I thought I was going to pass out, but I stayed strong. Keifer Jerail Sykes, born Dec. 30, 1993, is the last child in his family. He always had a way with kids, even when he was one. Every situation is different. With these body stats, he has recorded his highest vertical jump of 44.5 inches. They last shared space together in 2012 -- at Keifer's father's funeral. Yet, Forbes in 2019 evaluated that he must be receiving a minimum NBA salary which was $900,000. I see my daughter come out to the world.". Buchanan III is expected to stay in the hospital until at least this coming Sunday as the scar on his heart slowly starts to heal. One team has a player with two children born from two women three months apart. Manage Settings Chicago's Keifer Sykes soaking in his moment after TBT winner and NBA contract with Pacers By Scott Powers Aug 5, 2021 1 Daniel Poneman isn't sure why exactly he hadn't revealed Keifer. Fortunately, despite varied situations, some of which are depicted below, many have happy circumstances. He's played professionally inAustralia, China, Greece, Italy, South Korea and Turkey, all with the hopes of one day returning stateside and suiting up in the NBA. But since Sykes' family felt he was already being overlooked due to his stature, they decided to send him an hour across town to Marshall on the West Side, where his dream of being a basketball star had a better chance of flourishing. "My players say I don't understand, but I do understand," Ray said. He kept it from her as long as possible; the "entire school" knew about it, but she didn't. He'll want to turn to ESPN and watch a basketball game. Oh my God, that melted me, Lisa Sykes said, her voice shaking. We come from poverty. After Keifer impregnated his former girlfriend, Allyne, he was horrified to tell mom. You go to South Korea and thats a whole different culture, Sykes said. Dayton kicked two players off its roster earlier this season after a dorm-room theft forced Archie Miller's hand. "As a coach, you would love to have all parents talk to him in a lot of ways. He played college basketball for the University of WisconsinGreen Bay and his professional career has included stints at Anyang KGC of the Korean Basketball League, Ankara DSI of the Basketball Super League, S.S. Felice Scandone of the Lega Basket Serie A and South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League. When I was like, Oh, Im small, he was like, Nah, you can go to the NBA. From grade school to now, I really paid the cost. You can practically hear the smile through the phone as Gathers, who was wearing scrubs that didn't fit his 6-8, 275-pound frame, tells the story. Once my brother left, I went to school by myself. Gathers recalls now the way he won her over -- by attending her 16th birthday party and jokingly signing a basketball for her as a present. Hes so well-rounded. He says there's more than $5,000 of his own cash allotted toward parenthood. All rights reserved. Sykes father, James, died of a heart attack June 6, 2012. Lisa runs an out-of-home daycare operation. He knows all about long drives on weekends to steal time with a child. Bell found out he was going to be a father when he returned to his phone following a workout. Keifer Sykes' 3-pointer wins TBT for Boeheim's Army. It's an intense situation for Ray and plenty of coaches who've become surrogate fathers in plenty of ways, this being a prominent one. "My son played (NBA 2K) last night with me. The Pacers had Sykes and Wanamaker in training camp and kept the veteran Wanamaker when the season began. Dawson's first two years at Michigan State consisted of few visits with My'Shawn during the season. She took care of everybody.. Like I said, I feel like I have one of the better stories, one of the best stories ever, when you think about what I had to go through.". Sykes, a former point guard for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, sunk a pull-up three to give Boeheim's Army a 69-67 win over Team 23 in Tuesday's TBT championship. As apro-basketball player, Sykes weighs around 175 pounds and stands at theheightof 5 feet 11 inches. Sykes, a Chicago native who starred at Marshall High School, was twice named the Horizon LeaguePlayer of the Year at Wisconsin-Green Bay but went undrafted in 2015. The next thing I know I hear the coaches banging on the door. And like Sykes, when Dawson found out he was going to be a father, he had zero interest in letting his mother know right away what he'd gotten himself into. Almost every player interviewed for this story was scared to tell mom. INDIANAPOLIS Keifer Sykes knew the Pacers' season was ending. Think back to high school. "I tried to hold back the tears. I shot that wing 3 against the Bulls,I air-balled. I couldnt believe it.. We both were really scared. Where the family is. I do a lot of camps (in my hometown). He does, however, remember the last time he saw his father, when James Sykes dropped him off at either a train or bus station to go back to Wisconsin Green-Bay to continue summer classes and workouts. Sometimes when he's here and he's with KJ, I'm like, 'Oh my god,he's just like him'. A lot of people really wanted to get to that league, especially at that time when COVID was everywhere in the world and they just had less cases," Sykes said. Ray also said there are a lot of players who don't see their coaches as men who overcame hardship to be where they're at, so they're hesitant to approach or ask for help. The first words out of his mouth are eerily foreshadowing. Sykes said he nearly "gave up on everything" after his father's death, but he kept going through countless sleepless nights to carry on James Sykes' legacy. We play them (soon)!'" We had nothing, man. At the start of the 201314 season, Sykes was named to the preseason All-Horizon League team and was a nominee for the Bob Cousy Award for top point guard in the country. Sykes set a conference record as he was named the Horizon League player of the week thirteen times over his career. 2023 www.indystar.com. He's going beyond the expectations of being there for his son. His camp is having trouble getting them admitted into the road arenas. Upon returning to Marshall whose alumni includes "Hoop Dreams" documentary star Arthur Agee, Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverly and two-time WNBA champion Cappie Pondexter Sykes gifted his former coaches and teachers a Pacers jersey as a thank you for believing in him and laying the foundation for his path to the NBA. ins.style.display='block';ins.style.minWidth=container.attributes.ezaw.value+'px';ins.style.width='100%';ins.style.height=container.attributes.ezah.value+'px';container.appendChild(ins);(adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({});window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId,'stat_source_id',44);window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId,'adsensetype',1);var lo=new MutationObserver(window.ezaslEvent);lo.observe(document.getElementById(slotId+'-asloaded'),{attributes:true}); In Chicago, Illinois, USA, the NBA G League player Sykes wasbornon 30 December 1993. "It's always been this way, really, but off the record, it's demographics, number one, and popularity of basketball players today," one coach said. "It's not easy," Sykes said of juggling fatherhood with basketball and an impending graduation. In that week, Sykes averaged 28.7 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game while shooting 53.6% from the field, 50% from three, and leading the Phoenix to a 30 record. The undersized guard scored a career- and team-high22 points Tuesday against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden and went toe-to-toe Wednesday with Nets superstar Kyrie Irving, who made his season debut in Indianapolis. According to dad, My'Shawn's "not the typical kid who wants to come home and watch cartoons." It's been an emotional journey for Freeman, who went out and bought a few pregnancy tests last summer, and then cried and hugged Kylee as they discovered they'd be parents. Vital players at Cincinnati, Southeastern Louisiana and VCU (two players) are fathers. However, no valid sources have yet revealed his annual pay in numbers. So all of this has been more than me. I just repeated it like, Remember what your dad said. His dad taught him everything he knows about being a man, being responsible and taking the lead in everything you do.. I lost like 40 or 50 grand.". Wardle describes it as the hardest situation of his career, far beyond anything he faced during the summer of 2013, when accusations of verbal mistreatment from former Green Bay players threatened his job. The unexpected death came a month removed from the end of Keifer's freshman year. They just don't know. He relies on the motto, "More God," meaning that whenever he's faced with adversity, he'll trust God even more and remain the course. Sykes credits his humbleness to his parents, James and Lisa Sykes, who were featured in a documentary about Sykes rise to high school and college stardom called, Chi-Town. The film shows the harrowing circumstances that he and his family were subjected to in inner-city Chicago, including rampant gun violence, which left one of Sykes' former high school teammates and a former coach paralyzed, while another former teammate went to prison for armed robbery. There are major facets to these players' lives that are never seen, seldom known, but emotionally significant signposts toward personal growth and elemental struggle. Its been a blessing. Gathers saved up his scholarship checks ($400 per month) and Pell Grant money to help pay Bria's rent, which came to nearly $800/month. Then he sank a 17-footer over . I remember we used to play in the alley, McKinnie said. At the time KJ was born Keifer was holding down a job with the Chicago Public Schools system, playing basketball and working rec centers with kids on the east side. Keifer says his first pro basketball check will go toward buying and engraving a tombstone for his father. "I don't ever want to go through that as a head coach again," Wardle said. Rotowire Apr 6, 2022. On Friday, the deadlinefor NBA teams to guarantee contracts for the rest of the season, the28-year-old rookiegot the last laugh whenthe Pacers decided to keep himand third-year swingmanOshae Brissett through the end of their campaign. New Mexico and Mississippi State -- schools in the two states with the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country, feature players who are fathers. I have made past mistakes in my life, and God continues to make a way for us. Even prominent teams, like Gonzaga, are touched by early fatherhood. I've heard a couple of times him screaming, 'Go, Daddy!' My own trainers telling me, 'Prepare and train for overseas,' and I'm telling them, 'No.' How long has it been since Dawson spoke to his dad directly? Because a lot of people dont even know the half of what it took for me to be here. The sacrifices she made, man. [10] For the second time in his career, he was named to the Honorable Mention AP All-American team. When Wardle got to Sykes' dorm room, the 18-year-old was sitting alone on his bathroom floor, sobbing. Joniah Jr. lives 260 miles away, in Grenada, Mississippi, while his dad is getting his sea legs under him as a freshman in Ruston, Louisiana. To report about any issues in our articles, please feel free toContact Us. He later joined the San Antonio Spurs on 28 September 2015. Harrington praised Sykes for his resiliency throughout his triumphant but often tough career. He then joined the franchises G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and after shining as the teams floor general, he was called up Dec. 27, made his NBA debut against Charlotte on Dec. 29 the day before his 28th birthday scored his first NBA points against his hometown Bulls on Dec. 31 and signed a guaranteed deal for the rest of the season Jan. 7. 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