Finally living the dream
Atkinson retires from Globetrotters, takes coaching job at Wilson Prep
PART I
Finally living the dream
Atkinson retires from Globetrotters, takes coaching job at Wilson Prep
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808 | Twitter: @PDsports
Anthony Atkinson has seen some dreams come true in his career as a basketball player — from leading Greenfield School to two state championships to taking Barton College to a miraculous NCAA Division II national championship to being one of the stars of the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters for more than a decade — but now the Wilson native is living the dream.
Atkinson made official his retirement as a Globetrotter on Friday morning when he notified them that he wasn’t going to renew his contract that expired earlier this month. He won’t have to look for another line of work, however, as Atkinson is the varsity boys basketball head coach at Wilson Preparatory Academy, where he has been teaching career management and personal finance since classes began in August.
“I’ve been working here for a while now and I just love it,” he said Friday afternoon. “I wake up every morning just with a different type of purpose: To come here and really make a difference in these young kids’ lives. The best thing I can honestly say about is that I left the game that I was playing for so long, but now everything that I learned from the game, I’m about to instill in the younger generation so they can go on and have a career like mine. That’s what makes it so special. I transitioned from player to coach and teacher and I think that’s what it’s all about. I always wanted to come back home and coach and teach somewhere and to be able to come here and teach and coach and have an impact on these young kids, God has really blessed me with this opportunity.”
It meant doing something that was “uncomfortable” by leaving the relative comfort of a well-paying job that he’d had for 12 years. While the 33-year-old Atkinson admitted it was a tough decision to leave the Globetrotters, he knew it was time. Not only did he miss seeing his wife, Laura, and their sons, 8-year-old Trey and Hayden, who just turned 5, but Atkinson realized that he could make more of an impact working with youngsters here in Wilson than by traveling the globe and entertaining fans for more than 120 games a year.
“That’s the honest-to-God truth,” he said. “I wake up every morning to my wife and kids. I go to sleep every night with my wife and kids. I come here and see these kids’ faces, see the staff’s faces and I have such joy. I don’t have to worry about leaving on Christmas day anymore and my kids won’t have to worry about me being gone for months at a time. I have such a purpose and such drive — I had it with the Globetrotters but it was different. To come back and be living out my dream, to be honest, because these kids here need anything and everything that you can give them that I have experienced in this world and others have experienced as well. Honestly, I’m at a loss for words. I haven’t been this happy in years!”
And Wilson Prep is more than happy to have him.
“What’s another word for excited? Whatever those words are, that’s what we are!” said Wilson Prep founder and executive director Daryl Woodard. “We are extremely excited to have Coach Anthony Atkinson to be part of what we’re trying to build here. It’s a wonderful thing when two people can see the same thing at the same time. He sees not only where our basketball program is going but also where our athletic program here at Wilson Prep is going to be. … We are trying to do some things, not just in the short term but in the long term, and do some things here in Wilson that’s really never been done before and we’re really excited about it.”
Atkinson said that Wilson Prep was a natural place for him to be because he shares the vision set forth by Woodard.
“I see what he’s trying to do for these kids and parents and this community,” he said. “I’m just happy. Honest to God, I’m just so happy to be here at this place.”
That’s not to say that Atkinson won’t miss being part of the Globetrotters, with whom he signed shortly after leading Barton to the national title as a senior in 2007. In fact, Atkinson was the No. 1 pick in the first ever “draft” held by the Globetrotters.
“The biggest thing will be the camaraderie with my teammates — the late-night talks, the bus rides, the plane rides, going into the locker room and then going out there and performing, not only for the fans but for each other,” he said. “Things like that you’ll miss. Those are the good times. I always said that I’m a competitor and that was the one thing that was lacking with the Globetrotters.”
While the Globetrotters are primarily entertainment, Atkinson found ways to satisfy his competitive nature. In February, he set the record for most consecutive 4-point shots by swishing 18 straight 30-footers from the designated circle on the floor in a performance in San Diego. He also tied a team record by scoring 93 points in the outing.
Along the way, “Ant,” as he was known as a Globetrotter, became one of their most recognizable and popular players as he visited 90 countries and 49 states (all but Alaska) during his dozen years wearing the iconic uniform.
“Like I said, it was a great ride for 12 years and something that I could only imagine and I thank them to the utmost for taking a little boy from Wilson and putting him on some of the biggest stages in the world,” he said. “They made me a household name, so to speak.”
However, it took an adjustment period. Atkinson said that he was so quiet during his first training camp with the Globetrotters that several of his teammates wondered if he even wanted to be there. But instead Atkinson was just soaking up everything he could, particularly from some of the older, more established members of the team.
“I watched how they carried themselves on the floor, how they did in practice and I saw how they really perfected their craft and as they got older, I saw an opportunity for me to say it’s my turn now,” he said.
And he became a college graduate during his tenure with the Globetrotters, finishing his bachelor’s degree at Barton during last season.
Atkinson retires from Globetrotters, takes coaching job at Wilson Prep
PART I
Finally living the dream
Atkinson retires from Globetrotters, takes coaching job at Wilson Prep
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808 | Twitter: @PDsports
Anthony Atkinson has seen some dreams come true in his career as a basketball player — from leading Greenfield School to two state championships to taking Barton College to a miraculous NCAA Division II national championship to being one of the stars of the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters for more than a decade — but now the Wilson native is living the dream.
Atkinson made official his retirement as a Globetrotter on Friday morning when he notified them that he wasn’t going to renew his contract that expired earlier this month. He won’t have to look for another line of work, however, as Atkinson is the varsity boys basketball head coach at Wilson Preparatory Academy, where he has been teaching career management and personal finance since classes began in August.
“I’ve been working here for a while now and I just love it,” he said Friday afternoon. “I wake up every morning just with a different type of purpose: To come here and really make a difference in these young kids’ lives. The best thing I can honestly say about is that I left the game that I was playing for so long, but now everything that I learned from the game, I’m about to instill in the younger generation so they can go on and have a career like mine. That’s what makes it so special. I transitioned from player to coach and teacher and I think that’s what it’s all about. I always wanted to come back home and coach and teach somewhere and to be able to come here and teach and coach and have an impact on these young kids, God has really blessed me with this opportunity.”
It meant doing something that was “uncomfortable” by leaving the relative comfort of a well-paying job that he’d had for 12 years. While the 33-year-old Atkinson admitted it was a tough decision to leave the Globetrotters, he knew it was time. Not only did he miss seeing his wife, Laura, and their sons, 8-year-old Trey and Hayden, who just turned 5, but Atkinson realized that he could make more of an impact working with youngsters here in Wilson than by traveling the globe and entertaining fans for more than 120 games a year.
“That’s the honest-to-God truth,” he said. “I wake up every morning to my wife and kids. I go to sleep every night with my wife and kids. I come here and see these kids’ faces, see the staff’s faces and I have such joy. I don’t have to worry about leaving on Christmas day anymore and my kids won’t have to worry about me being gone for months at a time. I have such a purpose and such drive — I had it with the Globetrotters but it was different. To come back and be living out my dream, to be honest, because these kids here need anything and everything that you can give them that I have experienced in this world and others have experienced as well. Honestly, I’m at a loss for words. I haven’t been this happy in years!”
And Wilson Prep is more than happy to have him.
“What’s another word for excited? Whatever those words are, that’s what we are!” said Wilson Prep founder and executive director Daryl Woodard. “We are extremely excited to have Coach Anthony Atkinson to be part of what we’re trying to build here. It’s a wonderful thing when two people can see the same thing at the same time. He sees not only where our basketball program is going but also where our athletic program here at Wilson Prep is going to be. … We are trying to do some things, not just in the short term but in the long term, and do some things here in Wilson that’s really never been done before and we’re really excited about it.”
Atkinson said that Wilson Prep was a natural place for him to be because he shares the vision set forth by Woodard.
“I see what he’s trying to do for these kids and parents and this community,” he said. “I’m just happy. Honest to God, I’m just so happy to be here at this place.”
That’s not to say that Atkinson won’t miss being part of the Globetrotters, with whom he signed shortly after leading Barton to the national title as a senior in 2007. In fact, Atkinson was the No. 1 pick in the first ever “draft” held by the Globetrotters.
“The biggest thing will be the camaraderie with my teammates — the late-night talks, the bus rides, the plane rides, going into the locker room and then going out there and performing, not only for the fans but for each other,” he said. “Things like that you’ll miss. Those are the good times. I always said that I’m a competitor and that was the one thing that was lacking with the Globetrotters.”
While the Globetrotters are primarily entertainment, Atkinson found ways to satisfy his competitive nature. In February, he set the record for most consecutive 4-point shots by swishing 18 straight 30-footers from the designated circle on the floor in a performance in San Diego. He also tied a team record by scoring 93 points in the outing.
Along the way, “Ant,” as he was known as a Globetrotter, became one of their most recognizable and popular players as he visited 90 countries and 49 states (all but Alaska) during his dozen years wearing the iconic uniform.
“Like I said, it was a great ride for 12 years and something that I could only imagine and I thank them to the utmost for taking a little boy from Wilson and putting him on some of the biggest stages in the world,” he said. “They made me a household name, so to speak.”
However, it took an adjustment period. Atkinson said that he was so quiet during his first training camp with the Globetrotters that several of his teammates wondered if he even wanted to be there. But instead Atkinson was just soaking up everything he could, particularly from some of the older, more established members of the team.
“I watched how they carried themselves on the floor, how they did in practice and I saw how they really perfected their craft and as they got older, I saw an opportunity for me to say it’s my turn now,” he said.
And he became a college graduate during his tenure with the Globetrotters, finishing his bachelor’s degree at Barton during last season.
