[Dramatic music] FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: HBCUs gave so many young people a chance they never thought they'd have.

A chance that nobody else would give them.

KAMALA HARRIS: As a proud graduate of an HBCU, we stand on broad shoulders.

BOB DANDRIDGE: If it were not for historically Black universities, I would not be standing here before you tonight.

The opportunities were greater at historically Black universities.

KYLE O'QUINN: Basketball's played at a very high level in HBCUs.

All the players are just waiting for an opportunity like I once had.

STAN VERRETT: There's such a proud legacy in athletics from HBCUs.

We have to create the opportunities to make sure that these athletes don't get overlooked.

ROBERT COVINGTON: It's a different experience and everyone there, looks like you, predominantly Black.

Not only did they teach me about the game of basketball, they taught me about the game of life.

[Music crescendos] SPORTS ANNOUNCER: Covington.

There it is.

Cut to the hoop for the jam.

Covington, with the throwdown.

Covington for the lead.

Yes.

SHY ODOM: Robert Covington, he beat the odds.

One out of 450.

If he can do it, anyone can.

You just gotta believe.

DAMIAN LILLARD: To come from HBCU and make this type of career in the league, that's a hell of a accomplishment.

SPORTS ANNOUNCER: For Covington, yes.

ROB: I understood exactly what I was doing and where I was at one of HBCU.

We don't get the recognition that the other institutions get, the PWIs.

DAVID ALDRIDGE: HBCU players have always been part of the fabric of the NBA.

SPORTS ANNOUNCER: Forty-three for Covington.

DAMIAN LILLARD: Knowing that he had a tough one, just from following his career and knowing that he got it out the mud, you know, I'm proud of that.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: They tell you to go to the Kentuckys, go to the Dukes, go to the Michigan States.

They never tell you, you could make it to League through a HBCU.

I think he's shown Black kids everywhere that you could represent your culture, your skin, and still accomplish the dreams you have set for you and your family.

ROBERT: Allergic to failure on three, man.

One, two, three.

Would I change anything about my journey?

I'd be like, no.

My journey is what made me who I am.

This is my story.

Allergic to Failure.

[Sound of flames igniting] ROBERT: The young man you see now, I wasn't always that kid that you all know to love.

Everyone knows that mantra of what we live by, you all can say it.

You all know it, we live it since 15 years now and what's that motto?

ALL: Allergic to failure.

DENNIS BRYANT: I can't hear y'all.

ALL: Allergic to failure.

DENNIS BRYANT: I can't hear y'all.

ALL: Allergic to failure.

ROBERT: Allergic to failure, man, is my life.

It's a testament to who I am.

I've literally been faced with them to everything to break me and I haven't.

I've used it as a learning lesson and failure's not an option for me.

DENNIS BRYANT, JR: Allergic to failure to my family means learning from either your mistakes or your losses in life.

DEVEON BRYANT: Allergic to failure to me means, the grind don't stop.

You always have to keep working no matter what.

There's no such thing as quitting.

ROBERT: This is my family, man.

ATF, Allergic to Failure.

This is our family mantra, man.

This is all a symbolization of what we have and who we are as a family.

So now, it's official.

[Applause] ROBERT: DJ, kick the music.

♪ ♪ DAVID: The HBCUs grew and developed out of the abolitionist movement to give Black people a place to learn.

It was a necessity for Black people to continue their education or to be educated at all.

HBCU players have always been part of the fabric of the NBA.

The league's history is filled with players who excelled, who came from HBCUs and who brought that tenacity and brought that talent in order to survive in the NBA.

BOB: Bob Dandridge, a graduate of Norfolk State University, played in the NBA for 12 years, four time NBA All-Star.

Back during the '60s, the early '70s, opportunities were limited for African American athletes as far as going to Division 1 schools.

DAVID: The best players used to play at HBCUs out of necessity because major college sports were not available to them.

MICHAEL WILBON: Earl Monroe was, if he wasn't on first team, he was second or third team all NBA and so he was, you know, in your face.

Willis Reed coming from Grambling, you had a lot of players.

BOB DANDRIDGE: It was the historically Black university that took on the task of educating young African Americans.

STAN VERRETT: The advent of integration really changed things for HBCUs.

DAVID: Once, Power 5 conferences began integrating gradually, that became obvious to PWIs that if we're going to have the best teams, we gotta have the best players, that means, we gotta raid the HBCUs and the cost is that the best players haven't been going to HBCUs.

STAN: For many of them, it was the right thing to do, but we can't ever forget that for other athletes, for other students, HBCUs are the right place to go.

KYLE O'QUINN: Kyle O'Quinn, the Norfolk State University, behold the green and gold.

Being the last basketball player drafted out of the HBCU, obviously it's an honor.

There should be more.

There should be a change.

Basketball's played at a very high level in HBCUs.

BOB: I believe HBCU players can totally contribute to championship teams, to great teams in the NBA.

STAN: We have to make sure that HBCU athletes who have the talent just get an opportunity to show what they can do.

[Street noise] ROBERT: It's not just for me that I do this for, it's for my friends, my family.

WOMAN: We ready to go home.

MAN: What's happening cousin?

Looking good out there bro.

I saw you out there locking him down bro.

ROBERT: There's so many different people that, you know, I'm thankful that paved the way for me to have the opportunity to even pick up a basketball, playing at HBCU and playing in the NBA.

I'm trying to pave the way for the next generation to come in and have that same impact on things.

DAVID: When you look at a guy like Rob, you didn't have people kind of walking him down the path.

He had to create his own path.

If I can't make it this way, lemme make it this other way.

ROBERT: We all gonna go through trials, we all gonna go through tribulations, we all gonna go through things that are gonna knock us down, but it's about how we respond and that's what allergic to failure is for me.

DAVID: That should be a beacon for kids at HBCUs.

That's the path.

That's the journey.

[Street noise] TERESA BRYANT: Okay, so this is it.

This is December 14th, 1990.

Robert Bryant Covington III was born, my first born.

♪ ♪ It changed my life.

I had to grow up.

I was a 20-year-old single mom.

About to have another responsibility.

It was just me and him against the world.

ROBERT: We went through a lot growing up, sleeping in one bedroom apartment, staying at my grandfather's house, taking the train, me going to work with her.

If she couldn't find a babysitter, I'd be at my mom's job.

That's how tight me and my mother was.

TERESA: Hey son.

ROBERT: What you got?

DENNIS BRYANT: We over here going through the photo albums.

(laughter) ROBERT: Once, my...my mom met my dad, it was a different transition.

DENNIS: When me and his mom got together, he was five years old.

I knew, if I was gonna be with her, I know he was gonna be a part of my life.

ROBERT: Dennis has been the greatest gifts that I could ever ask for.

DENNIS: When he first started calling me dad, that was it.

I knew I was in it for the long haul.

TERESA: He officially came into his life, he was about to be six and I gotta take a moment.

I am trying to find, so one look when y'all was, you see this one?

Hold on.

ROBERT: I don't even wanna see it.

I already, I think I already know which one you talking about.

TERESA: Look.

ROBERT: My brothers them came in the world.

That was my first sense of, you know, being responsible.

I wanted to be that person that they could really look up to and be really be proud of.

They helped me become who I am.

DENNIS BRYANT, JR: Seeing him, we wanted to be like him.

There was nobody else that you saw that we wanted to be like.

DEVEON BRYANT: He showed us how to be a man, showed us how to grow up, how to treat people.

Just how to be a good person all together.

ROBERT: I love 'em guys to death and I'd do anything for them.

DENNIS JR: When I was younger I got paralyzed.

He wouldn't let me ever give up on myself and always push me through to finish what I was doing.

Things like don't, don't let anything or anyone stop you.

Whatever you want in life you can have, so make sure you go after it.

DEVEON: That's why motto, allergic to failure comes in.

It's something that we never gonna do.

DENNIS JR: Sports kept us outta trouble.

Sports kept us busy.

Sports taught us work ethic.

TERESA: My husband actually started him playing in-house basketball, different leagues at the, you know, YMCA and at these little rec centers.

DENNIS: When he first started playing organized basketball, he was nine years old.

We were playing in a rec league in Oak Park, Illinois.

His very first game he got on the court and they passed him the ball and he just got stuck, and he actually traveled, 'cause he didn't know what he was like, what am I supposed to be doing right now?

This is my first time playing.

But after that he blocked a couple of shots, got some rebounds scored and from here on out, that was it.

ROBERT: Fifth through eighth grade I went to MacArthur Middle School, got cut every year.

When it came to basketball, I tried, told me I wasn't good enough, told me I wasn't skilled enough, you know, it was frustrating.

It was tough to deal with.

It's all I wanna do is play basketball, but it's kind of where it all began, you know, constantly being told I'm not good enough.

Not being this, not being that.

NARRATOR: As Robert moved on to high school, he arrived at Proviso West in a suburb of Chicago where he was determined to make a name for himself.

ROBERT: Proviso West means a lot.

That was the first team that I ever played on in school.

TOMMIE MILLER: Proviso West is located in Hillside, Illinois and there a lot of good talent was at Proviso West.

Met Rob when he was a freshman.

Then, in sophomore year I asked Rob that he wanted to come up and play for us.

RAHSAAN PRICE: You just see this tall skinny kid running to a gym and he was really kind of unassuming, when he got on the court, he had a motor and he didn't like being outworked and he didn't like being shown up.

TOMMIE: We moved him and brought to varsity in his sophomore year, junior year Rob started to show up.

SPORTS ANNOUNCER: Covington.

Oh, the rim.

Covington good.

That's why he's my all perfect first team.

CYRUS MCGINNIS: People saw the talent in Robert in high school and his work ethics kept him growing, and growing, and growing.

He had to really work hard to get where he's at today.

JOHN JENKINS: He didn't catch the elevator, he took the stairs.

SPORTS ANNOUNCER: Covington up and one.

TOMMIE: Rob had character.

Rob had good discipline.

Rob had good home training, but when it came to the basketball, what he did not do, he didn't shoot enough.

He wasn't take over enough.

He wasn't that dog, you know?

Like, Rob probably could have averaged at 25, 30 points in high school if he just went, got that ball.

He had all of the skills but he wasn't that dog to go get it.

DENNIS: Antoine Walker seen him in a summer league game.

He came over to us and was like, hey, I need this kid on my AAU team.

ROBERT: Playing for the Bobcats with Antoine Walker was my first breakthrough.

ANTOINE WALKER: Going out and seeing him playing in the AAU circuit and watching him play, I knew he had special talent, a very high level Division 1 player.

Thought Rob was gonna be the second coming of Scottie Pippen.

ROBERT: Antoine basically told me, yo, we giving you the freedom, we giving you the opportunity to be yourself and you one of the most talented guys on the team.

We need you to play like it.

ANTOINE: He had all the skillsets.

He was just about bringing it out and finding his right niche, and where he can be effective.

ROBERT: Just having that freedom allowed me to really expand into the role that, you know, I became as the player I am, but that's what made me to really stand out.

DENNIS: That's how Robert got his shine and got his spotlight in high school.

NARRATOR: As Robert entered his senior year, receiving a collegiate scholarship to play basketball was heavy on his mind.

TOMMIE: When it came down to his senior year and they started recruiting.

A lot of people didn't see Rob, the son was a quiet kid.

TERESA: He didn't get a whole lot of looks like most prospects do.

He went to an unsigned senior showcase and a gentleman by the name of Dana Ford is the one who saw him.

DANA FORD: John Cooper hired me as an assistant coach at Tennessee State University.

I was 24 years old and not too far removed from college myself.

I watched Rob play and the first thing that came to my mind was, he was better than I was and I had just played at Illinois State for four years, so I knew that he could play at Tennessee State.

TOMMIE: He came in, he looked at Rob, he like what he saw.

DANA: He was handling the ball, passing the ball, shooting the ball, had a great stroke, had tremendous size and length.

TOMMIE: They didn't waste no time.

They went on and got him.

DENNIS: He was talking to us and he told me flat out, I'm gonna call you every day.

ROBERT: He stood by his word.

He literally called me every day.

DANA: After I saw him, I got word back to Coach Cooper that we probably needed to go evaluate him a little more.

JOHN COOPER: He had a couple names in mind of kids that he had saw and at the top of that list was a guy by the name of Robert Covington.

DANA: We ended up going to his high school, watching him play three on three.

They couldn't even get enough guys together to play.

JOHN: Going to watch Rob work out at his high school in Chicago, walking in and seeing this tall, long, skinny, lanky guy who at that time weighed 174 pounds.

But I walked away from that, you know, like, this is a kid that can shoot a basketball.

He's got size, he's got length.

DANA: Coach saw enough of the three on three to realize that we needed to offer him.

ROBERT: As soon as they leave, Dana text in the car, man, we would love for you to get here.

We would love for you to come here and join us.

JOHN: Rob is at Proviso West.

It's not like he's at this school that's not known.

Why is he still available if he could shoot the ball?

One of the different things I had heard from other college coaches, I don't know how tough he is.

I don't, you know, he's skinny.

We got six or seven scholarships to fill and we need people that want to be here.

I didn't know, you know, how his body was gonna develop, but I knew he could shoot a basketball, then we would be able to use that.

MICHAEL LEE: In terms of the top tier talent choosing a HBCU that didn't occur.

JOHN: Resources drive everything.

MICHAEL WILBON: The issue, I'm not gonna call it a problem, the issue is money.

DANA: You're going up against universities that just have so many more resources.

STAN: A lot of times, it came down to funding and resources and big TV games, and getting to the professional leagues.

MICHAEL W: The blue bloods in college basketball, particularly, Kansas, or Duke, or UCLA, or Kentucky, have resources to go after the most talented players who, let's face it, are our kids, African American children.

Coaches come on a private plane a good percentage of the time, right?

Is that happening at HBCUs?

No.

MICHAEL L: I think that if you were a top tier athlete, it's not really what you're searching for, when you go into a college to play sports, you go in there to find a place that can help enrich you in different ways.

ROB: Following week I go down for the weekend, go visit the school and did tour the campus.

I got to meet the faculty, I got to meet academics, met the team, met the strength coach.

DANA: You know, the thing that makes the HBCU experience special, it's real.

It's something that you can't get everywhere.

MICHAEL L: There's just something about the cultural dynamics and just what you get out of the experience of being in a Black college.

You just have a sense of pride you can't really get anywhere else.

JOHN: These are kids that are able to come, go to school, be in a familiar background and get comfortable.

Who can raise you better than your own, who know the struggle and have been through it?

There's a sense of care, there's a sense of pride.

RAHSAAN: There's nothing like a HBCU from the band, to step shows.

DANA: The uniqueness of the spirit weeks... JOHN: The big football weekends, the big basketball weekends, DANA: ...family atmosphere.

Being able to relate to everyone on campus.

JOHN: And that's the sense of community that you have when you're there in an HBCU.

DANA: It really is a unique special experience that's unlike anything else.

STUDENTS: TTT-SSS-U TTT-SSS-U JOHN: I think Rob was trying to find a place where he felt comfortable.

When he came on that visit and was around and was around the environment, I think he felt like, okay, this is a place that I can grow.

This is a place that I can mature.

ROB: By the end of the day, the welcome that I got pretty much solidified everything for me.

The family dynamic, the camaraderie, the lifestyle, the love you get, the passion.

JOHN: Lo and behold, I mean it didn't take long.

ROBERT: Before the day was even over with, I called my parents and was like, ain't no need for us to look anywhere else.

I found my school.

TERESA: He went to Tennessee State that Friday morning, that Friday night he called me at home and told me this is where he's going to school and I'm like, okay.

STAN: For athletes, especially at HBCUs, it's a choice that they make out of love, out of respect for the institutions that they wanna go to.

I think it speaks to Robert's own determination to say, this is where I want to go.

ROB: I ended up signing my letter of intent to go to Tennessee State three weeks before I graduated and it was the best feeling in the world, I had that burden off my shoulder.

It took stress off my parents, so I was really looking forward to the next chapter in life, which was college at Tennessee State.

[Band playing] STUDENTS: T-S-U!

TOMMIE: There was something about Tennessee State that brought him out of that shell.

There was something at Tennessee State that made Rob come into the ballplayer he did.

ROBERT: When my parents let me go, they let me go into another family, which is what allowed me to really prosper into who I am.

My lifelong friends I met here, that's my family.

TASHAN FREDERICK: [Laughs] I'm about to try to block you.

On my way to Tennessee State, my mom, my brother was just dropping me off.

When we pulled up into the front of the dorm, my mom kind of set my room up, my bed.

I just kind of laid there and just kind of wasted a little time to see when my roommate was gonna arrive and then Rob, and pops, and mom walked in.

Actually, one of the first things I said to Rob I'm like, "hey man, just make sure I'm up.

I know I sleep a little hard, whatever we gotta do, I don't wanna be late for practice, we gotta do whatever."

I ain't never missed a practice, never been late.

Me and Rob just developed that relationship from that day, honestly.

ROBERT: Fred always had my back from the beginning and I always had Fred back.

That's been my role dog ever since year after year, after year, like the brotherhood that was built.

TERESA: They had been inseparable since.

ROBERT: Go ahead jab.

Go ahead jab.

First time I met Steele was in open gym.

Steele looked unorthodox, like he couldn't play and he fooled me.

THOMAS STEELE: I didn't really know him but he squared up with me at the rim man.

I dunked it.

ROBERT: Ever since then, bro, we clicked, our bond is special, dog.

I said watch me grow up as a kid and it's been 14 years later, him and Fred probably seen me the most.

[Sneakers squealing] TASHAN: When we first got there and we going through training and everything.

From day one he was saying, I'm focused, I'm trying to get to the league.

DANA: If he had 15 minutes, he was gonna come shoot free throws for 15 minutes.

If he had an hour he was gonna get in an extra lift.

TASHAN: Me just being a kid, just want to have fun and not really locked in, you don't wanna go to this little set tonight?

Like, nah, I'm chilling.

House party, you don't want to go?

I don't want to do nothing.

I'm like, man, come on man.

You know what I mean?

Like, you gotta have some fun, you still can get to the league.

He was the first person I ever noticed that from.

DANA: One of the memories that stick out to me is his very first individual workout and that's when we finally realized that man, he's got a chance to be a pro.

I remember looking over at Coach Cooper when we were doing the workouts and coach made the comment, hey man, that's how they look.

What he meant by that was this is how they look, the ones that go to the NBA.

JOHN: I watched that workout and I said, oh, he's tough enough and the most important thing that I got from that is that he engaged.

He was not backing down.

ROBERT: Coach Coop telling me like, son, I ain't gonna give you nothing, like you gonna have to prove yourself.

You gonna have to come in and work for everything because ain't nothing gonna be given to you.

You gonna have to go out and take what's yours.

[Crowd noise] TASHAN: We was actually the only HBCU in our conference so I really felt like we never got no respect.

DANA: We took a lot of pride being the only HBCU in the Ohio Valley.

In fact, it was a big part of our recruiting pitch.

It was a big part of our game plan motivation and quite frankly we had a huge chip on our shoulder.

ROBERT: We always had that underdog mentality.

We didn't have the same resource, same opportunity as all these other schools have.

JOHN: Here we are, we're an HBCU winning a white conference and it gave, in my opinion, instant credibility to what we did as a program.

DANA: I really think that...that was a key motivating factor to help us turn that program around.

I know that other HBCUs now have gone to predominantly white conferences, but at that time I think Tennessee State was the only one that was a HBCU at a non HBCU conference, which makes it, in my opinion, the toughest job in the country.

TASHAN: Freshman year, had kind of rough year.

It was one of those years where it's a new coaching staff, it's some players from the previous season, some new players from that they actually brought in, but we were just all trying to figure it out at the time.

DANA: It ended up being a blessing in disguise for him that we were really bad because that allowed for him to play.

He started every game, I believe his freshman year.

TASHAN: We all just wanted to play hard.

We all just loved basketball and we just went out there and we laid everything on the line.

DANA: That allowed for him to grow, that allowed for him to play through mistakes and it just gave him that in-game experience that had he been on a really good team, he probably not would've gotten.

NARRATOR: Tennessee State men's basketball team only won nine games during Robert's freshman season as they went nine and 23.

TASHAN: Our sophomore year was actually way better.

We won way more games, so every year we just kept building.

The season overall was good, the bonding was good, our teammates were different.

We had a nice little foundation at that time.

NARRATOR: During Robert's sophomore season, the team improved going 14 and 16 with a winning record in the Ohio Valley conference.

JOHN: The game of basketball starts changing around Rob's junior year to where now it's three and D and lo and behold now you got this guy with a wingspan that's probably 7'2 or whatever it was....6'7, 6'8.

TASHAN: His junior year was his, definitely his breakout year.

I just watched him take over games, you know, just coming to his self, growing into his body, he's getting taller, he was getting stronger.

JOHN: Next thing you know, he's got shoulders by God, he's got, he's this long, it's what we all dream and his body's built like this.

TASHAN: He worked his butt off in the weight room, on the court.

He's always in the gym putting up shots.

JOHN: And he's getting stronger and stronger and he's still shooting that thing and you're starting to see, okay, he's got a chance.

TASHAN: And just watch him shoot a high clip from three.

Getting a crowd involved with dunks.

That junior year was real special man.

We had a chance to actually win this thing.

Most memorable game was at Murray State.

It was a big game and we was in there playing against Isaiah Canaan.

ISAIAH CANAAN: And going into that Tennessee State game.

We was, you know, 23 and 0, in the country.

TASHAN: They were talked about so much about being the last undefeated team and they were really good.

ISAIAH: Robert Covington was an elite shooter that could knock down the shot.

He really took control of that game and we had no answer for that.

DANA: And you could see Rob having a great night.

Kenny Moore having a great night, Patrick Miller.

ISAIAH: We was battling throughout the whole game.

We was up six, we was like, we just need to manage the game and close it out, but they had momentum.

Right after maybe the last media time out, Rob hit two big threes, you know, for them to get the lead on our court.

Now, we scrambling and try to make something happen at the end, you know, we ended up not getting the playoff.

ROBERT: When we beat them, getting outta Murray that bus ride was crazy.

We literally had to get a police escort out of Murray.

ISAIAH: So, imagine how they was feeling.

You know, they got this two hour ride back to Nashville.

They probably already set up all these parties, you know, it's a HBCU school.

ROBERT: We seen notifications on Twitter, social media, Instagram.

We seeing the highlight we on ESPN.

DANA: That was the first time, I think in Tennessee State's history they had beat a top 10 team in the country and it was on the road.

The wins don't get bigger than that.

ROBERT: To get that welcome home after just beating them was like something I never experienced before.

The whole school was sitting up there waiting for us at the apartments.

It was like a big deal, like you would thought we just won a national championship.

That experience to me, like it gave us a new thrill.

ISAIAH: Leading up into the OVC championship game that year we got another chance of playing 'em again.

We like, oh we gotta play these boys again in the championship game.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Murray States 29-1 this season, top 10.

ISAIAH: I was cooking... SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Isaiah Canaan...with the left hand.

ISAIAH: Rob was playing well, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: An unforced error, Covington buries a 3!.

ROBERT: We really were neck and neck.

ISAIAH: We go on a run, they go on a run.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: To Daniel, to the baseline, its up, [inaudible] knocks it down.

ROBERT: We was right there with them.

ISAIAH: It was coming down to the last couple minutes of the game.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Murray State trying to come from behind.

ISAIAH: Though, they got the ball out, got it to Rob bringing it up.

He shoots it and I'm just running, you know, looking at the ball like, please don't go in.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Off the mark.

ISAIAH: Rob ended up missing a shot and we celebrating.

We ended up winning it at the end, but they fought, you know, they really brought it to us.

ROBERT: We really was that close going to the NCA tournament.

My old coach, Travis Williams, I don't know how he did it, but I know he just called me and told me he got me into Adidas Nation.

These are all the top college players in the country.

ISAIAH: Coming from where he come from, you know the path, the journey that Rob took just to get his name selected to go to this top camp.

It meant a lot.

Getting invited out there to Adidas Nation was a reward just for my hard work throughout college.

So, for him to get selected along with me made us grow our bond even more.

ROBERT: When I got there, I go into that camp.

A lot of the players I didn't know except for like Isaiah Canaan.

Nobody knows who I am for real.

ISAIAH: We went out there saying we got this opportunity to show that we one of the top players just along with all these other guys that's coming from these bigger schools.

Let's go out here and show them what we can do.

ROBERT: I go in there and I shocked everybody.

ISAIAH: Rob was out there shooting the peel off the ball, dunking the ball, you know, just doing things at the time that wings at his size with his length, you know, was just starting to kind of be talked about.

We went out there and both made a name for ourself.

DENNIS: He was a top small forward in the camp.

ISAIAH: Leaving that camp, you know, everybody was like, wow, you know the OVC got two pros that could really be legit players in this league.

ROBERT: That put my name on the map.

I started seeing my names on draft boards, man didn't knew the draft board was.

DENNIS: His name popped up on a draft board, late first round, pick early second round.

ROBERT: I went from being an unknown player to top 10 power forward in the country.

TASHAN: That was just crazy for him to be on the mock draft at Tennessee State.

It was just big man and it just grew from there.

ROBERT: I had all the accolades.

I was co-MVP all first team.

I really contemplated a lot of, do I want to leave now?

NARRATOR: As he saw his name across NBA circles, Robert was faced with the toughest decision of his basketball career.

ROBERT: My grandmother passed my junior year in high school and she talked about all the time watching her grand babies go to college, graduate.

I was the first in my family to go to college.

My mom preached heavy about what education can do because basketball only gonna go so far.

That education gonna stick with you forever.

TERESA: I'm glad that he was willing to listen to the information that I gave him to go ahead and finish, to get his degree.

TASHAN: I just respect the fact that he's gonna be the first one in his family to graduate.

He came back for his senior year.

ROBERT: I had unfinished business.

Me and my teammates, we was just close and it was taken from us.

TERESA: They was playing Middle Tennessee and they was down.

I was trying to understand the concept of even the starters still being in the game.

Literally, 49.6 seconds left and he went down.

TASHAN: He hit a hard fall on the floor and he lay down for a little minute and we like, "Rob, you straight?"

I'm looking at him.

I'm like, and maybe you know, he just sprained his knee, you know man, he he'll be back, he good.

Rob always bounced back.

DENNIS: He had a torn meniscus.

TASHAN: He worked his tail off, man, rehabbed every twice a day maybe.

DENNIS: He was out six to eight weeks before he got back on the court.

TASHAN: For him to bounce back like that and come and help us for another push was dope.

ROBERT: It set me up for what I was about to get to walk into.

He gave me an understanding that adversity is going to hit.

TERESA: When Robert graduated from college, it was amazing seeing him walk across that stage.

I was proud.

DENNIS: It was one of the most exciting moments in our life.

THOMAS STEELE: Just that day, Me, T Steele and Rob, we were together man.

We sitting together and it happens that us three walking across the stage together, I would've never had it any other way.

JOHN: To see them graduate and have college degrees, that means more than anything.

ROBERT: To watch us come in here as kids, come out as young men, graduating in four years, probably one of the best days I've ever had.

TERESA: I'm trying not to get emotional, so I'm sorry 'cause it's happening.

[Dramatic music] ISAIAH: Going into the draft, Rob was saying, I think I'm somewhere, you know, around 30 to 35, 36.

He was hoping to just get his name called.

TERESA: We ended up hosting a draft party at hotel suite, 'cause he didn't want to go to New York.

He decided he wanted to stay at home with his family.

DENNIS JR: It's jam packed with family.

We got the draft going on, on the TV.

Everybody's talking, eating, enjoying each other.

DENNIS: I got a call from his agent and he was like, hey Philly gonna pick him with the 35th pick.

ROBERT: I had a phone call.

I knew I was getting drafted.

Only two people knew it was my dad, my advisor.

DENNIS: I just went upstairs and was looking at the TV and I was just waiting to see if they were gonna actually call his name.

ROBERT: The pick comes up, we all excited and they didn't call my name.

Not getting drafted, that gave me another chip on my shoulder.

I've been having chips on my shoulder my entire life so it was nothing that I wasn't used to.

ISAIAH: He said, he was gonna do whatever it took to prove his worth.

DANA: When you don't get drafted, there's different avenues to the NBA.

I knew that Rob was gonna be able to make it no matter what the route was.

ROBERT: My agent basically called me and was like man look we've been talking to a couple teams, we got you a deal, a two year guaranteed deal with Houston Rockets, and I'm like, oh wow.

So, I took it all in for a second, told my dad, told my advisor.

Then, I went downstairs and told the rest of my family.

DENNIS JR: The hotel room went crazy.

Everybody's congratulating him, everybody's happy for him.

Mom and dad crying, hugging on him, me and my younger brother giving them daps.

ISAIAH: You know they invite everybody to training camp.

I looked at the paper of the guys that they was potentially bringing in and I seen my boy Rob on there.

They ended up signing him to the G league, which is the Rio Grande Vipers and I ended up getting sent down, now we was teammates.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: The Vipers have put this one to bed and a power jam.

ROBERT: That year in the G league really helped me.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Covington at the other end off the feet, drops it in.

ISAIAH: Making at least five, six threes a game shooting at a crazy percentage.

The second year, I went back up from the D league, went back to the main team.

Rob was supposed to be with us, you know, but another hurdle in his career, you know, they ended up cutting him.

ROBERT: I mean, for a kid that ain't never had nothing, that was a lot of money.

TASHAN: Where I'm from, $1.2 million, like you not about to sign that?

ROBERT: It weighed on me.

All right, you go to China or go back to the D-League.

If I really want to be in this position, I have to take a gamble for myself and I took that gamble.

NARRATOR: Robert was the first overall pick by the Detroit Pistons D-League team before being signed by the 76ERS.

ROBERT: I was literally in G League for six days.

The team that originally told me that they was gonna draft me was the team that I ended up going to.

TERESA: The first time seeing my son play in an NBA game, it was amazing.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: 3 ball Covington, what a big basket.

THOMAS STEELE: You know how many HBCU players are in the NBA right now?

It means a lot to me.

DANA: When you got a kid with a HBCU with no resources ends up in the NBA, still hard to believe.

JOHN: To see him make it, to see him fulfill his dream, to watch that guy that came to TSU is a proud moment.

It's 450 of them.

I mean who are we kidding?

DENNIS JR: Seeing him on that NBA screen was a experience like no other.

DEVEON: And I just knew somebody was gonna give him a chance and he was gonna get the opportunity to show he could be an amazing player in the league.

TERESA: I was so proud of him.

ROBERT: You know, the process years was a fun time.

It was my first opportunity to play against the big dogs.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Hits the three!

ISAIAH: Our time when we was in Philly.

There was some tough times in that process, you know a lot of teams, a lot of players around the league, you know, looking down on that team.

TERESA: Listen, trust the process was their motto and you had to trust the process, 'cause it was a process.

ROBERT: Even though we didn't win a lot of games, but they still made good days add up.

[Sneakers squeaking on court, crowd cheering] ROBERT: No matter what you doing, if you do what you have to, good days are gonna add up.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Sixers need a 2 to tie a 3 to go ahead, Covington for the lead.

Yes!

ROBERT: Brett Brown was like, “son, we know you can shoot, but can you defend?

If you can guard, oh man, you gonna stay up here and put yourself in that whole other tax bracket.” DAMIAN LILLARD: He went through that crazy stretch in Philly and then finally had a breakthrough and people was like, okay, this is a real three and D, defender, get deflections, rebound, shot block, you know jack of all trades type of player.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: And Covington with the steal and the three.

ROBERT: We made all first defensive team in 2018.

NARRATOR: Robert was able to make history, signing the largest contract increase in the NBA for four years, $62 million.

ROBERT: So, when I actually went and signed my contract, that's when it hit me like, wow, I'm like, whoo 62?

[Dramatic music] TASHAN: The day he signed his contract, I was actually in there with him too.

Knowing what he went through and the different obstacles he that he came through and to get over that hump to make himself known in the NBA was just dope.

ISAIAH: I seen Rob sign that four years 62, he got rewarded, you know, for everything that he put into it.

ROBERT: That was surreal.

That was surreal.

I knew there's possibilities that you can get traded.

I don't wanna move my family, then I have to move 'em again and I want to be ahead of that before it happens.

Just give me a heads up.

And they was like, nah, you a vital piece.

And so, I was like, okay.

So we started off that season, I got traded three weeks later.

[Somber dramatic music] DENNIS BRYANT: Philly was home for him.

It just devastated him and it hurt real bad.

THOMAS STEELE: Even though he didn't say I was hurt, you could sense.

He was like, damn.

ROBERT: Brett Brown called me.

He was like, "Hey man, I know this was the last thing you thought would happen, but couldn't pass up on this opportunity, so I wish you well."

Pretty much all he said to me.

THOMAS: This is when he realized that this is a business.

NARRATOR: Looking on the bright side, Robert got to play one of his closest friends in the NBA, Karl-Anthony Towns.

[Sizzling] ROBERT: My brethren.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: What up brother?

Look, I find, I'm your height for once.

ROBERT: I swear to God.

KARL-ANTHONY: What up, what up, what up, everyone.

What up?

ROBERT: Kaz is a super genius dude.

That's my brother, like my brother, brother for real.

And it takes a lot for me to call people my brother, brother.

KARL-ANTHONY: It's rare that a friendship like me and him have happens in NBA because this [deleted] very fragile.

ROBERT: When he found out that I got traded, he called me and was like, hell yeah, hell yeah.

We literally talked about that in the summer.

Sure enough, I get traded four months later.

KARL-ANTHONY: Life in NBA's wild, bro.

You never know what the next day gonna hold for you.

When he did get traded in Minnesota, it changed everything.

We already had a foundation built.

We already had a friendship that was built.

Me and RoCo have a great time all the time off the court.

We like brothers, man.

We look at each other like blood.

ROBERT: I had that close bond with his family.

My pops like his pops.

His mom, when she was here, she brought me in as her son.

She was welcoming.

My mom, same exact way, she calls him son.

He could call my mom whenever.

TERESA: Look at you.

Is that hair on your face?

What's y'all trying to be strike of face?

KARL-ANTHONY: Look, I'm a wolf.

TERESA: Okay, come on.

KARL-ANTHONY: RoCo's been with me, not only as a teammate but as a brother.

Through, a lot of times where I were, you know, difficult.

I remember calling RoCo and having to tell him that my mom passed away from COVID and I remember him just crying a lot and kind of having that emotion, just that kind of connectivity he's had with my family.

That kind of news hurt him to the soul and it just shows you how much he care and how close we really are.

NARRATOR: Robert's time in Minnesota was short-lived as he was sent back to play with the Houston Rockets.

ROBERT: Gerson called me and told me, “I don't think this gonna be our year and you deserve to be in a position at this stage of your career, like where you wanna win."

So he was like, we're about ready to trade you to Houston.

I knew hella people there now and people got worried I was getting traded.

They was like, oh, city up now.

[Chatter] THOMAS: At the time, I was living in Houston to have him come back to Houston where he was first picked up, it just was another surreal experience.

Now you are established in the NBA and you're coming back to quote unquote your home team.

Everybody was excited.

It was an amazing feeling.

[Chatter of conversation] NARRATOR: In March of 2020, the NBA took a brief pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a timeout the league was not prepared for.

THOMAS: During the pandemic, Robert had all his family friends over the house, pretty much every day just to make sure that everybody was safe.

ROBERT: We just enjoyed the fact that we was all able to be together.

So then like once they started talking about the season potentially coming back, it's like, all right, like how are we gonna prepare?

RICHARD FOY: COVID actually was a very difficult time for us because when they shut the city down, when they shut everything down, no kids were able to come.

Business stopped, there was no money to be made.

When Rob came, business was at a standstill.

Rob agreed to jump in and help out and we have a lot more visibility now.

ROBERT: Even though everything's shut down, like he opened it up to specifically us.

That way we can prepare for the season.

Oh, nice!

When we started back up the season, I was ready.

SPORTSCASTER: Robert Covington hits the three.

ROBERT: Everybody's like, bro, you look good.

Hell you been doing?

That was some of the craziest basketball because it literally was just all about basketball.

[Robert singing] ♪ Worse, I am sickening ♪ ♪ I'll be at the finish line first ♪ ♪ How quick is he ♪ ♪ I made sure they mentioned me for the next century ♪ ROBERT: After the bubble, Damian actually reached out to me and was like, man, you fit with us.

ROBERT: What's up my D?

And sure enough, shortly after, you know, breaking news, I've been traded to Portland.

What's up my boss?

It's for my documentary, bro.

MALE VOICE: For your what?

ROBERT: For my documentary.

We talked about it when I first got here, he was like, man, I told you.

NARRATOR: Robert's time with the Portland Trailblazers was short-lived as he soon found himself in LA with the Los Angeles Clippers.

TASHAN: Yo...yes sir.

ROBERT: What's up, homie?

TASHAN: Man, Chilling, man.

Out here in this LA weather, huh?

[Waves crashing] THOMAS: Getting traded to LA I thought it was a good move.

I know when he hit us up with the news, you know, it was like, yo, okay, this is exciting.

He was “like, yeah, you know, I think I feel good about this one.” RAHSAAN: Most of the times he's been traded, they've requested him in a trade.

He's probably the most important part of that trade.

So that's huge, he's wanted, and if you outwork somebody, somebody will come and see you.

ROBERT: I no longer am fighting what God is putting in front of me and I had to go through a lot to get there and the people around me helped me get out of it.

NARRATOR: In life, there are moments that are pivotal, moments which bring a new found appreciation.

For Robert, that was the birth of his daughter.

[Crowd singing] ♪ To you ♪ ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ Happy birthday dear Harmony ♪ ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ TERESA: Having everybody come out and celebrate her very first birthday with us was amazing.

I was glad that we got majority of our friends and family to come out and just be a part of this joyous occasion for her.

DENNIS: Just watching him with Harmony is just the joyous moments of him just holding her simplicity and him just falling asleep together and things like that.

ROBERT: Who's that?

That's, who's that?

Yeah.

Who's that?

Who's that?

DENNIS: Just seeing the smile on his face and the smile he puts on her face, that just brings joy to my heart.

Just to see him enjoy himself that way and with her, and just like I said, just showing her love.

TERESA: It means a lot.

I've seen him grow and he's continuing to grow.

Fatherhood is gonna be just the one thing that I know he's gonna flourish at.

I just can't wait to just see how he's going to mold his daughter into that perfect young lady.

It warms my heart.

I love it.

I mean, I love it.

I knew she was gonna take his breath away, so it just warms my heart.

DENNIS: It's coming together with him and like I said, just watching him build his own family and all that.

What he learned from me and as he's seen from his friends and brothers and whatnot, we just see how he progressed and raising his daughter to the princess she's supposed to be.

TASHAN: Congrats, pops.

ROBERT: Yeah.

TASHAN: Pops now.

Yeah.

ROBERT: Life changing.

TASHAN: Yeah?

ROBERT: The moment that Harmony came out, it like, I was speechless.

The minute I held her, the first time, D. DAMIAN: Yeah.

ROBERT: Priceless.

I was in shock for like the first few hours.

Like, it was still surreal and the crazy part is, she was born at 9:33:23.

It makes you wonder like how does all of this stuff align?

Seeing her, you know, it gives me a different joy.

Something that like I never would take for granted.

I can't.

[Clanking of weights] ROBERT: Everybody sees a difference in me.

Everybody sees the pop, the joy, the love, they see the transformation not just on the court, but off court.

[Crowd cheering] [Team mates cheering] COACH: Cov, game ball, most three's in Clippers' history, man.

[Applause + cheering] TEAM MATE: C'mon man, let's go.

Stay together man, way to stay together, baby.

ALL: Final level three.

One, two, three.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: The NBA has fostered an initiative to spotlight HBCU talent during the biggest weekend of the National Basketball Association: All Star Weekend.

ROBERT: It's special to see the NBA, having the HBCU classic, that's something that a lot of people did not see coming.

SEAN WOODS: These are things that our guys have dreamed about.

All these guys that we see in these superstars, they come from humble beginnings.

Like Robert Covington, comes from Tennessee State, a local kid outta Chicago.

These kids are the same way.

So, anything is possible.

TAYLOR ROOKS: It's been really nice to see so many NBA stars really have their back and make them feel special and like the elite athletes that they are.

DWAYNE WADE: We out here today, for guys be able to walk in the gym and see someone that they've watched growing up in this gym is great.

So, from the standpoint of HBCUs and the importance of it, it was obviously built in the 1800s to give us an opportunity.

[Crowd and team cheering] MAN: Yeah, yes sir!

ROBERT: Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there.

My daughter was sick, I couldn't leave her at that time and it was family first.

I still was able to reach out and talk to them guys and just show my appreciation.

YOUNG PLAYER: This is my last year.

I'm a senior, so I'm gonna try to go get some money next year.

YOUNG PLAYER: Yes sir.

I got you.

YOUNG PLAYER: Most definitely.

NARRATOR: On October 31st, 2023, Robert Covington was involved in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Philadelphia 76ERs.

ROBERT: It feels great to be back.

This is where I put my name on the map, you know, I've been in this building when it first opened, the amount of, you know, hours that that's spent putting nets up, the development here.

JOEL EMBLIID: I'm excited for the new guys that are here.

Excited to get involved.

We got some good players, I'm not gonna lie.

I mean, I obviously, I'll play with Cov.

ROBERT: It's just amazing to be back.

I would say that I'm thankful for that.

The new opportunity under my nickname and this organization has been very special to me and you know, just before everything to come back ten fold, it's like, I don't know it's a new feeling of, you know, relief.

KEVIN BROADUS: So, walk through it.

Let's go, walk through it.

When I was at Maryland, we were just going into the big 10, I think we were at 80 million.

No TV yet has bought any of the SWAC or the MEAC conferences.

They're not paying them that type money.

If the MEAC and the SWAC get on those same playing fields and the money, it would be incredible to see.

KENNY BLAKENEY: Certainly, I think the social justice or injustice that has taken place over the last few years has enlightened a nation to HBCUs and having a chance to have this kind of experience or education.

So, it's a little bit of a lightning in the bottle.

We'll continue to do our work, we'll continue to promote our brand and certainly do our due diligence.

MICHAEL W: I think that kids will be attracted to institutions of quality regardless of categorization.

There are many reasons to go.

I'm living here, I'm living in Washington D.C., there are a thousand reasons to go to Howard University.

SHY ODOM: During the recruiting process, my earliest offer was Georgetown.

Some of the schools, they weren't really, you know, reaching out anymore.

After I got injured, I wanted to see if the HBCU route could be a route that I could possibly go.

And it wasn't until when we went on the visit, where I was like, you know, this actually is a great place.

I feel like I could be comfortable here.

[Dramatic music] BRIAN “PENNY” COLLINS: When you come to HBCU and a kid wants to come here and change the culture, it doesn't just stop there with the wins.

It changes everything around the university.

We wanna do something bigger than just win games.

We want to change our whole culture, change your neighborhood and then once you do it, it's automatic.

Tennessee State was the first ever team to win three straight national championships.

57, 58, 59 had never been done before in college basketball.

UCLA did it with Lewis Alcindor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and that's when everybody talked about it.

The first three-peat, no, the first three-peat was at Tennessee State.

Not only was the first three-peat there; on that team, four guys off of one team went to the NBA in 1958.

There was a time when all those young athletes were coming to HBCUs and we were the prize.

But a lot of factors have went into changing those things and it's not about what's wrong or right, it's just the education.

A kid needs to know my dreams can come true at HBCU, just as easy as it was at Kentucky.

The proof is in the pudding.

Look at the history, look at the Willis Reeds, look at the Dick Barnetts.

Look at Carlos Rogers, Anthony Mason, look at Rob Covington.

I can go on and on with the names.

These guys have forged the path and not that we need to have a new one, it just needs to be re-sparked.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Nice.

Nice.

All right, let's get it y'all.

You ready?

Alright y'all, let's do it.

ARINZE EMEAGWALI: Yardrunners was created to tell authentic stories about the great people that come from great HBCUs.

ROBERT: It's amazing to have that on my back and to continue to be an ambassador as long as I can.

PHOTOGRAPHER: That same like aggressive look, but I want you kind of looking down at me doing it.

There we go.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

ROBERT: You know, I'm just thankful the way life has happened.

DIRECTOR: Good job.

Great job.

FEMALE VOICE: Nice shoot, Rob.

[Applause] JAMAL RICHARDSON: Top, top.

Stay up, stay up, stay up.

Hey shoot that, dude.

Well, I think he's done a great job of just really pushing and advocating for more HBCU players to get more recognition, to get more opportunities.

[Sneakers squeaking] MICHAEL W: While, I make a living talking about sports, our institutions are way more important than just that.

While saying that, I understand the role that sports plays in lifting those institutions.

KYLE: When I think about the future of HBCU athletics as a whole, the groundwork of a HBCU is set.

The culture's there, the accreditation is there as far as degrees going into the real world.

We deserve to be in the runnings with some of the best players in the country, the best people in the country, the best professionals in the country.

We have to set the groundwork at the ground level to prepare ourselves to give these kids opportunities.

ANTOINE: Some of these bigger networks, pick up games and give kids the exposure that major universities were getting.

So, I think that's what will change the game.

MICHAEL L: There's been a lot of movement.

The SWAC is I think is doing a lot.

You know, in terms of getting on television and getting exposure, that is probably one of the keys.

'Cause if you know you can go play at Southern University and still wind up on ESPN, you know, it same way as if you go to University of Akron or something.

I think that's something that you can use to sort of say, we're on TV just as much as anybody else and you're gonna get seen in the same way.

So, if you have a great game on ESPN2, everybody's gonna be talking about it the next day.

DAVID: Maybe, the next great player or players in the league that follow this generation, it will be something that they're just expected to do and want to do.

I think the dividends hopefully come down the road.

It's an investment, but you have to start somewhere and at least this is a start.

ANTOINE: And that's why I think Rob's story is so great because it's gonna help a lot of kids think now they don't have to necessarily turn down those schools because they know they can still make it pro.

DANA: I do think there's some more hidden gems and Rob was a hidden gem and ultimately he just made the most of his opportunity.

BOB: I think, if a kid is talented, he should have no apprehension.

Kyle O' Quinn is a prime example.

He put in the work, he stayed four years, he got his team to the second round of an NCAA tournament, and that's what it's going to take.

[Street noise] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: In life, there will be special moments where you are acknowledged for your hard work that few could replicate.

Tennessee State founded in 1912, many have stepped across campus, but many cannot say they were in the Hall of Fame.

PRESENTER: Let's welcome to the stage, Robert Covington.

FEMALE HOST: Thank you so much.

Congratulations again.

ROBERT: Thank you.

FEMALE HOST: All right, give him another round of applause everybody.

NARRATOR: Robert Covington and 23 other Tigers realized that moment has now become a reality.

KYLE: Finding a solution for a HBCU, I think simply is being accessible and being visible.

There's nothing more than going back to your HBCU and putting your feet on that campus.

Now that kid that looked just like you could see himself in you and see what you have done with your life.

I think that there's nothing more than being visible, accessible and being present at a HBCU.

[Cars on road] ROBERT: Giving back to the community is what me and my family is all about.

This is where I grew up as a man, and these kids are next generation.

Stuff like this can be life changing for a lot of kids.

JAMAL RICHARDSON: Well, real quick, we wanted to have Rob come in and say a few words for us because he does this every year, and again, he's investing a lot for you guys and ladies to be here.

So, y'all give him a one big round of applause.

[Applause] ROBERT: Everybody that's in here, we do this 'cause we care about y'all.

We care about the community.

This is where I grew up as a young man coming from Chicago.

Nashville became my home because I love to see next generation see, 'cause that's how I came up.

That's how I was able to be where I'm at in life.

They said that this camp has changed their whole perspective on a lot of things and just having fun and being around so much positivity and people that really pushed them.

A lot of these kids ain't had that.

So, experiencing that in Chicago, my hometown, this is a part of me as well.

Not only giving back at home, giving back here is just as important.

Don't get discouraged with yourself, if you can't do something and keep pushing yourself.

That's how you get to be better.

That's how you get to be better.

That's how I got better.

Things that I wasn't good at, things that I couldn't prosper at, I worked at it, that's why we here, because we here to get better.

TASHAN: Allergic to failure, he never failed.

He kept going.

He kept trying.

Even when he felt like he was down, picked himself up and he kept going.

So, allergic to failure, man, is really his story, man.

It's never fall, keep going.

ROBERT: Allergic to failure on three, man.

One, two, three.

KIDS: Allergic to failure.

ROBERT: I still got more to give to this game.

I still got a lot more basketball to play.

When I stop loving this game, and when I stop putting in the grind and I stop having that passion for it, that's when I be able to walk away from the game.

But until then, I don't see that happening in no time soon.

I'm just thankful that I was able to be a part of that select community of players that can say that I went to a HBCU.

I'm thankful for being the last one for right now, but there will be someone else that will come along and take on that role and take on that legacy.

I'm gonna continue to be that lone advocate and lone ranger until somebody else comes.

It's coming.

Might as well have the same opportunity as I will and they're gonna take full advantage of that like I did.