At the start of the San Quentin Kings 2016 basketball tryouts, one person was notably missing – last year’s team captain, Brian Asey.
“A legend retires,” said Kings Head Coach Orlando Harris.
“I am retiring because my body won’t let me play at the level I want to play at,” said Asey. “Also, I am so busy. Basketball is my outlet; I really don’t want to retire, but I want to give some others guys a chance to experience what I experienced as a King. I could still play.”
The Kings are a 40 and older basketball team. They play against outside community members, who come into the prison on Saturday afternoons. For incarcerated men over 40, being on the Kings is like playing for the pros of the prison. Outside competitors have included former semi-pro Will Wheatly, who played for the San Francisco Rumble, and former Claremont-McKenna College players like Chris Blees and Patrick Lacey.
At 49, Asey may still be seen playing pickup games, but he walked away from a long career of organized sports. He says he played guard for all three of the high schools he attended. Fighting caused Asey’s transfers from Lennox High School to Davis Star Jordan in Watts. He says he also played football for those schools.
Additionally, Asey says he played for two midnight leagues, one in Long Beach and the other in San Pedro.
At 21, Asey started coming back and forth to prison over issues stemming from his drug use. He continued to play basketball in prison.
“I use basketball as an outlet, and it helps me confront a lot of my issues, like arguing and getting mad,” said Asey. “You very seldom see me get mad. I don’t get mad no more. Basketball is my release, my getaway. It helps me to forget about my problems.”
In California State Prison-Solano, Asey played in basketball leagues. There he met league rival Thad Fleeton.
“Me and Thad used to battle in Solano,” said Asey. “I tried everything to beat their team.”
Asey and Fleeton ended up becoming teammates on the Kings in 2012.
“I got here in December 2011, made the team and was elected captain,” said Asey. “We were so good that first year the (San Quentin) Warriors didn’t want to scrimmage us.”
As a King, his scoring high was 32 points in a 2014 game.
Asey says his most memorable King moment came in a game where the Kings were down by one point with the ball and only seconds left on the clock. King’s Assistant Coach Ishmael Freelon called a play for Fleeton to get the ball in the post. The other team had no answer for Fleeton’s turnaround post-up move.
Shadeed Wallace-Stepter recalled the game and added, “That was an all-time classic.”
According to Wallace-Stepter, it was windy with three seconds winding down when Asey changed the plan.
“I was supposed to get the ball to Thad, but I was wide open, and I shot the ball from the corner by the bench. It hit the side of the backboard and went into the razor wire,” said Asey. “Thad stop talking to me for two weeks.”
Although Asey won’t be suiting up anymore, he isn’t leaving the Kings.
“It’s sad to see him leave as a player, but we are excited about him moving on to become the new general manager of the Kings,” said Harris.
Asey added, “I look forward to the outside guests coming in. I’ll still be out there to greet them.”
Off the court, Asey has been productive.
“Today, I’m going to college, I am trying to build SQPR, and I’m a curator for TEDx,” said Asey. “That was my biggest accomplishment thus far. Today I am trying to find myself.”
The father of two is proud that his hard work on TEDx paid off. The event featured Curtis “Wall Street” Carroll and California Inspector General Robert Barton.
Asey says he’ll miss practicing with the Kings.
“I will miss practicing with (Antonio) Manning the most,” said Asey. “Manning and I had this thing where I told him to go hard on me all the time; that way it only makes me better. That was our little thing.”
Now Manning will be practicing with the new 2016 Kings including Tare “Cancun” Beltran, Marvin Cosby, Thad Fleeton, Demond Lewis, Aubra-Lamont “Coocoo” McNeely, Oris “Pep” Williams, Charles Sylvester, J. “Mailman” Ratchford, Derrick Holloway, D. “Zayd” Nickolson, Whitney Vardel Jackson, Joseph Kelly and other practice squad players: Kevin Carr, Timothy Long and Jamal Green.
“I think Holloway is gonna have a calming effect on the offense. Zyad brings a lot of energy, hustle, and he’s an excellent post player, and Green is an excellent defender that can be a phenomenal player,” said Harris.
Asey believes new King recruits like Holloway will make great replacements.
“I like Holloway,” said Asey. “I step out; he steps in. I wish he had played when I was playing.”
