Open Gym Pres. By Bell S12E18 | Carmen & Gradey

Open Gym Pres. By Bell S12E18 | Carmen & Gradey

Here’s Grady byin jper [Applause] byy [Applause] tick it’s never a dull moment before we go one onone we got a little surprise you have a little surprise what’s your surprise some attire we know you like the Raptors woo nice I love it surprise thank you look your real name

My real name one for the collection all right I’ve never seen a 5050 Jersey so I’m from Iowa and basketball is very big in Iowa I’m from a small farming community and that’s just what you did I mean in seventh grade you just picked up the sport and you know I’d go out and shoot baskets before that when I was younger but nothing

Competitively actually my career started in junior high we didn’t start as young as kids do now just played in seventh e8th grade and then I grew and I grew and I ended up being 6’2 so it just and I loved it I loved the sport I knew that if I could be good

Enough at at basketball I’d get to go to college and get a degree so that was the main goal behind all that it came down to Iowa State and Oklahoma State and I couldn’t make up my mind so my dad said I’ll tell you one

Thing he said if you go to Iowa State we’ll be at every game he said if you go to Oklahoma State we’ll see you play twice a year so that was my decision to have my family there underneath the coil she feeds off underneath the Jaspers and

Jaspers is fouled I work really hard some people it’s very natural for and I I I worked really really hard to get to where I was and I was a center at the time so I mean I just worked on my game in close and um that’s that gave me my [Applause]

Success so high school six on six you have three guards on one side three forwards on the other and you never cross the half court line so I was a forward I was 6’2 so I just stood right under the bath basket they passed me the

Ball and I’d score 50 points a game my highest game was 68 points then College I had free throw record 15 in a row um that was against KU which was kind of fun and that I don’t know if that’s that still May stand and then I had field

Goal percentage also and then my senior year I was female athlete of the year at Iowa State and then I had like all conference honors and that type of thing academic and for basketball at that time I thought my career would be over after 4 years then my first cousin played at

The University of Iowa I played at Iowa State and she called me up one day and she said hey Carmen there’s a job open with a company called Fujitsu in in Japan and she’s like they’re needing a center or you want to come over and play

So I’m like sure why not so sent him my information and I went over and played for a Year I would post up here and then what you do is you fake your guard this way so you fake them and then you come back and it’s in like that so you can do it either way so it could be this o I tried to so it can be this and then

You go over and then boom either way I like the middle one better you like going to the middle cuz fake for this way then they come this way whoa we go like This all right you want to play Pig sure she’d be on the court with us you know playing against us and um you know I couldn’t really beat her till like later middle school I guess um cuz you know ear in the post she had all her moves

And you know in the post she’s not missing you know a jump shot so um but yeah as I got older and you know talking with them and kind of looking back at the little history books it was it was cool to learn and um see what she all

Did that’s too easy that’s too easy no oh wow p PE my first memory of basketball is really probably just playing in the backyard with my siblings and my parents just my family in general but yeah we used to have a just a slap of concrete in the backyard and then

Eventually turned into a sport court so remember being out there you know in the summer every day playing with them back he had a basketball in his hand when he was you know little little and then he would just head out on the court and we

Always kept the basket low for him so he could hit the shots and not you know have poor form so he always was working on his form so I think the biggest thing was he was just always playing with his brothers and his sister and you know a big tribute to his

Success when he was looking at different schools for college we told him wherever dream big and go wherever you want to go this is your chance and we took those um visits and it came down to KU which of course I was ecstatic about the decision to go to Kansas in in

The first place was a dream school for me and and they knew that we’ve been you know Kansas fans our whole life and all my siblings go through there and my Ultimate Dream a lifelong dream is to be in the NBA you know in my mind I had him

Going College 2 years so when they said he’s going to be a one andone that was that was a a big adjustment for me cuz I really thought I was going to have him around for two more years after I just reassured her and actually told her face

To face you know she was perfectly good with it I think that just goes back to the sports we play growing up you know whatever choice I was going to make and decision I was going to go with you know she’s going to support 100% ultimately

The NBA was his his end goal his dream and you got to let him fly so you know we we did everything we could to just you know prepare him for that and it’s it’s been a great path with the 13th pick in the 2023 NBA draft the Toronto Raptors

Select Grady dick from the University of Kansas I was very proud of him I mean just very proud of him and just just to know how hard he had worked and that it was all paying off for him it’s sped me a ton I mean cuz you know I’m a mama’s

Boy I’m the youngest of four um so I’m always you know going to be her baby and um I know it’s different for her kind of seeing me leave college early um thinking I was going to you know stay around home a little longer so it’s been

You know tough for her and tough for me for sure we both love the sport and you know it’s I still to this day love when he comes home and we just go out and shoot and I rebound for him and um it’s it’s it is definitely a bond that we

Both share the love of the sport that’s good I can be pretty hard on him and I’m always very honest with him I always tell him you know you worked hard great job but you know but it’s coming from love I mean it’s coming from Pure Love

And but just trying to give him my pointers and and help him get better you know her and my dad have been the most important you know for me and um the ups and downs of this season because yeah there’s going to be you know your lows

And there’s going to be your highs and um I think the early challenges that I had obviously they they stunk to be in those um kind of time period but I think the coolest thing that they reminded me was you know it’s you know you can’t have a story with you’re you succeeding

Everything you know your story you know kind of builds you and the challenges that you face towards that you know makes your story and I feel like you know the challenges that I face and you you’re able to persevere through them then I feel like that kind of makes

Your story worth you know being told come on now you taught me that taught me that what’s one thing you remember her teaching consistency you know you can’t one let one game you know rule you and there’s the next one coming up the best thing he’s he’s good at is they’ve called it

The next shot mentality shortterm memory shortterm memory yep miss or make you just keep moving on mhm and don’t dwell on what just happened focus on forward focus on going forward um what we hold de to you know us as a family is being there for each

Other you know every step of the way and just making it important to you know always come back back you know when we can and know be with each other as much as we can so um I feel like when I have that support system it just keeps the

Motivation in me to you know keep pushing for them family is is most important to us and I I know you’ve talked to Grady and he would say the same thing our family is very very close and I that’s probably my most prideful I’m I mean I’m proud of my family 1

Three and we’re done hand off Woo good pass thank You are we about to witness baby’s first words let’s hear them oh johned out by the blender rookie moves oh so sad audio Magic Eraser you kidding me h Hello pixel in the clutch share that with Grandma Google pixel 8 even better with Belle

In this week’s episode of Open Gym, a shared passion for basketball, and the togetherness of family, support the pillars of an unbreakable bond between Toronto Raptors Guard Gradey Dick and his Mom, Carmen. On the practice court together, the two reminisce about her playing days and Gradey’s own journey to the NBA. #Raptors #TorontoRaptors