I first had the opportunity to meet Levelle Moton during a program for kids. He drew the crowd in with his amazing story of growing up in Raleigh, NC to making it to be the 2014 MEAC Coach of the Year at North Carolina Central University. He spoke about the tribulations he had to overcome, the pain he saw and how to handle adversity when you’re faced with it.
I got the chance to visit Coach Moton at his office on Central’s campus. His room was decorated with photos over his years at NCCU as well as his beautiful family. As you look at the photos, there’s one thing you notice… he doesn’t have one single photo alone. His answer for that “I didn’t do any of this by myself”
What does it mean when you say the quote “Adversity introduces a man to himself”?
It pretty much means that you don’t understand who you are until you are faced with some challenges and tribulations. You learn a lot about yourself during those times of discomfort. I’ve seen some people that when faced with that discomfort, they quit. They quit at life, they quit basketball, they quit in their careers because they weren’t mentally tough enough or physically tough enough to endure those times. And the people that are successful have overcome those hardships. They were the ones to over come their adversity.
What was the easiest/difficult part about writing your story?
The easiest part was writing from the standpoint that they were my stories. They were real life situations, it was easy to put that on paper. The difficult part was me having to go back and confront some demons, starting with my father then going into the death of my grandmother. As men we have a way of dealing with things. I was taught to keep it moving and never got the chance to confront those demons. I broke down a couple of times writing about my father cause it kind of hit me. That was a void that was always there but you try and remain tough and fight through it.
What are some of your favorite memories?
Wow, that’s a good question. Um, probably would have to be the memories I have with my grandmother and the times I spent with her. I was 10 when she passed but the impact she had on me was monumental. She had a different spirit, a different energy than anyone else I’ve ever been around. It brought back a lot of memories. A lot of memories. Good Memories.
In your book you have a story discussing the time you were taken into custody because of your affiliation with some friends who committed a robbery. After it all happened, were you more conscious about whom you hung around and the decisions you made?
Oh absolutely, the thing about the hood is that you became a product of your environment. These were the days were you were outside 12 hours a day. There were no computers; we left for school at 8am and didn’t come back home till 9pm. When you’re outside all that time you’re going to find something to get yourself into, there’s nothing else to occupy your time. Around this time there was nothing positive going on and this was also around the time of the inception of crack. I was just hanging with the wrong crowd, going through my rebel stage. In hindsight I think I was just acting out because my grandmother had passed. When they went and robbed the store. I didn’t know. I went home early to watch “Good Times”. Like everyday at 5pm I was watching that, no matter what I was doing. I wasn’t going to miss it. “Good Times” came on at 5pm and “Sanford and Son” came on at 5:30pm then the news, by that time I was back outside. Around this time I’m getting a knock at the door and my mom came to the door with me and the cops said “we need to question your son about a murder.” Now around my way it wasn’t uncommon. I figured someone I knew was killed. As we were riding in the squad car downtown they are telling me I’m one of the suspects. That just dawned on me. They were telling my mom about the other two friends and now she’s looking at me because they’re at my house everyday, I cant lie and say I don’t know them. We are together every single day and she knows that. So I get down there and I go through all the questions and I know what people feel like when they are in that situation, the show “First 48”, when the bright lights hit them and they start cracking. Man, I understand, I was going through all of that at 14. I’m just thankful I was removed from that situation. I knew right then I had to change.
Since playing for NCCU to now being the Head Coach, what’s it like being on the other side of the table?
I guess they call it full circle? I came here when I was 17 so I just didn’t know. I didn’t have a clue. I had all the street smarts in the world and I was book smart too but to see all this mesh together with people from different walks of life it was just amazing for me to attempt to find my way. I pride myself on relationships, you treat people how you want to be treated. Something my grandmother taught me. I like to think that its one of the reasons why I was hired as a coach. I had a short resume, I was just an AAU coach, it didn’t compare to the average division 1 basketball coach but people believed in me and they respected me because I’m a good person with a good heart.
When you signed with NCCU, you told them that you would bring them a championship within 5 years. You did it. What made you give yourself such a high goal to achieve?
I’ve never been apart of the in crowd. Everything I’ve done was out of style. Now a days being from the hood is glorified. When I was growing up being from the hood, people looked at you as an outcast, labeled you and didn’t believe in you. I’ve always had to believe in myself because I didn’t have anyone else to re-enforce that. That attitude just carried over into my coaching world. When I interviewed, they had a thousand resumes with college coaches then you have my resume as a middle school and basketball coach. I’ve always looked up to Muhammad Ali and his inner confidence and I just think that God created us that way and if we are created in His image then I don’t think God put us on this earth to be mediocre. So I just looked at them and said “If you hire me, I will win a championship in 5 years” and I believed it. I wasn’t cocky, arrogant or anything like that, it was trying to get them to understand and get my vision. Thankfully, it worked out.
What was your strategy in that 5-year plan?
Number 1, I had to get good players. Its not about the “x” and “o” its about the jimmy’s and joe’s. Better players make you look really good. We couldn’t recruit like UNC and Duke, we had to take impact transfers and we have to understand there’s 18 state schools in NC and if we wait on a high school kid every single year then we are getting the lowest of the low. I told them we have to also recruit kids that’s a caliber ahead of us. I had to hold my staff accountable. I had some coaches, including myself, to go out there and told them “You’ll never get Beyoncé if you never ask her out on a date” you cant look at a kid and just say “Oh no we cant get him. He’s going to Carolina, we cant ask him” you never know. You have to ask these kids. We hold our kids accountable and coach them well.
How does it feel to be a coach in demand now?
I be lying if I tell you that it wasn’t flattering. You want to be loved and appreciated by your peers and it’s a wonderful feeling.
You now have players that want to play for you.
Its great, that eased the pain of recruiting. For players to see you on tv or social media, its definitely a plus. What I found is that we are at a point in our program that we have to sort those people out. We have to have kids that fit our program.
MEAC Coach of the Year, MEAC Championship and taking NCCU to their first NCAA tournament, all added to your resume now. How does that feel?
I didn’t do it alone. Jeremy Ingram and Emanuel Chapman, it was those guys. All them. It has nothing to do with me. I told someone the other day “This team is always special because it wasn’t the most talented I ever had but they loved each other and its amazing what you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit. All they cared about was winning.” It began with those two kids. Neither one of those kids had a scholarship offer then they left here two of the greatest that played ball here. I just had some incredible kids.
When people finish your book, what do you want them to get from you?
I can through all things through Christ that strengthens me. Someone asked me what is my one goal in life and I told them “I want to see everyone in my hood to just live their goals” and I mean that wholeheartedly.
This upcoming season, whats the game plan?
Do what we do. Number 1: No one can mention last year. Its not last year team, we lost 6 kids off that team. It’s not fair to compare those kids to this team. You don’t replace them. It was a special team. We are just in pursuit of 2015. Im expecting KJ and Jordan Parks to step up and be leaders for this new team. They have to. Hopefully in March we can cut some more nets.
What game are you looking forward to?
Well I just signed the contract about 30 minutes ago but we are playing Howard in Dec in New York at the Barclays. That’s going to be dope. Im really looking forward to that.
Coach Moton has grown into Raleigh’s hometown hero. Not only does his book “The Worst Times Are The Best Times” release today but he is also being presented with the Key to Raleigh as well as having the honor of September 2nd being named “Levelle Moton Day”. Despite all of his success Moton is quick to tell you “Basketball is what I do, not who I am” and with the dedication he’s shown his family, players and his community, it rings true. Levelle Moton has definitely gained the attention of not just locals but nationally as well and its much deserved. Stay tuned as he continues his success at NCCU as they head into the 2014-2015 season.
But the stories don’t stop here! To purchase his book please visit www.theworsttimesarethebesttimes.com