The following is an excerpt from “Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three” Copyright @2025 by Dawn Staley and reprinted with permission from Atria Books/Black Privilege Publishing. All rights reserved. Available on Tuesday.
Have you ever had a difficult time being in the moment? When your mind wanders to different places and times, and you ruminate on days gone by or what could have been? That was me my opening semesters in college. I was miserable. I was chippy. I wanted to go home, and everyone knew it. It wasn’t anything I had to verbalize; it was obvious in my behavior.
I shuffled through the grounds with my head down, eschewing eye contact with anyone who passed by. I hid in my room. I was largely mute. My only bright spot was playing ball. If I could have stayed in the gym all day, I would have.
Unfortunately, in college, they expect you to attend class. I went, but I was uncomfortable every day. Unfocused. At best a mediocre student, I wasn’t prepared for the academic rigors of UVA. As far as I was concerned, I was there to play ball. Academics were a means to an end.
I found myself gravitating less to school and seeking out local courts throughout Charlottesville. I went where the townies played. The…
