Jeff Teague tells heartfelt story about Brad Stevens ‘saving his life’

https://sports.yahoo.com/jeff-teague-tells-heartfelt-story-024517481.html



Jeff Teague tells heartfelt story about Brad Stevens ‘saving his life’



Moke Hamilton

Wed, December 16, 2020, 6:45 PM PST·3 min read





It may have taken 15 years longer than Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens may have wanted, but he finally landed Jeff Teague.

Finally, the two are on the same side.

In an interview with NBC Sports Boston, Teague, who signed with the Celtics this past offseason after Stevens assisted with his recruitment, revealed that the two have a long, unknown history.

According to the guard, while completing his high school basketball career in his native Indianapolis, Stevens — who was coaching at Butler University at the time — was hot on Teague’s trail. Ranked among the top point guards in the class, Stevens tried unsuccessfully to get Teague to commit to Butler University, but the point guard ultimately landed at Wake Forest.

Still, one encounter with Stevens, Teague says, saved his life.

For years, the young guard had been hiding his report cards (and low grades) from his parents, and a stern talking-to from Stevens convinced Teague to take his academics as seriously as his performance on the basketball court.

According to Teague, Stevens told Teague in unequivocal terms that he wouldn’t make it to college, much less the NBA, unless he brought his grades up, and Stevens also blew the whistle on the young guard, notifying Teague’s father of his son’s poor performance in the classroom.

Thereafter, Teague got his act together and played two standout years at Wake Forest before being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2009.

Now entering his 12th NBA season, Teague’s amassed about $97 million in career earnings, so it’s probably safe to say he owes his new coach some commission.

Teague tells the story in his own words to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg.

“I knew Brad since high school, he actually changed my whole life, basically… Because I had a path that I wasn’t really focused on school as much. I played basketball, obviously, but school wasn’t my favorite thing to do. So he pulled me into a room at Butler as a sophomore in front of my dad and he basically showed him my grades. I had been hiding report cards for some years. And basically just told me, ‘If you want the opportunity to play college basketball, you have to bring your grades up.’ And my dad not seeing my grades for a couple of years, he was pretty mad about that.”

Since then, Teague says, he’s had a heartfelt appreciation for Stevens. The two have been competing against one another in the NBA since Stevens was hired by the Celtics in 2013, and Teague has often made it his point of duty to tell the coach to his face that he saved his life. Stevens has mostly dismissed the praise as overly dramatic.

To Teague, however, there’s an incredible amount of gratitude.

“I had to get my act together… And every time we play the Celtics in the past I would tell Brad, ‘Hey, thank you for saving my life,’ and he would look at me like shut up, whatever man…”

Perhaps it’s serendipity, but 15 years after the life-changing chat, Teague will finally have the opportunity to play for Stevens.

Maybe now, in the NBA, they can change each other’s lives for the better. Maybe, just maybe, a championship can be brought to Boston that’s been in the making for more than a decade.


Bob
MY NOTE:  We're talking about a kid who could have been a complete bust; no education and no marketable skills besides basketball vs almost $100M earned and an NBA All-Star.  That's a pretty damn large impact, if you ask me.

What I'm going to be watching, though, is Tristan Thompson's reaction to Brad.  We know that young players love Brad, but championships are won by grizzled veterans with wolf eyes.  If Thompson sings Brad's praises then we're in good shape because Thompson is widely respected around the league.


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Is anyone still questioning Danny and Brad adding JT to the team?

This was a value added addition.

TT is a good guy. Another great addition to a team in need of his veteran leadership and skills. TT will not be pushed around repeatedly in the post. He is a low usage defensive minded center who fits like a glove.

I'll bet that Jeff was none too happy with Brad when it happened. He was a sophomore in HS at the time and it happened in front of his unknowing Dad.

Time and a little experience allows us to look at past events in a different light. I did like Brad's take on it. "... he would look at me like shut up, whatever man…”

gyso wrote:I'll bet that Jeff was none too happy with Brad when it happened.  He was a sophomore in HS at the time and it happened in front of his unknowing Dad.

Time and a little experience allows us to look at past events in a different light.  I did like Brad's take on it.  "... he would look at me like shut up, whatever man…”

Well I would like to know how and why "Dad" was oblivious. Thank God for Brad Stevens!

dboss wrote:

gyso wrote:I'll bet that Jeff was none too happy with Brad when it happened.  He was a sophomore in HS at the time and it happened in front of his unknowing Dad.

Time and a little experience allows us to look at past events in a different light.  I did like Brad's take on it.  "... he would look at me like shut up, whatever man…”

Well  I would like to know how and why "Dad"  was oblivious.  Thank God for Brad Stevens!

                                                       I had the same thought. Kinda  wondering about Mom too.Wonder if she was around

dboss wrote:Is anyone still questioning Danny and Brad adding JT to the team?

This was a value added addition.

TT is a good guy.   Another great addition to a team in need of his veteran leadership and skills.  TT will not be pushed around repeatedly in the post.  He is a low usage defensive minded center who fits like a glove.

He awight

As a public school teacher and coach for well over 30 years, I will mention that many kids find many ways to hide things like poor grades from parents, and is not always the parents who are at fault for not knowing.

Too many schools just let too many kids "pass on through" the system without caring very much about these kids. I have seen many good coaches take the academic issue to many parents over the years when a school may have not. Being the bearer of bad academic news is something that the good coaches know has to be done in certain situations.

My question in this story is "where the heck was Teague's own high school coach"?

Congrats to Brad Stevens for his action to help Teague, and nice recognition of Stevens efforts by Teague.