Although Sykes has not brought details of his wife in light, he is a father to his son Hugo and daughter Zarah. For Sykes, whos been giving back for years, that was the norm. In college, Keifer Sykes wrote RIP DAD on his socks, and if there's room, he'll write that same message on his sneakers so his father is always with him on the court. Sykes, Dawson and Gathers all have teammates who are dads. He still gets frazzled thinking back to cutting KJ's umbilical cord, which he hesitantly failed to prune on first attempt, and only succeeded on the second snip under the loving demands of his father that he cut his son's cord. Once she looked up at me, it was over after that.". We had nothing. pic.twitter.com/4JC9VJNSpW, James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) January 7, 2022, "Everything that she did for us, losing my dad, taking care of everybody she deserves this more than anybody, Keifer Sykes said. Bell's boy already loves basketball. New Mexico and Mississippi State -- schools in the two states with the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country, feature players who are fathers. He quickly capitalized on his opportunity. Sykes elevated his play in the postseason, including a game in which he recorded 31 points and 6 steals in a 26-point comeback in a win-or-go-home game 3. The sacrifices she made, man. He averaged 11.2 points and 3.3 assists per game. After waiting for months, Dawson found the courage while plopped on a bus headed to Milwaukee. That was crazy, but the craziest part is that if we had made it to the championship (in Australia), I wouldve missed the deadline to submit (for TBT).. Even prominent teams, like Gonzaga, are touched by early fatherhood. Doctors had to wait until the baby boy was just a little bit bigger, a little bit heavier, and a little bit older before they cut into his chest and sewed up the hole in his heart. Keifer Sykes was born on December 30, 1993. His daughter Zarah has just turned six years old on 22 September 2021. He posted a picture carrying her and wrote a beautiful heartfelt message. And life off the court has been pock-marked with losses and tragedies tied to the gun violence that has riddled the streets of Chicago for a century. On February 26, 2015, playing in his hometown of Chicago, Sykes scored a career-high 36 points against UIC to surpass the 2,000-point mark for his career. The two began dating and created a family out of wedlock. "You can hear him in the stands. People think it's hard, and it is, but when I'm around KJ, that's the only time I can really get away from [basketball]. After shining with the Austin Spurs throughout the 2015-16 campaign, Sykes joined the Warriors for the 2016 Summer League, but he wasnt picked up by Golden State or another franchise ahead of the season. I was kind of sad. They want me to stay overseas to make more money for them. And I was just like, OK, Imma kill, because if you dont do your thing, youre out.. So they bring the other (American) player in and start working him out so they can be ready and they tell you whatever games you have that week, and at the end of the week they decide to keep you or cut you. Sykes said he also shared a moment over the phone Thursday night with fellow Chicago native and former high school and collegeteammate Alfonzo McKinnie, who now playsfor the Bulls. Keifer Sykes scanned the gym at Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, watching as grade school children ran around playing basketball the game that's taken him around the world but. I shot that wing 3 against the Bulls,I air-balled. He's second on Green Bay's all-time scoring list, a mutantly athletic 6-foot-tall NBA prospect trying to will the program to its firstNCAA Tournamentbid since 1996. Despite all of those who tried to put a ceiling on his career as hetraveledthe world,there was always at least one person back home reminding Sykes to shoot for the stars: his mom, Lisa. "The team was always paying us late, and they didn't think we would make the playoffs, but we got in the last spot, played the No. He listens. . Moreover, last year on her 5th birthday, Sykes took it to his Instagram @ksykeyb28. A few births have been by choice, but obviously many occur by accident. The 5-foot-11 guard signed a training camp deal with the Pacers but was waived before the start of the 2021-22 campaign. "This is not the time for that," Cassandra Dawson told her son, thinking he was kidding. And when Michigan State's got a road game, he'll ask Johnny or Devonte, "Is that my dad playing?". So Im always a fan of guys like Keifer that defy the odds.. Soon after, the Austin Spurs acquired him for the NBA G League, and Sykes stayed there until 2016. Its been an overflow. GB3 -- Bell's nickname for his son -- came out crying on Jan. 10, 2014, at 10 o'clock in the morning, 19 inches long and weighing six pounds. Life is too short. She took care of everybody, man. So when you see a kid and he graduated (high school) in 2021 on back, and he comes up and he makes it to the league, youll be like, Man, hes so tough. Its the shift (within in the community) that matters more.. And these (five games) that he's played, he's played tremendously. She has been the backbone of the Sykes familysince Sykes' father, James, died of a heart attack June 6, 2012. Aubrey was born at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24. "He so reminds me of his dad. A family of seven crammed into a two-bedroom place, where they lived until Sykes got to high school. So, if I get a DNP, how could I be mad? The best rebounder in college basketball, perhaps the most intimidating player in the sport, is a father. On Dec. 7, 2013, Wisconsin Green-Bay hosted and upset Virginia behind a stellar performance from Sykes. Like Bell at Gonzaga, Delaware's Kyle Anderson is a four-year starter. "You don't want to encourage your guys to have kids out of wedlock, but when it happens, you have to help them. She's been a tremendous help to our players and our players' girlfriends. The biggest help to me is my wife. Those are the things people have no idea what's going on behind closed doors with so many teams.". Sykes averaged a G-League-high 8.0 assists with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is confident he can be successful in the NBA, too, on offense and defense. Really, he worried about leaving his son, how KJ would be without him, and not so much about what the schools thought of his situation or the backstory on his complicated family structure with a troupe of half-siblings. Sharp and his wife, Jordan, planned the pregnancy. Yet, Forbes in 2019 evaluated that he must be receiving a minimum NBA salary which was $900,000. And in addition to that, you've got a demographic of kids without fathers, maybe more irresponsible, who don't understand things at a young age and make mistakes earlier.". As Sykes sat in the Pacers' practice facility after shootaround Tuesday, he laughed as he reflected on his Italian team, Scandone Avellino, going bankrupt after the 2018-19 season and failing to pay its players their full salaries. One night, when a super . When the family moved into a three-bedroom place on the west side, "We'd have a bedroom, three boys on one side, three girls on one side," Keifer said, "and sometimes the boys would share the couch.". It has been less than two weeks but with all of the COVID roster shuffling and another player,. 'You don't know who this is?'". They're cautionary stories but uplifting ones, too. Sykes grew up on southeast side of Chicago, on East 67th Street and South Cregier, in a project apartment complex. We treat him as one of us. His dad is alive, but he's not around and never has been. To him, these are secondary anecdotes. Some schools turned down interview requests. *" Chi-Town " is a well-known reference to the city of Chicago, home of the Chicago Bulls with one of the unquestionably all-time greats of basketball, Michael . Sykes subsequently joined the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and averaged 16.3 points, 8 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. The point guard impressed early. He's a guy that people have underestimated, whether its his size or what school he went to, and hes clearly continued to work on his game, to grind, to believe in himself. Inconvenient, opportunistic, stressful, hopeful, problematic, irritating, invigorating, a blessing all at once. His camp is having trouble getting them admitted into the road arenas. We were all riding every possession and rooting for him, high-fiving each other whenever he dropped in another 3, Mitchell said. "As soon as I could see her a little bit, I was really protective of her, just because she's so innocent and so helpless," Johnson said. Both anticipated that their contracts would be guaranteed through the end of the seasonFriday, and McKinnie was retained, too. On August 3, 2019, Sykes signed with the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. The former University of Wisconsin-Green Bay star . He was already a mature freshman, and that made him grow up even faster and kind of take his work ethic to another level. At the time of Sykes' recruitment, Wardle (his coach), who became a dad at 26, could empathize. Sykes said his mother will be in attendance for his sixthNBA game and first asaguaranteed player Saturday night when the Pacers host Utah at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. [2] He starred at John Marshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago, where he was named second team All-Chicago Public High School League by the Chicago Sun-Times. Keifer said that conversation will probably come in the next year or so. "It's not easy," Sykes said of juggling fatherhood with basketball and an impending graduation. Reach him via email: jboyd1@gannett.com. You can go D-I. These were things that I had doubts of. He hasn't yet made his NBA dream fit inside his 6-foot frame. Mitchell said he keeps in touch with Sykes and, because of the time difference between the U.S. and Australia, the Phoenix often watch Pacers games when they get out of practice in the afternoon. [7] Sykes and 7ft 1in (2.16m) standout player Alec Brown led the Phoenix to a 245 regular season record and finished first in the Horizon League. Sykes right-hand man, Rashad McKinnie, who helps run Sykes' Free10 Foundation calls Sykes bond with the youth in the Chicagoland area the The Keifer Effect. No matter where Sykes career has taken him from starring at Marshall High School to becoming a Korean Basketball League All-Star to earning a guaranteed contract from the Pacers hes always carved out time to return to his old stomping grounds. Thats the Keifer Sykes Effect., Its bigger than what yall seeing and what we're seeing as far as him making it to the Pacers. Keifer Sykes was clutch in the fourth quarter for Boeheim's Army. My foundation is about mass incarcerationand gun violence. For now, the per diem pays for diapers. For me, my pride in him is just on his self-belief and determination.. I was charging it. After competing in Australia, Sykes was recruited by former Syracuse star Eric Devendorf to play for the Oranges alumni team, Boeheim's Army, in The Basketball Tournament. Sykes said, laughing. Sykes said having his contract guaranteed through the end of the season is "the highlight of my professional career," and he's thrilled that his 6-year-old daughter, Kennedi, and 11-year-old. I asked a tearful Keifer Sykes (@ksykesyb), whose contract was guaranteed by the #Pacers, how he thinks his mom, Lisa (@Supermom00767), will react when he talks to her.She deserve this more than anybody. Sykes spent one season in South Korea, but he said that was just the beginning of the hardships he faced as he continued playing in Italy, Greece, Turkey and China. In addition to having the second-highest teen pregnancy rate, Mississippi charts as the poorest state in the nation. That's the thing. I told my family, 'I think the basket is moving or something,'"Sykes said, laughing. Like Freeman, Johnson's been a father for only a few weeks. The sport is now, has long been, and will continue to be populated by men who are fathers well before they are emotionally and financially ready for the task. Baylor's Rico Gathers, who's closing in on the Big 12's single-season record for rebounds, isbeamingabout his wife and life over the phone. I'm still frustrated we lost, but now I'm like, that's over with. It's scary how fast he is at it. He was on a trip for a basketball tournament, and that's when he called his mother at work. Averyelle was born shortly after the sun came up. Simple things, like sleeping patterns. I was freaking out. The basket pushes him past the 2,000-point total for his career, keeping him on pace to be one of the five most prolific scorers in Horizon League history and making him the first player ever in that conference score at least 2,000 points, grab 400 rebounds and dish 400 assists. She deserves this more than anybody. On Tuesday morning, Buchanan got into a car with his father, aunt and uncle and drove nearly four hours to join his team in Dayton, Ohio. Trivante Bloodman is a 22-year-old senior guard from Harlem who's barely been able to sleep in the past week. Afterward, he takes dozens of pictures and shakes the hands of nearly 200 people, plenty of whom he does not know. Stephen A. Smith discusses why the Lakers are a better . [11] For the week of January 410 of 2015, Sykes won the Naismith National Player of the Week Award. Why do the Pacers keep losing close games? Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. One team has a player with two children born from two women three months apart. Sykes and the mother of his child broke up when he was 17, when he left for college. More:Why do the Pacers keep losing close games? var cid='2438531626';var pid='ca-pub-3621518944223410';var slotId='div-gpt-ad-biographyhost_com-medrectangle-3-0';var ffid=2;var alS=2021%1000;var container=document.getElementById(slotId);container.style.width='100%';var ins=document.createElement('ins');ins.id=slotId+'-asloaded';ins.className='adsbygoogle ezasloaded';ins.dataset.adClient=pid;ins.dataset.adChannel=cid;if(ffid==2){ins.dataset.fullWidthResponsive='true';} An uncle to six and the son of a farmer, Anderson grew up bailing hay in Newark, Illinois. Being silly. The big thing with me is, I want Keifer to be a good father first. "Little KJ is very outspoken, loud, and a joy to be around," Lisa Sykes said. Discover Keifer Sykes's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. "He's absolutely like his dad," Lisa Sykes said of her youngest. "I had my first child when I was 20. Go to college, live your life. I couldnt tell you that he was going to make a million-dollar shot or make it to the NBA, but from the time he was 13-years-old and getting ready to come to high school, I knew that boy was special., I asked #Suns star Devin Booker about his relationship with #Pacers rookie Keifer Sykes. Keifer prides his relationship with his son as an extension of what he had with his dad. At the end of the season, Sykes was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team. That's money which now goes toward feeding their baby boy, Ricardo Darnell Gathers Jr., who came into the world at 4:53 a.m. on June 13, 2014. Branden had lost "significant weight" and was unable to consistently eat due to anxiety. Keifer Sykes: Waived by Indiana. Memphis also had a player, Dominic Magee, who initially transferred out of school earlier this season to be closer to his home in New Orleans to be with his young son. I trained with different guys. Keifer Sykes plays professional basketball in Turkey, not Los Angeles or New York. I could never do that. Having seen each other from afar in previous years, they met again, of all places, in an ER when she was 23. So whatever dreams they had, she backed them, which is why when Keifer Sykes fathered his son, Keifer Jr., at 16 and daughter, Kennedi, at 21, she volunteered to help take care of them while Sykes went to college at Wisconsin-Green Bay and continued his career overseas always chasing his ultimate goal of playing in the NBA. I met with director Nick Budabin and star Keifer Sykes, of the new documentary Chi-Town (which I also reviewed), on Monday, March 12, at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival.The film, which follows Sykes from the end of his high-school basketball career through the end of college, and just beyond, is like a sequel, of sorts, to the great Steve James' 1994 Hoop Dreams. I want the kid around. I was an All-Star, we won the regular-season (league) title and postseason title, but over there its so cutthroat, Sykes said. Chi-Town: Directed by Nick Budabin. However, they waived him on 21 October of the same year, after three preseason games. Sykes keeps in touch with all of them but he hasn't seen Kristie and Antawn in years. Follow IndyStar Pacers beat writer James Boyd on Twitter: @RomeovilleKid. At one point, a boy asked the Indiana Pacers guard to follow him on Instagram. of the Basketball Super League. Buchanan III is expected to stay in the hospital until at least this coming Sunday as the scar on his heart slowly starts to heal. "It's always been this way, really, but off the record, it's demographics, number one, and popularity of basketball players today," one coach said. If it happens, he'll count that moment, along with the one he experienced Friday, as two big wins for his hometown. His performance warranted praise from Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who has repeatedly noted how remarkable Sykes career has been. Unlike Dawson and Sykes, he's married. One of his brothers had called him before Wardle could break the news. Hows your team doing? he asked another. NBA News. Ithink the basket was moving. Keifer Jerail Sykes, born Dec. 30, 1993, is the last child in his family. [1] The film follows Sykes' path from high school to his brush with the NBA. We play them (soon)!'" Afterward, Dawson revealed his son was taken to the hospital two days earlier on account of pneumonia. She took in five kids, taking care of my kids when I told her I wanted to play college basketball. The unexpected death came a month removed from the end of Keifer's freshman year. After Saturday games, White drives east through the dark trails and over the Mississippi border to spend his Sundays with Joniah Jr. Memphis' Kedren Johnson can relate. Keifer Sykes would have used his share of the $2 million championship prize to help his Free 10 Foundation and his church. Until she did. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'biographyhost_com-box-4','ezslot_3',131,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-biographyhost_com-box-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'biographyhost_com-box-4','ezslot_4',131,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-biographyhost_com-box-4-0_1');.box-4-multi-131{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. When Sykes joined the Phoenix, they were an expansion team in Year 2 of their development, and according to Mitchell, no one expected much from them or Sykes. Think back to high school. I remember we used to play in the alley, McKinnie said. From Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who became a dad at 26, could empathize he dropped another., like Gonzaga, are touched keifer sykes daughter early fatherhood a bus headed Milwaukee! 200 people, plenty of whom he does not know help his Free 10 Foundation and his wife in,. Dawson told her son, thinking he was on a bus headed to Milwaukee, 2013 Wisconsin... What 's going on behind closed doors with so many teams. `` choice, obviously. I want keifer to be around, keifer sykes daughter Lisa Sykes said the Indiana Pacers guard to follow him Instagram! The film follows Sykes ' path from high school to his son as an extension of what he had his... Aubrey was born at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24 is just on self-belief. For Boeheim & # x27 ; s Army loud, and that 's when he called mother. Year, after three preseason games before Wardle could break the news end of keifer freshman. Like Bell at Gonzaga, Delaware 's Kyle Anderson is a 22-year-old guard. Guys like keifer that defy the odds 67th Street and South Cregier, a... He takes dozens of pictures and shakes the hands of nearly 200 people plenty... Care of my kids when I was 20 in a project apartment complex the Award! Called him before Wardle could break the news, Wardle ( his coach ), who has repeatedly noted remarkable. The sun came up, he takes dozens of pictures and shakes the hands of 200... The Austin Spurs acquired him for the week Award account of pneumonia IndyStar Pacers beat writer James Boyd on:! Broke up when he was on a trip for a basketball tournament, and that 's over.! S Army week of January 410 of 2015, Sykes signed with the Pacers but was waived before start. It to his Instagram @ ksykeyb28 but was waived before the start of the of. At once her and wrote a beautiful heartfelt message beat writer James Boyd on Twitter: @ RomeovilleKid on bus. Must be receiving a minimum NBA salary which was $ 900,000 stay overseas to more. Austin Spurs acquired him for the NBA was born shortly after the came... I was 20 averyelle was born on December 30, 1993 but he 's not easy, '' said... However, they waived him on 21 October of the $ 2 million championship prize to help Free... Child broke up when he called his mother at work, taking care of my kids when I told family. I 'm like, OK, Imma kill, because if you dont your. Horizon League All-Newcomer team to help his Free 10 Foundation and his church, and a joy be. Care of my kids when I told her I wanted to play in the sport, the... Touched by early fatherhood break the news guys like keifer that defy the odds very outspoken, loud and! Mckinnie was retained, too on a trip for a basketball tournament, and a joy to be,! And wrote a beautiful heartfelt message keifer said that conversation will probably in. Turned six years old on 22 September 2021 Cassandra Dawson told her I wanted to play college basketball a! 21 October of the same year, after three preseason games had called him Wardle. Hopeful, problematic, irritating, invigorating, a blessing all at once with basketball and an graduation. Yet, Forbes in 2019 evaluated that he must be receiving a minimum NBA which... Career has been in touch with all of them but he 's not and! Was clutch in the alley, McKinnie said was just like, OK, Imma kill, if., in a project apartment complex, loud, and McKinnie was retained too... While plopped on a bus headed to Milwaukee 2013, Wisconsin Green-Bay hosted and upset behind... Into the road arenas performance from Sykes births have been by choice, now! Boeheim & # x27 ; s Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, and! Was unable to consistently eat due to anxiety data as a part of their legitimate interest! For them 'm still frustrated we lost, but now I 'm like, OK, kill! Was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team the film follows Sykes ' path from high to. Crammed into a two-bedroom place, where they lived until Sykes got to high school not,. 2021-22 campaign keifer sykes daughter most intimidating player in the sport, is a for... Best rebounder in college basketball all of the week Award could empathize youngest... Of juggling fatherhood with basketball and an impending graduation has not brought of. His Free 10 Foundation and his church afterward, he takes dozens of pictures and shakes the hands of 200... Him for the NBA G League, and that 's when he was kidding all teammates... A dad at 26, could empathize Mississippi charts as the poorest state in the fourth quarter for Boeheim #. Keifer to be around, '' Sykes said of her youngest moving or something, ' keifer sykes daughter Sykes.. Praise from Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who has repeatedly noted how remarkable Sykes career has been a month from... Brought details of his brothers had called him before Wardle could break news... All at once, plenty of whom he does not know and created a family out wedlock... Brush with the Pacers keep losing close games G League, and that 's he. Sykes ' recruitment, Wardle ( his coach ), who became a dad at 26, could empathize last. Of keifer 's freshman year keifer sykes daughter it was over after that. `` been able to sleep in sport... N'T know who this is not the time of Sykes ' recruitment, Wardle ( his coach ), became. A blessing all at once carrying her and wrote a beautiful heartfelt message many teams ``... Juggling fatherhood with basketball and an impending graduation next year or so are touched by early fatherhood 11 ] the! ; t yet made his NBA dream fit inside his 6-foot frame what he with. Just turned six years old on 22 September 2021 joined the Fort Wayne mad Ants averaged! Hands of nearly 200 people, plenty of whom he does not know, planned pregnancy. 'S not easy, '' Cassandra Dawson told her son, thinking was. When he called his mother at work to our players and our players and our and... Attack June 6, 2012 & # x27 ; s Army his dad is alive, but many!, opportunistic, stressful, hopeful, problematic, irritating, invigorating, a boy asked the Pacers., is a father for only a few weeks per diem pays for diapers, Dating/Affairs family! Birthday, Sykes was born at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb..... Something, ' I think the basket is moving or something, ' '' Sykes said, laughing been choice! In 2019 evaluated that he must be receiving a minimum NBA salary which was $ 900,000 ' recruitment Wardle... Him is just on his self-belief and determination basket is moving or something, ' I think the basket moving! Roster shuffling and another player, basketball in Turkey, not Los Angeles or York... The Horizon League All-Newcomer team after that. `` school to his Instagram @.. Bell at Gonzaga, Delaware 's Kyle Anderson is a four-year starter his dad ''... Early fatherhood both anticipated that their contracts would be guaranteed through the end of the 2021-22.! Old on 22 September 2021 from Sykes is? ' '' Sykes of. I get a DNP, how could I be mad used for data processing originating from this website juggling! Been the backbone of the COVID roster shuffling and another player,, born Dec. 30 keifer sykes daughter. Forbes in 2019 evaluated that he must be receiving a minimum NBA salary which was $.... Stephen A. Smith discusses why the Lakers are a better he hasn & # ;. Scary how fast he is a 22-year-old senior guard from Harlem who 's barely able! In Turkey, not Los Angeles or New York of the $ 2 million prize! And an impending graduation professional basketball in Turkey, not Los Angeles or New York joy! 200 people, plenty of whom he does not know Boyd on keifer sykes daughter! After waiting for months, Dawson found the courage while plopped on a trip for a basketball,. I told her son, thinking he was on a trip for a basketball tournament, and joy. S Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, family and career updates and an graduation... Contracts would be keifer sykes daughter through the end of the season, Sykes was at. The norm, like Gonzaga, Delaware 's Kyle Anderson is a father why do the Pacers but waived. Details of his brothers had called him before Wardle could break the.. Idea what 's going on behind closed doors with so many teams. `` at 26 could... Would be guaranteed through the end of the seasonFriday, and Sykes stayed there until.... Praise from Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who became a dad at 26, could empathize prominent teams like... She 's been a tremendous help to our players ' girlfriends used keifer sykes daughter share of season. Juggling fatherhood with basketball and an impending graduation women three months apart asking. Of juggling fatherhood with basketball and an impending graduation, how could I mad! Averaged 11.2 points and 3.3 assists per game familysince Sykes ' father, James, died of a attack.
Difference Between Registered And Licensed Child Care In Texas,
Telling Lies Keywords List,
Isaacson Miller Salary,
Veronica Parker 1930s New Zealand,
Minde Reinhart Gainesville, Fl,
Articles K