Beyond Basketball Part 2: Jamal Murray on John Calipari, meditation and more

 

The second installment of BSN Denver’s conversation with Nuggets’ rookie Jamal Murray. Find part 1 of T.J. McBride’s chat with Murray here.

T.J: So the meditation side of things. You have the aggressor side of yourself and the side that is always pushing you to get better but you also get that softer moment of meditation that you can really build on from you dad that goes back to the inspiration of Bruce lee. Do you still meditate before games and practices?

Jamal: Yes, and I meditate at home too.

T.J.: What has that brought to your life? Especially with how chaotic things have been going from Canada, without that media presence, to Kentucky with coach Cal, to being on the NBA landscape and being forced in as a rookie to play bigger minutes and a bigger role. How much has meditation slowed things down and allowed you to grasp what is happening around you?

Jamal: Sometimes you get caught up so focused that you don’t see what is right beside you or right in front of you. When I think of all the stuff I have to do like clean up and practice in the morning I start to think of things as a burden rather than a privilege. Like working out. To me, that is a privilege. So I stop thinking of it as a burden, like, ‘damn I have to work out.’ I just think that ‘alright, I gotta to work out.’ It is something I have to do and something I want to do and I embrace it. Stuff like that. Kinda eases things off and changing the mindset a little bit.

T.J: Has anyone else on the team gotten in on meditating and would you even let them?

Jamal: No. Everyone has their own thing. You can’t tell someone to meditate and they feel better. It is something that took me years to get good at and I’m still not even close to perfect or where I should be. Everyone has their own way. Some people listen to hype music before games and sometimes I don’t even listen to music. I just go with the flow, say hi to people, and go through with good energy and keep everything to myself and keep my spirits high.

T.J.: So where did that love of hip hop start with you. It is known that you didn’t have a tv growing up and you had an iPod that you barely used. Where suddenly did this love of J Cole, lyrical hip hop, and conscious thought come from?

Jamal: People see me as someone that is energetic, messing around, talks a lot, and is fun to be around but the crazy thing is that I like to be by myself. I just like to be alone and away from everybody and not talk to anybody. So when I find someone that can relate or express words in a certain way that you would never think of is a way for me to get away too.

T.J.: Something new that came out today. Coach Cal put out his top five Kentucky players that he would put on a team. He didn’t include you. How do you feel about that? Does that put a little chip on your shoulder?

 

Jamal: There are a lot of players. Who did he pick again?

T.J.: He ended up picking John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as his x-factor, and Devin Booker at shooting guard.

Jamal: I mean, that’s a good team. He chose Booker over me because it’s Booker’s second year but Booker is a great shooter and a great player. He is confident and I think we have the same type of confidence when it comes to playing with toughness and grit going against someone else. He is someone I like to play against and I think it is a good choice.

T.J.: He pushes you with that type of stuff doesn’t he? He thinks about it like, ‘let’s see what Jamal does when I don’t put him on this list.’ Was he always pushing those buttons when you were at Kentucky?

Jamal: Yeah, he did a lot. He always made fun of me for whatever it was but it was from a good heart. He knew what I was capable of and just wanted me to get there. He kind of wanted me to prove him wrong and show it in a game.

T.J.: How is that inspiring force, a guy like Coach Cal, to have around you like that when you are coming from Canada without the media in your face and without everyone watching what you are doing, to having coach Cal help you along that process of becoming a phenom and a lights out shooter and you had him in your corner to really back you up throughout the draft process. The draft process is lethal and people are brutal to prospects. How big was it to have Coach Cal in your corner?

Jamal: It was good. He was a great talker too. A lot of stuff he says is true. Whenever he talks about the media and stuff I know where it is coming from and I know he is not lying either. He is giving you a real perspective of what he thinks and he has the players and the awards to back it up. He knows what he is talking about and is a guy that other people and GMs trust.

T.J: Does Coach Cal ever leave Kentucky?

Jamal: No. No. I don’t think so.

T.J.: Here are a couple rapid fire questions. Basics that people might not know. Favorite color?

Jamal: Grey.

T.J.: Favorite player growing up?

Jamal: Vince Carter.

T.J.: Is that a Canadian thing?

Jamal: I used to just watch him growing up dunking and I would copy his dunks on my little net. The passion he played with was everything.

T.J.: If you were not playing basketball what would you be doing?

Jamal: Track.

T.J.: What did you run?

Jamal: 800 meters and high jump and my dad said I would be good at the four (400m) because he ran track but that a tough race.

T.J.: That is a short race, man. What is your favorite food you would be eating if Steve Hess was not down your throat about your diet?

Jamal: I still eat whatever I want to eat (laughs) but I burn it off quick. I like chicken wings a lot. Ill eat them before games or after games. So I think chicken wings are my favorite.