On the north shore of San Francisco Bay, sits San Quentin State Prison. Earlier this month, Warriors head coach and former NBA point guard Mark Jackson joined another former NBA player, assistant coach Brian Scalabrine, who — along with Dubs general manager Bob Myers and others — played against a select team from the state prison, the San Quentin Warriors.
For the outspoken and religious coach and former Knicks point guard, Jackson, the visit with the inmates for the game wasn’t just about basketball. It was also about “impacting lives,” as he told Monte Poole of the Mercury News.
After a close three quarters featuring former NBA players Scalabrine and Jackson, plus former UCLA standout Bob Myers, assistant general manager Kirk Lacob, and the son of majority owner Joe Lacob, the score was 95-94 with the NBA Warriors holding a slight edge.
But the San Quentin Warriors were excited to ball. “I couldn’t even sleep last night, and I’m not even playing,” said their coach, Daniel “Bear” Wright. Eventually, the NBA Warriors — featuring the 6-9 Scalabrine and 6-8 Myers, with no SQ players taller than 6-3 — ran away with the game in the fourth quarter for a 136-121 win.
It didn’t seem to matter; the SQ squad was just excited at the opportunity to ball with the pros and forget about life ib inside for at least one afternoon.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how much it means to all of us, especially me because I played pro ball overseas,” SQ coach Bear Wright says.
“But I made some bad decisions. I’ve explained to the young guys that these guys are millionaires with lives we can’t even imagine. They’re taking time out of their lives, away from their families, to come into prison, into this type of atmosphere and setting, to play ball with us.”
Dubs GM Bob Myers spoke about the respect and talent displayed by the San Quentin squad during the game. It appears the on-court behavior of the inmates surpassed most playground games.
“The best thing about it for me is to realize you shouldn’t judge people until you get to know them. In playing here a couple times, I can say I’ve never had a bad interaction. You hear more complaining and griping on the playground than you do over here. These guys are respectful and they play the game the right way. I really enjoy it.”
Jackson just wanted to show the men he was huffing and puffing against on the court in San Quentin that — for one day at least — someone would “…put an arm around ’em, high-five ’em, and remind ’em that life ain’t over,” he said.
“People say stuff like, ‘Be careful in there.’ I just want folks to understand that these are our brothers, our cousins, our uncles and our dads,” Jackson added. We agree. Very cool move by all the Warriors coaches and personnel involved.
[Mercury News; h/t Balloverall]
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