Baron Bracey

When asked who your hero is, you chose your mom and James Harden. Can you share more about why you chose these two people as your hero and how they’ve inspired you?

The main reason why I chose both of those people for my hero is that they both have had a big impact on my life. First off, my mom is my biggest supporter, caretaker, and I just love her in general and would do anything for her. Then my other hero James Harden has been my favorite player since he entered the NBA and one of the main reasons why I’m still playing basketball to this day because he is at where I want to be at. Also, both of my hero’s have inspired me to do my best everyday.

How has being a basketball player changed your life and what does playing basketball mean to you? 

Being a basketball player has changed my life tremendously because it is literally all I do. Without it I don’t know what I would do with myself. Basketball has shown me so many things that could translate to my life that I think no other sport could do. Because of basketball I now have leadership skills, good teamwork, and simple life skills that will be with me forever.

Young people often times look up to players like you for advice and encouragement. What advice can you share with kids who may be reading this about not only being a great basketball player but about being a great human being? 

The piece of advice I would give to someone reading this is keep working and work hard every time you step onto the court. Never give up, don’t let anyone tell you something different from what you know your goals are. Be yourself, be better, and be different.

We all have good days and bad days. Self love and love for humanity are an important part of the mission of HHH. Being an athlete, what do you do to make sure that your mental health is as strong as your physical health? 

One of the things I do to keep my mental health right is listen to motivational speeches from some of my favorite players in the NBA or celebrities. Before Kobe died , I would listen to his speech’s on YouTube every single day. I still do that to this day, but the impact to what he’s saying is even greater now since he passed. He was also one of my hero’s since I was little. I went to his camp up in Santa Barbara when I was 7 years old and hit a game winner when he was in attendance with his family. He came over to me happy and asked me, “Is that your first game winner? I said “Yes!” He then told me, “Don’t let that be your last.” This has stuck with me for my whole life and I have hit a total of 6 game winners after that day. He gave me 2 autographs on my jersey and shoes right there on the spot. It had to be one of the best days of my life. Physical Health is as important as mental health without it being good then there will be some problems.

Coaches often have an impact on athletes both on and off the court. Can you share a few words about a coach that has inspired you?

First off I’ve been knowing Coach Darrick since the 8th grade and he was the one who introduced me to AAU. He’s a great dude to be around that will push you to your limits on and off the court. He will relentlessly push you to make you better. He has made me into a better player and person. He was one of them people who put discipline into my life aside from my mom. My dad hasn’t been in my life really so he has helped me get through things of that nature.

As a Coach, he wants the best for you always. Coach will be hard on you always because he wants the best out of you. He would be on my head every single day about turning the ball and being the point guard/leader of the team. I embraced it and now I am the starting point guard of my team. We also play at a super high level so that’s a very huge achievement for me and him as a coach. Been rocking with him for forever too and I love to see me and him winning. I will always support him…that’s my guy. I was just talking to him the other day about workouts and how I’ve been doing in my last tournaments and he said nothing but positive things towards me. His exact words, “proud of you bro, keep your head down and keep grinding.” This text gave me so much confidence to go out and kill the game. Then, the next game I came out and had 23 points and 5 assists on a good fundamentally well coached team.

I’ve also incorporated the moves we have worked on in our personal workouts and all of those buckets came super easy in the game. He says in workouts, “go game speed so it becomes second nature in the game.” That message stuck with me and I did the combos we worked on in the late night workouts and it worked when the bright lights came out. My trust for him is out the roof also. Basketball wise, and as a human being.

Thank you so much for sharing your heart with HHH today Baron. As you know, love is at the center of what we believe in and isn’t it dope to be loved!? Anyone you want to shout out that you’re grateful for?

I want to shoutout my Mom, Sis, Lee Lee, Jamal, Unc Jamal, Grandma, Granny, Unc Roger, Auntie Kim, Coach Jones, Dom, Tony , and everyone who has helped me through this process of me growing.

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