I grew up in Oxfordshire, England and lived there most of my life. I had been playing ball since I could, after getting a Basketball for my fifth birthday. Being from England, of course the number one sport is Football, or Soccer as some of you will know it as. My friends always found it strange how I'd rather shoot hoops instead of doing the norm thing and play Football with everyone else. Sure, I love Football and it will continue to be one of my favourite sports. But it never gave me the same thrill as Basketball did. As Basketball was, and sadly still is a minority sport here, I'd usually have to travel quite far to attend kids camps, play for teams etc. Eventually my talent got spotted by the then Milton Keynes Lions head coach when I was sixteen years old, and was immediately given an opportunity to try and make the team. I was fortunate enough to make it, and surprised myself with how well I performed. Three more years on the MK team and I was now the starting Point Guard for them, a two time British Basketball League MVP and was also a regular in the up and coming Great Britain national team. Without trying to sound cocky, it was clear I was good enough to consider playing overseas, and perhaps even the in the NBA.
In 2010, I had NBA workouts lined up for the Wizards, the Jazz, the Bobcats, the Clippers and also the Trail Blazers. I was beyond excited. Little known Point Guard from England suddenly thrust into the limelight of being a potential first round draft pick in the NBA. The workouts has gone well for the first four teams, and I was keen to keep up my good work for my final workout in Portland. However, just ten minutes into the workout, playing a one on one drill with another draft prospect, I went up for a strong dunk, but as I landed I felt immediate pain in my left leg. I looked down as I laid on the ground and saw a lot of blood, followed by seeing most of my leg twisted around so badly my kneecap was almost scraping the floor, and my left foot twisted so much the mere possibility of walking would be impossible. The pain was there, but it was barely noticable as I went into complete shock, not really understanding what had just happened on a play I've done thousands and thousands of times in my career. Is this it? Am I done? I'll still get to play in the NBA, right?
The news was not good. While I was expected to make a full recovery, the leg was never going to be the same again, and playing professional Basketball was something the Doctors had ruled out for me. Everything I'd worked for, everything I'd dreamed of doing was just gone. I was going to play in the NBA, I was going with a chip on my shoulder to represent my country on the biggest Basketball stage in the world. I was going to work to be a starting Point Guard in this league. I took the news badly, going into complete shutdown for quite a while. I couldn't fathom not playing the game I love. I couldn't even check how the NBA Draft played out without going into hysterics of misery. It took me a long time to get out that dark place, but I made it.
Knowing I wanted to be a part of the game still, I worked as an assistant coach for the GB national team for a couple of years before moving to America to pursue a serious career in coaching. Playing College Basketball wasn't something that was ever really an option for me considering I was already graduated in my own country, plus I felt more than ready for the NBA anyway. Despite this, I still enjoyed watching the NCAA tournament year after year. Initially I hunted around for some coaching jobs, expecting some calls from Division II and III team's to begin with. However, the Athletic Director of Harvard University seemed very keen to get me on board and help improve the team in athletic terms. It was definitely an unexpected offer, but one I was keen to take. I knew about Harvard and their academic prowess, but don't really know what to expect in my first head coaching gig.
My name is Ben Warren, I'm 25 years old, and I am the new Head Coach for the Harvard Crimsons Basketball team.
