00:00SE web has been there before the uh
00:03member of the Michigan fab five and he
00:05has a new Memoir by God's grace it'll be
00:08released on April 4th and it's uh a look
00:11into Chris's story in his own words the
00:14highs and lows on the court off the
00:16court and uh the infamous timeout the
00:19years that he and his wife tried to uh
00:22have a CH a child they ended up having
00:24twins never uh before seen photos
00:27personal stories heartfelt tributes to
00:29the most influential people in his life
00:32and his journey and Chris Weber the Hall
00:35of Famer back on the program what was
00:37the toughest thing to write about C
00:40web I think it was all of it Dan it's
00:42something I would never do again um but
00:45I think it's one of my greatest
00:46accomplishments taking about 12 years to
00:49write a book I started off with just uh
00:52the passion to do it and I had to see if
00:55my words are real so I got a
00:58stenographer I would just speak to her
01:00and over months and then uh I I took a
01:04crew back to tuna Mississippi where I'm
01:07from uh where my grandfather is from and
01:11so really for me this was just self-
01:12exloration of you know when you're
01:14playing basketball you have blinders on
01:16when you're working like you do you have
01:17blinders on because you have to focus on
01:19what's ahead not left or right and so at
01:22the end of this journey this basketball
01:24Journey um I had a lot of thoughts and
01:26definitely uh some positions on things
01:28that happened to me but I want wanted to
01:30go back and just see it through a
01:32different lens and that's why I called
01:33the book by God's grace because no
01:36matter how good you are in basketball no
01:38matter how great of a journalist you are
01:39no matter how great of a doctor you are
01:41if you don't have something that's
01:43bigger than you if people don't inspire
01:46you if people don't feed you and that
01:49passion if I didn't have that Village
01:51you know it wouldn't have been a great
01:52journey so it's it's really just a a
01:54tribute and a thank you to those that
01:56that helped supported me since since I
01:58got here how ready were you to be a star
02:02when you got to Michigan because this
02:05wasn't you get to the final four and you
02:06get recognition you guys got recognition
02:10early were you ready for
02:13it if if I was ready for it it's kind of
02:16a sad thing at 12 and I I think I was
02:18ready for it the first interview so Dan
02:21that's what I talk about basketball so I
02:23I played this game in sixth grade uh i'
02:25always played in the neighborhoods I
02:26knew I was good but I go to this
02:28Christian School Temple Christian and I
02:30had a game there and I had uh 65 points
02:3215 dunks and like 15 assists and I'm 12
02:37years old and so uh at that
02:40point you you you better have God in
02:43your life you better have great people
02:44in your life because you contend to
02:46think it's about you uh you're still
02:48naive you think that people's love is is
02:51sincere you don't know uh the
02:53shenanigans that go on just amongst
02:55people and so yeah I unfortunately I was
02:57prepared for it I was thrusted into the
02:59spotlight at 12 years old a recruiting
03:01issue started there with me and my
03:03friend Tom ISO and Bill fra who left at
03:06the time so unfortunately yeah six years
03:08later we were I was all too prepared for
03:10it um but I think that that helped us
03:14stay steady in the locker room and the
03:15guys were too you look where Jaan came
03:17from kabini Green you look at jaylen's
03:19background and the strength of his uh
03:21mother um we we we all were prepared we
03:26all we were prepared as much as we could
03:28be for the world of the Faire how did it
03:32not go sideways given up given where you
03:37damn that's what I'm talking about in
03:39the book brother you
03:41know it's so great to have parents that
03:44uh are great parents but they didn't
03:45want to be your friend you know they
03:47wanted to help you and so me just real
03:49quick you know jayen and I play uh
03:51basketball 12 years old best friends
03:54promis each other to go to the same high
03:56school um my a coach comes in one day
03:59and says listen it's a great opportunity
04:00they have scholarships at this school
04:03and I wanted to go to Southwestern I
04:04wanted to go to my city school my
04:06mother's a teacher she taught at Mumford
04:08for mford high school 30 40 30 years Jam
04:12Hill uh famously went there the Wiens
04:14famously went there and so I wanted to
04:16be part of the city and my mother a
04:18teacher she's like no are you are you
04:20stupid this is an opportunity for
04:21Education it's an opportunity for
04:22friendships and Dan I tried to fell out
04:25I tried not to I tried so many stupid
04:28things and I just thank God that it
04:30wasn't that I didn't get to do what I
04:32wanted and I learned that both in
04:35Country Day and Sacramento where
04:37Sacramento was someplace I did not want
04:38to go it was a trade on the table with
04:40the Lakers some other things like that
04:42you know I wanted to win I called a
04:44timeout I thought that having this
04:46trophy would be like see okay now y'all
04:48want to hear what I went through and uh
04:50it it didn't happen that way and I
04:52remember my mother saying to me you know
04:54there's a blessing in Sacramento and I
04:55remember probably being the only time in
04:58my life I'm a mama's boy w like Mom I do
05:00not want to hear none of your Homespun
05:03wisdom right now um but it but it was
05:05right it was the biggest blessing for me
05:06so yeah I I don't know how I didn't go
05:09sideways down because one crazy story is
05:11before my first aou game uh uh one of my
05:15best friends got best friends one of my
05:17closest friends uh was murdered and he
05:19was 13 so I I just thank God I made it
05:24the safety of a village the safety of
05:25good people around you and wonderful
05:27discipline and rules is definitely what
05:29what kept me safe talking to Hall of
05:31Famer SE web his new Memoir will be out
05:34April 4th Thursday April 4th by God's
05:37grace thinking about you coming on the
05:39show realizing LSU women facing Iowa and
05:44race is playing a role in this when
05:46Michigan played Duke race played a role
05:49in this when you're in that moment
05:53freshman how do you process that you
05:56know us against the world because Duke
05:58probably thought it was us against the
06:02perspective so first of all Baltimore
06:04Barbie and Caitlyn I love their game
06:06this the first year I probably know more
06:08women's names than than men's names and
06:10that's step Curry because they'll walk
06:12in the gym and out shoot any man in the
06:14world but um when I say we were prepared
06:17for it then you know you know how my
06:20father worked at the factory of Detroit
06:22for 40 years he was he was in the UAW he
06:26came from Mississippi and had to work on
06:28a farm like uh uh what could I complain
06:31about when I compared it to his life and
06:34so when we talk about racism or other
06:36things we knew it and we would have
06:38discussions amongst ourselves I mean I
06:40don't know too many kids uh that got
06:43praised and death threats at the age of
06:4518 and 19 like we did but I think again
06:48it was our village it was the coaches it
06:50was the great students around us it was
06:52other friends you know to let you live
06:53in that naivity where oh it's a death
06:55threat but you have enough distraction
06:57positive distraction uh to keep you
06:59going forward and I also think us being
07:02from Detroit Chicago and other places
07:04where we have seen people not make it
07:06it's almost like um the racism is way
07:08more than an emotion way more it hurts
07:11it stops you physically it it spreads a
07:15narrative uh that that you don't want it
07:17doesn't reinforce the principles of your
07:19parents and other things but however we
07:22we're from Detroit and and we knew that
07:24we were the underdogs in life and that
07:26our job was to work harder and that
07:30in our position you almost had to be 10%
07:33better or work 10% harder to get a fair
07:35narrative so I think our backgrounds
07:39prepared us for coming into conservative
07:41areas that wasn't ready for the Youth
07:43and it was racism Dan but it was also
07:45the movement of the time like everyone
07:47in our age group at that time was kind
07:49of speaking out and standing up whether
07:51it was hip-hop TV shows and other so we
07:53also felt like we were in a larger
07:55Community fighting for that independence
07:57of being having a free fre to be who we
08:00want it to be what is it like though to
08:02be us against the world in your
08:10so let's let's let's start with the less
08:16lonely uh you can't express yourself
08:20because if you express yourself you're
08:22complaining uh you're talking to people
08:25that don't have enough context in other
08:28words someone will say to you uh I heard
08:31someone say this to a friend of mine
08:32that played basketball and and his
08:34mother passed well at least you got all
08:36that money if I was you you know and I'm
08:38thinking what the hell does that have to
08:40do with that so that can be a lonely
08:42place um and it can also isolate you
08:46because if you keep getting frustrated
08:48enough you don't want to bring people
08:50down you also may have survivors remorse
08:53in complaining to someone that doesn't
08:56have what you have right that's one side
08:58that's that's the bad side now the good
08:59side is so what it's the world don't
09:01nobody love us anyway it is what it is
09:03there are no excuses what the baby's
09:05going to do I don't know where that
09:07phrase came from d what the baby's gonna
09:08do but that's been something I've held
09:11in my life since a young guy and I don't
09:13know why whoever said it said it but I
09:15got it it's like we're all on our own
09:17and so if you have that strength but can
09:20keep the love and the passion then I
09:24think it can all work together where
09:26I've seen people struggle is where that
09:29lonely creates bitterness and they
09:31become a person that they're not always
09:33angry at things that didn't happen or
09:35them being in that role of them against
09:38the world so hopefully you have enough
09:39context to be able to put things in
09:42their proper place and address them when
09:44needed to be when they need to be now we
09:48nil is it weird to see it after what you
09:57no and I still has to go to another
10:00level so even in Michigan we would talk
10:02about how the NCAA was a was was a
10:07501c3 we would talk about the fact that
10:09Nike brought gym shoes we picked out
10:11hrai I have a wonderful story in the
10:13book about we're the first team ever
10:16to pick out the shoe that would lead
10:18college and things like that so when we
10:20wore black socks and the next weekend it
10:22was 250,000 pair of black socks
10:26sold we turned our Nike shirts inside
10:29out the next game and and these are
10:32things in the documentary and other
10:34things I wish people would have talked
10:35about just besides the dunks because all
10:38the substance is always missed in what
10:40we went through like the questions
10:41you're asking how how do you handle a
10:43you against the world you a bunch of 18y
10:45old Knuckleheads you don't even still
10:47going through puberty how do you handle
10:48this and it was the seniors it was the
10:51Juniors it was everyone because we all
10:53were together but we knew from our
10:56influence we we didn't have cable when
10:58you were doing uh Sports Center so we
11:00didn't have cable in in our rooms and
11:02things and so when we would go home in
11:03the summer or travel and saw we went to
11:06Yugoslavia at the time and other places
11:08at the time um we saw that we had an
11:11impact around the world and there's a
11:14famous story of me and a
11:16reporter uh who came to see me at
11:19Michigan and I was with a football
11:20player and we didn't have enough to get
11:22a Subway sandwich and some chips and
11:24when that story came out publicly um a
11:28lot of athletes around the country uh
11:30really started hitting me and and
11:32understanding The Plight and so how was
11:34it it was tough uh it's not what was
11:36said I addressed to Ed Martin and all
11:38that great stuff in the book so we we
11:40did not avoid anything I finally had the
11:42context and time to talk about it um but
11:45the ni I mean it's unfair put it like
11:47this before Bill Russell passed away
11:49this is an interview on TNT I'm sure
11:52it'll be hard to find uh but he uh
11:55likened uh NCAA to uh very unsaving
11:59practices that happened in America early
12:02and he was saying if you don't own your
12:04name if you can't get paid then how do
12:05you move forward so I'm glad to see that
12:07we're moving forward I love the NCAA I
12:09love everything that's happening but you
12:11know there's a there's a reckoning
12:14there's a reckoning coming and I'm glad
12:16that these young smart students um
12:18hopefully are are galvanized and
12:21hopefully work together so that no
12:24athlete is Left Behind and you've been
12:27generous with your time talking about
12:29the time out what that meant to you
12:32naming your charity after that but I'm
12:35wondering the role that your parents
12:36played in getting you to that point to
12:40understand Chris this is not going to
12:42Define you this is going to make you
12:46stronger that's why Dan I'm jealous that
12:48you get to interview people you know
12:50from your from your level because I
12:52can't imagine how much Insight you
12:54you've gotten I used to always watch the
12:56old football documentaries or anything
12:57looking for that worst point in Reggie
13:00Reggie White said this and came back and
13:02played I always look for that and so
13:03with the timeout when I talk about God's
13:06grace in the village I call the timeout
13:08it's the worst moment of my life it's
13:10lonely I'm a mama's boy I go home and
13:12get some Mama's love I'm the oldest of
13:13five I got Brothers teasing me my
13:15neighborhood's bustling everything's
13:17great or everything's bad I I come in
13:20and my I have a letter first of all from
13:22Bill Clinton a handwritten letter saying
13:25you know get up I get these shoes from
13:27Jackie join the Cy the shoes that she
13:29wore in the Olympics and won as a gold
13:31medal I had so much love and support
13:33from people around the world that that
13:35really sustained me but my mother came
13:37in the living room and she said um and
13:40my mother's she doesn't have vanity
13:42plates she doesn't drive a my mother is
13:45the most humble woman you would ever see
13:47and she goes uh look what I got baby and
13:49it was a time it was a license plate and
13:54out's like yeah you know whatever that
13:56means whatever the whatever the devil
13:59meant for bad God meant for good and
14:00we're going to do some great things and
14:01what was so great is she was a teacher
14:03so her and my Aunt Charlene had already
14:05planned these charity events coming up
14:08to the draft you know I called the
14:10timeout around April 4th April 5th the
14:12draft is June 30th like how can that
14:14happen in Detroit like I had to research
14:16how the hell did the draft get to be in
14:19Detroit you know and how was Shaq's
14:21draft in Portland like what's going on
14:23but for my mother saying that uh to
14:26every year a child was born in a Detroit
14:30hospital we would give uh the families
14:32books we wanted to combat um um reading
14:35disparities and things like that and
14:36when when I saw my mom do it it was like
14:38how can you be ashamed man you better go
14:40ahead and do your thing and she doesn't
14:42care about basketball so that's that's
14:44how my mom helped def find me my father
14:46you know cowboys give you a pat on the
14:47back son it's okay and you know when it
14:49rains get wet something like that you
14:51know but my mom was like you know we're
14:54really gonna do this so I thank God for
14:56my parents because I don't I don't know
14:58how I would have been able to frame
15:00those worst moments if I would have had
15:02people that uh were not strong uh
15:06emotionally and been stable how do you
15:10parents all right so there's no way to
15:16gave my father he something so okay I
15:19thank my father I saw him cry when I
15:21when we did the Bill Russell interview
15:24and Bill Russell walked over to him and
15:25said you know you did a great job you're
15:27a good man and a whole bunch of things
15:29that was I didn't do that but I paid for
15:31his ticket to come with me so I'm going
15:32say I did that but so it's the day
15:35before draft and I called my dad I said
15:39Magic Johnson's coming over tomorrow
15:40he's coming over in the morning man you
15:42know please have the house clean and
15:44stuff like that he wants to talk to you
15:46about all this my mother calls me no lie
15:50at like six in the morning she's like
15:51what did you tell your dad he's cutting
15:55grass so I had my father pumped up so
15:59the whole neighborhood you know the
16:00whole neighborhood is is like hiding and
16:03and looking out so I go to the Cadillac
16:05dealership and I walk in a Cadillac
16:07dealership and everybody starts clapping
16:09and it wasn't for me it was because they
16:11knew my dad that worked at Cadillac all
16:13these years and never had a Cadillac so
16:15uh make a long story short I get the car
16:18drive it up on the lawn which is a
16:20cardinal sin in our household he comes
16:22out boy what's wrong with you I said Dad
16:25look and I throw him the keys he's
16:27smiling everybody's looking at him and
16:29he just gets in the car real smooth and
16:30drives off around the block and he comes
16:32back he goes when is Magic coming I said
16:34maning how so I I think you know it's
16:38definitely gifts and things like that
16:40but I think I think the biggest way to
16:42repay them is just to let them know the
16:45impact the Small Things the times when
16:47they weren't yelling punishing
16:49disciplining that I heard what they said
16:52and not only did I hear it I believe it
16:53and I took it in and so um hopefully the
16:57stories that I tell hopefully reminding
16:59them that I know I would not be this
17:01strong without their guidance hopefully
17:03that's enough for them because I could
17:04never be paid on there great to talk to
17:07you look forward to reading the book
17:09thank you good man thank you D for
17:11that's Chris Weber Hall of Famer his new
17:13Memoir is called by God's grace it'll be
17:16released Thursday April
