Ric Elias

I was always in the B team.

I sometimes made the C team.

I was really horrendous.

But as I grew into my teenage, I got better and I started working at it.

And it became like one of those things where I recognize effort to growth and reward.

And I got better and better and better.

And I literally was the last cut of a semi-pro team my senior year in high school.

And the assistant coach was my high school coach.

So maybe that's why it was the last cut and not the first cut.

But I was there and I belong.

And then I was getting paid like a hundred bucks a week.

I was a professional and I loved it.

And by the way, it was the best thing that happened to me because then I went and studied and that's when I left for the U.S.

But I've always loved the game, and I love it here, sitting next to the Hornets bench.

I'm good friends with like five coaches in the NBA that I talk to all the time.

I know everybody.

It's a language for me.

It's one of the most beautiful language.

College basketball, I know all these guys, and I love it.

And there's no currency other than love.