El Paso Independent School District boys and girls varsity basketball players and coaches had a surprise visitor Wednesday morning.
Retired NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson was at the Andress High School Performing Arts Center for about an hour, talking to kids about the importance of education and the game of basketball among other things. He also took questions from the crowd and gave away jerseys.
The event was organized by El Paso ISD and Cigna according to an EPISD press release. He was introduced to the audience by Vince Sheffield, El Paso ISD Deputy Superintendent of Administration and Academics.
“I know for myself, at your age, that’s all I cared about, was playing basketball and making sure I got my grades,” Johnson said. “Why is that important? You want to get great grades because you want to go on, hopefully, to college. If that’s not a part of your plan, that’s OK, too, as long as you, then, get a trade.”
High school basketball in El Paso and Texas is underway with practices. The girls started last Wednesday and the boys started on Wednesday and the event at Andress was billed as a Tip-off event for EPISD schools.
"It was great to have Magic here, it was a learning experience for everyone," Andress boys basketball coach Eugene Costello said. "Nobody knew he was coming, it was a wonderful surprise for everyone."
On his twitter account @MagicJohnson, Johnson tweeted out the following statement Wednesday afternoon: "Today I spent the morning speaking to 400 high school student-athletes in El Paso, TX. I had so much fun talking to them about preparation, discipline, focus, how to take their game to another level, and last but not least, being excellent in the classroom!"
Johnson played 13 seasons in the NBA and was part of five NBA championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also won an NCAA Championship with Michigan State.
"The kids paid attention, the kids learned so much from his speech," El Paso High boys basketball coach Luis Celaya said. "He talked about his childhood, playing in high school and in the NBA. It was neat to see his point of view. He talked about how anyone can make it in life with hard work. He talked about getting up at 4 a.m. and being the first in line in drills and that resonated with our kids."
"Magic Johnson's message (is) really inspiring," Jefferson girls coach Noel Castaneda said. "He was honest and he provided a spark to all of our teams."
The time Johnson spent in El Paso had an impact on the student-athletes.
"It was crazy to see him live," Burges junior basketball player Jordyn Hernandez said. "I looked up to him and that whole era when he played. My grandpa (Rene Hernandez) was a big fan of Larry Bird (one of Johnson's rivals in the college and pro ranks) and we'd talk about that era of basketball. What I took from the speech was the motivation to never give up. He always had a goal each day and that stood out to me."
"Magic gave us great advice and tips about basketball and about life and how there is so much to life. It was really inspiring," Franklin guard Caitlynn Clark said. "I immediately watched videos of him after the talk and it's insane how good he was. He really uplifted his teammates and never slacked off. That opened all of our eyes on our team and we practiced right after his speech and had a great practice."
