Director of Basketball Operations and former NBA player Shawn Respert at the NBPA HBCU Top 50 Camp
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00:00 Alright, it's been a pleasure for me being a part of HBCU Top 50.
00:06 This is year five.
00:08 It's been an incredible journey for me coming from a kid that went to Michigan State and
00:12 it has a lot of room for us to like grow because when you think about basketball where I came
00:19 from these roles were paved a lot more.
00:23 I respect the journey and the path that these guys do have to have to go through because
00:27 for me I feel like I want to be the one to help pave, help clear a path a little bit
00:32 more for what they want to see out of basketball.
00:36 Top 50 has been continually, it's grown into a bigger model of itself.
00:42 Not just the guest speakers, not just the coaches and the former players we've had come,
00:49 but more importantly the resources that we're going to try to make available for HBCU Top
00:54 50 to make the camp as relevant as it can be for the type of players that we have coming
00:59 in and broaden their perspective.
01:02 Not just being a basketball player, to be a basketball executive one day, to be a basketball
01:06 coach, to be in marketing.
01:10 Guys are thinking about entrepreneurship, but they want to have, be able to give shoes
01:15 and gear and companies that they want to start.
01:18 We can broaden that perspective.
01:20 This is to me is how Top 50 becomes the ultimate successful program.
01:24 Now, I know I overheard you earlier talking about how Purvis got you involved.
01:29 For people who don't know, how did Purvis and you create this idea of the MVPA Top 50?
01:35 You know, Purvis Short has been working for the NBA Players Association for over 30 years
01:43 almost now.
01:44 I hate saying that because that's a long time.
01:48 At the time we crossed paths once as a former player for myself in the NBA, but also I worked
01:54 in headquarters.
01:55 And so we had some projects together and I really appreciate that he thought I'd be a
02:00 good fit from a perspective of looking at the Top 50 camp, introducing it and bringing
02:07 his brainchild to life.
02:09 As a graduate himself of HBCU, I know he wants to, and it's dear to him to see this project
02:16 become fully what it's supposed to become.
02:18 And that's an all out resource for players to do multiple things with the game of basketball.
02:26 For me coming in as a director, it was to just take his ideas and complement them with
02:32 other things that we could do.
02:35 We have a coaches program, which is bringing former players and current players in, teaching
02:40 them from a coaching perspective how to be organized, how to look at structure, how to
02:46 teach the game of basketball.
02:48 We have players again from all the conferences involved that allow them to see different
02:53 styles of play.
02:56 Sometimes you get used to certain type of basketballs being played.
02:59 Now we challenge them a little bit to have to see beyond that.
03:03 But most importantly, we see the athletic administrators and the people who don't get
03:07 an opportunity to mingle and see the other student athletes that are involved.
03:12 To see that these are young men, not just in uniform, they're intelligent, they're hard
03:17 working, they're humble.
03:19 And they get an opportunity to mingle with these guys to see that it goes beyond.
03:23 These guys could be future coaches for their prospective schools, but also open up for
03:27 any HBCU program for looking for a student athlete to come through there and understand
03:32 what the experience has been like.
03:33 So it's interesting, you talk about how do we stick to raising the level of athletic
04:03 IQ, or raising, challenging the structure and the discipline that it takes to reach
04:08 the high levels.
04:10 This camp, as much as we've been blessed to invite referees, HBCU referees, to come in
04:18 and officiate the camp, we've also given the ability of our coaches to have a structure
04:25 where they can step in and out of the play anytime they need to, to make sure they reinforce
04:31 good habits, reinforce the discipline of executing the right plays, the right tactics and strategies,
04:39 step in anytime.
04:40 Yeah, we play games, we want you to win and be in a competitive atmosphere, but we also
04:46 know the number one thing is to be taught properly.
04:49 So if we have to stop play to reinforce something that is a good habit and good behavior to
04:54 carry on with you to wherever you end up going, that's number one and that rules everything
04:59 in the camp when we start basketball play on the court.
05:01 Now one thing we see when it comes to the envy of the NFL, whether it's said or unsaid,
05:06 they feel like there's a huge talent disparity between HBCUs and other collegiate programs.
05:10 Working with this camp this year, maybe in years past, what do you have to say about
05:14 the talent that you've seen race the court?
05:17 You know, in years past, we've seen some phenomenal athletes, dynamic, dynamic athletes come through
05:24 here.
05:25 I think what we fight sometimes and again, as I put this out there, I'm careful to say
05:30 it.
05:31 Hold on one second.
05:32 Josh Jr.
05:33 Josh.
05:34 All right, go ahead.
05:35 Yeah, but just how do you like, what do you say about the talent you've seen here today,
05:36 maybe in years past as we're trying to grow the awareness of a talent within HBCU basketball?
05:51 You know, the biggest thing, and I'm careful saying it, the ultimate goal is education.
05:59 How do you learn how to be a pro?
06:03 It's one thing to mimic behavior, but it's another thing to understand where it really
06:08 comes from and what's the purpose about why you're doing it.
06:12 And that's what the gift of having these former pros around.
06:16 And when we evaluate this talent that we see, there's a lot of things that mimic what a
06:20 BNBA pro level athlete looks like physically, the running, the jumping, the ability, the
06:28 intensity, the competitive mentality.
06:32 What we try to do is maybe package it up tightly.
06:35 And I think that's what the ultimate goal of bringing all these people around to challenge
06:41 a little bit that sometimes the way of doing things, we have to navigate which things are
06:46 good to keep and which things you have to unfortunately let go and assess new behaviors
06:51 and new habits.
06:53 For me, the pros and the guys who have definitely been in positions at high level have come
06:58 through here and I think opened up an idea for the HBCU athlete to say, "What else can
07:07 I do with my athletic ability?
07:09 Can I only be defined as being an athlete or can I be thought of as a smart IQ basketball
07:14 player, a guy who's a great teammate, a guy who plays almost looks like he's playing at
07:20 70% instead of all out 100%?"
07:23 This is the thing that for us, the HBCU athlete needs to continue to be groomed by because
07:29 I think they have all the remarkability of playing at 100% and competing at high level
07:34 and jumping and running as fast as anybody else around.
07:37 But we have to open up.
07:39 Not that we question whether the IQ level is there, is it applied properly and is it
07:45 applied in a sense that with all the dynamics and different styles of basketball, can they
07:50 adapt?
07:51 To me, that's what HBCU we're going to help incorporate at some point.
07:58 I would love to bring a combined experience.
08:02 In order to be a pro, you got to know what markers to hit.
08:05 You got to know what is it like to be a 6'7" combo forward or 6'4" guard.
08:12 If you talk about being an NBA draft prospect and one day, what do I need my markers to
08:18 hit if I think about being a good jumper?
08:20 If I think about being a speed guy, if I think about making X amount of shots in 30 seconds.
08:27 If that isn't put out there for you to go back to your schools and know what markers
08:32 to hit, you have no ability to navigate it for yourself.
08:37 You're in the gym working, you're shooting a thousand shots, but is it efficient?
08:41 And is it the right way of doing it to get you where you want to be?
08:43 I'll speak about the venue.
08:44 We're at Morehouse, we're the most expensive HBCU in the country.
08:45 Beautiful gym, beautiful facilities.
08:46 What is the feeling?
08:47 How are you trying to balance out creating a legacy, a relatively new program, balance
08:48 out the legacy of the gym, and how do you balance that out?
08:49 I think it's a great question.
08:50 I think it's a great question.
08:51 I think it's a great question.
08:52 I think it's a great question.
08:53 I think it's a great question.
08:54 I think it's a great question.
08:55 I think it's a great question.
08:56 I think it's a great question.
08:57 I think it's a great question.
09:06 At the same time that you have to be humble, to also feel, you know, we talk about HBCU
09:13 having a swag, having confidence.
09:15 Like to me, let's create a culture that when we talk about HBCU sports, and specifically
09:22 basketball, that we talk about with a sense that it demands the respect that the Big Ten
09:26 demands.
09:27 It demands the respect that the Pac-12 or the ACC.
09:31 Let's make sure that we're not mimicking them.
09:34 Let's build the brand of HBCU so that they're trying to do some things like how HBCU does.
09:40 But we got to be smart about that, and it incorporates, again, breaking down certain
09:44 habits and behaviors that have already been instilled as historically this is who we are.
09:49 We have to challenge those a little bit and know what's kept is good as we're progressing
09:56 forward, but what we're letting go of is not to be afraid that it won't be recognized.
10:01 It had its reason for being here, and we're moving on to new reasons of why this thing
10:05 is going to be special.
10:06 Last question for me.
10:07 It's five years and you now have had the NBA Top 15.
10:08 You mentioned the hope of maybe expanding to an HBCU combine for basketball.
10:09 Where do you see this event evolving five years from now, whether it's a combine, a
10:10 large venue?
10:11 Where do you see this expanding in the future?
10:23 So ultimately, the dream for me is having the same opportunity for professional scouts
10:31 to know that they put this on their calendar, that when they show up at different venues
10:37 that they do now, the Top 100, high school, PA Top 100, the Las Vegas Summer League, the
10:49 pre-combine, pre-trap combine in Chicago.
10:52 I want this to be on their calendars as an event that they have to look at attending
10:57 and understanding that there's going to be some key players that come out of here.
11:01 And we can allow, again, there's some growth that has to be had before that, but I think
11:06 we're going in the right direction because we have the connections, we're starting to
11:11 build resources, and ultimately the respect that it's not going anywhere.
11:16 So it's a good thing to make sure you put it aside to just check it out.
11:20 And once they come, they'll understand the difference of what is said on media and what
11:26 you guys are doing.
11:27 This is good, but this is just a snapshot of coming here and finally showing up and
11:30 seeing the whole picture for yourself.