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BABY BULL
THE ALFONZO MCKINNIE STORY
I asked team Dynasty head coach Edmond Pryor to describe one of his summer season players Al ’ s game and hear is what he had to say : “ Al is physically gifted with size & athleticism but I don ’ t think he realized just how good he could be until now . Al can fit in with any team because he ’ s coachable and also open to learning . One day he will take his place amongst the very best in this city when it ’ s all said and done . You can ’ t teach Interest , Desire , and Motivation ” Well said .... Without further due , The Windy City Bulls Alfonzo McKinnie Q . WHAT PART OF THE CITY YOU ARE FROM ? AL MCKINNIE K-Town on the West Side of Chicago . Q . WHAT WAS IT LIKE COMING UP AS A KID ? AL MCKINNIE I was pretty much a stay in the house kid coming up . Basketball is what brought me outside . Q . HOW DID YOU START PLAYING BASKET- BALL ? AL MCKINNIE My mother & grandfather brought me a portable rim and I used to pull it out the garage and play in the alley . Then I graduated to playing at Mason Park outdoor courts . Q . YOU WENT TO 2 HIGH SCHOOLS ? AL MCKINNIE Yeah .... I went to Curie HS first . At Curie I wasn ’ t taking the game serious and transferred to Marshall HS . And over at Marshall , they wasn ’ t going to let me on the court if I didn ’ t take the game serious . Marshall practices was tough and you had to be able to bring out the beast in you in those practice sessions . Q . HOW WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CAREER ? AL MCKINNIE I did pretty good . I was ineligible my junior year due
to transferring but my senior year I became one of our key factors in making it to the city championship and going down state that year . Q . HOW WAS YOUR RECRUITING PROCESS ? AL MCKINNIE I had a lot of junior colleges recruiting me at first . But when we kept winning in the state tournament I started picking up more offers . UIC , Loyola , Fresno St , and George Washington offered me . But I chose Eastern Illinois University for my first college . Q . HOW WAS YOUR COLLEGE CAREER ? AL MCKINNIE I took the visit to Eastern Illinois and came there because of the asst . Coach Corn . I played a season there and I didn ’ t play much . But my sophomore year was productive . I Averaged 1qpts that year . Then I transferred to Wisconsin Green Bay because coach Corn had left Eastern Illinois to be apart of that program and one of my high school teammates was already over there ( Keifer Sykes ). Green Bay is a small city and outside of the Packers , Wisconsin Green Bay University Basketball team is the only act in town . I got injured during workouts twice and missed a season before I got back on the court . Q . AFTER COLLEGE ? AL MCKINNIE I signed with a agent and went to some exposure camps in Vegas and did very well but I wasn ’ t getting any offers . So I kept working out all summer until it got late in the summer and I still didn ’ t have an offer . Then one day I got a Facebook message from a team in Luxembourg it was late in the summer so I took the offer and signed with there team . I was the only American on the team and our record was like 2 – 31 . I be never lost so much in my life but it was a learning experience . The team looked for me to put them on my back and it was my first time in that type of role .
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