It is time for everyone to sit down -the NCAA, the NBA, the players union and the coaching fraternity-and come up with suitable solutions to these problems.

When I was growing up, I wanted to be a coach. I had people telling me you can't do this, you're not a great player. Be realistic. When I got rejection letters from colleges where I wanted to coach, my mom would say, "You are going to make it someday. You have something special within you and that is your spirit for life which will help you get to the top."

A winner is someone who can look in the mirror at the end of the day and say in pursuit of my goal and dreams I gave my best.

My perfect day is to wake up with all kinds of energy and enthusiasm for the day, have a list of what I want to achieve, and at the end of the day look in the mirror and think man, this has been perfect. Everything I planned became a reality.

People that don't know me think that basketball is my life 24/7. Trust me, there is much more to my life. My number one priority in my life is my family.

My childhood was epitomized by my parents who were uneducated but had a doctorate in love. My dad pressed coats and through my mom and dad I learned about love, family and respecting people. They never went to high school but they had within them every element that makes a great American. They had pride and a great work ethic and they knew how to do things the right way.

Looking back, I remember telling my daughters that we didn't have money, pizzazz and a lot of the things we have today, but we had so much love and we lived like millionaires.