Photo Courtesy of Flemings Family<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nI can remember the accident, but I was too little to remember some specific details, so what I\u2019m able to tell you about it mostly comes from what my parents have told me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was with my family at my aunt\u2019s house, outside playing with my cousin. My aunt lived on a cul-de-sac, and there aren\u2019t too many cars that come through, so we were throwing this little rubber ball to one another across the street. At one point, I ran to get the ball, and there were two cars parked side-by-side on the street and \u2026 I couldn\u2019t see that one of them was backing up right then. A neighbor told my mom at the time that he was out front and saw it all happening almost like it was in slow motion. He was trying to signal to the driver to stop in time. But\u2026.<\/p>\n
I ended up running into the back door of this big Nissan Armada as it was moving, falling on my butt, and then \u2026 the back tire ran over my body, basically. Like right at hip level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
All the kids playing outside ran in the house screaming and yelling for help. And we have a really big family, so my dad and mom, they were kind of used to hearing kids saying that something was \u201cAN EMERGENCY!!!!!!!!!\u201d and then it being nothing, but this time it was like\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. No! No!! For real!!! Help!!!! Kingston got run over.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
My uncle scooped me up and immediately passed me to my dad. Apparently I wasn\u2019t crying, I was just kind of like, \u201cOoooooh \u2026 Oooooh.\u201d Just moaning, I guess. My parents both say the first thing they remember seeing were these huge tire treads on my pants. And the tracks were actually embedded into my hip, like into my skin, pretty much the entire width of my body. After seeing that, as my mom tells it, \u201cEveryone went into Go Mode.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
They raced me to the children\u2019s hospital, and when the doctors initially took a look at me and saw that my belly was stretched out and had gotten really big, they were worried about internal injuries and bleeding. They told my folks that they weren\u2019t equipped to handle the level of trauma they were seeing, so I had to be transferred to a Level 1 trauma hospital, and I guess that whole process took a few hours. I can\u2019t imagine how worried my parents were, and how stressful it all was. In situations like that, obviously \u2026 every second counts. My mom and dad didn\u2019t know if I had broken bones, or internal bleeding, or if I was ever going to be the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eventually the doctors were able to do a much more comprehensive examination and told my parents that when the tire rolled over my body, because I was so young at the time, and my bones were still so flexible, it actually bent some of the bones rather than breaking them. My bones weren\u2019t hard enough to break yet. So, in that way it was actually a blessing how young I was.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
I did have a small hip fracture, and a small puncture on my spleen, though. My dad remembers how the doctors were actually worried most about toxicity and potential infections caused by the internal trauma. But the worst part for me, definitely \u2026 and this part I do<\/em> remember \u2026 the worst part by far was the road rash.\u00a0<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a nasty burn on your skin that happens if you get dragged on the pavement. With me, I had that pretty much the entire length of my thigh, and then all the way across my hips. Even just moving a tiny bit would be agonizing. I ended up in the pediatric ICU for a day and a half, and then spent another day and a half recovering in the general pediatric unit. My parents talk about how at one point the doctor treating me was like: \u201cHe can walk. I promise you. It\u2019s just super painful for him to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
After I fought through that and was able to take a few steps, they sent me home.<\/p>\n
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<\/g><\/g><\/svg>Photo Courtesy of Flemings Family<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nI don\u2019t really think about that accident too much anymore, but if you talk to my mom, she\u2019ll absolutely tell you that the whole experience played a massive role in shaping the person I am today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Apparently, before that, I was a pretty shy little kid. Didn\u2019t talk much, didn\u2019t play a ton of sports. Just kind of quiet and chill. Then I get backed over by a car, and, to hear my mom tell it \u2026 it was almost like something out of a superhero comic book, where something dramatic happens to a person and they go through this huge transformation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
My mom says that after the accident, even if I didn\u2019t fully know it, I actually started acting like.\u2026 Life is short<\/em>. It was like: Don\u2019t take anything for granted. Don\u2019t sit back and let life pass you by.<\/em> So now, all of a sudden, I\u2019m wanting to play every sport imaginable, and doing and saying everything I can<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nAgain, I was four \u2026 so I don\u2019t know. But she\u2019s pretty persuasive on this whole theory. She says it was something internal, subconscious maybe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She always tells the story of her taking me to the grocery store a few weeks after the accident and every time we\u2019d pass by some random person in the aisle I\u2019d be like: \u201cMommy. Mommy!! Tell her about how I got run over!\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know about all that, but I will say there\u2019s no doubt in my mind that the accident taught me a ton about how you need to respond to adversity, and adapt to whatever circumstances you\u2019re faced with. I\u2019ve absolutely made that one of my hallmarks on the basketball court. One of my biggest strengths as a player is definitely my adaptability. It\u2019s something I pride myself in. I can play so many different ways, and change things up on a dime \u2014 game to game, midgame, whatever it may be. Any team that drafts me should know that for a fact. If you need me to play one way one year, and a different way the next \u2026 it\u2019s all good. Need me to focus more on distributing during a certain game, or drive to the lane and hunt more baskets the next game? No problem.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
I can adapt to anything that\u2019s thrown at me at any time. I can change my game in a ton of different ways. I\u2019m easily the most adaptable player in this entire draft. And part of the reason why definitely goes all the way back to that accident when I was a kid. And how it impacted me.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The other big thing I learned from that experience is that in this life you absolutely need to make the most of every opportunity you get. And if you get knocked down at some point \u2014 or run over by a big truck, or whatever it may be \u2014 dust yourself off, adapt to what happened as best you can, and then go out and live the rest of your life to the fullest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just don\u2019t leave anything in the tank, basically.<\/p>\n
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<\/g><\/g><\/svg>Porter Binks\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhich brings us to this past March.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Houston vs. Illinois. No. 2 seed versus a No. 3. For a trip to the Elite Eight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, of course, sure, a lot has happened with me in between getting hit by that SUV as a kid and this season\u2019s NCAA tournament. But, to be honest with you, like I said before \u2026 for the most part, all that stuff was by and large pretty good: I woke up early every day to get my shots up, hung out a ton with my family playing Phase 10 and doing escape rooms and whatnot, made some plays in big games, had the time of my life being a Houston Cougar, played pickleball with my friends. I watched my little sister become a McDonald\u2019s All-American. Ate some good food. Nothing all that crazy. You\u2019re not missing a ton.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That Illinois game, though? March 26, 2026. (Yes, I do remember the date.) I feel like that was something different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure by now some of you have probably seen the clips of me after that game on social media. But when we lost that one \u2026 I broke down at the final buzzer. I had wanted to win so bad, and I was just completely spent. All the emotion right then, it all just came pouring out of me in real time, and I couldn\u2019t help but shed some tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In that moment \u2026 I wasn\u2019t trying to cry<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\nOr trying not to cry<\/em>.<\/p>\nMy body and mind just kind of took over. I\u2019m not exactly sure what happened.<\/p>\n
But I am<\/em> sure about why<\/em> it happened.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s because I care a ton.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/g><\/g><\/svg>Kenneth Richmond\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nObviously I was really upset that we lost. And that I could have played better. And knowing in that moment that it was going to be my last time playing with those guys ever? It just really hit me hard, you know what I mean? It was like: Even if I did come back, Emanuel and Milos and Ramon and Kalifa are all graduating. This is literally it<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\nI felt that. For real. And the world saw the result of all those feelings welling up.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And look, I\u2019m not apologizing for that. I\u2019m human. If that\u2019s a problem, I\u2019m honestly not sure what to say. At the end of the day, I just really, really, really want to win. So it\u2019s probably never going to be tough to figure out how I feel if my team comes up short in a huge game.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bigger thing, though, in my view \u2026 is what happens next. After all that emotion poured out following that Illinois loss? After that 60 seconds or whatever it was? My parents raised me to know exactly what to do after that. Where to go from there.<\/p>\n
First off, it was back to the locker room \u2014 compose yourself, give credit where credit is due, tip your cap to Illinois. That team outplayed us. They had a good game plan. So, you know \u2026 recognize that<\/em>. Regardless of how bad a loss is, I don\u2019t carry it into the next day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nThen, after that, it\u2019s all about assessing the whole situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And, with me, that process is pretty ingrained. From a very early age, my dad and mom have encouraged me and my brothers and sisters to write down a list of goals at the beginning of each year on a piece of paper. Could be anything. Whatever you care most about. Things you\u2019d like to accomplish. And then, the family way is \u2026 you go out and put in work<\/em> to make those goals your reality.<\/p>\nIf you don\u2019t meet a certain goal? Well, then you take a step back and think about how you\u2019ve done things and figure out how to get better and learn from the whole experience so you can achieve more goals down the line.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s basically how our family rolls in a nutshell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With this one \u2026 getting beyond the Sweet 16 and winning a national title was absolutely<\/em> one of my goals on that sheet of paper for 2026. And, obviously, that one didn\u2019t come to fruition. So then it becomes \u2026 OK, how do I get better?<\/em><\/p>\nAnd that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been focused on the past three months. Putting in work. Nonstop. And learning from everything I\u2019ve been through.<\/p>\n
Just consistently getting better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/g><\/g><\/svg>John E. Moore III\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSo, to close this out, I guess if I were to boil all this down, I\u2019d just say to all the GMs out there\u2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you call my name at the draft, you can be confident that you\u2019ve added someone to your franchise who fully understands and appreciates the magnitude of the opportunity he\u2019s been given. And someone who will do everything in his power to show that appreciation each and every day.<\/p>\n
I absolutely know<\/em> that time is precious. (I had the tire marks to prove it!) So I\u2019m not coming to the NBA to chill.\u00a0<\/p>\nI\u2019m someone who, from a very young age, had to deal with a life-or-death situation, and learned the importance of being resilient and adaptable. With me, you\u2019re going to be getting someone who relishes the opportunity to be a leader on the basketball court. Someone who prides himself in getting to know everything there is to know about all of his teammates \u2014 where they like to receive a pass, their favorite spots on the court, what specific words of encouragement are most likely to spur them to go on a heater, everything \u2014 so that I can best support them and set the entire team up for success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I can shoot the lights out, and you already know that I am faster up the court than everyone else you\u2019ve scouted in this draft. But all that stuff \u2026 you can tell that from pulling up YouTube. What you can\u2019t tell from my highlights, and why I wanted to write this letter, is more about what\u2019s on the inside. About what you\u2019d be investing in with me. From pretty much the time when my bruises first healed up from that accident, I\u2019ve been looking to challenge myself and work as hard as I possibly can and lift people up and make everyone around me better in every way. The more I think about it, I\u2019ve just been trying to do what my parents have always done for me and my siblings. To be almost like a junior version of them.<\/p>\n
As crazy as it sounds, I kind of feel like I first became the life equivalent of a point guard at the age of four.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And that everything from that moment on has been about honing those skills and attributes to prepare me for this exact moment in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, I\u2019m looking to live out my dream and become the point guard I was always meant to be for the next couple of decades and win a bunch of O\u2019Brien Trophies for whichever team sees something special in me. I know that with dedication and determination, with discipline and a routine, I can become a hall of fame player one day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, yeah \u2026 that\u2019s the goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m writing it down on a piece of paper as we speak.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Dear NBA GMs, I want to talk about getting knocked down. Not just in basketball, but in life.\u00a0 I know<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_animmysite_disable_animation":false,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_1917,h_1078,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/shape\/cover\/sport\/Flemings_TITLE-TW-a1b1b79622bd2e6b09f21721053c450a.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[212],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}