(The original text was published on September 23, for Pacers this year’s No. 6 xiuben dirt-masserin, published in the star stand)
People always ask me, have I always been so confident? Have I always been like this, playing basketball with emotion, and like to spray rubbish? Every time someone asks me this, I will laugh, because the answer is very simple……
Always like this!
I am always very confident because of my hometown and our tradition. I am proud of being a Marine Canadian. I am raised by a group of strong women who will show the strength that will accompany me all my life, this kind of power will only become stronger when facing setbacks and challenges.
I grew up in Montreal and lived in an apartment on Dagenais th Street. The youngest child in the I am family has a brother Dominic and a sister Jennifer. We live with our mother. There are only a few of us at home. I like this small family very much. I am very happy to be raised by a Haitian mother. She will make sure that we don’t forget where we come from and keep in touch with the source in our blood. For example, the music we listen to, the food our mother makes for us, etc. All this makes me proud of being a Haitian Canadian. This is a very important part of me, so I often tell people what a magical city Montreal is and what a great country Canada is.
The place where we live is closer to the north than you think. The culture here in Montreal is really too rich and diversified. I hope I can explain it more clearly to you, but I can only say that Montreal is a place where you must want to travel. In such an all-inclusive city, people around have inspiring magic. As for basketball players, there are many really outstanding players from Montreal, such as Lou dot, Ken Birch, Joel Anthony, Chris Bucher, and my teammate Chris Duarte. Dort and my brother Dominic are old friends. Even when I attended the talent show conference, he came to the scene to support me. Our relationship is so deep.
Far away, I must emphasize the delicious food in Haiti. The chicken and beans fried rice made by my mother is the first in the world. No one can cook better than her. I know my mother will definitely read this article, so I will stop praising her craft.
Mom really did her best for us and cared about our future. Can you understand the meaning? Our family has experienced difficult times. We can hear gunfire when we sleep many nights. The streets we live in are full of drugs and all kinds of dirty things. This kind of life is very difficult. The most difficult part is to find a suitable way to get through all this, which not everyone can do. Every time a friend around me is killed or caught in prison, it will bring me a great touch, and at the same time it will urge me to move forward on the right path.
The most grateful part of my growing up was the emotional bond with my brother and sister. My sister and I have always been very close, because we have many similarities. She also plays basketball, and the shooting and driving are very good. But don’t think too much, she has never defeated me! Not once! Ha Ha Ha Ha, sorry, sister. My brother and I live in a bedroom. The room is very small. You really need to believe me. The bed we slept on at that time was a bunk bed. If the quilt was too thin and cold at night, we would cover our clothes or something. I don’t care if I share a bedroom with my brother, but I really mind that he doesn’t speak hygiene. Ha ha ha. No matter how hard we tried to clean the room, my brother Dominic would make a mess again soon.
Although my brother would offend me sometimes, he would never allow outsiders to bully me. Once a man wanted to hit me. I hadn’t responded yet. My brother Dominic rushed up without saying anything. He told everyone that if anyone wanted to hit me, he had to pass him first. I remember standing autochthonal at that time, thinking in my heart: Yes, this is my eldest brother!
I like to stick to my brother Dominic. Although he is three years older than me, in my opinion, he is just like my twin brother. When we were young, we either stayed at home, played PS with small TV, and tried to beat each other in 007 or Call of Duty games. Or we went to the court to play basketball with our brother’s friends. The craziest thing is that they can’t beat me! It was at that time that I began to realize that since these people older than me couldn’t beat me, naturally no one of my peers was my opponent, maybe that’s why we started to spray junk words with each other, ha ha ha. Later, I decided to go to some school teams for trial training. I was only grade five, grade six at that time, so I trained and played games with them. From beginning to end, I thought all this was too easy for me. From then on, I understood that I really wanted to play basketball.
However, at that moment when I was elated, something happened that impressed me deeply. I will never forget that morning……
When I woke up, I got the worst news I could imagine: When my brother rode out, he hit a car and died. My brother Dominic was only 15 at that time……
I couldn’t understand the bad news at that time, Dominic? My brother? My dear brother is like a twin? My brother, whom I have always loved, left me like this; He has always supported my brother behind his back and left the world like this. No matter how hard it is to accept, I also understand that I must face it. Since then, my life has not only been as simple as going to the park to play ball and going to school to study. I can’t just consider these. After my brother left, my responsibility was to hold up the whole family. I had to grow up, like a man who stood up. I want to ensure a good life for my family at all costs. This is my goal.
After my brother died, the basketball game was not only a game for me, but also I no longer played for myself. I remember one day when I was 15 years old, a coach of mine came to me and said, “If the ‘train’ comes, remember to catch up.” At that time, I was confused. As a result, just two weeks later, the “train” came.
My uncle received a phone call and learned that NBA College would set up a new branch school in Mexico, and I am one of the first players they picked. They provide full scholarships, accommodation, tickets, scientific food supply…… In short, they can provide everything you can imagine.
To be honest, although all this sounds beautiful, I was not prepared at all at that time, and I never thought of taking this “train” to Mexico “. At first, my attitude was that I would not go there and it was impossible to report in this college. However, as I learned more information, I realized that this was not an ordinary college, and it was probably a gate to NBA. So I made up my mind and bought myself a one-way ticket. I had to go and see what the college had. I made up this “train!
The first few weeks before I arrived in Mexico were actually very difficult, and even some shaking emotions were generated. I also called home to express my depression, similar to “I feel I can’t stay any longer……” I feel very uncomfortable about leaving my mother at home alone. Besides, there are many things I miss. But as I learned more about the environment of this college and tried my best to integrate into it, I realized how lucky I was. I have received high-quality education here, and I can play basketball. More importantly, I am safe here. There are opportunities to change my life track and my career as a player. I even learned Spanish here. The more games I play outside, the more I want to learn other languages. There is no other distraction here, only me, school and basketball. I understand that not many people can have such opportunities in their lives, especially in my hometown.
NBA President Xiao Hua also came to Mexico to watch us play games. When I saw him, I told my teammates: “Listen, I’m going to meet him.” Ha ha ha, this is the confidence I have been talking about repeatedly, and I really did it. I went straight to the president and told him, “in a few years, you will see me at the talent show.”
He nodded and said, “I will find you then.”
When I need to consider the destination of the next stop, I want to say that choosing a school is not difficult for me. There are many reasons that prompted me to choose the University of Arizona. I like the family atmosphere there, and I want to be a part of it. I caught up with the new Championship epidemic in the freshman season, so I couldn’t find the rhythm of the match for a long time. There were a lot of messy things that affected me, and these things were all more important than basketball and couldn’t be ignored. When the season is over, I think I need to get back to the state and prove my ability to the outside world.
Back to school in sophomore year, I firmly believe that this will be a season for me to do my best. The coach let me focus on shooting at the beginning, but I am not satisfied with it. I don’t want to be labeled as a 3D player. I don’t want the outside world to think that I can only shoot and defend, although I really love shooting. I know very well that I can do more things, just need to show them.
So I went to the gym two to three times a day to polish all aspects of the competition. Fengshui ball. The end of the basket, passing and shooting. I want to be an impeccable player and can’t find any weaknesses. I know some people were surprised by my outbreak at the beginning of last season. In fact, everything was under my control.
I am a player who takes winning first, that is, the team first. Therefore, when I decided to attend the draft conference, it became my regret that I failed to achieve a higher goal at the University of Arizona. But I will always be grateful to the people in Arizona, who are delighted that I have been chosen. I will always be a member of the team. No matter how the NBA will develop in the future, I will spare no effort to publicize my alma mater University of Arizona.
During talent show week, I had lunch with some newcomers with better prospects. This time I met Xiao Hua, the president again. So you know, I once talked to him face to face…… This time I took the initiative to greet him and reminded him that we had a conversation in Mexico.
Xiao Hua looked at me and said, “I still remember.”
Yes, I should have laughed at that time.
At the same time, I told myself in my heart that I was going to enter NBA and it was time for me to perform.
There is one thing I always want to make sure that the whole world knows that entering NBA is also my brother Dominic’s dream before his death, which is what we all want to achieve. So when I set foot on the journey, I never forget to mention my brother to the outside world. I do not allow his name to be forgotten by the world.
This is why I have my brother’s name tattooed on my forearm, and his birthday. Every time I release the Ins dynamic, I will add the label “domixworld”. This is what I am telling you that no matter what achievements I have made in my life, it is the glory of our brothers. So I wore a custom red suit on the night of the talent show, which was printed with my brother’s head portrait. This suit meant a lot to me. As long as I wear it on stage, it is equivalent to my brother Dominic and I being selected by NBA together.
Let me ease my mood and tell you an interesting thing about draft night. I felt pretty good after the selection of several new stars, because I knew my name would be read soon. But I need to give you a suggestion. If you are waiting for some important calls, you must at least turn your phone into vibration mode before you can receive the call! Due to too many interviews and trifles on that day, I was probably too excited to forget whether the mobile phone or the Do Not Disturb mode. So when I opened my mobile phone to read the news, I found that I missed 6 calls, all of which came from coach Carlisle.
Coach Carlisle has been trying to call to congratulate me, formally joining the Pacers and welcoming me, but no answer for six consecutive times. I’m sorry, coach Carlisle.
Fortunately, coach Carlisle didn’t give up trying and finally got in touch with me. Ha ha ha. He told me sincerely that Pacers wanted me to be a member of the team. Before the draft conference began, I told myself not to shed tears in front of the camera. But at the moment when my name was read, I couldn’t hold it any longer. Tears broke down my cheeks like tears. My mind flashed through every stage from Montreal to NBA, thinking of my brother who had passed away and how proud he would be if he saw me realize each other’s dreams. If I could say something to my brother at that moment, I really wanted to tell him that I did it!
Now I have come to the Pacers and will play in front of the best group of fans in the NBA. When I first came here, I felt everyone’s welcome to me. At present, I have made a mistake that only the new show can make. I really didn’t know that the rain in Indiana was so abundant. However, my learning ability is also very strong, and I have consumed a waterproof coat as soon as possible.
It is very interesting to explore Indiana. Really, one of the most special things for me is to meet many fans and listen to how much they expect for the new season. I also went to Indiana State market with my teammates, which was also cool. The experience of going to Special Olympics to help is also great. Play games with children and see the smiles on their faces. Also, I want to tell you that I like delicious food very much, so the first few things I have to do is to look for the famous local delicious food in Indiana.
I want to thank the walkers fans and thank you for accepting me sincerely.
The last thing I want to tell you is, wait and see!
No, it should be you who just need to wait and see, and leave the rest to us! I am guys who are extremely eager for victory, I will try my best to win. In the future, only winning is waiting for us. In short, there are three words: “Fighting”, “competition”, win “.
I am here to do these three things.
You may think that I am a little too confident, but I have never been afraid of any opponent in my life, so I don’t intend to be timid when I come to NBA. I will go on with my confidence all the time. Whenever I step on the court with confidence, you can understand what kind of players I am. Whether you watch my game or become my opponent, it will not be long before you know who I am.
Because I will introduce myself with practical actions.
Rush, Walkers!
#DomixWorld
Original text: Bennedict Mathurin
Compile: Li Taibai
Player autographed