![]() “It’s really just about opening up the network and giving them access to everybody that I knew inside the business to help them grow their platform,” Handy said. He also introduced them to trainer Chris Johnson and offered to be a resource because he appreciated the organic nature of their efforts. Handy, who has coached on three championship teams with James and went to six consecutive NBA Finals, brought the Swish Cultures team to a workout with NBA veteran Tristan Thompson in the summer of 2018. They were really intent to bring some knowledge just about deeper levels of basketball and about players that most people just would not know on a daily basis.” “As somebody who played in Europe most of my career, I just like that because it showed right then and there that they were about the passion of the sport, not so much just about trying to promote big names or trying to make videos of LeBron every day or whoever the top player may be. “They were really just trying to bring exposure to great basketball in Europe,” Handy said in a phone conversation. When Handy was presented with the idea of Swish Cultures, he was all-in. Handy was on staff at Stanford when Goods played there. They also got a major co-sign when Handy put his support behind the group. Goods, a standout for Corona Centennial High before playing at Stanford, agreed the platform was needed and is currently based in Miami, representing the team on the East Coast.Īt around 1,000 followers, Swish Cultures got a boost after the official Euroleague Instagram account started following the page. With the game plan set for Swish Cultures, he reached out to Anthony Goods, a fellow pro overseas whom he grew up with in the Inland Empire. Honestly, I don’t think people had ever seen someone do that.” A lot of my teammates - which, mind you, I had Finnish teammates there’s only two Americans on my team - they were looking at me crazy because I have my computer open, I was always working on highlights. “My year I was playing in Finland, I took YouTube University, I call it that, and I was learning how to edit, learning how to pick up a camera,” said Smith-Richard, who along with his sister graduated from Los Osos High in Rancho Cucamonga. He had friends asking him to do the same for them. and made his own highlight reels because there was no media coverage of the Division II school. ![]() Before turning pro, Smith-Richard attended Cal State L.A. He envisioned a platform where those who were overlooked could have a chance to shine. It all started as a daydream that Smith-Richard had in 2017 when he was playing overseas. ![]()
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