The UNTOLD STORY of Compton’s Super Crip

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Welcome back to all the smoke. Today's guest. Today's guest. There's only probably one person that gets mentioned as much as him that's not like a superstar known athlete. And that's Term. So we got Term on here with BD one day. Y'all been asking about my homeboy right here to the right. Let me welcome none other than David Hamilton, aka SuperCripp. My dog. Appreciate it. Did you see him? My dog. It's been a minute. Been a minute, man. We've been trying to line this up for him. We started this show, bro, like seven years ago. They've been talking about you since we started this show. I just appreciate the love, though. Just by being remembered. Respected? Yeah, respected and being remembered for something good. Tell me, so I'm cool with that, man. Tell me when you gave up on the curly top. Because when you think LA curly tops, you think SuperCripps curly top. When did y'all part ways? I didn't part ways with that. You know, I went to the braids. Okay. And I went longer hair. Braids might have fucked it up, though. Yeah, but then I went to the hats and do-rags and that fucked it. That was over. Yeah, that killed me. Now I'm more so like you. You had the line, you had the curl. It was like your shit. No, not like my shit. It was something like my shit, though. You got that extra- I got that Hawaiian silk. You got that extra- That shit shaped when it- When did you give up on- When did it- I'll say 98, I transferred to the braids. Okay. But Coach Ellis wasn't fucking with more of the facial hair. Okay. So we had to have a gold tee. Then how you think a gold tee looked. Then he like, all right, you can have- We couldn't even have facial hair, UCLA, though. Now we had to shave our shit. We used to try to hide hairs underneath the bottom of our chin. Like we couldn't have nothing up here, though. Yeah. Fucked up. Now, so Coach Ellis got real big on that. Then he was like no facial hair besides the mustache. Oh, then you look like a cop. That's a problem. And if you're gonna have braids, they better be done. Yeah. Oh, okay. Stay on top of it. There's rules and regulations about this. Sure. What do you mean when you hear people like Tyson Chandler, DeMar DeRosa in the game, to name a few, like, mention you and your game and the aura of the man you are? I mean, for me now, it's humbling because I didn't know that they felt that way all these years. So to hear it now, it's an honor because certain people look at them for their celebrity status. So for them to give me a little shout out, because I'm nobody to them now. It means a lot. So for those who aren't familiar, telling where you're from, you grew up where you grew up and we're gonna talk about the journey. The journey is the journey, but you could really play basketball. Yeah. So talk to us about where you're from and what your childhood was like. I mean, originally I grew up in South Central, 94 Vermont area, back west for those that know. So what area is that? That's the back west for the H-rays. Okay. Nine Trey Playboy Hustler, nine five Playboy style, nine nine Mafia, you got ten different gangs right there. I went to a Bret Hart Junior High, but before that I had gotten to a little shooting, some more other shit to wear. Before Junior High, you said at what age? This is early on man. I'm gonna say from ten I start fucking up, but ten to fourteen man, I was in and out of juvenile hall back and forth. So from there, that's what it should start. What other sports did you play growing up? I mean I played football too though, but I got too tall man. So for me getting hit was out. Wasn't the option? It wasn't the option. I could run like shit too, so I ran track, then coach Palmer, I said you see a layhead, he was doing volleyball and shit. Okay, keeping your legs right. Keeping your legs right. When did you know that basketball could possibly be a path for you? I didn't take basketball seriously until after my junior year. Okay. Because you know coming in, I didn't even know y'all. I wasn't respected, I didn't know y'all, but that's the reason why it gave me my chip. Because I didn't know anything about stats, I didn't know anything about rankings, I didn't know anything about really taking the shit serious. I had just got a juvenile hall. So to be coming home and seeing everybody that excelled, I left them when I was younger on. So it was different. After your junior year you realized there could be some, did it shift your mindset? Did you stray away? Did you try to stay locked in on who? Were you still in the streets? What was going on? No, so coach Palmer had told me to take it serious. He's like man, you know you can come back and be one of the best centers in the country. He was like, you was bullshitting. Are you going to take it serious? I mean I didn't like you niggas. Not supposed to. I didn't like none of you niggas. Yeah, you're not supposed to. I didn't get along with y'all. I didn't grow up with y'all. I just got out of jail. You feel me? I'm young, I'm on some bullshit, but I'm also trying to understand what it is to be a high school basketball player. Because I'm known for being in the streets. Some other shit, yeah. You know what I'm saying? I went that path because I'm growing up seeing niggas around me bro, that was a celebrity's down to us. See we had a Nipsey way before Nipsey. You understand me? You talk about Baby Lane, or you talk about Punchy or Lil Woody, you know what I'm saying? A little nuff from my hood. Baudine and other motherfuckers from Captain that really put on. Those are the motherfuckers. I was mimicking. It wasn't no basketball player. I see you every day so I'm trying to mimic you. I love this, but it's a struggle where I'm trying to figure out how to be a basketball player, but I'm a game-banger. You see what I'm saying? That's the struggle. So you're seeing your year. You have Playwell, Team Does Well, when does college recruitment become a reality, and when do you start looking at that? After my junior year, like I say, man, that's when I looked at everything. I didn't even know getting letters was something. Mothuckers were sending them shit to the high school. I wasn't getting them. Who getting them? Next to you know I got a big ass mail bag full of shit. I'm not for to read that. Cal State, Northridge, Fullerton, shit like that. I think I don't...the fuck is this? Where did you get the majority of them letters from though? Was it camps? Was it high school? Was it the pump shit? I mean pump shit was early on. Dinos. I love Dinos. Shout out to Dinos, man. Pumping was cool. Say No Classic. The Say No. Who was your AAU team? Fuck, I got it in my phone too though, bro. Was it Pump and Run? Matter of fact, let me see. I showed bro. I brought it too. Because I remember I didn't run into you and I was just saying, well I didn't really pay attention to the... Because if you go back to the Southern California All-Star Classic or Showcase, you know back then when they still had you know all of us in there, bro. I'm talking about Caleb and then was cool too. Brandon Granville. Chris McMillan. Walter Smalls. But let me see on that Southern California All-Star. We never played against you in there. We just played with you in that little All-Star game we played out here. Yeah, but we had everything else that was... What was that? L.A. Trade Tech? That was Trade Tech. Was it? Yeah, that was Trade Tech, bro. Remember we used to come down here for the pump camps. Did you go to any of the... Like when did you start doing the camps and shit? I did the camps after my junior year. Okay. That's when they really started paying attention to me though. They really started to have me come over there. It was at Dominguez Hills. Yup. That's when it was being played at. Yup. So I did that with them and then they had me working the camps as well. Okay. So pumping was cool though. When did you start recognizing guys like Bear and players like that? Oh, shit, man. I've been doing BD forever. Just to see... I'm going to just say, just to see how BD is now like... Or excuse me, when he did play. It's different, bro. So you got a lot of different legends, bro. To where... Man, it's hard. It's hard. I mean, you talk about Bear and Andre Miller, Paul Pierce, Shay Cotten, Tayshawn Prince. It's a lot of motherfuckers. Just to name a few. Like that's hard, that's hard. If you go back though, you're forgetting... What was his name? Ricky Duff. Like manual arts and shit like that. So you're forgetting other players, bro. That was tough. Yeah. Like I mean tough. Like, game has said Lamar Gill, Jordan. Like, niggas was tough, bro. The white boy, Ricky Anderson, tough. Ricky Anderson. You know? Just tough. We got some tough motherfuckers though, man. But I don't know, man. The ones that really stick out the most, man, is the ones that really played the hardest, you know? And I get that to like... I get that to Kenny Brunner. You know? Black Santa. Because like, me and Kenny can't stand each other. That's what it is. But I respect the nigga game. Right. I knew he was going to come with it. You know what I'm saying? Bryant and boys was good too though. Out of Jordan. But they don't get that recognition either. But like LA niggas, man, it was hard, bro. I'm trying to think. Tommy Cren? Tommy was cold. Tommy was a year before me. So that's what I'm sitting there trying to think. Like Tommy was one, but you got to understand, like, everybody else was just nice, but they wasn't that one. When you knew you was going to play against somebody, you knew. You know what I'm saying? You ever knew right when you were running with Shay? Shay was alright, yeah. I played against Shay too in college when he was at Alabama. So when you get... What draws you to Auburn? And were you considering any other schools? I was. Fresno State, but I didn't want to be... That's too much gang bang. I don't want to be gang banging, nigga. Who was over at Fresno State at that time? Gumby. Gumby. Gumby. Was right there, yeah? Went for Walton. T-Folks was he there yet? Yeah, just left. Okay. Chris Herron. Chris Herron. Courtney Alexander. He had a lot of gang. Courtney Alexander. Then, damn. I just didn't want to go. The Batarque made that shit sweet. I wanted to go. I wanted to go, bro. I really did, but... You made the right move, though. Yeah. He might not have made it out of there. And then Leonard Hamilton tried to get at me from Miami. Back then when they had Tim James and all of them down there. But I just didn't like the recruiting trip shit. Like, bro, try to sell church on me too much. You know, and I was going through a transition. So I'm trying to go to the Rolex and figure out the strip club shit. And he trying to tell me, I got church tomorrow. You know what I'm saying? Nah, bro. It wasn't going. This ain't it, bro. Shout out to Leonard Hamilton, man. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. So Auburn. What... Auburn man was a... A tradition you said. Yeah, tradition. Coach Ellis had a lot of big men. Big man coach from South Alabama. So he had ties with Rudy Washington. Rudy had got over at the Compton College. So they put a little bug in my ear. Dale Davis, Elden Campbell, Sharon Wright. Coach said, if you put your head in the basket, I'll make you a pro. So I'm like, fuck it, like it. I like it. But I went down there and when I saw all the guys at Auburn, man, it was different because they were fighting, but they were all Americans too from their respected areas. And I didn't know that. Like I said, bro, after my junior year, I didn't really take... Or excuse me, I started to take basketball serious. But when I first started playing, I was just playing. So now when I'm starting to see things, I'm like, damn, bro, you was a dog. Where you from? All right, I respect it though. But now I'm looking at it like, we might do something because I respect my point guard. Doc, I love you, man. So Doc Robinson, man. So it was different. What was life like off the court coming from LA and going to Auburn? Slow. Was that a good thing for you at the time? Yeah, I needed that. Okay. It was slow pace for me. That's one reason I chose it. Like I said, tradition, the guys that was there just seeing how patient they were. And it was a family oriented university to where if you go there, just like how you feel about UCLA, if you go there, man, you're going to love tradition, but you also going to love just the way that they welcome you every time they see you. Did they come to LA? To your home? And what was that like for them? We see... Oh, shit, man. It was nice, bro. I loved it. Yeah, man. I had... Listen, they thought they was going to get a cab out of Compton at 8.30, bro. There ain't no cabs coming over here. So we had to give them a ride. You know what I'm saying? Oh, man. And they were staying on this side too. You know what I'm saying? So it was different for them. But to see Coach pull up, Coach LaPlante, Coach Harris, they did a lot of time as far as recruiting me. But they had, like I said, Rudy was at Compton College in their back pocket. So he had coach with my coach down in South Alabama. So that was his way in. I mean, you going from school out here to the SEC? Yeah. What's that transition like for you as a person and then as a man that's trying to make this basketball team and make an impact? I mean, to see all the white people first, fuck me up. Because they know me. Right. They get the little media guy. Right. They get to see where I'm from. They get to see different pictures. So that right there... Did the aura super-crip travel out there? Do they have to learn about it? Oh, yeah. Man, I love Abbey, man, like the mascot. This motherfucker had a raider jacket on. The jacket, I mean, the clock, like Flavor Flav with a sign saying you ain't the only one from Compton. So I used to love that shit, man. That's all I say. Auburn was different, bro. You know, but South Harbor University, bro. I mean, I feel like I be telling people, man, I mean, I'm blessed to have kids and playing the league. College was some of the funnest times of my life, bro. That was the best time, bro. The funnest times of my life. Like carefree, school was optional. Women were everywhere. We got the hoop on TV. And you know, at the end, I was on sports illustrated with CP. So we was ranked number one at that time coming in. We only had lost four games, bro. So to be 29 and four at a school that's known for football is different. So to be there and to be in that atmosphere, man, I enjoyed it. What was that freshman impact like? What was it like? What was that journey like for you that season? Oh, shit. I loved it before. Like, we were... You start? Some games. But we had Mama do N.J. The seven footer that was in front of me. He got CP, Chris Porter. So you got guys that was... He was flying around too. What's he about? Six-five? How tall is he? Six-four? Yeah. Flying around. Yeah. Crazy bouncy. Yeah. He gonna go five for 18. He's gonna get up there though and make one and say, oh. Yeah. That's my guy, man. So you get ministers and freshmen? Yeah, I get a lot of ministers and freshmen, man. I felt that if I didn't break my fibula, we would have won it. You broke your fibula? I broke my fibula, bro. On what kind of play? Shit, at home. In a pickup game, in counting. Only Christmas break. You went up and fell off the rim? No. A guy came down an inside ankle. And snapped it. Snapped it. That shit was like... Ah! Like this, bro. Yeah. So this is about 90... It's 1998. 1999. Yeah. Oh, actually 12 games. 11, 12 games into it. We went on that break for Christmas. Yeah. What's that rehab process like? It's lonely, it's cold, it's new. Yeah. You can't play no more. Like what's that process like? And did you do it here or did you do it back? They flew me back. They flew me back to Birmingham. So I flew to Atlanta. Okay. Joe to Auburn. Auburn to Birmingham. Health South. Dr. Andrews, Dr. Lee Mow. Oh, okay. Yeah. Got the right people on you. Yeah, did my surgery. I came back. I was in the hospital for about 45 days. I was still able now to put some pressure on it. Picking up marbles and different things with my toes. So getting right. And then I came back, but I was still afraid of jumping. Trusting it. Trusting it. Because I didn't know how you was going to land. So that was one of the ones... I remember my boy threw me a pass. I was on a Jameson Brewer. They played with me. Cold point guard. Dropped me a dime and I laid it up. Cussed my ass out all the way back down. Shit had dunked it. Supposed to be in the rim. Supposed to be in the rim, bro. I never do it again, bro. So it was from them. I didn't trust it, bro. How long did it take? About a year. For me to trust it. So how was your sophomore year going? My sophomore year was kind of shaky because I was in the eligible for the first five games. We had some involvement with some agents. Different shit. Academics as well. We got it straightened out. But I was still a little too far gone. Because I was mad at it because I couldn't work it out. And now it's my sophomore year. So after that, bro, I was somewhere else. I was back and forth with Mike Miller. Talking about transferring to... I'm going to coach at Trade Tech. Community College. No, no, excuse me. Los Angeles Community College. So he was down there. That's when they had... Who was it when Fresno State? From Chicago. Linky. Got into the... Start with an E, man. It had come to me. Man, that's a good one, too. Not Mel Eli. Melvin Eli. Was it? Melvin Eli. Was it? Yeah. Mel, shout out to Mel. Mel Eli. He was cool. We played together on the Clippers. Super cool. Where did the name Super Crip come from? Oh, wow, man. What's the origin of the legend? Yeah, let's get to it. Let's get to it. We had a game against like Fremont, I believe, back then. See, I knew Beatty. Like I said, I ain't got stuck for a minute. We was talking about Bearing, but Bearing had grew up on like 85th in town. Excuse me. I got some cousins in different nature from over there side. 87th, shout out to the A7s. So off San Pedro. So we used to always play at this little school on Manchester. So I knew all the guys that was going to Fremont. So now I'm at Compton High School though, because my mom had moved to Compton. So when we're there, I see them. So we always beefing already. We had Rio Hondo, which is junior college up the way. So we're playing in a little tournament at Rio Hondo. I see these guys. So after the game, I'm like, fuck it. I'm going to get on the bus. And I'm going to just get active. So I get on the bus. And you know, we get on the bus and we get into it. So a couple of my teammates, yeah, I'm up on myself. So a couple of my teammates, a couple of my teammates shout to Milton, shout to Reggie. You know what I'm saying? So they see me getting active, but they don't know me like that. So they just know that coach Carr and them had tried to recruit me to come to Compton High. So I just had played a couple of games with them. So I get up there, man, and we get to squabbling on the bus. They like the nigger was some type of super cripple or some shit. You know what I'm saying? Like because they knew a nigga kept saying cuss all the time. So they're like the nigger, the nigger was just like some type of super fucking cripple on that nigga fighting these niggers on the bus by itself, bro. So, you know, the shit just kept going because they didn't know who I was. Right. And I'm fresh out. Everybody else, like I said, Tay-Shon and everybody went from. And this is like pre-social media. You're not really out there like in the sports scene like that really. So it's just like. And they just traveled by different players. You know, you might call them a fuck or you had party lines back then. 9767070 shit like that, you know, gang hotlines. So motherfuckers only saying different names, different things. How long it take you to embrace it? Because that really wasn't my name. You know what I'm saying? But what was your nickname before that? Shit. I was going back and forth between, you know, Lil Insane and BK. You know what I'm saying? But that shit wasn't sitting right. So shout out to them. So shout to, you know, Big Insane back then on my nigga Gary. This is crazy. But Gary wasn't doing the things I was doing. I was trying to make a name for myself growing up after the guys that I did name. So why the fuck should I be named after you? And you ain't putting no work in. No disrespect my nigga, but I'm going to slide and do my own thing. So it sticks. How old are you at this point? 16? I was more about 15. 15? Yeah. Just embraced that shit at 16 and ran with it. And they said they used to put that part of your Aka in the paper too? Yeah. Everybody though embraced it. Because I wouldn't even talk to you. I wouldn't answer you. That's how you had to be addressed in? Yeah. Because I didn't care about the act of legs or nothing other shit early on. So for me, it's the respect thing. That's why I said after my junior year, I didn't, I really started to take a serious. My junior year, I was like fuck everybody. Because I don't know you. Right. I said, watch that kid about you. I'm just trying to whip on you. You trying to dunk on a nigga. I'm going to dunk on you. So fuck it. And then I don't like it because you in the paper, you got the Nike shit. Like I'm over here with these niggas. We probably got some Reeboks. Compton High, we fucked up over here. You know what I'm saying? Fill me. Hey, that's your water too if you want it. All right. I have mine over here. Y'all okay? Yeah. He said we probably got some Reeboks. So let me break down this. You had no shoe deal back then. What no shoe deals man. Niggas was going to get handouts man. Break down the story of you being shot and then playing not too long after that. All right. So. How old are you? I am 17. Yep. This is my senior year. So this on a Tuesday, man, I'll never forget it bro. I had 87 colors. European front end man. What color? Listen man, champagne brown with the flakes on it. Right. So I'm loving it though because I'm flipping the paint on these niggas. You understand me? Because you know we beefing. You know what I'm saying? So I'm flipping that bitch from white with the blue pearl. You know I got 50M chrome, 50M you know what I'm saying? Flipped to the white. So I'm spinning them through the city. But me and my niggareel man shot through my niggareel bro. We was hanging out and they had bust my window and tried to take my sounds and shit. So I had got the window fixed but they used to have a little chronic spot man and pocket hood off north. So I wanted to go get some chronic. You know fuck it, they didn't broke my window man. I'm gonna get it fixed. You know I might as well get one burn one, get back to school. We get back to school, I got practice all that man. We go through the practice. So real hung out with me all day. And I don't really want to upset, you know what I'm saying? Nobody family or nothing like that man. But that's my dog. You feel me? He hung out with a nigga all day. Practice all that man. So now after practice I'm gonna give a couple of my teammates rides home and shit. So we flying up and down the laundry. I see my nigga's rides. I see my boy Milkman from Park Village. So you know, he on Wilmington flagged me down. I'm like, come meet me on White Marsh. We have to blow one. So he's like, alright, so we keep going. I'm dropping everybody off. I turn back around, go down there, go home first. Excuse me, I go home, grab the newspaper. We was getting ready to play Santa Margarita. So I'm like, let me just check the paper out see if they got the same. My mom like, get the paper, you okay? I got a pineapple spring filled soda. I'll never forget it bro. Grab the soda newspaper. I'll be back jumping the car, sag around the corner man. Get around the corner. Now everybody around there. So we for the hot box bro. So now we sitting there talking about, you know, up and coming players and shit. Bro just talking, just chilling bro. Like, and I don't know where some niggas just came. You know, we're sitting this way. They come this way, man. So we're boxed in, but we getting ready to hot box. Milk man is sitting there talking to me. Slowpoke get ready to jump out the dust. You know, the shit off his pants and shit. I guess that's how they saw him. So they turn on us bro. I'm in the passenger seat. Milk man's the driver. Rail behind me. Lunatic sitting in the middle and Slowpoke was sitting in the other side. There's five of us. So, you know, when they pull up, they yell out, you know, they look neighborhood. We ain't gonna get them clowns, no air time, but you know, it is what it is. So they pull up and say, you know, what they say, I got the paper bro. I look down and turn dog dump two times with a four four. You know what I'm saying? And get off or four five or something. I forget what it was man. Dump two times and drop that motherfucker. He picked the chopper up and hung out the window bro and gave it to us. But my thing was, if you really want to kill us bro, you should have jumped out. You feel me? We was parked. You had us boxed in. You didn't do your thing. I'm grateful for that one. Certain other people didn't make it bro. So, Rail was sitting behind me. I'm a big nigga. So, Rail got the seat. I mean, excuse me, I got my seat pushed back. So he got his legs open. So as his legs is open bro, he can't protect himself. One to the head. One to the midsection. I think one to the shoulder. So bro, leaning. I think Tick got hit a couple times in the stomach. Milkman got hit in the left shoulder. I jump out bro. So I don't know I'm hit. So I jump out. I'm like fuck. I'm like man, the niggas just came through. I'm like damn. I'm looking at shit. I'm like, something just felt out of place. You know what your body. And it felt like somebody had like bought a t-shirt or a towel bro for like 20, 30 minutes and just dropped it on my back. So now my shit is, that shit popping bro. It's hot. So I'm trying to get the feeling you know. So I'm looking. They like bro, you hit. So the homies is running around the corner. All that now. So niggas is out there. I'm like bro, you know niggas know who did it and all that. But at the same token. Now I'm looking and check everything. God, I look in the back. I see my homie bro. Niggas see noodles bro. It's out of there. You understand what I'm saying? So like once that happened, I got the other homie to my bro. He cold because he got hit in the middle. You know what I'm saying? So he like bro, somebody hold me. Slow pull like cuz it milk man. Like cuz I got hitting him hitting the arm. I'm like, I see you. So now we all standing there. So when the homies pull up and shit, they like, you all right? I'm like, nah, bro, like I'm hitting the back. They like, getting the back, getting back at the court. We should take you to the hospital. So we go to Martha the king. They pull up there like, we ain't staying with you though, bro. We're going to drop you off and we're going to get back to the hood and see what's going on. So I'm in there, bro. They plug me up to some shit, little IVs, different things. This nigga right here flamed up. You know, his shit hanging out. SA partner right here shot. Matt niggas in here shot. If anybody knew about killer kings, the trauma center. So everybody in there, they got to do with some type of gunshot man. So I'm in there man, seeing all type of motherfuckers fucked up man. But it's a phone there. So I get on the phone. I want to call a turf, you know, see what's going on. So, you know, as I'm finding shit going on, the police come in, you know, they go through their little proceeding handcuff you, tell you not to do nothing. I leave there after being seen and being checked out a couple hours later. We make it down to the counting police station back then. It wasn't the sheriff's back then. So we get near. They're like, what happened? And I'm like, man, fuck, you know what happened? I got shot. So the fuck I'm doing here. They're like, well, you know, somebody died. I'm like, the fuck they got to do with me? Like, why am I here though? Oh, we're going to ask you some questions. You're being detained. You know, yada, yada, yada, yada. So now, you know, people are starting to come down there. So you got 50, 60 people in the waiting room. So I got the mayor, everybody come down there back then. So he like, man, what's going on? You're going to release him? Or you know, you're going to continue to question them. So I find they have about a couple of hours they release me. But during the time, you know, they hear the shootings. My homies getting back at him. So they trying to put two and two together, you know, I get released from there, go home. I'll say, bro, two days later, I'm going to the smoke out down the street. I get pulled over, gun in my backpack. So now this is right before my game. Like I say, two days later after being shot, I'm trying to go to the smoke. So you got shot in your back? I got shot in my back, not my leg. That's what the story is. The legend had it. You got shot in your back. I got shot, meaning I was bent down, bro, when they came to dump. And I'm like this. So the bullets hit me twice. They didn't have enough time to spin. Bro had a chopper. You know what I'm saying? So it wasn't the leg. So it was around the back. So when they wrapped me up for me to play, I had a pad about that big on me. So you couldn't elbow me or do anything to fuck it up because I had open wounds. How many days after this was this? This was two. So like I said, bro, listen, I got shot. Tried to go to the smokeout. Got stopped by the police. Got arrested for having a gun in the car. They checked the gun to make sure I wasn't not knowing it. They let me go playing the game. Forgot all about that shit, bro. Played well. Hey, man. Shout to, what was the name? Carson Palmer was in that game with us, man. The quarterback from the Bengals? Send him to Margarita. Yeah. Yeah. I played well, you know, send a couple of threes. But shit, I was mad in that game and I played for me in real. And I just went in the motherfuckers and I wasn't scared. Like bro, the shit y'all do, we was dealing with that shit every day. I just happened to play a basketball. I just happened to be a basketball player or play a sport rather. You know, so that shit wasn't a... It was normal everyday life for me, but different for y'all, you know? Yeah. So... What does Super Crypt look like in the NIL era? Oh shit, Rich. Rich is fucked. Rich is fucked, yo. They owe me some money right now. God damn. Could you imagine? Man. Could you imagine? Where is that now? Yeah, man. Has that nickname... Obviously it has its advantages, but has it ever played against you? In college or anything like that or not? I welcome it, man. Like I stand on that. I embraced that name back then, bro. I still go by it now. I mean, so I'm still in my neighborhood. Just came from over there 20 minutes before getting here. Same cause, man. So take me down your journey. So three years of Auburn. Two. Two years of Auburn? Yeah. What happens after you leave Auburn? Excuse me. I'll start running, man, from the NCAA. CP at... Gotta since my shit. You know what I'm saying? And that wasn't where I was at with it. Like, he went to Winn Dixie, man, and got a fucking... A Western Union transaction. The lady from the Western Union transaction turned this ass in, cause she recognized him from being on sports illustrated. So, and she was an Alabama fan. Damn, that's cold. So it was, I think it was Winn Dixie or Pigley Wiggly. One of the motherfuckers at Auburn. But turned to me, man, and the first thing he said was a shout out to CP, bro, I love you, bro. Even though we've been through all this together. He was like, man, I met the agent or a runner to D-Hand. So now they come asking me, like, how you know? I'm like, shit, you know, just from being at, you know, L.A. Trade Tech, different little, you know, gyms around the city. He's a gym rat, but he was also running players to different agents. So, you know, we had took their ass for a couple of dollars. So, you know, the NCAA owners now. So they are on me tough now, but I never received nothing, you know, as far as from that person. So when they investigated CP, they made him ineligible, you know, because he admitted to taking it. And then now they're on me. So I left there, went to University of Louisiana, a lot for yet. So back when, during my recruiting process, Jesse Evans was at Arizona when he was recruiting me. He took the job down a lot for yet. I'm looking at two, I'm looking at Michigan, I'm looking at a lot for yet when I'm leaving Auburn my sophomore year. Jesse take the job, they went 20 and 11. So I'm like, all right, decent. They asked me to return in players. I went down caught a vibe with them. Let me go ahead and check it out. I get down there, man, that shit was probably the worst decision in my life. Why? Because bro was becoming a head coach. He didn't understand, I guess, after leaving Luke, you know, up there in Arizona, it was different for him because after the first year you got some success, but you was still getting your feet wet. You got players still, you know, developing, but coming into their own and wanting shit. So they're not feeling me because I'm new. I'm coming from Auburn. So I get down there, I got certain people still sending me money doing certain things for me. So they like me, what's up with dude? I pull up man, 87 cutlass. White with the blue pearl, TVs, cellar, and I smoke. You got the TVs in that bitch. Shout out to the flea market, Houston, Texas, man. Nigga had the big ass VCR mounted on the, excuse me, on the, the goddamn, what do they call it? The glove compartment. Had that bitch, I'm talking about mounted, bro, I'm talking, I'm taking out big ass VCR tapes, putting them in at the light, making sure niggas can see my TV, you know what I'm saying? St. Louis Tex, Nellie and shit, blasting, you know what I'm saying? Oh yeah, man. Couldn't tell you nothing. Country grammar was my shit, I'm subbing. Yeah. So you, you play there for a year? No. Don't even, oh you bounce. NCAA, like I said, was on me. So this is me figuring out all the different things about being in college or collegiate athlete. These motherfuckers like the Feds, they're following me. You understand me? I can't beat them. I run over there, I got to pass the clearing house. So they're there. So now, with the net, they're like, what's up with this money, man? I'm like, man, I got that shit from the homie. But the homie is a gangbanger. The homie is, is somebody that I know. So they like, all right, well it's cool, we're going to leave it alone. He had to submit his ID and some more things like that to prove that that was my partner, but outside of that, I'm at Lafayette. I don't like it. Shit ain't going right. I entered my name in the drive. Then I pulled my name out. This 2000? This is 2000. 2001. So I'm down there. What was the call back then? Prop 48. So I'm down there, I do that, not working out. I leave, I go back to Compton. So I'm back at the crib, say no classic, Long Beach Pyramid, all these different little tournaments I can go and play in. But I might get somebody to look at me. So if I do that, then, hey, another opportunity. Let's try it. A D2 school came up in West Virginia, Salem International. So the coach there had recruited Kenny Brunner first. Kenny went down there and played in a couple of games but didn't like it. The ABA was just starting up. So he left there, jumped in there. So they had some type of connection with a guy from Compton now. So the guy from Compton, like, you know, I got him, I got a super crib over here. He trying to figure out a school. So they like come to West Virginia. So I get down near Bonies. Not Morgantown, West Virginia. Salem, West Virginia. Eight buildings, bro. Like, it's a D2. Different type of atmosphere. Ain't no planes. We're taking vans, nigga. I'm talking about 12 passengers, six passengers. The A&N style. Yeah. In college. Shit different, you know. So I get down there, I play a couple of games, man. Get me some tape. Say fuck it. Wow. Didn't like it. Decided to leave, but then I joined the Kentucky Colonel in the ABA. Just to say fuck it, just to keep trying to play, stay in shape. It was me, Antoine Barber, Luke Whitehead from Louisville. He's from San Francisco, ain't he? Jamar Yomun. Yeah. When he was doing all that bouncing around and shit before he got his shot, Jeremy McNeil played at Syracuse. Who else was with us, man? Other guys that was in there was at Arkansas. Brandon Dean, Oliver Miller, Todd Day. That was that Arkansas team. So ABA was cool for me. Hooped a little bit there. Then Sarlo Hungry, Pooley Switzerland, Tel Aviv, Haifa Israel. Just never got a chance to come back. How many years did you play over the water? I did about three. About almost three. After that came back, but I wasn't getting them calls. So I decided to go to Mexico. That was different. Went to Mexico, no Gallus. So I had flew into Phoenix first, drove to no Gallus, drove from no Gallus into Waimans Mexico for my team to a crazy agent. Get down there, play. Do all right, man. Got called back for another year. Got called back for additional season. Moved up because it was in the second division and moved up to the first division. I averaged about 18 and 15. That was in the second division, first division. I didn't average 30. That was different. Got a call to go to Puerto Rico. Still doing my ones and twos in West Virginia because at the time I'm back and forth now. But while I'm in Mexico, man, I still had my ties as far as being home, spoke a little Spanish, knew some serenials, you know, can't make NBA money. I'm gonna make it in the streets. So, you know, start doing other things in the streets, you know. When did you stop playing basketball for good as far as trying to get paid for it? Shit, when I got caught by the feds. What happened? Can you tell us about that? Yeah. Shit, West Virginia was a gold mine for me. Like I said, I was back and forth, hooping. Met a couple different Mexicans, knew some from back home. Grew up with shit ton of them. So, me getting some weed or me trying to do something was always, the opportunity was always there. So, I'm like, man, if I could get this weed from Campton to Salem, West Virginia, I can charge these dudes, you know, $110, 125,000 ounce, or a quarter pound for me is $125 at home. A pound for me is $300. You got some great prices, boy. Yeah. So, initially it was 320 pounds of marijuana. I ended up going down for 20. That's what I set it out of. That's the feds caught was a box. My first box I had mailed it. Oh, just straight through the mail? Straight through the mail. I started playing with the mail for about five years. I had a five-year run going on. Solid. So, after, like I say, when I didn't follow back up with the Puerto Rico thing, I started really selling weed and shit, took off, couldn't make it no more. Shit, watch how to keep playing. I'm not getting them calls. If I can't make NBA money, I'm making it in the streets. So, we had a nice little run. Feds came. What day did you get popped? I was 26. Okay. You had to sit down for a minute? Oh, I sat down for a while, bro. You know? So, my first one was 37 months for the weed, but then I had a state case. So, I got an eight years for the state, four years killed it. So, I had to do four years. So, once the violation for the feds kicked in, then the state let me go. So, then now I got to do 37 months for the feds. So, once that happened, once I get that time out of the way, it was time to come back home and start over. So, just think about it, bro. Like basketball was out. Yeah, see what? About 30 now? 31? 33. Okay. So, now you got social media. You got everything going on. My homegirl had set up the Facebook for a nigga while I was in jail, 2010. You know? So, when I returned back, social media was going on, but it really wasn't big for me. Compton Magic was taking off. Other players and shit were still doing their thing, but basketball for me was a no-go. So, what do you find to fill your time? Are you forced to go to the streets? I was back to it, bro. I came home with a vengeance. You know, I was mad. I got caught. You understand me? On some real shit. I was mad. I really got caught, bro. You understand me? Because I wasn't doing nothing to raise their flag or to get their attention. I really was doing this shit on some smooth shit, but I was being super-cripped in West Virginia. So, I was whooping niggas ass, dating hammers. That's loud. Yeah, so shit. There wasn't no shootings and shit like that. That's what a nigga was known for. You understand me? I love to fight. You spared them, yeah. But I'm whooping niggas riding around with them in the backseat of the car. Niggas telling on me, you know what I'm saying? I'm jumping on the bus. Your mom might drive the bus. I'm jumping on the bus telling her, hey, listen, they should be selling out my bread. I'm going to ring them up, fucking thing, and get off at the next stop. You know what I'm saying? So, shit was wild. So, they already had new about me, but... Oh, shit. It's different, bro. Yeah. But niggas here, they come because they like, man, what's going on? Mm-hmm. Like, what does he do? So, motherfuckers like, you know, he sell weed. You know, he doing some numbers. I'm starting to dibble and dabble in different things, doing numbers, but next thing you know, bro, they had allowed some packages to be sent through to a female house. And the female's mother was there. And she like, yeah, man, SC get packages here all the time. So, now they can put my name with the packages. So, now while they are in the house, bro, they're calling me like, are you coming? I'm like, no, because, bitch, I could track the package. I know something wrong. I'm on my way up out of here. You understand me? So, from there, they finally caught me after about two months of running. And my first, like I said, bro, fair charging. That shit opened it back up again. Mm-hmm. Well... So, you're in LA, you full steam ahead. What, that's 33. What are we, 46 now? 45 now? 46, bro. What's been going on? Tell us what's been going on in your life. I do motivational speaking for At Rich Youth. Okay. I felt like I'm one of them kids that got bamboozled. The guys around me didn't know no better man and didn't have the right people teaching them. So, who's best now? Mm-hmm. They teach you. I learned. I was a guy that had everything in front of me. Waving until I'd in front of me. I lost it. Choices and decisions. So, I try to prevent that now and try to teach these kids and educate them. I had to go to Atlanta to get my first run at it. I got my partner here, shout out to my boy, Ty. We do something called Clippers and Cops. So, we go around to all local barbershops and try to get the community to interact. You know, learn how to interact with the police. Mm-hmm. And then you got my aspect of it, being a kid from the streets to where I'm a teacher. I could be your uncle to show you, you know, different things so you won't make these mistakes. So, I spend most of my time now, bro. That's what I do now. What's something that David Hamilton at 46 would tell 18-year-old SuperCripp? Be patient. You know, I didn't believe or didn't understand what it was to be an All-American. I didn't understand what it was to have Mama do NJI or CP in front of me. I should just be patient, man. And if I was to be patient, I would have made it. You know, if I'd have had somebody else in my circle that made it, I think I would have made it. Some type of guidance. Some type of guidance. Once I started to see different people in my circle, from high school coaches to people around me, profit off of me. And I didn't understand that. I was like, what if they got all that in my junior year and I didn't know nothing about it, bro? So, I took my recruitment in my own hands in my senior year. So, I wish I would have been patient, bro. And just learned more, but also just understood the business of it. And I didn't. What's going through your mind when you're seeing dudes you grew up with and played against and been around and we're all doing our thing in the NBA? Knowing that you had the talent, you played with us. Yeah. You were in the same circles. What's going through your mind when you're sitting down and just kind of thinking about that at that age? I mean, for me, bro, it's unfortunate that I didn't, right? But maybe that wasn't my path because if I were to receive that bread, Ain't no telling. Ain't no telling what would happen on the laundry. You know what I'm saying? Straight up. Because, you know, I didn't have no guidance. For me, it would have been, it would have been cool, but it would have been a challenge. So, to see all y'all excel now, I mean, it's what I expected. You guys was doing it two years prior before I even got there. So, you guys had got your feet wet, your freshman and sophomore year, meaning in high school, and you guys had your parents. I come from a single parent household, you know, just my mom and my sister. So, you got my sister, my mom and myself. Father was gone. So, I'm not knocking that. But to see all you guys make it, it's a beautiful thing because you made it. You know, we get a chance to still interact. Maybe I ain't got what you got, but my nigga, I did mine in the streets. So, I'm not hurting from nothing. I'm not wanting for anything. But I'm just out here just living life to the fullest. And that's what y'all doing. I just need you to answer the phone when I call you. You got it? You understand me? Only time I got to be in Hollywood. You too. Nah, I told you I had to go. Hey, don't cut this though, man. I had to go into Hollywood. I had to go into water for a minute. I told you. Because y'all got proper on you right now. I resurfaced. Yeah, I got proper on you. I resurfaced. Yeah, I resurfaced. We here now. Yeah, so I tried to answer, you know, shit accordingly. I ain't want to bring all the crippling in here. Oh, shit. Y'all, check me respectful. Yeah, always, always. I got a book too though that I'm pushing. Talk to us about. What's it called? More Than Success. So, like I was saying before, I'm giving you, you know, my struggle. It was in front of me to reach these different heights to be successful if that was the plan. But these things happen. These was the pitfalls. And then now it's the rebuild to show you who I am now. You know, so it's to help that next kid that's growing up in Compton. He might get that and be able to read it. And that might help him through a difficult time, you know, because he's able to relate. Where can they get that? It'll be on Amazon, April 1st. Okay. Matter of fact, I know some stuff too. Yeah, man. So that's for you. Appreciate you. You got the whole team though, right? I'm not the whole team, man. So, authentic lifestyle, man, is my company. I try to give back to authentic people. You making this right here, authentic space for us to come in and speak. You already know. By us being athletes and some that didn't make it and, you know, get to that height. We did the all the smoke addition on that, man. Straight for you. You know, so got your name on there, man. Officially. Yeah. So we just did it just for you. And then the piece down there that you just dropped, that's for the card, man. They can jump on here now. SuperCrippCompton.com. You know what I'm saying? Or you can get me SuperCripp on the Instagram, SuperCrippCompton on the IG. Make sure we take all this information down so we can help them promote the book. Yeah, yeah. All right, man. Quick hitters. First thing to come to mind, let us know. Ooh, five, five. In your opinion, top five LA Hoopers all time. Damn. That's tough, bro. Give me a six man too. Damn. Whoo. Nigga put me on the spot with these boys. I don't even like some of these niggas but hey. Let's see. Top five, man. Compton, Wads, Long Beach. LA. All in there. All LA. All right, man. I'm going mind-fied though. As you should. I don't even like, like I said, some of them niggas. Who you going to the park with? I'm going with my nigga 50. Shout out my nigga 50. Tyrone Riley, my nigga from Grape. I'm taking him. That's my nigga off the dribble. It's hard, man. I take BD because I fuck with him. You know what I'm saying? I don't really like you like that BD. Oh, shit. Three more. Three more. Let me see, man. Damn, boy. I'm going to take Tay-Shaw with me. Straight off the dribble. I'll take Tyson. I'm going all Compton. I'm going to take Kenny, man. Kenny, BD, Tyson, you. Yeah. Yeah. You can do any one of them coming off the bench, man. As far as 50 or Tyson, you feel me? But I'm taking BD. I need BD though. That's a different type of point guard. Kenny with that spin shit. They used to do different point guard. Tay-Shaw, that stroke shot. That shit was wild. Myself and then you got them other two. Yeah. Not bad. Not bad at all. Greatest LA artist of all time, musically. Snoop, I'm mad at you, but I'm going to go with you. Snoop. Yeah. That's with me. You know, game, my era, Snoop being an older homie. You know what I'm saying? Cube too. So you got to test, man. Dre, you got some ones, bro. You put me in the tough spot. You know? Okay, that's, what's that? Three, that's four. Give me one more. Cube, Dre, give me two more. I go from my hood, man. I go knocky and I go drastare. Best low-key food spot in LA? Not an LA person. Compton. There you go. You know, I'm a Louis Burger. Louis Burger. Shout out on the laundry though. When we did have mom's burgers before they tore it down. That was my go-to. I made a couple of Louis Burger runs. I made a couple of Louis Burger's for sure. Man, Tams is always a good one. Louisiana fried chicken. You know, on the laundry in Wilmington. Call me before you come through. Absolutely. Absolutely. Roll it out. Yeah. I know you don't get home often, but what's the ideal Saturday and Sunday for you when you're back in LA? I'm trying to get into this new culture, man. They got that Sunday funday shit. Okay. So, you know, whether it's for gang bangers or not, I'm pulling up. I don't be in there, man. You know. Anything else, man? Back in the day, what was it? What was it? Universal City Walk back then, but I don't know. Like, yeah. So, I don't know. So, I got to get familiar. You know, so I don't know nothing right now offhand. Yeah. You know? Well, man, it's great that we got to catch up. It's amazing that where life took you, you made it work and you're still here today to give back to the youth. Yeah. And I think that's the most important. But knowing you ship them one half our lives, right? For sure. And, man, it's just good to catch up with you. Congratulations on all the good things that's happening to you and continue blessings, bro. Appreciate it, my guy. I doubt. Yeah. That's a wrap. David Hammonson, AKA. You can catch us on all the Smoke YouTube and the DraftKings Network. We'll see y'all next week. Bye.