had a car at the time yet, but that was a big issue is transportation, man. Cause I think my. No, I did have a car, but I was probably just busy. I probably couldn't make all the games. I know I made some of them. Cause I caught some footage of some of them, but, yeah, that's the cool thing is that you were actually there, man. You got to see a lot of those battles. And that's cool, man. That's cool. That's cool. So what else do you remember about that game, man?

[06:10] ISAIAH RHYANES: I just remember that we ended up losing on the road to Chapin. And it was really tough for Josh. His team, for Jim Forbes and Rodney Lewis was the assistant, was the JV coach for Andress at the time. Everybody took it hard, you know. And then when they came to Andrews, you know, they. We ended up winning. We ended up getting them back. But it was a beautiful rivalry, you know. And ever since then, you know, it just kicked off. You know, when I got to high school, the Chapin rivalry was still there. But Josh was my. I was his biggest fan. He inspired me to play basketball, you know?

[06:47] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah. And it's crazy. Cause I remember one time. Cause I used to take Josh to the games at NMSU. And so, like I said at the time, we don't know Russ yet. You know, I'm still, like, unaware of. There's this cool program going on in the summertime basketball and the barrio. I'm just kind of, you know, enjoying the college experience and bringing my brother to the game sometimes. Before I started to bring you. Cause I used to bring him over to cruises and we go check out the games. And I think we checked out a couple of UTEP games, too. And I remember one day I remember I had a vision. I was like, man, I was watching a game on tv, and I thought I saw Josh, man. Like, I thought I saw Josh from a distance on the tv, and I told my brother, I was like, man, let me take a picture of you. Like, before we leave, we took, like, this picture of, like, a silhouette of his head and the court, you know, the UTEP court, back when they. Back then, it used to get a little more packed than it did in the later years. But, you know, that college experience, I think, is what got us tapped into, like, this rivalry, too, between the Aggies and UTEP. And then shout out to KDZ, Miss UTEP, because when I started working in El Paso, when I got back home, like, we used to always bet on the games, you know what I mean? Like, little. Little soft bets, though, because they were all UTEP alumni and I was an NMSU alumni. And so we kind of carried it on, and they gave me more incentive to kind of want to go to the games. But by that point, man, that's when I got the invite from Russ to kind of check in and check out the camp. And I started doing education, too, because I became an educator probably about a good 20 years ago. I started doing a volunteer education in the juvenile prisons, both here and in Las Cruces, and I didn't even know I wanted to be a teacher, man. I just had a lot of teachers that kind of pulled me in that direction, and I think in them doing that, you know, that's what got me closer to, you know, like, how literacy was. Was going to shape its way in my life, you know, being that I was in an english department, which is where Russ was at, which is where Connie was. And then I started to learn that he was also a writer, you know? And I think the first book I read from his was a patty on the hardwood, a journey in irish hoops, and it had a lot of cool little nuggets, man. I was like, man, this dude could write. He ended up becoming, like, my favorite sports writer, you know what I mean? So when he invited me, I remember back then, I was like, man, I should bring my little brother. But I ended up inviting Josh to help me coach. And so, you know, I think Josh, though, Josh, was working with the kids on the court, and I was kind of in the education station doing. Doing, you know, trying to come up with some ideas upstairs. And I remember those first education stations, I was like, what am I going to do, man? I got to teach, you know, these stations in six minutes. And it's got to be educational, you know, and it's got to be kind of, like, quick, and you got to catch the kids attention. So I started trying to come up with some ideas around, like, you know, designing, trading cards and chess and. And all these other different things that I was doing, you know, with. With young people out in Las Cruces. But fast forward, though. Cause, you know, this is when Josh is finishing up with high school, and Josh is still hooping, man. Like, there's nothing stopping that train, right? But then you start hooping as a kid. And so tell me about the time, like, when you first realized you were gonna start playing organized basketball. And I wanted to ask you, too, are you down to kind of get into, like, maybe? Why? Cause all of us started playing ball, like, five, six years old, right. And so you want to talk about it a little bit, maybe? Like, what. What was, like, kind of the delay to what? To what? To what kind of led you to not start playing until, like, ten, right. Ten or ten years old or so?

[10:32] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, yeah. Well, the delay was. Was finding a team and finding a coach to play competitive basketball, because, you know, there's two ways you can play the sport. You can play for fun, or you can play competitively. So, you know, when I started playing for fun, I just, you know, Josh, again, I used to always watch Josh as a kid. I was a laker fan because of Kobe Bryant, you know, rest in peace to him and Gigi and to those that were lost during that tragedy.

[11:04] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah, that was hard, man. That was real hard.

[11:06] ISAIAH RHYANES: Very, very hard. Yeah. So I grew up a Kobe Bryant fan, and, of course, you. I remember, you know.

[11:12] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: I know. Of course. Well, that was always my go to for your birthday gifts. Right. But also, when y'all played my seeds, though my Celtics that year, I was like, oh, yeah, man, that was. That was a good time. I'm sorry, man. I didn't. You know, I know we. I know you was real mad that day, too. I was a kid.

[11:27] ISAIAH RHYANES: I was a little boy. I mean. I mean, I was little, so I didn't understand how to take a loss, you know?

[11:31] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: But you just take it hard. But it was funny. I had to go outside and take a. Take and celebrate on my own. Cause I didn't want to. I didn't want to rub it in, man. But I knew you was so bad. It was funny, too, though. It was fun. Yeah.

[11:44] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, yeah. It was funny. But, yeah, like, our family loves basketball, so I was, you know, I just, like, you know, I enjoyed basketball. I enjoyed watching it. I would just take a. Pick up a ball and dribble out in the front yard. When I was twelve years old, I started playing competitive, organized basketball. And I was terrible. I was. I was terrible. I was too slow. I didn't really know how to, you know, play. I didn't know how to approach the game the way you're supposed to approach it as a player.

[12:11] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah, we used to go practice. Remember where we go practice at DeSoto gym? I used to get mad at you because you didn't know how to jump rope.

[12:16] ISAIAH RHYANES: Jump rope. Yeah, I could. No, no, it was a little stout, you know, we would go to the.

[12:20] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Track, we would run the track, we'd hit the track. Desoto is where we used to get the jump rope in, man. Cause I was like, look, man, if you're gonna, you know, you over your galloping, you gotta get your footwork right. I was like, let's get that jump rope in. I was like, man, start with ten jump ropes or something.

[12:33] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, yeah.

[12:34] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: And I was getting a little impatient, but, yeah, you definitely grew, man. But, you know, you mentioned one thing, too. You mentioned family, right? So I think I wanna take a time, too, to talk about dad, you know, representing media, Pennsylvania, and our mom, who was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, raised in Ciudad Juarez. And a lot of people always ask me, where y'all get your height from? And I always tell them, like, my dad's not short, but my mom. And my mom's real tall, you know. And my mom got some real cool stories, too, about, you know, she would always talk to me about how they wanted her to play ball when she was in Mexico. But it. But it was like, it was kind of the shorts that threw her off, right? Cause she talks about how she went to the gym and there's, like, these really super short shorts that they were wearing. She's like, I'm not gonna be wearing that. But my mom was. Our mom was always athletic. She always had us in sports. I remember growing up watching her play soccer, baseball. And she used to throw down, man. She. She was real competitive, too. But she loved, I think, more than anything, she loved to get us involved in the sports, you know, and especially, you know, Josh. And that time, you know, when mom used to be able to get around pretty, pretty good, you know? And then, of course, the stroke. I mean, the fact that you're here is a miracle, you know, I'm saying, I was telling. I was telling the family the other day, man. I was like, you know, Josh saved y'all's life, right? When. When our mom had that. That stroke, you know, and. And you was in her belly, bro, and she had to still figure it out. And dad saved her. Every man, I remember waking up and I was like, man, everything changed. But, you know, they managed to keep things, you know, going for us real, real strong and real tough, you know? I remember that first day, too. I remember having a conversation with mom when she was in the hospital before they were going to do the surgery. I was crying, bro. I was done. And I remember she said, you need to stop crying. Everything's going to be cool. Everything's going to be chill. And it was something else, man, because when you came into the world, things weren't easy, but we were still active. They still found a way to keep us active. And also, too, I think what's important about your story. Cause as we keep going is the fact that you came up, like special needs, right? Like, a lot of folks don't know that. Like, that. A part of your delay, too, was, you know, finding the right coach that was gonna be able to kind of work you in, right. And it was gonna be able to understand. Like, look, you know, there's some things that, you know, you might not pick up as quick, but I don't know, man. We always knew you was a fast learner. You just kind of silly and goofy, you know, you like to be real funny.

[15:00] ISAIAH RHYANES: Yeah.

[15:00] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: And so that was my only worry. I was like, look, bro, you gotta take this serious, man. Cause, you know, these teams out here, they don't. Right, they don't play well. You found that out early, right, that they don't, you know, I mean, especially with the kids you came up with, because they were winners. They. Right. You know, and eventually, as we get closer to when you end up in Andrews. Cause we all went to Andrews, man. I know. We're here in Segundo. We're here in the south side. Much respect to the south side. Y'all got a beautiful history, man. But, you know, our family, we're all from the northeast, you know, where we're speaking from, you know, a northeast perspective. And all of us came up in Anders, right? All of us came in through the Andress High school kind of like pathway, right? The feeder pattern, the school, you know, that's where all our brothers went all eight years apart. And so you being the last brother, when it was your turn to play for Andrews, that was another thing. I was like, man, you know, is baby bro going to be able to work his way in, man. There's a lot of little stories, little things that went down right that challenge you, man. But can, can you talk to me about, like, because I think it's a good time to talk to folks about, like, the impact that coaching does have on you because I think coach Lewis, you know, I always say, may you kind of like, put a battery in your back that I never knew was there, man, you know what I mean? And then I remember coming back one day and I was like, watching you, I was like, man, there's things changing about you, about your game and stuff, you know? I mean, it wasn't like, you know, it wasn't like, it was a, like, it was like developing, you know what I mean? But it was, there was little things that we noticed. It was like, oh, man, you know, you might be able to at least, you know, contribute, do some, do some things, man. But can you talk about, like, your relationship with Coach, Coach Lewis?

[16:43] ISAIAH RHYANES: Well, yeah, when I, when I first saw, you know, Coach Lewis, you know, obviously at the time I was tall and I was still growing at the time, you know, I came in to, I came into Andrews as like a freshman. That was like 6465. So obviously I was going to play the center position. So, you know, Coach Lewis, you know, he went out of his way to just, you know, work with me, you know, develop my game. And especially when it came to the hook shot, when it came to trying to block shots, you know, just perfecting that position, the center position, because it was so important. My first two years were a little bit rough at Andrus. And then my JV year, which was my junior year, was very successful. I was the most improved player. You know, I was coached under coach Lewis and we took district, you know, and then with coach Forbes, it's just Andrews at the time, we were just so talented. You know, he was, he was so focused on trying to get back to the final four where it started for him with Riverside, which was in the south, you know, back in the, you know, 1994. So, you know, Forbes, shout out to Riverside. Yeah, shout out to Riverside. You know, so, you know, Lewis was, was. Lewis was definitely the backbone of the JV team, the varsity team. He would, he would go to the varsity games to support those players because, you know, he, he just, he just had that engine in him to let us know, like, hey, you know, we're going to go out there and we're going to play hard. Hard, you know, and we did, you know, and I remember coach Forbes, you know, he told us and, you know, we had, you know, in. In the meeting room, he said, hey, that. That plane to San Antonio to the final four is a good feeling. And this was before, like, before the season even, like, was gonna start. You know, my senior year, I didn't play a lot, but I still stayed with the team because those players that I was with at the time, that was the team that I played with when I first started playing.

[18:39] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah, yeah. And that was with, uh, with the. What's the name of the team again? It's the Hurricanes, right?

[18:45] ISAIAH RHYANES: Yep. The northeast Hurricanes.

[18:46] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah. See, I got. I got, like, me. Y'all look like babies, too, because back then, I was taking a lot of pictures, and so it's crazy. Cause I still always think about this picture I took. It was when y'all played, the kid that ended up on Bel air team and when y'all had that big game in the dawn and. And that was really special, too, max. I remember that was the first time I, like, kind of saw Floyd and Houston, the stands, kind of just watching you guys, coach Floyd at UTEP and. But, yeah, man, it's a lot of cool stuff, man, but I think fast forward and, man, so eventually, you know, you end up, I mean, when it comes to wab Andrews basketball that year, y'all go all the way to the final four, right? And, yeah, those guys just shine real bright, man. There's a lot of, like, really cool, I think, pr around it at the time, right? Y'all were all catching some. Some recognition in the city, too, and a lot of cool things, man. And at this time. So this is when I. I want to say I had already participated in basketball and the barrio probably about two or three summers. So. So we, you know, I was still kind of learning. I wasn't really aware of, like, how deep it got with the history until they started doing, like, documentary films and. And then that's when I started to learn also about Nolan Richardson, who's also important name in the city. Our brother, like you said, went to Nolan Richardson Middle School. The name is out there on the northeast at the rec center. But it was a book again, that Russ put down, man. It was a book. 40 minutes of hell, the extraordinary life of Nolan Richardson. And when I got a chance to read that and, man, and that book, too, kind of really, you know, opened up, like a history of a whole lot of things right here in our city when it comes to hoops. But one thing that really stands out to me was the basketball culture here in the south side. Right? And Josh, our brother, like, he just been playing all over the city, you know, playing with different teams. But I remember coming to one of the games that y'all had out here in the parks, right, when you started to kind of when you graduated from high school and after y'all did your thing and seeing y'all, like, play together was really cool. Cause you continued to develop, right? And then I was like, oh, man, I can't wait to see you and our brother Josh playing together, right. But can you talk to me, man, about, like, what were your thoughts about hitting the court in the south side being it. I mean, it's like a history to it, right? Shout out to Cruz and El Barrio sports program, right, because they've been doing it for years, man. But you guys, especially with Josh, got a chance to, you know, especially Josh, even to this day, right, he still. Still plays, still competes out there. I know we saw Tucker out there a couple of times, too. You know, there's a lot of people from the city, they come down to play hoop, which I think is important to talk about, you know, because when we're talking about basketball in the barrio and we're talking about the young folks and cultivating a sense of, like, athletic participation, academics. You know, there's also. What's always been real special to me about. About this side of town is that, you know, even though we meet, like, three days in the summer, right, and I know that there's a lot of other things that go into the program, too. But, like, every week, you got folks here in the community that like cruises, you know, you know, doing all kinds of programming, not just around hoop, but different kind of sports, too, you know, volleyball and just really kind of pushing, you know, the importance of access, right, giving folks access to play. And we all know how much it costs just to play sports, right? It's a cost, man, a lot of times here in the city, man, people can't afford it, you know, even in the school I teach at right now, you know, the economics of just joining a league is crazy, man. The cost is, you know, it's not that it's something you can't work around if you got the right people together. You get the families together to figure it out. But I. But it's just real. I really admire that. But if you could talk to us, man, about when, you know, your perspective on, like, playing in the Barrio league with Cruz and your brother.

[22:49] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, yeah. So, yeah, shout out to Cruz, you know, for, you know, having. Having set up those opportunities for a lot of people, you know, young and those that have already played, you know, to get an opportunity to showcase their skills, their talent, you know, it's like a safe haven, and it almost feels like a family. You know, when I, you know, after high school, you know, when I started playing with Josh at the barrio, you know, it wasn't just me and him. You know, it was everybody. You know, everybody was involved. It was just like, like, you know that saying when, you know, you have people that would go outside and play everybody, all that, and, you know, today people don't go outside as much anymore. That's what it was about. You know, the barrio is like a melting pot, especially for sports. So at the time when I was, was playing with Josh, you know, our team name was Barcelona, and to this day, he still plays on it. But again, I was with a team full of winners. I mean, you know, and what made it a little bit more crazier is that it was street ball. This was not like, you know, the organized college basketball high school. This was. This was straight up street basketball. You know, you got to go out there and you got to give it everything you got because it didn't matter if there was a kid that was 18 years old, twelve years old, I mean, he will ball you up if you don't bring it, you know, so that's what it was about. And again, you know, you talked about, you know, trying to, you know, have, have resources for, you know, those here in the community that, you know, don't have access to a gym, don't have access to, you know, travel, you know, to go to these events, you know, these basketball events and stuff. So for Cruz to go out of his way to do activities for the youth, for the men, is really special.

[24:34] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah, definitely, man. And there's so much to say, too, because eventually you getting the chance to go play for UTEP was, man, that was really cool to be on the roster, to be a part of that other program with the different coaches and stuff. I wanted you to talk about the connection between basketball and the barrio and UTEP because, like, you know, especially the last one is this last summer camp that we had, you know, like, how did you feel seeing the UTEP players kind of come in and it gets a chance to experience camp, you know, with, with the community and stuff like that? But what are you. What's your perspective of, like, community and UTEP and. Cause you got, when you were playing there your last year, you know, one of the things I was real proud of, you know, on top of that, dunk, man. You know, I know that was, like the only two points of row. That dunk was real special, too, just in the fact that, you know, what it meant for a kid that came in as a walk on and for coach Terry at the time, just to give you just some time, man, to, you know, to get out there and do your thing, man. But, like, I was real curious about, like. Cause there's a lot of history there, you know, there's a lot of stories there when it comes to all those names on the jerseys, including Nolan. Right. Including Richardson, including Forbes. Right. And then, you know, and then seeing that kind of, like, I feel like, become a part of. Of, you know, the barrio camp, too, you know, the UTEP. The UTEP family and what's going on here in the south side.

[26:22] ISAIAH RHYANES: Yeah, well, it just goes back, you know, to two things, you know, family and community. You know, UTEP is, you know, for those players that do participate in basketball in the barrio, it brings a lot of hope and happiness to the kids, you know, because at the end of the day, they're the next ones up. You know, I was that kid, you know, I never expected to, you know, go to college and play for UTEp. I never expected to get that dunk. I never expected to travel to different places around the country, you know, I never expected any of that, you know? So, you know, this. This past year, just to see the UTEP men's men's basketball players come in at the camp and, you know, introduce themselves to the kids and show off some skills and help out Russ and everything, it's just a family thing, you know, like, it goes back to that tradition, you know? And like you said, those big names, forbes Richardson, greg foster, we can go on and on, you know, to be a part of the UTEP basketball family is. It. It means so much to me. I learned a lot from that. You know, shout out to tim floyd, shout out to rodney terry for keeping me on the team because I was not on scholarship. I tried out in 2017 as a walk on. I didn't know if I was going to make it, but I made it. And that dunk I had was just a blessing. I mean, I got in the game in under 1 minute. I was just trying to get out there to finish the game, and I just, you know, to do it in front of the fans, to do it in front of you, mom, dad, and our niece emmy, and of course, josh and ethan, megan, all of them hearing about that, our family, and just to do it in front of everybody was just so special.

[28:06] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: And there's another great group of guys, too, right? Cause even to this day, we still follow. Even if they ain't playing at you said, we still follow them, man. We're still following sule out at Xavier. We still follow big Bryson out there, too, and everybody. I can't remember all the names like you do, but they were real cool just because of the way they responded, too, man. They really showed you what it means to value a teammate, even if they're the last one on the bench, right? Yeah.

[28:33] ISAIAH RHYANES: My senior had the best team, you.

[28:35] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Know what I mean? It's just the kind of stuff that they would talk about when it came to you and your purpose and role on the team. Even though everybody's gonna want to see minutes, right? They all want to see where the minutes at, like, where's where, you know? But they didn't understand, like, the work that went behind, even just being on the squad, right? And then, like, you. Cause we know personally, you know, we watched a lot of your struggles, you know, mom and dad always supporting, too, you know, and shout out to pops, too. Cause pops comes with a basketball history, too, right? Coming. You know, we got. We still got that old picture of him back when he was, you know, in high school playing hoop back in, like, the sixties and seventies, you know, over in the tri state area. And then also, of course, you know, our dad being a ref, our brother being a ref now, you know, it's like, man, basketball just connected us to all these opportunities and. And. And give us a chance to tell all these stories, you know what I mean? So that's real cool, man. But I want to kind of switch it up and. Cause I know, you know, especially with the time we got. But, like, can you think of, like, what would you say is, like, off the top of your head with the time you've spent so far with the basketball and the barrio camp? What's. What's, like, one of your top favorite memories that pops up in your head right now? Like, it could be, like, a funny memory. It could be, like, when you think of the camp and what you've experienced, because it's only three days, but you experience a lot in those three days, man, because these kids come with all kinds of energy. And so it's crazy because you see everybody leaving exhausted right after it's all wrapped up, man. It's like, whoa, that was something else, because, you know, you got close to 100 or more kids that come in there and, you know, and they're just kind of like, just putting in the work and having a great time. But what's one your favorite memories, if you could think of one pops up in your head of being a coach at basketball in the barrio?

[30:20] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, I think one was picked past year, picking up this little girl to try to dunk a basketball in the rim. Everybody was there. Everybody all gathered in a big circle. Actually, no, I got two of them. So that one for sure was a good one because I was able to lift her up, and I told her, hey, try to dunk it. And she did. And the kids would get all excited and all the hands raising, like, hey, I want to dunk it.

[30:44] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Was that. Was that during the Harlem wizards part with.

[30:47] ISAIAH RHYANES: With TJ Stukes. Yeah.

[30:48] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Shout out to sticks, man. Shout out to the southwest desert cats, too, man. Like, all over the city, man, you got a lot of people doing some. Some really cool stuff, and every, you know, everybody's really, you know, doing some. Some. Some really awesome things. Because not only is it, like, you know, a semi pro team out here in our city, but also the stuff that they do for the kids, you know, the camps again, you know, going back to that opportunity to. For kids to experience these things with. With members of the community is big. But. Yeah, I remember that, though, because he. Because he was doing. He was doing his thing and then kind of invited you in. That was really cool, man. Yeah.

[31:23] ISAIAH RHYANES: And then the other one. Now, this was. This was during a tough time, too. Was. Was during COVID We had. We had that. We had that Zoom meeting and the kids that were not able to attend the camp during. During the pandemic. We, you know, we had to do our activities from home. So I remember I was doing. No, no, this was crazy. So, you know, I was doing a Zoom video, and I had all the kids there and in the backyard, remember, you know. You know, I want to give a shout out to one of my family members, Arturo, for setting up my backyard to put that basketball court there, because I was just. That was. And then my dad, for setting up the basket.

[31:56] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah.

[31:57] ISAIAH RHYANES: Because I needed to play basketball because I couldn't go anywhere.

[31:59] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: It was crazy time. Yeah, yeah.

[32:01] ISAIAH RHYANES: So, you know, during the Zoom video, I was showcasing some dunks for the kids, and they were just, like, clapping and everything. So that. That was a really big moment because, you know, for all those that were lost during that time was very, very, very hard. And I know it was hard for those that couldn't participate, obviously, yearly, traditionally, for basketball and the barrio.

[32:25] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Yeah, we made it through, man. And then when we got back, you know, that was real special, man, to get back in person and get to connect again and, you know, I know there's so much more we could talk about, man. I think at this point, you know, I think one of my most powerful memories, man, and I want to send this shout out to Cinco Punto's press, the bird family, Bobby bird and getting a chance to read his poem because in the time that I participated with camp, you know, I recorded his poem often. You know, I'd get there early in the morning, man. He'd read that poem. Basketball is a holy way to grow old, you know, and so for us to get the chance to get there and to read it for him and, you know, and that was a real crucial time to read it to him, you know what I mean? So that was real important, you know, of course, rest in peace to Bobby Bird. Rest in peace. Always showed love, man, at Cinco Punto's press, you know. So the big thing about basketball, Nabario, is not only just the hoops, the part that's connected to all that, man, but, you know, the literacy, man, the reading, the reading, the books, you know, the, the education, man, the, you know, stuff like that, too. So. And, you know, I wanted to share one cool memory, too, man. It's a little personal for me, man, was getting a chance to meet Bobbito. I don't know if you know who Bobbito is, but he was a big time dj, man, back in the day, back, you know, with the stretch and Bobbito show. When it came to hip hop, of course, I'm nothing. I didn't know about the show until years later, but I would learn about it once I started kind of digging into the history and culture of hip hop. But when he came down, man, I got a chance to, I was real nervous. He played my songs for me while I do my thing. And so I got a chance to play and kind of just mess with the levels on the music, man, for Bobbito, when he had a chance to come out here. But again, another person that the basketball Nabario camp was able to bring here to the community that's involved in literature, he has a children's book out now, you know, so there's all kinds of, I guess you call them, like sources that are connected to basketball and the barrio, man. And shout out to Sean Harrington, too, who makes his way down to El Paso on an almost annual basis, it seems, man, to show love and to spread the message of peace. Highly recommend. Y'all check out the book, too. All the dreams we've dreamed. A story of hoops and handguns on Chicago's west side. Sean, of course. Big story. Real important story. Real important part of the camp, too, man. So. And shout out to Russ, man, for. For all the minds that get together to bring these experiences to our city and to our conscience, man, because I think being a part of the barrio camp, you know, just put me on, educated me a lot on a lot of other things that. That we're connected to in different ways. You know, not just the hoop dream, but also the higher learning, man, the knowledge, you know, the history of just the south side of all sides, all across. All across the country, all across the world probably, too, man. So, you know, I think that's about it, man. I think we about covered a lot of stuff. You got anything else you want to add, though? Any other. Any questions you got for me? Maybe we throw one more question each other and then we'll wrap it up.

[35:48] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, yeah. I just want to give one last shout out to Willie Cager, who is still here in El Paso attending Utah games. Yeah, part of that Texas western, 1960. He was very proud of me when I got in that game one time, so I just wanted to give him a shout out, but, yeah, legendary, man. Yeah, yeah, huge legendary player, man. Legendary guy. So, yeah, I think. I think a question I have for you is where. Where do you see basketball and the barrio moving forward, man?

[36:19] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: I think with this, what we're doing right now is Storycorps. More stories, man, more documentation about what's happened. I think that's going to help push it forward. More people know about it, stronger connections, especially now that we're able to come outside again after what we went through a couple years back. So I see it continuing to grow, man, continuing to be the program that it is. And we're all going to get a chance to continue to watch each other work, you know, watch the coaches do their thing, and the kids smile and do their thing. Every. Everywhere I go now, even at my school, I'll run into a barrio camper, you know, I was at a chess tournament the other day, you know, and I ran into the wigs players, you know what I mean? And they're out there, too. So it's real cool to see these kids grow and to see them become like the future of the camp. So I think the future of the camp is, you know, it's with the kids, man. It's with. It's with the kids that once participated in it kind of like I was back in 91, right? Back in 91 with Russ and that camp out in Fort Bliss, you know? Never knew I'd get to know him and get to know all the special things that are connected to our community when it comes to hooping. Books, Mandy. Basketball and books. So.

[37:34] ISAIAH RHYANES: Oh, yeah. Don Haskins. To remember Don and that. Yeah.

[37:37] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: Oh, yeah.

[37:37] ISAIAH RHYANES: Don Haskins, man.

[37:38] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: So shout out to the bear. Right? So, yep, the bear. I think that's about it, man. I think. I think we're about wrapped up. Yeah.

[37:43] ISAIAH RHYANES: Yeah.

[37:44] LECROY RHYANES JUNIOR: So I'm gonna give. Well, this is what I do in class whenever we're done with something. I don't know if you know what to say after this, but check mate. All right.