Cedric Coward FULL INTERVIEW | Chris Vernon Show

Cedric Coward FULL INTERVIEW | Chris Vernon Show

here he is in studio thanks for coming in man
thanks for having me man i’m excited to be here
all right what’s the last 24 hours been like
surreal i mean it still really hasn’t hit me yet uh but at the same time I’m super blessed to be here and literally to see like all the hard work accomplish half of the goal which is to make it i mean it’s it’s incredible
all right so you the reason you have been such a source of conversation is about two months ago I was walking through Target and I bought some basketball cards and a guy said to me “Hey everybody’s trying to get these Cooper flags but the best player in this draft is going to be Cedric Howard.” And I said “Who?” And he’s like
“Roser gives this list of wing players with 72 wingspans and the success rate of them about a week and a half ago
your name popped up immediately on the list and I said “Some guy in Target told me two months ago.” So we have not found the guy that told me this in Target and maybe it was an angel from heaven maybe it was so that’s why you saw the celebration the other night on draft night that we had
you were the guy you were You were the target you were the official pick of our show yeah
yes the official pick of the show so let’s go back in time everybody now has heard your story about starting at uh WAMIT right
yes sir
all right when you get out of high school are you one of these guys that’s like “Why does nobody notice me why do they not think I’m as good as I am or are you thinking I’ve got to go somewhere and get better?”
Um I think all three kind of like popped into my head it was more like I got to go somewhere and get better because to be quite honest with you I just wasn’t that good you know like I am now yeah like I was a good player like I was the best player of my team and like I won athlete of the year and stuff but that mixed with like I didn’t work as hard as like you know I was playing 2K rather than I say going shooting in 100 degree weather um and as well as like co didn’t help you know
and you know I didn’t play like on the AU circuit and so there’s like a multitude of things that I could always like complain about and be like well this didn’t go my way or this didn’t go my way but at the same time like I just wasn’t putting in the work that I needed And uh shout out to my mom and dad cuz they wanted me to leave home like I was real comfortable in Fresno but they wanted me to leave home which led me to Wamtt which led me to being super bored getting on the court figuring out that work was working and then it just became habit
so how did you pick that school
it was kind of like the only option where it was like doing what I wanted which was to play basketball and then doing what my parents wanted which was having me leave home like to be 100% honest with you I really don’t know like what other options I had like that could give me both of like the best of both worlds
no schools talked to you
no none and I live
zero schools
zero schools and I lived like 10-minute walk from Fresno State so
and never even looked at you
salem Oregon yeah i’m
So we went to Sale Salem Oregon so you one of the things that you have talked about when I’ve read interviews was that you didn’t you walked away from basketball or didn’t play for there was a time period in your life where you didn’t play and that like made you miss it and made you realize that you wanted to be great at it
yeah so my high school sophomore to junior summer like graduating going to being a junior i didn’t play au anything cuz like the previous years I just didn’t like the situation I was in in terms of like I wasn’t that good so I wasn’t like you know the ball wasn’t in my hand stuff like that but I just thought I was falling out of love with the game and I was like you know what man like I don’t even want to play this year like I remember having this conversation with my mom and dad and like it was like it wasn’t even a tough conversation for me to have it was just like one of those things where it’s like I told them I don’t want to play and they were like “You sure?” And I was like “No I don’t want to play.” But obviously I wasn’t just going to be sitting around playing video games all day so what they had me do was go to work with my grandpa and so he was uh in construction and we basically went out every single day and from the ground up like there wasn’t even a foundation we had to build the foundation to build like an add-on to a house but it was like a whole another house so we had to do that the entire summer and from there
so construction work reminded you how much you love basketball
dude man I told myself I was like “Dude I’d rather be doing anything else than this.” Like I mean hammering nails i have so much respect for people that can like hammer nails like I put a roof on like I was you know shoveling sand out of a pit like up a ramp down a ramp like it was insane stuff like that I really think about now compared to how I have it now but honestly that taught me like one you rather be playing basketball for a living and two like I I didn’t like fall out of love with the game like the game was always there and the love for it was like never gone it was just you had to light that fire back and I just didn’t like the situation but as soon as I did that I was like it don’t matter what situation i’m playing basketball so
did you did you play any other sports growing up
i played football that was that was
Until when until I got to high school and I was like like I enter high school I was like 5’9 probably like 150 max I don’t even know right but
honestly you can probably ask my parents about this better cuz I don’t even know like what I told them the reasoning was I think it was just cuz I didn’t want to get hit anymore but hey me too say that’s why I respect
I do I do remember when I told them like it was it was like tough because I was lowkey scared to tell them because I’ve been playing football my whole life and you know they got used to the fall and winter being taken up and then like the spring cuz I didn’t play baseball i wasn’t good at it so like that would be the time you know where I had my off but when I told him like I didn’t want to play football anymore like I know I remember vividly my dad being like are you sure about this like you’ve been cuz I’ve been playing since I was four and he like are you sure like you sure about this
what were you receiver
quarterback yeah so I was like so when I told him he was like are you sure about it and then it’s funny because like years later he told me he was like “Yeah man.” Well you told me that first man my heart broke i was like cuz you been because I’ve been playing it for so long but at the same time I’m glad I made that decision cuz look where I’m at now
yeah right and so did you at that point you said you were 5’9 right
when did you hit your growth spurt because that’s been kind of the back that’s where I get confused on the backstory too cuz it’s like even his sophomore year he didn’t make varsity but when did the growth spurt happen yeah so I entered high school 5’9 obviously I wasn’t good enough to play varsity but at the same time my mom didn’t let me play varsity just because one we had a like a super old team like everybody on that varsity team was seniors and like they were like really really talented and so I wanted she wanted to get the experience for me to just one play but two get used to like the high school game but then the next year is when I like took my real growth i grew from 5’9 to 6’2 and from there I had to get used to my body so it was kind of like my decision at the end of the day of like I played JV instead of bumping right up to varsity cuz like I was super clumsy kid you know I didn’t know how to really use my limbs and stuff like that so that’s when I really like refined my game in terms of getting used to my body and then gradually throughout my from sophomore to senior year I grew like two more inches to like 6’4 but then when I got to my second year Easter Washington watching that’s when I got like 66 like the legit 66 yeah so that’s like I guess where it tapped out
so it was college
yeah it was college
so when they say late bloomer it’s really late for real right
cuz there’s a huge difference between right as soon as you grow to 66 and did could you feel yourself as you were growing did you feel yourself like oh this is this is a much bigger advantage for me i’m dunking easier i’m doing a lot of these things i have a size advantage that I did not have
you know you know that was one thing especially because like
Fresno there’s not many many tall people but at the same time that was like a thing where I looked back at it and like dang this stuff did get a lot easier because of height but it was mainly when I got into the weight room when I got into the weight room that’s where like it was a complete flip of the coin where it was like oh this is like super easy now like I’m bumping people off like I’m able to jump like I have super long arms so it’s I don’t really have to jump to dunk but it’s like and I really do jump like I’m like head at the rim type thing and then you know I’m just stronger than most people and then adding that with the height just gave me a full advantage
when you went from Wamtt to Eastern Washington was there a massive jump in competition in your mind at the start at the start i mean it was um the biggest thing was just getting used to the size like it wasn’t like the athleticism too but the size was the biggest thing cuz like the biggest guy in D3 is probably you’re going to play like we played a sevenfooter one time but he was just like shooting corner threes like he wasn’t dominating at the rim and then but like on our team the biggest guy was like 6’8 you know me being 6’4 6’5 I was like right there you know what I mean but when you got to that D1 level 610 611 7T 71 like we played Old Miss my second year at Eastern they had a dude that was 7 foot five like it was like dude like like Jesus but at the same time like that was probably the biggest adjustment was just the size and also understanding the level of talent like I always shout out my boy Steel Veners he kind of gave me my introduction to D1 cuz I remember I would like guard him and he can shoot the heck out the ball and I remember he shot one shot and I was like right there like when I couldn’t play better defense and it nothing but nylon and I was like I just looked at him I was like so this is what it’s like i was like all right but nah man but it was it was that was probably the biggest thing was just the size and then like the competition I think as you play more and more like cuz we played a lot especially like during that summer we played a lot of open gyms a lot of scrimmages and like in our practices we played a lot you just get used to the competition when did you start thinking the NBA was a possibility um at first I was hearing stuff my first year at Eastern like you said um I remember the Mavericks had a scout come to watch some of our other guys and then I remember cuz we used to always at the practice go watch film in the coaches offices and I remember I went to the coaches offices and one of my coaches I forgot who but told me they were like “Hey I just want to let you know like the Mavericks were you know they enjoyed how you practiced today.” And for me I’m I’m naive to the situation and I’m like “Oh nice.” And then like “Let’s watch film.” So you know I But for me it wasn’t like a huge deal at the time but then I also heard like people keep talking about it and like keep hearing about it and as we had more scouts coming they’re still talking about me not like to the extent of like later on but they were like “Hey they noticed you.” And I was like “Oh okay cool.” And then the next year Eastern when I made my jump like obviously people say like you get better and better each year but when I made my like significant jump I think that’s when team started to come see me and then it’s like from there it’s like okay don’t like just be yourself and just keep doing what you’re doing but at the same time this is a possibility this like a real possibility and just you know keep playing so how did you keep your head about you when now you transferred to Washington State this is your chance this is your moment to prove yourself right you weren’t invited to the the combine and the G-League combine all that stuff the year before so now you know all right I’m going to Washington State this is where I’m going to prove myself and then have it ripped away from you you know six seven games into the season how do you keep your How do you keep your mentals when something like that happens
yeah well first I shout out to everybody around me i mean I have the greatest agents the greatest family the greatest support system coaches all that like when I first went to Washington State there was definitely like I guess pressure is what you can call it because like now this was my one opportunity my chance to really show who I was and like stuff like that but at the end of the day going through the draft process the first time they give you the answers to the test like this is what you need to work on this is what you do well obviously you have to work collectively and you know improve everything but like this is what you don’t do as well this is what you do well this is what we want to see in order for you to be one of our guys like okay don’t like don’t let that go in one ear out the other just go and literally work on that and that’s what I did
they told you like they tell you
here’s what you want to get drafted here’s what needs to happen
yeah they tell you so it’s like if you’re not listening it’ll go right over your head but for me I I made sure to soak up all information everything possible so I can give myself the best shot and then you know like I said like shout out my coaches because we got right to work like once we got to Wazu you know and we got to right to work and plus we had to like you know teach the new guys the system and stuff like that but ultimately we had a great year great summer the guys got you know we were really close and then as soon as you know my that practice happens that dreaded practice I go up for a rebound get grabbed in my shoulder hear a pop and it’s like nothing I ever felt before it was like I couldn’t tell right away because adrenaline was running through but I end up finishing practice and we even like played live and we won which is which is crazy and then we did a shooting drill which I did really really good on so after I’m like “Oh okay i’m good.” Like worst case scenario it’s a sprain i’ll tape it you know whatever but the next morning is when like it hit me because I woke up and I went to take a shower and my arm felt like dead weight like I couldn’t lift it at all like and I was like “Oh man this not good.” So I called my athletic trainer let her know and then we did all the testing and stuff and this was November 22nd I got hurt and I didn’t tell anybody until November 24th because that’s when we got the actual results of like what was happening and honestly when I first heard like I couldn’t play basketball no more I tried to be a tough guy in that room like with my coaches and them but as soon as I got by myself oh I broke down like so bad like it was horrible like you can ask my mom i’m calling her crying i couldn’t even get the words out
cuz you’re you feel like your chance has been stripped from you so like my my immediate thought was like one what’s going to happen with the team because you know like not only am I an intricate part of the team but I want to be there for my guys but then two it’s like what’s going to happen with the NBA stuff because like I only had one year you know what I mean so it was like dang our team’s going to be you know drawn away like what’s going to happen but like I said this goes back to like having the best people in my corner like I remember I called my agent and he was like you’re going to be just fine like don’t even worry about it and at first when he said it I’m like “Bro how do you know?” Like this has never happened to anybody before you know what I mean like my story but I was like you know what at the end of the day I ain’t got no no choice but to trust him and you know he ain’t never lied to me before and everything he was telling me was you know coming to uh coming to truth anyways so I was like let me just throw myself into this and you know at the end of the day if it doesn’t work out I just I just gave all I had i didn’t leave anything on the table
all right couple rapid fires when did you find out the Grizzlies loved you
probably when I came to work out
which was what last Monday right
monday yeah
and then and then you knew
did you have a promise before 16
no you did not
no
there was not like a back stop that you knew nope
i’m getting drafted there so you didn’t know on on draft night did you know the Grizzlies were going to try to get up and get you no I have no clue
wow
yeah there they were
it was all surprised teams are real secretive man i’m telling you i think you know I thought the Grizzlies loved me when I worked out because it was like super fun and everything was you know just natural like it wasn’t it didn’t feel like interviews i was just talking to people like when I talked to climbing like it was just like
we were just having a conversation it wasn’t like said you know what’s your favorite color and you know like all that stuff yeah it wasn’t interview questions it was just like “Hey man how you doing?” Like it was just real like real easy to talk to him it was real easy to co talk to coach Thomas and then like obviously Jaylen and all these guys that like it was real just natural it felt natural um but I thought they loved me after the workout just because everybody’s telling me like I did well and stuff like that but like honestly it really set in too like once you hear your name call and then you know I end up talking to him after
what did you know about Memphis what did you know about the Grizzlies prior to this crash course that you’ve probably gotten in 24 hours
yeah um about Memphis not much because I’m a West Coast kid you know i’ve lived on the West Coast my entire life i’ve been to Memphis once cuz we played Old Miss and we had to shoot around at University of Memphis but I didn’t know much i knew I had the Mississippi River and I like to fish so I knew that’s from the river bro
yeah kind of dirty it’s kind of dirty down there
yeah but um not much really and then I knew y’all had the Grizzlies and and you knew J you knew Jiren
exactly but
Oh and Jaylen
yeah probably had an awareness of Jaylen simply because he’s third and rookie of the year and went to your school
yeah yeah also before Jaylen pulled out and like stayed in the draft I wanted him to come back to Wazu you know I thought that would be pretty cool to play play with him but you know God works in mysterious ways doesn’t he
so um I knew that and then about the Grizzlies I was watching the Grizzlies from like a really young age especially because like when you guys had Mike Connley Tony Allen Zebo Marus Rudy Gay like all these guys like I can’t lie I was not a Grizzlies fan i was a Laker fan growing up but at the same time they played the Lakers a lot obviously being in the Western Conference and I watched those games a lot too so that was pretty cool
wow all right so what are where’s the shoulder at now
the the shoulder is good um I mean if it’s up to me I’m playing you know if it’s up to what if my choices like we’re we’re good to go 100% but at the same time
well because but during the pre-draft
it was all one on those
yeah it was all one of those but we did like
evidently you’re amazing versus air casper can’t argue bro
yeah i mean if you’re not amazing versus air I think that’s a problem but I think like with the Grizzlies workout and a couple other workouts like it wasn’t against air it was against coaches it was against like guys who you know guard NBA players every single day so for me it was just like going out there and getting that competition and like that competitive spirit back like I’m always competitive even if I am versus air like I’m competitive with myself but going against people is that that’s like the greatest feeling in the world and it’s nothing like it so when I go to uh when I went against the coaches and like my Grizzlies workout I made sure to take full advantage of it
let me ask you about yesterday coach Thorp was on with us and he said he shot 72% from two-point range right and he said “This is a kid that understands what a good shot is.”
Who taught you that honestly my coaches
he said this is what he said either he’s the greatest shooter ever or he understands what a good shot is
yeah i mean my coaches taught me that like we played a lot through the post like that’s how we gained our advantages and then like going through that you kind of understand like the closer you are to the basket the higher percentage you can make the shot and so and plus I work on it so it’s not like one of those things where it’s like I’m just throwing up some BS and somehow someway it’s going in but ultimately just finding your different ways and different advantages to you know get uh get good shots and plus when you’re around the basket you seen it like teams collapse so much so not every shot around there is going to be a good shot so you might have to kick it out but then coach Thorp to your to his credit also taught me like just simplify your game like don’t it doesn’t have to be difficult you don’t have to do all the up andunder stuff like he always talks about getting to the second box that is like his favorite phrase and honestly that’s probably the best place on the court to score because it’s like right before the free throw line you know it’s not like a long two but it’s like close enough to where you’re not going against the trees but you’re also just taking like a real comfortable mid-range shot and you get there you can do so much you can float it you can shoot it you can step through layup you can do use all types of pivots you can kick out get back out to three all types of different stuff so I mean ultimately my biggest thing is just do what I can to make the right play it doesn’t you know if it ends up in a shot it does if it ends up in a pass to an assist it does you know but shooting 72% is credit to you know I guess the work I put in and my coaches helping me you know take advantage especially because we play through the post and then honestly like understanding the simple you know the simple aspect of the game is what helps everybody
real quick what do you love off the court are you a movies guy are you a video game guy i need you to get on their head they’re JCO haters bro
i need you to haters no no no don’t try to run away now
it’s just boring
they’re JCO haters it’s a little boring
it’s a little boring soror what’s boring about it
cuz he’s not rapping about you know what I’m saying no it’s okay cuz I get it like he’s he’s just letting it go in one ear out the other he’s He’s not cultured i get it not really taking it in bro
it’s just a little boring yeah I they on my head all the time you know what jcole one of the greatest out there straight up that’s all I’m going to say i had somebody on my side let’s go
but ultimately off the court
is is it is it video games
yeah I’m a video game guy i I’m not going to lie i don’t play 2K like for me it’s so unrealistic i’m sorry like like And
I don’t say like the actual 76 when it comes out don’t don’t say I don’t say 71 for your 76 count
yeah i don’t say the actual game of two game but like you know everybody play my career
everybody but it’s like dude you got like 57 my career dudes at 993 99 speed like running the game yes
and then like
I’m really upset cuz I’m not that good at it like I can’t dribble and all that stuff like that so like I just don’t even play but like when it comes to Madden college football Oh yeah
who you play with you play with the college football
cuz you can’t play team my main team is probably Georgia honestly with you like
who’s your NFL team
you can’t play with the best team
i’m a Packer fan
a Packer fan from California
are you not a Ner fan rogers bro
niners ner is weak wait how about the Cowboys they’re also weak right
the Cowboys are terrible too here we go
hey we’re out of time um can you believe all of this is happening
um yes i did envision myself like being here but at the same time it is
on the Chris Martin show really this is great
yeah but I think it’s also a thing where it’s like it is very surreal and all I can do is thank God for like the opportunity and you know to putting me where I am at now like if you asked me back in November when I talked to Todd and my agent Todd and you know Alexis about if I going to be here like and they told me I’m going to be all right I would not have believed them but at the same time I think that’s the thing like just having that faith and that belief not only in myself but in what people you trust say is is is the main thing
we’re so excited to have you here man this is going to be great and so congratulations and uh welcome to town

2025 NBA Draft pick Cedric Coward joins the Chris Vernon Show for an in-depth interview. He talks about his crazy journey from Division III to the NBA, his pre-draft workout with the Memphis Grizzlies, how he became such an efficient offensive player, what he likes to do in his free time, and more.

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