Where is taquan dean

He takes the water bottle and he leaves. People who should be around me, who should be taking care of me just kept vanishing away from me. Like for many others, sports were an escape for me and it was starting to become obvious I was quite good at that.

I was just a kid and this man, Kevin Owens , told me I could make it to the NBA just by watching me play in the backyard. He said he wanted to adopt me. Kevin fell ill with cancer soon afterwards and I thought I was going to lose him too, but fortunately he survived and helped me with my basketball career. He traveled with me so I could compete against the best talent in America.

The part about my college career, you probably know a little bit because I was pretty good at Louisville. I ended up the leading three-point shooter in school history playing for Rick Pitino. My father showed up for a game during my freshman year in college. I was very suspicious. Anyways, I tried to develop a relationship with him. I took this man who had been much of his life in jail to see the world, brought him with me to Italy, for example. Just tried to make everything nice for him throughout my pro career because I thought he was my father.

I even took care of him financially because… what are you going to do? Since I was well off money-wise, I thought it was the right thing to do. I get married and my wife Shakaola gets to meet G. That knocked me off my feet a little bit, but I left it alone for some time even though her comment was lurking in the back of my head.

By now, I have a relationship with my sister and one day his father, Anthony Pinero , approaches me and tells me he might be my dad. No alcohol, no drugs, not much partying, focus on work.

Perhaps they thought something was wrong with me? That was helpful. I wanted him to know from me directly and not hear from someone else. It was a rough conversation. He cursed me out really bad, told me I was an awful person. I went to court and changed my name to Taqwa Pinero. I converted to Islam lots of changes! I always searched for God looking for an explanation as to why people around me were dying and I had to be hit with so much drama. I was a Christian, then Islam was introduced to me.

I was wary and nervous at first about it because of all the things you hear about it. Then in a way I draw a parallel between this religion and myself. Top , Column. In terms of strictly basketball, Wheeler debuting as a rookie during the season offers intrigue.

Even with the youth academy year under his belt, he would make his professional debut when he is still just It stands to reason that a high school junior turning professional will not become the norm. Top-end high school seniors opting to bypass even one year of college in favor of turning pro may also not become the norm, but that one has certainly raised some eyebrows lately. Wheeler just happens to be speeding up the process.

Phil Wheeler leaving his American high school after his junior year to turn pro is a rare, much-ballyhooed move. Here are some examples of athletes taking a road less traveled. He spent at College of Southern Idaho, then was selected No. Harper made his Major League Debut on April 28, , at just 19 years old. Jeremy Tyler: Aside from Wheeler, this is the only other case we could find, high profile or not, of a high school junior leaving the United States to sign a contract abroad.

In April , he announced his intention to skip his senior year to turn pro, eventually signing with Maccabi Haifa in Israel. Tyler lasted all of 10 games in Israel. He was eventually chosen 39th overall in the NBA Draft, but logged just 80 games over three seasons, while his decision to leave high school was viewed as a disaster in hindsight.

Tyler spent playing in Puerto Rico. Willoughby played for six teams across eight seasons, but he was out of the league at He later said he regretted skipping college, but received a communications degree from Fairleigh Dickinson in Josh Newman is currently the beat reporter for Rutgers University sports.

Contact him at jnewman4 gannettnj. Facebook Twitter Email. Josh Newman Asbury Park Press. Show Caption.

Hide Caption. Phil Wheeler leaves high school to sign professional hoops contract in Europe.