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NBA DRAFTJune 26, 2014Isaiah AustinBROOKLYN, NEW YORK THE MODERATOR: Isaiah, just start opening statement about your situation. ISAIAH AUSTIN: For Commissioner Adam Silver to even invite me here was a tremendous blessing, and it just shows how much class that man has. I have so much respect for him and the NBA, and I'm thankful that I'm in this position today. It's really been a tough week for me, and it's really been rough. I've just had a tremendous amount of support from everybody around the world really, telling me that they're praying for me and everything. I can't thank everybody enough. Every single person that has reached out, I really give my gratitude to them. It was one of the greatest moments of my life, something I'll never forget. I love this game of basketball so much. It's really changed my life. To be blessed to play this game for as long as I did, I'm just thankful. I've really had time to sit down and think a little bit, and God has truly blessed me because He could have continued to let me play basketball, but instead He saved my life. Q. Isaiah, first of all, congratulations. What is next for you? ISAIAH AUSTIN: Everything. I mean, I have a whole life ahead of me. I'm not going to sit here, and I'm not going to sulk about not being able to play basketball anymore because I can still be involved with the game somehow or some way. Coach Drew has offered me a coaching job as long as ‑‑ my high school coach, Coach Ray, and Commissioner Silver has offered me a job with the NBA somewhere. So I can always be around the game that I've grown up to love and have a passion for, and I'm thankful. Right now I'm going to work on getting my degree. I'm going to go back to school. I'm going to take things slow. I'm only 20 years old, and I'm ready to do whatever I can to make my life better. Q. From the news of the disorder to today, what's the emotional roller coaster been like? ISAIAH AUSTIN: It's been crazy. My emotions have been from sad to the happiest I can be just a few minutes ago. I'm still happy, and I'm thankful for it. These past couple days have really taught me a lot about myself. They've really shown me that no matter what obstacle you're thrown in life, there's always a way around it, or there's always a way through it. There's no reason somebody should hang their head or not have confidence in themselves in doing something. So for the rest of my life, I'm going to keep a positive attitude, and I'm not going to take anything for granted because it can be ripped away from you in seconds. I was having a great day before I found out the news, and everything that I've grown up to know and love was just taken from me. But it's really just one of the biggest blessings of my life because it did save it. Q. What's this day been like? What's this day been like for you being around all these potential players, us, the media? What's this been like for you? Do you think one day we'll see you as an NBA coach? ISAIAH AUSTIN: Today has been a dream come true. I've met so many people that are supporting me, and they don't even know me on a personal level. So it just shows the heart and character that all these people have. Just being around all the draftees and seeing all my friends get drafted, it just brings joy in my heart because I know how hard we work to get to this point. I've been through it. Everything, the late nights in the gym, the early mornings in the gym, the injuries, the tears, the sweat, the blood, everything. I've been through all of that. To see them walk across that stage is one of the biggest blessings of my life because everybody around you is in a different situation, but everybody is pushing through. Just to see how people persevere through their own problems, because everybody has their own problems, it's touching, and it's heart warming really. Q. One day you want to be an NBA coach? Is that something that you probably‑‑ you said you couldn't play. Would you like coaching at this high level? Would that be something you'd like to do? ISAIAH AUSTIN: Yeah, definitely, I would love to coach. I love learning about the game, and I'm still going to be a student of the game, even though I can't play. So I'm just going to work as hard as I can to get to that point in my career. Q. Isaiah, when you found out about your condition, was it on Sunday? ISAIAH AUSTIN: It was actually‑‑ was Sunday the 21st? It was the night of the 21st. Q. Can you just take us through actually what you did that day, what activities you did, and who actually made the call to you. Did you pick up the phone? Did someone else hand you the phone? ISAIAH AUSTIN: My parents originally found out the information the night before. As soon as they heard, they packed up their bags, and my family drove nine hours from Kansas City to Dallas where I was at. I remember that morning I woke up early in the gym, and I was working out. I got shots up, and then later that afternoon, I was at Mo Williams' house. He had a barbecue. I work out at his gym, so I've gotten to know him pretty well. I was just hanging around him and his family, and they're great people. I'm thankful for them because they gave me an opportunity to interact with their family and their personal life. I remember I was driving home with my high school coach, Coach Ray, and we're doing the same thing that we do all the time, laughing and joking around. As soon as we pulled up to the house, I just noticed a variety of cars, and I noticed a couple of them that I recognized. I remember asking him what was up, and he couldn't even look at me. Q. Your father? ISAIAH AUSTIN: No, my high school coach. Q. So he knew on the ride home? ISAIAH AUSTIN: Yeah, he did. He found out on the ride home. He couldn't even look at me. I remember walking through the door. There was 10, 15 people there, my Baylor coaching staff, my pastor, a couple of my close friends, and my family. The first person's face who I saw was my mother's. She was all the way in the back. I just remember seeing tears falling down her eyes. My dad's arms around her. I knew right then exactly what it was because I remembered in Chicago they said I could have had this syndrome, and they did blood work on it. I just hadn't gotten the results back. I wanted to break down and cry, but I didn't because my little brother and sister were in the room. I wanted to show them that I could be strong for them and for my family because they look up to me. Later that night, I just remember I couldn't sleep. It was devastating. Q. Can you talk about when Adam Silver called you or who called you from the NBA to invite you here tonight, and what was that like? After getting the devastating news that you wouldn't be able to play but still being invited to be at the Draft and be a part of everything. ISAIAH AUSTIN: It was heart warming. I remember Commissioner Silver, he didn't personally call me, but he called my agent Dwon Clifton, and he let me know that he wanted me to be his personal guest for the night. It was just joy. I forgot about the syndrome for a while. I just couldn't stop thinking of, I'm going to New York, I'm going to New York for the NBA Draft. It's always been my dream to go to New York. I got here, and I remember it was so surreal, just a surreal moment. I'm here today, and I'm blessed, and I'm thankful. Q. What was it like hearing your name called in that environment? ISAIAH AUSTIN: That was like a dream come true really. When you're playing basketball and you're growing up and you're at a competitive high level, and you're being recruited highly and everybody's saying that you have such potential, that's your dream to be able to walk across that stage and hearing your name called. When he did it, my head just dropped because, you know, it was almost too much for me to handle. Fortunately, he did, and I'm thankful for it. Q. Forgive me, I remember reading something about it. Can you describe what this malady is. Aside from sports, you could have a full, normal life. And if you want to talk about what your studying at Baylor. ISAIAH AUSTIN: The syndrome is called Marfan syndrome. Basically, the connective tissues in your body are weakened because the cells aren't fully developed. I have the symptoms of an enlarged aortic artery and long arms, long legs, stretch marks across my body. Really the symptom is‑‑ it's not deadly when you're living your everyday life, but it can be because my aortic artery has been growing for the past two years. That's what they've been saying. If it gets too enlarged, I will have to go under open‑heart surgery. But playing basketball was a risk to me because, if my body exerts too much energy, I can pump too much blood. Q. Is this Marfan associated with tall people or across all heights and genders? ISAIAH AUSTIN: Mainly the symptoms say tall people, but there have been a few cases where it's normal sized people. Really I'm just starting to get to know about it, too. I just found out about it like last week. We're doing as much as we can to research it, and I'm now going to be one of the spokesman for the Marfan foundation. I'm going to learn more about it in days to come. Q. What are you studying at Baylor right now? ISAIAH AUSTIN: Right now I'm studying business. Q. Talk about Baylor has had a great tradition of basketball over the past few years. With your condition and with the adversity you've gone through, talk about how you can be an inspiration for future basketball players that want to come to Baylor and how you can be a mentor to young athletes. ISAIAH AUSTIN: I don't want to be just an inspiration to people who play basketball. I want to be an inspiration to people all over the world. Just because I face obstacles, but people have different obstacles in their life that they're facing. I want them to know that they can push through anything because I've done it. Everyone in this room has pushed through an obstacle in their life one way or the other. So I just want them to know they have the power within themselves to do it if they keep faith and a positive attitude. Going to Baylor was a huge blessing, and I'm thankful for it. It's a great basketball school, and it's a great program. Coach Drew was fortunate‑‑ I mean, Coach Drew has blessed me enough to let me be a part of that program, and I'm thankful. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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