Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
Eric Platte is the Vice President of Ticket Sales for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. He has been with the Hawks since 2010 when he graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Supply Chain Management. Eric is highly regarded for his innovative ideas for workplace culture and leadership training. Eric believes that leaders drive culture, culture drives people, and people drives business.
Lorenzo Brown was the NBA’s 2018 G-League Most Valuable Player and is a member of the Toronto Raptors. He also played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and Phoenix Suns. The six-foot-five combo guard played college basketball at NC State. He led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in assists as a junior before leaving early to enter the NBA Draft. He was drafted 52nd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2013 NBA draft.
During Brown’s MVP season, he helped lead the Raptors 905 to the G-League Finals while averaging 18.8 PPG, 8.8 APG, and 5.2 RPG. On January 12, 2018, Brown became the first player to score in both a G-League game and an NBA game on the same day. He had 24 points and 12 assists for the 905s earlier in the day and then suited up that night against the Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavs on national TV. Brown would play 19 minutes in the 34-point blowout win, scoring 6 points and dishing out 5 assists.
Brown initially attended Centennial High School in his native Roswell, Georgia, where he averaged 20.8 points as a senior and was named a fourth-team Parade All-American and the Georgia 5A player of the Year. He would eventually spend a post-graduate year at Hargrave Military Academy.
Jerod Ward was the #1 high school basketball player in the country in 1994. As the top recruit, he could choose to play college ball anywhere and he chose The University of Michigan. Multiple knee surgeries kept him from achieving his NBA dream but he still had a solid four year career for the Wolverines helping them beat Duke three straight years, win the National Invitational Tournament and the Big Ten Tournament. Jerod then went on to have a long career playing professional basketball worldwide. Jerod now travels across the country as a professional speaker. He has even been on stage for a Tedx Talk presenting on the topic of EATing Adversity. Even though he is retired from playing basketball, Jerod still stays close to the game he loves as he works as a college basketball analyst with networks including ESPN, FOX Sports. Jerod lives in Sarasota, Florida with his wife Tricia and daughter Violet.
In today’s episode, we discuss: