No, not just Cedric Jackson.
Alade Aminu.
After representing the Erie BayHawks in the D-League All-Star game, Aminu was back in Erie for Tuesday’s practice. I caught up with him after practice at LECOM. Aminu scored four points for the East, which lost 98-81 to the West on Saturday in Dallas.
On his experience in Dallas for the All-Star Weekend: Ah it was lovely, man. Great atmosphere, man. Every basketball Hall of Fame name you could think of was there. I was in the elevator with Bill Russell. Who else was out there? Dominique Wilkins. All the Hall of Fame guys were out there. It was a beautiful atmosphere.”
On if he met any of his idols. (Last year, former Erie BayHawk forward Erik Daniels played in the All-Star game and he met his idol, Magic Johnson): When I saw Bill Russell, I was kind of like in awe. Then when I saw Luke Walton’s father, Bill Walton. Seeing Russell and Walton? I was taken aback by it. Those are two guys I kind of look up to. It was amazing to see them.
On what he gained from the experience: With hard work and dedication, you can be one of the top guys in these leagues. You can be an inspiration to other young guys coming up. I think that besides winning a ring, that’s what you want to be. An All-Star. Other than winning a championship, you want to be recognized by your peers as an All-Star and play in that game. You want to be a role model in the community. It’s a great honor and an humbling feeling being out there. Just had to thank God for even giving me the chance to be out there.”
On seeing snow in Dallas: “I was very surprised. I thought it was going t be nice and sunny. I packed my shorts and everything and Dallas had snow. I’m like, I just came from Erie. I don’t want to see any more snow. It was a little ugly, but it ended up clearing out and it ended up being a good event.”
On the D-League All-Star game itself: “The game was fun. I had nothing but guards on my team so I kind of figured how the game was going to go, but it was fun. It was a great experience to be in that game. Just playing with other All-Stars of my league. Hopefully stay in good spirits so I can take it to another level and expand my game up there and an All-Star at that level (the NBA) as well.”
From left to right, Aminu is the second player in the back row. The one with the big smile.
