UK freshman Boston does it all: Meditation, leadership and a dollar in his shoe
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As befits a consensus five-star prospect, Kentucky freshman Brandon Boston expects to bring a lot to the 2020-21 team.
More immediately, he brought a lot to Friday’s video teleconference.
“I feel like I’m bringing confidence, the scoring, the play-making, helping my team win,” he said of the on-court contributions he expects to make.
Off the court, Boston also spoke of how he meditates daily, the impact his mother and father had on his development, living and working out with future teammates Terrence Clarke and Devin Askew this past summer and how he’s made a habit of putting a dollar in a shoe while playing in games.
Where to start?
Boston said he starts each morning by meditating. He also meditates each night.
“It helped me mentally (by keeping him) at peace with myself,” he said. “It helped me just focus on myself in everything I do.”
As a high shool player, Boston said he was introduced to meditation by a trainer. He’s been meditating for about a year.
“I’ve been hooked ever since …,” he said. “It just helps me relax, stay calm through everything.”
Putting a dollar in his shoe began as a sixth-grader, he said. Don’t tell the UK coaches, who frown on candy as a pregame snack (the sugar rush comes before a psychic downturn, they say). But Boston said he “needs candy” before playing, Skittles preferably.
The dollar in the shoe began when he had to do something with the change he received when he bought candy before games.
Now, perhaps as a good luck charm, he uses the same dollar throughout a season.
How promising a player is Boston? On Wednesday, he was among 20 players named to the watch list for the 2021 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.
“I’m blessed to be on that list,” he said before immediately adding, “but I feel there’s a lot more work to be done.”
Boston, who is from Norcross, Ga., but played his senior high school season in California, said he was in eighth grade when he realized he could be a standout player. With help from his father, Brandon Boston Sr., he set about putting in the work to make realizing this potential more probable.
Son and father would routinely wake up at 7 in the morning in order to get to the YMCA by 7:30 to do extra shooting, he said. Then, he walked to school in time to beat the 8 a.m. start of classes.
“We’ve been doing it ever since,” he said, “getting up earlier than everybody else.”
Boston credited his mother, Alissa, for inspiring leadership skills.
“Since I was younger, my mom always told me I was a leader,” he said. “Now, that I’m getting older (he turns 19 on Nov. 28), I’m starting to take (on) that role more, just helping my teammates, encouraging them, uplifting them, teaching them certain things, helping them along the journey as well.”
AAU coach Omar Cooper, who also is the father of Auburn’s highly regarded freshman point guard, Sharife Cooper, described Boston as a leader.
“He leads by example,” Cooper said. “He’s first in the gym, the last one out. … He’s always there for his teammates. He’s not a ‘me’ guy. He’s a ‘we’ guy.”
A 6-foot-7 wing, Boston spoke of not being concerned about sharing the ball and the attention with other talented players. Former teammates include Broni James (LeBron James’ son) and one of Dwyane Wade’s sons.
“Coming here, I’ll just play my game and do what I do to help the team win …,” he said. “I feel, like, you go out there with the right mindset, right swagger and right confidence, can’t nobody stop you.”
Friday’s announcement of Kentucky’s 2020-21 schedule only whetted Boston’s appetite.
“I feel like a dog in a cage,” he said. “I’m just ready to get out and go to war.”
As for those putting the weight of expectations on him and his Kentucky teammates, Boston all but shrugged.
“I just tell them to watch the games,” he said. “I put on a show every game.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 3:33 PM.
