Anyone who’s played hoops at any level knows that there’s one guy who you just don’t want to see: a tough, nasty, defensive-minded dude whose entire mission is to make you miserable.
Right now, there are guys in the D-League – just ask the Canton Charge – who are greatly relieved that Cavaliers guard DeAndre Liggins is up in the big leagues and not tormenting them while trying to earn a third Defensive Player of the Year award.
Liggins was selected by the Magic with the 53rd overall pick of the 2011 Draft after three seasons with Kentucky. Before making the Cavaliers out of Training Camp this past fall, the 6-6, 205-pounder saw action with Oklahoma City and Miami – as well as two seasons overseas, in Russia and Germany.
Liggins learned his craft on the playgrounds of Chicago – and that’s where today’s installment of "Growing Up" … gets started as we ask the Cavaliers soft-spoken reserve about his early days in the Windy City, his other athletic interests and, of course, his first throw-down as a youngster …
On the playgrounds of New York … it’s about guys who shake and bake, get crafty, play for the crowd.
On the playgrounds of Chicago … we grind, we’re tough, it’s playground ball.
They say Chicago guys … can’t shoot. But guys like me, Tony Allen. We just grind. We come from a tough neighborhood and that’s what our game dictates. We play football and basketball in the snow. That’s Chicago, that’s the Windy City.
My older brother … played basketball in high school. He was three years older. He was highly recruited but unfortunately, he got killed in his senior year.
So after he got killed … I kind of followed his journey – and it led me to here, right now. And right now, I’m living my brother’s dream of being in the NBA.
On the playground … we went at it all the time and he beat me every time! I was such a sore loser! But it made me what I am; I was competitive even as a young kid.
I still have that … competitive edge now. I don’t want to lose, ever. And that just grew as I grew up.
The only other sport I played … was football – but not serious, organized football. It’s not something I wanted to do when I grew up. I just played for fun. Every kid in Chicago plays football.
Yeah, I was a Jordan guy – being from Chicago, but … my favorite player growing up was Kevin Garnett. Just his passion for the game, his competitive nature. I try to put that in my game and carry that with me.
It would be great … if KG could come here and be a mentor to us; be on our bench. I would love that – I would love to see that happen.
I don’t have to go far back … to find a coach that really influenced me; it’s Dan Craig, my coach last year with Sioux Falls.
He just did a great job … with me, just putting the ball in my hand and trusting me to make decisions. It led to opening people’s eyes up to see that I have another dimension to my game other than just playing defense. It showed that I can get people involved, and that’s a plus. I’m very unselfish and I look to get my teammates involved.
It was kinda different going across … the country from Chicago to Findlay Prep in Nevada for my senior year of high school.
My thing was: I grew up … in a tough part of Chicago. And I just wanted to get out and get a clear mind. My grades weren’t kind of up to par my junior year, so heading into my senior year I had a decision to make: stay in Chicago and finish my senior year and be on the borderline of getting into a D-I college or go to Vegas and get extra help – extra classes, tutoring, things like that.
So I decided … to go to Findlay Prep. It was a great experience: being away from Chicago, having a clear mind to focus on basketball and academics – and it led me to getting into Kentucky.
There wasn’t a lot of fanfare … for my first dunk. It was in the back of the building that I lived in.
I was by myself, just … playing around. I was 14 years old. I was tall – not this tall – but I was really long. And I just dunked it!
Unfortunately … nobody saw it because I was at the park by myself at the time! I was all excited, too. I had a lot of energy – so I just jumped up and dunked and I felt real good about myself.