As told by Kevin Dasent, whose son played for Team Charlotte under Jeff McInnis - a former 13-year NBA veteran.

Let me tell you about the type of dude Jeff is. Around 2 years ago, I was going through a very, very tough time in my life, so I’m moving back to New York. I had probably been in Charlotte for about 20 years, and now I’m headed back. Of all the people I met in 20 years there in Charlotte – through basketball, or work – only 3 people reached out to me when I moved back to New York. Hey man just checking up on you, making sure you’re alright. He was one of those dudes.

Jeff picked up the phone and called. People don’t do that anymore. And, I never even told him this, he doesn’t know how much that meant to me. That was a tough time on me. Jeff’s a good dude man. Good heart. Good dude.

Here is the best way I can put it; if you have ever really met Jeff and sat down to talk with him, he never comes across as a former NBA player. 13 years in the league, and he comes across as just a real person, you know what I mean. He tells the kids all the time, “This basketball saved my life.”

Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte. Google search that, and tell me the first result. All the stereotypes of the street life, it is there. It’s about the choices you make. Jeff is so passionate to the kids when he talks about it.

“You’re not all going to play pro, but you can go to school via basketball, get that education, and do so many other things.” He is very serious about this – he knows literally what basketball did for his life and takes personal offense if he sees kids cheating the game.

He lets them know, “Hey I have experienced what you are experiencing, and I made some mistakes in my past, and I learned from them. I tried to cut those corners. It is not going to work.” He gets down on their levels, and teaches openly from his own mistakes. The kids connect with that.

Don’t waste opportunity. Give it one hundred percent. All the time he tells them this. Whether it is basketball, or anything else you’re going to do in life – give it your all. Don’t cheat the game, and don’t cheat life. Because, nothing is ever promised to you. Jeff literally cannot see kids blow that opportunity away.

See, Jeff is special, because kids can see through you, and they tend to know who is real and who is not. A lot of coaches try to fool them. But, kids are perceptive. They are smarter than we give them credit for. When we think they are not listening, they are listening. And, more than listen, they watch. Kids know when you are in their corner, or when you are there for your own personal gains. Especially AAU coaches. Some coaches try to push the kids that benefit them most. I don’t know what it is, but kids can tell. These kids Jeff works with man, they would run through a wall for him. That is saying a lot.

Jeff’s role in the Charlotte community as a whole is especially important. Any black man that has a chance to get 50-60 kids in front of him from April to July, and spend quality time with them, has an opportunity and absolutely must understand that role. Whether you’re a basketball coach, or a school bus driver - you’re an uncle; you’re a big brother. You better understand that responsibility.

You have a chance to share something with them, be a role model, and be that example. You owe it to them. Jeff is just that, and more.

When Jeff started Team Charlotte, the AAU team, he started it literally from nothing. You see how Jeff called it Team Charlotte, not the JMac All-stars, or something else. He never wanted this to be about him. He always wanted this opportunity and platform to be about uplifting the kids of Charlotte. He knows firsthand how rough it can get.

Jeff didn’t go around and recruit the best kids, telling them I can give you things such as shoes, like all the other programs do. He literally started Team Charlotte from the bottom up, with kids that were not very good. All the other AAU programs didn’t want them.

But, he really cares about kids’ futures, and as a result, isn’t afraid to challenge them, and train them hard to get better. I watched him grind and build. I don’t care where you put this guy, the type of dude that he is - it doesn’t matter what industry you put him in - he is a worker, he is a grinder, and he is going to be successful. That is how he grinded through the NBA.

I only have one son, and I couldn’t afford to do it wrong. Jeff more than fit the build as a mentor man.

If kids don’t have a mentor like this in their lives, it limits their chances of being successful. A lot of times, kids tend to listen to their parents, but don’t always hear them. Having that second voice confirms the things parents are trying to teach sometimes to make them successful. They all say, it takes a village. That is true.

If anybody deserves a story, it’s this dude. If there were more people like him in this AAU business, the game would be in so much better shape. Jeff has coached kids who are going to be NBA players, and kids who won’t play in college. You could never tell the difference, because Jeff did not compromise the work he did with that kid. That’s the way it should be. Everybody deserves a chance.

~ Kevin Dasent ~