AntawnBio

Antawn Cortez Jamison was born June 12, 1976 in Sherveport, LA. He is a junior at the University of North Carolina and is majoring in African studies. he will graduate this summer and enter into the NBA.

"When I first came here, I'm not going to lie to you, it was more about what I can do as an NBA player and using school into that," Antawn said. "But once I began sitting down with Coach Smith and learning his philosophy about life, it's all about getting the education. It has become the most important thing in my life....It wasn't all about basketball why I stayed. I wanted to get a degree....I can't wait to make my senior speech. Most people are doubting me, saying I won't be here four years. I really want to stay four years. I know when I get up there I'll tear up and I can't wait for when I get to be up there."

"It's a dream - not only of mine, but of any kid who plays basketball," Jamison says. "I'm in a certain situation where it's close for me to grasp. I knew I made the right decision, but there's always doubt in your mind.
"You could be in camp with the big boys. It's something I want to experience. But I know I have got like two or three years before it will happen. It doesn't have to be, but the situation has to be right - whether Antawn has a good year or not.

"He has a huge heart, which is always important" --Dean Smith

The Three Musketeers Vince Antawn and Ademola are often known as the Three Muskateers. "They are always together," said Cori Brown. Corny as it sounds, Okulaja refers to the group as the Three Musketeers. The fiercely loyal guys with the swords and rapier wit. "I guess we have almost the same personality," Carter said. "We're all easy to get along with. We hit it off from there. We were all together, from day one." 
"Sometimes, we're on the floor and we just wink at each other," Okulaja said.
"I like to look at the stars and think about things - just be thankful for what I've got," Jamison says. "And me and Vince, we like to go bowling. "Sometimes we have a contest to see who can throw the ball the hardest. Just like in basketball, we don't like to lose. The winner might have to buy an ice-cream cone or something."

"My mom and dad really put the emphasis on education," he says. "I used to get hit on the knuckles all the time. My mom was real strict on me. It was like everyday, OK, you're going to play basketball. But you've got to get the good grades. That's what I like about my parents. They knew I had the talent that I had, but they kept it in perspective. I think that's why I grew into the person that I am today. I don't take life for granted. I know there are more things out there than basketball. I try to live life to the fullest. "It took me about 18 or 19 years to realize that my mom and dad and the things they were doing helped me out. It was kind of sad that it took me that long. I think they brought me up really well. I love them to death. We are really tight."

Leaving that extended family was hard. Jamison still breaks into a broad grin when he describes the family dinners at Annie Lee Jackson's house. "There would be Creole, gumbo, everything," Jamison recalls. "A fish fry. Everybody would be in the kitchen. One thing about my grandma - she used to cook a great chocolate cake.

"All the kids would be playing dominoes or cards. It was just one big family. Nobody would be fussing or fighting. Everyone was happy. There was loud music. We all had a good time. It would start about 1 or 2 in the evening and end about 9. I had people coming up all the time and saying, 'What's up, Cuz.' "

Once the Jamisons moved to Charlotte, it was just the five of them. Antawn has a sister, Latosha, now 16, and a 10-year-old brother, Albert, known as Junior. But it was a move their parents felt they had to make. "They say, 'We were looking out for y'all,' " Jamison says. "We don't want you to go through the same things we came up with. My dad, he came up with alcohol in his family. He'd just say, 'I can't have my family in that situation.' "

"My mom and dad were too strict for me [to get involved in the gang culture]," Jamison says. "I really knew right from wrong. I was always the kid who had the big dreams of going to college and playing professional football. I knew if I sold drugs or got involved with something like that, it was going to spoil my dreams. "But I've got close friends who I heard the last couple of years were in gangs. I never would have expected that. It's really hard. The pressure gets to them. But like I said, I got an opportunity that most of them didn't get and took advantage of it. It's kind of hard."

Saying "goodbye" to his grandmother was, too. Since both of his parents worked, Jackson had helped raise Jamison when the family still lived in Shreveport. The bond continues to this day, even though she died three years ago. "Everything I did, everything I became, is because of her," Jamison says. "She told my mom and dad how to raise me. It's sad. I think about her everyday. I always think about her words - 'I'm going to come to your first college game. ... When are you going to make that first million for me?' - she really motivates me." Jamison keeps Jackson's ring in his locker. Before each game, he takes the ring in his hand and quietly prays for her. "She is probably the biggest influence in my life," Jamison says. "My uncles and aunts would always tell me to play ball. But my grandmother, she would say - whether it was ball or anything else - she knew I had the potential to do what I wanted. "She gave me confidence. My grandmother used to hug me and joke around all the time. Things like that really drive you even more - like at practice when you're hurting. I just think about my grandmother and that gives me an extra lift. "There's not a night that goes by that I don't get on my knees and say hi to her." Jamison is trying to be that kind of influence on his brother. Sure, he teases him.

"I tell him I can't wait until you get your height up so I can dunk on you," Jamison says. He looks forward to the days when his brother visits him at Carolina. But Jamison wants Junior to keep a level head. He knows his own celebrity will affect his brother, and he wants Junior to make a place for himself in the world. "Whether you're good or not, people are going to be around him," Jamison says. "Especially in his case because of the situation I'm in. You are Antawn Jamison's brother. "I just want him to make sure you don't choose friends because of this or that. It's going to be hard for him to get friends. Not friends - but really true friends. Some people are just going to want to hang around him because he's my brother. "He needs to keep a level head and study. With me, I kind of got to the point where I really started studying in high school. He can start right now and get into a habit. That's one very important thing."

-- said teammate Ademola Okulaja, "He doesn't bask in his fame, and that's because his parents told him the higher you get, the more humble you should become. Everything is 'please' and 'thank you' with Antawn. It's no act. It's the real thing."

Antawn like many players writes on his shoes. Once on one shoe, he wrote "Jam Is On;" on the other it was "Twan Time."

post school ambition is to own a pro basketball or football franchie.

some players he admires are Scottie Pippen, Penny Hardaway, Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Jordan, Chris Webber, David Robinson

some favorite foods are Grandma's chocolate cake, dad's fried chicken, mom's lasagna, Mrs. Lee's cooking

some favorite tv shows are Sports Center, Vibe, Def Comedy Jam, Moesha and Midnight Love

some favorite Movies: Money Talks, Con Air, Boyz In The Hood, Nothing To Lose

intereting fact: he loves being around kids and plans to have a lot when he gets married

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