Engineered For Success Podcast
EFS podcast, for self starters and those willing to make the most of any situation. Hosted by D Burke w/ co-host Waldo Black
Engineered For Success Podcast
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In this episode, D Burke open up with another updated ahead of the open house for the EFS Training Center. He then dives health and wellness and shares some of the supplements he is currently taking to support his goals. After he gives praise to his former coach Dan Hurley on his Final Four run and chronicles his time with him as a player + more!
But yeah, man, as we get this episode kicked off soon, y'all know it's time for the D Burk three.
SPEAKER_05Three P spicy.
SPEAKER_01Three P spicy this week. They say I've been too hard. Pause. All pause worthy on that one. They say I've been too hard. You know, we're gonna smooth things out, and I'm just in a smooth kind of vibe today. So shit, here we rock. Ladies, we talking to y'all today. Hey, look from my far, but they got it. Hey one of the Illis tunes on the soft side we've been rocking too lately.
SPEAKER_04One time for the Illus in the rap game on the ladies' side, walleye. Let's get on. One time for Leon Thomas, smash the feature.
SPEAKER_06Ladies, we're talking to y'all today. Come along with us, what up? I like the church too much. You know you play too much.
SPEAKER_04Where we at, where we listening from? Turn this shit up to eight levels, let's get it. We don't care, baby. Little talk too, let's get it.
SPEAKER_11Okay, I'm famous, you famous, they seen it, so now what? Right now we gotta style. We feel a style now I'll come with the hard line. You know how I go. A woman come to you as a woman until you not show you.
SPEAKER_04Come with the free park.
SPEAKER_11But we don't know each other. That's cool, but who we wanna high do? This thing we're doing number, I really wanna be side.
unknownIt's different when everybody likes you when no one like you. So kiss me in the club. We really in love.
SPEAKER_04One time for your mind. One time for the grind.
SPEAKER_01Wanna push up on the homies. Slow one, let's do it.
SPEAKER_11We should probably get it. Second verse, we rockin' it. With your friends, jealous you got it. Thought I'm blowing up your phone, but you already on college pocket. Let's go to Paris. Cause over there they ain't watching. I mean I know I ain't nobody but I'm nowhere when y'all. Now we finally legged. I'ma show you a round. We on the way to Obi Cause I'm when it's over the mouth. Nothing make a man feel better than a woman. Queen with a crown, run around with her no matter, you so bad. Let's go dance. Who cares if they no badest? I'm glad you know me. I'm good being down.
SPEAKER_01One time for your mom for the EFS podcast. Let's get it. We stayin' on the soft side of things. One of my illest favorite ladies' songs of the 2010 zero. Let's talk to 'em. Rig it in slow. Different time, different place, different era, if you remember.
SPEAKER_09Got me up all night. Uh-huh. All I'm saying is love song. She got me up all night. Constantricking in love songs. Let's get it, fellas.
SPEAKER_04Let's get it, ladies.
SPEAKER_09Down and out with these love songs.
SPEAKER_04Beat drop and we rockin', let's do it. One hand in the air, let's talk to him. You know when we get to the chorus. You know when we get to the chorus, you gotta sing that shit out the windows.
SPEAKER_07Uh let's go. Okay, back when I was sleeping in my mama crib. Even back when I was up there in my homie crib, paying 1700 for the rent. Money well spent, no heater, but a nigga made eat. May I vent and had a thing for you. Even wrote the song. Drain's for you. Thoughts of a ring. They saying they both playin' the internet games, the media games, keeping it nice and pig. What's time to get to talk to him? Let's get it.
SPEAKER_02Would you believe me?
SPEAKER_04It's where the real slow while I come up. Uh-huh. Second verse on this one, too. We rockin' today. Bear with us, I'm back in that bag. We cover these things weekly now. We appreciate the support. Just vibe for now.
SPEAKER_08But this has gotta be the longest crush ever. If I ever get the fuck it, be the longest bust ever. Love is a drug, like the strongest stuff ever. And fuck it, I'm over. You feel me? She on the power too. Got me what she wanted, nigga.
SPEAKER_04Give me twenty dollars, dollars.
SPEAKER_08I'm in your city and I'm wondering if you're home now. Went and found a man, but I'm hoping you alone now. Can't help but feelin' like I dropped the bar cliche. I used to pop up on you at the mall each day. But typically I kick game like East Bay, but you got a nigga freeze from the East Bay man. Different time. Just walk up one time.
SPEAKER_04Different place, different era. Miguel, one more time.
SPEAKER_02Would you believe me?
SPEAKER_04They wouldn't believe me.
SPEAKER_02Would you believe me?
SPEAKER_01Summertime. It's on the way.
SPEAKER_04Should get real warm outside. Make sure you stay close to that man and that woman if they was good to you.
SPEAKER_01For now, let's rock out. We're gonna stay on the smooth side of things. One of my favorite Drake B sides of the last four or five years. I know I paint myself as a Drake beer. He do this something good. Keep making me dance, wave my hands, and there won't be no threat. Talk to him.
SPEAKER_10She called me a baby like a still one. You won't know if it's real. Can I feel it? Can I feel it?
unknownCan I feel it?
SPEAKER_04Can I feel that be some old school player shit right here, you know?
unknownCan I feel it?
SPEAKER_10So my stuff. What if I was somebody else? Would your ass still be?
SPEAKER_04She wouldn't. She most definitely would not. No shades to you, Drake, but she just would have.
SPEAKER_10She wouldn't love Fred like you love Drake. She wouldn't love Greg like you love Drake. Nah.
SPEAKER_01Gotta talk to your ratchet ladies too sometimes.
SPEAKER_04We know how these girls get at the shows with their favorite artists.
SPEAKER_10I'm a well known player, I'm a well known trick. I'm as well as well known. Just vibe, y'all. We gon wrap up this pre-post tone with this vibe for now. Yeah, I'ma say I frank a sana bitch. I don't know what you thought this was, baby, girl, but that ain't this. I don't know who said you was slick. Now my uncle, that was slick. I don't know who said you was stick. Now see, that girl thick. Nah, I ain't nay dropping. I'm just gang dropping. I'm just playing hoppin'. Hoppin' out and hoppin' in. You gon' have to run that top again.
SPEAKER_01These boys playin' on drop again. They prayin' on drop again. Praying on your downfall. Just keep on doing your thing. Young man, young woman, all of y'all out there, the listeners, the viewers, as always, we appreciate you. To the most. To the utmost. We'll wrap up the three-piece spicy for the week. And then we'll kick off the podcast. I'm doing bullshit. We'll wrap up the three C spicy for the week. We'll kick off this pod, man. So as always, we are back for another audio occasion. It's the podcast for self-starters and those willing to make the most out of any situation. The EFS podcast is back. We got episode number 74 in the house. One time like a shot, like an air horn. Even though I took a break, they said that, you know, most podcasts don't make it past 20 episodes or some shit like that just because people don't really realize what it takes to do it, etc. etc. etc. I took a couple breaks now and still banged out way more episodes than a lot of y'all niggas. So you know, sometimes you just gotta salute yourself on that. But either way, audio on the way in for the for the for the people. It's a big moment for the for the Yukon community. I'm a Marquette guy, big East Rival, so you know I can't fully support, but my guy in the coaching seat right now, happy to see him getting all the love and getting so one time for Mr. Dan Hurley. We'll talk about it a little bit more in a moment, but for now we got y'all on the way in. Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00That people see you know yelling or hard coaching and somehow think that's a problem. Yeah, I just think that's society. You know, we got soft in it in a lot of ways. I think with um you know, we're trying to develop young people. I think young people, the teachers and coaches that impact their lives the most, or not the teachers and coaches that like gave them a grade and deserve, and you remember the teachers and coaches that pushed you uh to your maximum and pushed you beyond your comfort level, that got the most out of your English teacher that you know made you do the work and the tasks were hard and you had to study hard, and uh just like the same thing applies to to coaching. Um we we've got I feel like I got a responsibility. You know, I I coach 18, 19, 20 year old men.
SPEAKER_01People don't put that in perspective, it says about the coach.
SPEAKER_00There's a lot that I've got to instill in them. There's a lot of discipline, uh, there's a lot of accountability, and there's a lot of commitment um that I've got to instill in them. A long audio, stay with the real world. The real world is tough. Um you gotta be uh you gotta be equipped. Um so on the flip side of how I'm driving them and pushing them to be the best that they can be and prepare them for life coming up. I got a very close by with my players, I love them, they know I love them, um the media doesn't see or times that we spend uh you know together laughing, joking, making fun of each other. You know, you don't see that part of me. You unfortunately just sometimes see the monster.
SPEAKER_01There's a lot that I gotta almost ran that one back. Big time talk from the final four three time to the final four in the last four years. It's big time shit, man. It's big time shit. Gotta respect it. But as we get this thing kicked off, let's let my shit run. One time. Where's my butt now? Okay, there we go. Don't do that to me. One air horns, two, air horns, three air horns, and a whole bunch of air horns. Loving where the weather is at, loving how the body's feeling now, the mind, the spirit, everything is in line, in connection. Not so much my sleep. My sleep could be a little bit better. Some weeks it's great, some weeks is not, but you know, we're here. We're here for another episode 74 of the EFS Podcast. So if you joined us, don't forget to hit the like button, the share button, all the buttons, every one button that you can hit to let you know, let me know, and let us know, excuse me, that we support the EFS pod. We definitely love the love over here and want to spread love as we open up for another episode with your boy, the man, the mint, the legend, Mr. EFS, Mr. 1% two times, the Mr. Living Example, all that good shit. Thank you for joining us, man. Let my theme music run a little bit longer. A couple more interpoints up, wake that up stuff all across, wake it up, wake it up. And as we rock out a little bit longer on this pre-pod pre-excuse me, this music got myself all messed up today. As we rock out for my intro music a little bit longer, we'll fade out. We'll get to a couple topics of discussion. I'm here for a good time, not a long time today. You know, we really just making sure these things get rolling again, squeeze them out while we still are in the midst of getting our butt kicked, trying to get this EFS training center off the ground. So as we fade this thing out, man, quick update. We'll talk about where we at, how close we are to opening. We are shit under two weeks out at this point, man. Shit is getting real. We'll say that. Shit is getting real, real. So putting all the final finishing touches on getting this facility off the ground. We'll be, you know, uh undertaking over the next 10, 11 days until we get to the open house on the 11th. Got some cool things planned for the open house, man. So I'm really looking forward to getting to the day uh for y'all to come out. We'll be doing some giveaways, we'll be doing some fitness things, getting people acclimated with what we're doing in the facility. Uh more information to come on that very soon. We'll have my man DJ Illegal spent time on the podcast, has spent time doing DJ work for me for a long time. Uh so he's gonna pop out for me, you know, spend some cuts, spend some records as we go through our open house day. Um on the 11th, not the 12th. Um, and then from there, what else we got going on? Um Just a vibe. We might barbecue, man. If it's sunny enough outside, you know, we got the door, we'll lift up the door, get the vibe going, the outdoor feel, you know. And then we'll make the most out of it, get some grilling going. Uh we'll have some of the vendors there, some people that I'm looking to be partner with. We're gonna hold off on naming them until we lock them in, just because, you know, let's get to the finish line on that first. Uh but when we do, you know, obviously we'll we'll we'll have that announced to the people, the public, and everyone who's, you know, a supporter of the facility to kind of tie into some of the things we're doing uh on the fitness side to make it a little bit more of a holistic experience. Um, not holistic, I would say, uh well-rounded experience, uh, just to be able to have support from the the center and uh other things around it to support your overall health and wellness, I should say. Uh so open house is on the way, man. Really looking forward to it. Pop on out. Um everyone, the community is open to come. I know this is making myself a little bit, you know, uh regional right now, but look into the direct community uh where I'm at, where I live, where I support in the Middletown Delaware area. Uh pop on out, man. Let's get this thing off the ground and let's make a big impact and let's really, you know, change some lives for the better or keep some lives rolling on the, you know, on the on the positive side. Um so outside of that, man, merch. Uh another thing we wanted to announce, we will be doing a merch thing pretty soon. I've been trying to test just putting merch out, you know, little by little. Uh, did a couple drops with my my clients and uh my the the members, which we'll will be called soon, um, of the training center. And they kind of jumped on it, really like the reception that I've had to it. So we might be putting some merch out here pretty soon, man. Uh gotta figure out how I want to make it work on the uh I guess shipping and fulfillment side of things, just because everything's been pretty much in person thus far. Um and yeah, once we announce that, you know, you'll see the pieces come out. You'll see the pieces on myself because a person who's gonna market my own my own stuff. Um, but yeah, merch coming soon. But outside of that, man, that's pretty much it with the EFS brand right now. Just just in a great space, man. I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for the next phase of what I have coming in life. Uh I've been getting back into my meditations. Uh as someone who's been uh a supporter or an advocate, I would say, of medica um meditation, excuse me, for a long time. Uh I do feel like it is important to implement it into my life a little bit more going forward uh with everything I got coming on, coming up in front of me to keep my head in a good space and just to be able to manage things. But uh I'm getting real excited about it, man. The the opportunity for real, real growth is coming soon um and legitimizing myself in the space that I'm currently in uh to monetize, you know, and just making sure that, you know, on the business side of things, as someone who's a aspiring or now true entrepreneur, um, you know, just being a living example of just what growth looks like in front of you people. Um and I got some great people in my network uh who have been supporters of me for a long time. And the messages that you guys sent me, again, the the just the the life, I keep saying that, but appreciation comes standard with me. So the life that you guys keep breathing into me as I, you know, leap for the for the stars is is is amazing, you know. And looking to make that grow. And I want you guys to see that the work I'm putting in really pays off uh for anyone who has that same kind of mindset like me, or again, just for inspiration and motivation. And you know, I live my life in service of others, and you know, that's what EFS really is. So, you know, we'd love to see it continue to grow and I'd love for y'all to be along the journey with that. So bear with me as we, you know, the truth for the stars, like we just talked about a second ago. Um, but outside of that, man, just want to hit a couple quick topics. This one ain't gonna be super, super long, super busy today. Just want to touch on a couple things real quick, talk my shit, uh, and get some perspectives out there. Um and I think I want to implement a little bit more of this into the podcast, just being someone who is in the health and wellness space and and having a a real foot in the game at this point, and uh years in the game at this point. Um, just having that be something that kind of comes through more in the content I put out. Um and this is not an endorsement. I'm not getting paid by any of these people. I'm not really, you know, and I ain't there yet, at least. But these are things that I'm trying to put to put out to y'all people to understand like what I'm doing in my own everyday life. Uh so we're gonna talk some fit shit a little a little bit, or health and wellness shit, you know. Um and outside of just being someone who works out consistently, a lot of the things that we have to do and focus on as people, uh especially as we get older, because uh the more you're on this earth, uh, the more your body has to work to produce certain things that it naturally needs, or it needs other things to be implemented into your regimen, uh your nutrition to be able to, you know, support the bodily functions and stuff like that. Uh so you know, we're gonna just share a couple quick products that I'm taking and I'm using currently just because I do believe in and and a big advocate for, you know, supplementation of your nutrients, because a lot of people, you know, don't. And I think that as you get older, which I keep harping back on, uh, you gotta make sure that you're putting things into your body that's gonna keep you rolling and keep you going for as long as possible. Um now you can't take everything in the world. I would not recommend taking everything in the world. Everything in the world ain't a good product to take. Uh, and I'm a person who likes to kind of test certain products after doing my research on them to make sure that they're legitimate. Uh and sometimes you gotta keep doing research because products that you might be taking uh might come up to be not as legitimate as you think they are um once people start testing them and stuff like that. So always be mindful of what you're putting in your body. But I would say for now, the products that I'm taking, and I kind of want to share them with you as people who can, you know, maybe jump on board with some of that. Um uh I'm gonna share a couple that I'm doing uh r like daily at this point in my life. Uh so here on screen, you can probably see it. And again, this is not an endorsement. I'm not getting paid by any of these people, but I do stand behind, you know, just being. A person that gives raw truth to you know people off of the things that I put myself through, you know, living example uh again. Uh so on the table we have uh creatine, we have uh redwood from Umzu, we have testosterone also from Umzu, and then we have the super lungs from uh this is the newest product I'm taking, so you know I can't really speak too too much of that yet. Uh, but I'll talk about a little bit about why I'm taking them in my own personal life, and you know, how I feel like maybe as someone who might connect to anything that I'm saying, you can implement them into your own life. Number one, creatine. The creatine brand that I'm taking is from Create, and I grab it. I haven't taken it today, so I'm a little bit behind on my nutrient timing. Uh, but bear with me on that lot to do. So, yeah, like I said, I'm taking create creatine. I've been taking this product, and this is not my favorite flavor, but you know, I have been taking the product for a while and had different flavors uh of the creatine. These are creatine gummies from the brand Create. Um, I have been taking this since about September of last year when I started to get more into supplementation. Um, not to say that I wasn't before, but I really started to dive into it when I try, you know, change my regiment and you know, dove into this whole EFS training thing about how to like make sure I'm putting on muscle and mass and just making sure that my body is strong after being a person who I felt like, and uh I'm not downing it because I do believe that it is important to keep it in your regiment. But I felt like at a point in my life before I got to this point to taking the creatine, I was doing too much cardio for me, and my body started breaking down. And I would not say too much cardio for me because I done it did it for years, but I don't think that I was operating in a proper way to be able to help support um the regiment that I was looking to put out, like to do. You know, I was running at least a good six, sometimes seven days a week uh doing my resistance training also, but you know, on top of your resistance training, you still got to make sure you're getting the miles in, and the miles kind of wear on the body in a certain way, um, and not to make it too science-y, but you know, you can lose muscle if you're not doing the right things. Um, and I felt like I got to that point while still being able to get pretty fast, and lungs were pretty good, um, really good, I would say. And just, you know, putting myself through it a lot got me to the point where I was breaking down. I feel like I've spoken about this on the podcast. So when I changed up my regiment and wanted to start focusing on different things, uh, one of my biggest, uh, my biggest goals was to put on more muscle and put on more mass, I would say. Um so I have, I would say, since the June of last year, it's been about 10 pounds of muscle that I put on, uh, just from lifting heavier, but also doing something uh like supplementing. And this is where create comes in play, um, and not just create because there are a bunch of creatines out there, there are a bunch of good creatines out there, there's also a bunch of bad creatines out there. Um, but this is one of the brands that I've you know been behind. It's just third party tested. Um, and a lot of the things that I put in my body usually are third-party tested just because uh you want to make sure someone's doing the science on the product to make sure it either backs up the claims or make sure that you know it's not putting you through something that could be harmful later. Um, so this is third party tested by uh um NSF, which is uh a sports certification uh for the brand or uh sports, excuse me, uh company that that tests out the product for the brand. Um and I kind of stand behind it, man. I'm doing a lot of creatine on a daily basis. I pretty much keep it in my regiment. There may be times where I'm out and I may take a day or two to re-up, but I've been taking creatine again since September. It's now April of 2026, and I've seen a lot of benefits from it. I'm not as sore as I usually am when I'm, you know, going super, super hard and just working out. Um, and again, the the results kind of show I put on masks, put on lean mass. Uh my body fat is pretty much the same. I would say maybe like a percent or two higher than it was before. Um, but the weight I put on is pretty much just been muscle. Um and lifting heavy is great, but you also have to put the right things into your body to support muscle growth. One of them is creatine and uh the other one is protein. You know, I eat a lot of protein, but in order to back that up, creatine is the way to go. Um also has great, you know, cognitive cognitive function. It helps with you know brain health in that way. Um and a bunch of other benefits, man, that you can do the research on yourself to figure out why you should be taking creatine. It is the most studied supplement that we have as people, like as far as on you know the on the fitness side of things. It's one of the most studied. So a lot of data out there about it. And if you're not taking it, you should be. Um, big on my clients about getting the right nutrients in, and I've spoken to all of them about creatine. I can't force them to take it, uh, but it is something I support. And I do like this brand Create, they got a bunch of different flavors uh of it, and you know, uh it's just easy to take. There's powders, there's gummies. I do find that gummies are a little bit easier to take. I'm not a gummy kind of person, uh, but it works for me. And again, I think it's been something that's been a positive, beneficial thing to put into my life and into my regiment. So got that as number one. Next two are from the same company. We got Umzu Redwood, um, and then we have Umzu Testro X. So I'll show you the bottles on these so you can get a quick visual. This is uh Umzu Redwood, and then we got Umzu Testro X. I got this as a little bundle. Um, the Redwood is really just a blood flow support thing, and as someone who is a larger gentleman, I have uh tried to do a little bit of science on this one, but I don't say I I wouldn't say I have enough information to make bold claims on it. Uh, but I do think as someone who's 6'8 and uh has a big body to pump blood through, that doing anything to support my blood flow is going to be helpful, you know. Um, and not just myself, everyone, because you know, everyone needs blood to live. It is one of the like the biggest things to support life through the body. Um, and it's also one of the biggest things to help support energy levels and also support your recovery. Uh, it helps with cardiorespiratory health. Uh, so anything that I can do to be able to support blood flow through my body, I, you know, I'm big for. And also for the people who, you know, on the on the freaky sexual side of things, if you are someone who is a male and you take redwood, you're gonna feel your, you know, it's gonna stand up a little bit more. We'll just leave it there. Um, but yeah, umzu redwood is one of the things that I take on a weekly basis, uh daily basis, actually. Um, and I've been doing this for maybe the same time as I've been taking creatine, actually, even longer. I started taking OMZU Redwood over a year ago. Um, and uh from the same company, Testro X. And Testro X is just a testosterone supplement. Been taking this one as well. All my blood levels came back great when I had a panel uh recently, and uh I do feel like the Testro X has been helpful in that. And if you're a man and get over 30, you're gonna start to lose testosterone because it just becomes harder to produce. And so as you get older, you should be taking that. And testosterone is great for energy levels, it's good for a lot of different things as a man. Just overall energy, strength, like it helps you to feel you know alive, you know. The testro, the testosterone like boosts, you need it as a guy, especially. Um, ladies have testosterone too, you know, more estrogen than testosterone. But you know, for the fellas, especially, as you get older, support your testosterone with some kind of supplement. This is just the one I'm taking, so I'm gonna give it to you as that. Next one, which has been one that I've gotten to recently, um, that is going to be the super lungs from uh super bonsai. Um, and I started taking this one just because I'll be open and honest. I'm a person who is uh what they call, I guess in social media, to uh to escape the the blocks and the and the bands, uh, a gardener. Uh gardening is one of my, you know, my my vices. And I do believe that if you are a gardener, that you have to have something to help support your lung health. Um, I think cardio helped me out with that a lot. Um, just because putting as much cardio into my regimen, like I felt like my lungs was good. I've ran marathons after gardening. Like I've done a lot of things while gardening. So it's not been anything to slow up my regimen in that kind of way, but I do believe you got to clean up some of the, you know, the gunk because there aren't you know positive benefits to being a gardener, but there are also you know things you gotta make sure that you are, you know, cleaning out of your body. So superlungs is great for that. Do a little brief, did a little bit of research on that one, and uh I like it so far. It's been about, I'd say, three weeks, almost a month, so I can't really make too much bold claims about the benefits from it, uh, but more to come on that. And again, none of these people are paying me for this kind of you know promotion, but I do want to be someone that again puts it out to y'all so that y'all can jump on board because you know, the impact is more important to me than collecting a dollar for it. I would love to at some point, uh, but not so much that I wouldn't want to, you know, put out there some good brands and some good supplements that I'm taking. So, you know, y'all can, you know, get out there and do it yourselves. And a lot of fellas, because you know, my support right now is mainly fellas, uh, a lot of ladies too. I'll say it's about split, but you know, for the fellas who you know are trying to live a more vibrant, healthier life, these are some of the things I'm taking. And again, ladies too. If you're down, check them out, do the research, put the right things in your body. Yeah, man, and that out the way, we will move on to our next topic of discussion. Um, just because we spoke about them earlier, and it's time to give big love, man. It's just time for it, you know. Whoops, I keep hitting this crickets button, back finger in the the pad pause. Um, but listen, man, Danny Hurley, Yukon Huskies. Hate to be the one to say it right now. Not even hate, because you know, I can't hate on Dan Hurley and everything he's accomplished in his career. Um, but again, as a market guy, you know, tried and true, I I bleed blue and gold. So uh being uh someone who is a supporter of another Big East team sometimes is a little touchy for me, but it's cool because I do love the Big East as a conference historically. Um, one of my favorite conferences in college basketball because as a New York kid, Big East was it for me. And I'm you know happy I got the opportunity to play in the Big East. Uh, but right now it's all about Dan Hurley and the Yukon Huskies, man. If you were a watcher or someone who witnessed that game, it's the closest thing to an instant classic, from what I'm hearing for people saying, I believe it is a little bit of an instant classic just because the way the game went, it was very dramatic and a lot of ups and downs in the games, really a lot of downs for Yukon until it was up at the end of the game. Um, so yeah, man, it's just time to give big love and shout out to Dan Hurley, man, as a person who has played directly for the man himself. Uh, I am very, very happy about all the things that you know Yukon, I mean, sorry, Dan Hurley brought into my life uh as somebody he took a chance on in in high school. Uh, this is back in 2004, uh, was when I was first was it 2000? Oh yeah, 2004 was when I was first introduced to Dan Hurley through a guy named Eddie Lau. Um and Eddie historically says, I don't give him enough credit for you know the the impact that he's he's played in my life and career, um, as well as some other people. So gotta give him love and shout him out on this one. Uh Eddie Lau, who was a person who introduced me to Dan Hurley uh back when I was really just trying to make a name for myself and be able to get a college scholarship, you know. Um so a little story about it. Back in high school, I started high school here in Delaware as a New York kid who moved from New York to Delaware because my mom snatched me out of school in New York because some other things was going on that was probably gonna put me on a different path. Uh so starting high school basketball in Delaware when I was really, really getting into it, uh, kind of lost my my way as far as you know the the recruiting side of things and just being in the the the mix to put myself in positions to be around certain things and uh and make my career uh uh again, a better path to the college way, college lane. Um so I started high school in Delaware, really wasn't getting much out of it, and decided I needed to move back to New York. Well, decision me and my father made um at that point uh in order to pursue things in a real way. Um so I did that, went to Rice High School from there for my senior year of high school. Um and after that senior year of high school, loved to Rice, the Rice Raiders, got brothers from Rice still to this day. Salute to all of y'all. Um, but you know, my year there didn't really pan out too much uh as far as you know being able to be a Division I college athlete, which I was set on. Had some offers from from some lower level schools, but I figured I needed another year uh to be able to put myself in front of schools, you know, another summer to play AAU and more tournaments and just so you know to be in front of uh more people, just to, again, to gain that attention to get to the college the way I would like to. Uh so decided I was going to take on another fifth year of high school, uh a prep year uh per se. Um and decided the way I was going to do it was by going to a school with Danny Hurley was coaching, which is St. Benedict's in Newark, New Jersey. Um, so first introduced to him, and then he took a chance on me to say, yeah, come on over, kid. You know, I like what you, you know, the ability you have, I like the potential you have, and I believe that we can make it work. So kind of as a, I guess, favor to Eddie at that point, uh, he took a chance on me coming into the school. And I stand by that now, this far into my life and having a good chance to like look back on everything, I wouldn't be half of the player I was without Danny Pl Danny Hurley coming in and really helping me. Uh Mo Hicks from Rice as well, but Danny Hurley really put me in position to kind of look at things a different way on as far as basketball goes. Um, and I wouldn't have been able to get to Marquette without Danny Hurley. I wouldn't have been able to play overseas without Danny Hurley. I wouldn't have been able to do a lot of the things that you know I would have, you know, uh I would wanted to do in my life without that impact at that moment. Not to say in a you know parallel universe it couldn't have happened some other kind of way, but we live in this world and this universe, and Danny Hurley was a big, big help for me to get to any level of basketball that I had after that. Um and that goes kind of to what we talked about in the or what we heard, I guess, in the intro audio, which is just tough coaching. Like Danny Hurley was the first coach that really put me through it to the point where I'm like, yo, do I really want to play this game? Like for real. Because in order to be able to achieve anything great in the game, you got to put yourself through the ringer. And he was one of the people who first did that. Now, being at St. Benedict's, I was away from home, I want to say five days a week at least, sometimes six, uh, but just because it was a school that had, you know, people who lived in Newark, New Jersey going to high school and going home every day there. Uh, a lot of dudes, I some dudes I still talk to to this day from that time, but you know, outside of that, they had like a boarding program to where you would stay at the school uh basically for most of the year and get the chance to go home on the weekends if you chose to. Uh, but being a basketball player there, you kind of had to stay there sometimes more often than not. Um so did get little breaks here, but definitely in the basketball season was there locked in. And we, you know, had a great year that year, played with great players. Um Eugene Harvey, um from there, Lance Thomas got to ended up playing in the NBA, got Frank Tweesy, played at Villanova. Um, two Holloway was there, my brother too. You know, we was that was my guy when we was at St. Benedict's. Um, and we've seen what his career has turned out to be uh after leaving St. Benedict's to go back home, but that's a different story. But either way, the the culture at St. Benedict's was what really set me up to be able to handle some of the things I was able to handle on the college level, uh playing for Tom Crean at Marquette and the career I had there. Uh, but for me, not a lot of that happens without Danny Hurley, you know, and I think that he gets a lot of love and praise for you know the success he's had. Like you got to respect what he's done, but you know, his methods are what often come in question with the with the public and the media, and you know, just how uh some of the antics and the just the personity he has, the brash, the bravado, all that as a coach, like that's just him to a as a person, you know, and it's not really putting on. And I know some people kind of like look at it as that, but that's like that's how that guy operates, and that's just how he is, you know. And if you know anything about the Hurley family, his father, great amazing high school coach in the new in the New Jersey area. Um, brother played for Duke, which you know is a little funny because you know it's kind of full circle moment uh that he beats Duke this year to go into the the final four. But uh Danny Hurley is a legend, man. A legend in a high school basketball game, and now he's making his name and his stamp in the college basketball game, has for a while, and now he's seeing like the peak and the peak of success. And again, Final Fours three of the last four years is uh big time shit. So as someone who's played for him directly, wanted to show love to him on my platform and and make sure that y'all know that that's how that guy literally is. But and just the way he is, uh just coaching you hard, he's that way as far as creating that bond and that connection with his players off the court, you know, because you don't get to coach someone that hard unless they know that you give a a real, real, you know, F about them as far as you know how they develop, uh the type of person they are, and just gets the, you know, he gets the most out of you because he he loves as hard as he coaches, you know. Um and that's something that I picked up while I was there from him. And again, it's been something that's carried me for like further than maybe I even would have imagined in my life at that point, uh, as someone who was again just trying to get to college. Um, so yeah, man, big time game, and we're looking forward to seeing what happens in the final four. I I have a feeling about how it's gonna go. I don't want to make sure, make any official predictions just because, you know, that ain't my vein, that ain't my lane. I just want to watch and see and enjoy. But uh shouts to UConn, shouts to all the other teams in the final four. It was a very, you know, uh I would say uh sweet 16 in Elite Eight weekend. Uh the people that made it there made it there in a big way. Um, and UConn kind of you know made it there in dramatic fashion, which is why, you know, they're getting all the love and the praise this week. So shouts to y'all, man. Good shit. Go get them in the final four. We will see what happens. And outside of that, man, it is really time for me to wrap it up, man. I ain't got too much more for y'all today. Just wanted to come over here, come on real quick today, get some takes off. Uh, again, kind of put some stuff out there as far as the products we talked about. Uh, so hopefully you've been able to enjoy this one, man. I got big shit to do today. More on deck. It's a little bit of testing with the facility coming up. Uh yeah, man. A lot on the a lot on the itinerary, a lot on the the checklist of things to get done. So we got this episode out the way. So for the next one when we come back, I hope to see you again. Viewers, listeners, keep on checking in, keep on tapping in, keep on showing that love. We love the love over here at the EFS podcast. But for now, episode number 74 is out. Peace.