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NFL Player Is an Accomplished Math Whiz
BUT BALTIMORE RAVEN JOHN URSCHEL WON'T QUIT BECAUSE HE LOVES 'HITTING
PEOPLE'
You can throw the "dumb jock" stereotype right out the window when it comes to John Urschel. The Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman has penned a paper titled "A Cascadic Multigrid Algorithm for Computing the Fiedler Vector of Graph Laplacians" and published it in the Journal of Computational Mathematics. He also has a bachelor's and a master's degree in math (both achieved with a 4.0 GPA), does research in his spare time in the fields of "numerical linear algebra, multigrid methods, spectral graph theory, and machine learning," and has "aspirations of eventually being a titled chess player one day," he noted last week on the Players' Tribune site. He also says his family and friends are baffled why he'd risk brain injury in the NFL when he could jump into his intellectual pursuits full time. He acknowledges he doesn't do it for the money. "I already have more money in my bank account than I know what to do with," he writes for the Tribune. "I drive a used hatchback Nissan Versa and live on less than $25k a year … because the things I love the most in this world (reading math, doing research, playing chess) are very, very inexpensive." His reasoning is actually more straightforward than that: "I play because I love the game. I love hitting people. There's a rush you get when you go out on the field, lay everything on the line, and physically dominate the player across from you." Football, he can't quit you—which is why he ends his essay with "And for that reason, I truly envy Chris Borland," the rookie who just retired from the NFL. Check out Urschel's Twitter feed for updates on chess tourneys he's competed in and math jokes.
Clippers heading back to class ­ 9
LOS ANGELES — Spencer Hawes has spent seven times as long playing basketball professionally for the NBA as he spent playing at the University of Washington. He starred for the school for only one season before being picked in an NBA draft. The Clippers forward­center was on campus so briefly he did not even choose a major. He later discovered that the classes he took had little relevance to his basketball career. “No offense to some of the sciences and humanities and whatnot,” Hawes said, “but it’s not really my passion." His studies, he said, did not prove "to be that helpful later on in life.” Still, there is something tugging at him to complete his coursework: He promised his mother he would do it. Degrees Are In The Works Hawes is nothing unusual for the Clippers. There are 11 current players who do not have a college degree and all plan to eventually get one. Four have graduated: J.J. Redick, Ekpe Udoh, C.J. Wilcox and Dahntay Jones. Of them, Jones has already started work toward a master’s degree in business and Redick said he would also like to get a business degree once his playing career ends. It would be easy for NBA players to be indifferent about their college degrees when they already have millions of dollars in the bank. In addition, they rarely have a day off during a season that can last eight months, and they like to spend summers training and traveling. “It’s just so hard to do it,” point guard Austin Rivers said of going back to college. “You’re so busy during the season and when you finally get time off, it’s like, do you want to go to school or actually spend time with your family?” A degree would take some extra doing for Rivers because he spent only one year at Duke University. He said he would prefer to take courses in the summer, meaning it could take seven or eight seasons to get his diploma. His Father's Footsteps The reward for all that work would be a degree from a top U.S. college, which could lead to a job in television broadcasting and later coaching. Austin's drive to finish college is inspired by the experience of his father, Doc, who returned to Marquette University during summers early in his own basketball career. Doc Rivers finished his degree and went on to become a sports broadcaster. He now coaches the Clippers. “I went back my first two years in the NBA,” the elder Rivers said. “Everyone told me, including my professors, ‘If you didn’t go back right away, you’re probably not going back,’ so I went back.” Each Player's Unique Decision The big debate among players who choose to go back to school is whether or not to be on campus. Many like the convenience of online classes, but others have picked majors that require more direct involvement with classmates and teachers. “Drama major is kind of hard online,” point guard Nate Robinson said. “It doesn’t really make any sense.” Robinson needs to finish one more year of coursework toward a degree he hopes will help him develop as an actor. He has already co­starred in the “Uncle Drew” Pepsi commercials alongside Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving. Veteran forward Hedo Turkoglu is unique among his Clippers teammates because he never spent a single day in college. Having started his professional career in Europe when he was 16, Turkoglu was ineligible to play at the college level in the United States, where college players must be amateurs, and never received money to play. He said he would like to eventually get a degree in business management. “Hopefully,” Turkoglu said of going to college, it will make things "a lot easier when I stop playing.” For forward Jordan Hamilton, attending college at all was an achievement. As a teenager he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and from seventh to ninth grades he received 22 Fs. Hamilton took medicine to help him combat the disorder and was accepted to Texas, where he spent two years before turning pro. Now Hamilton hopes to complete a degree in communications that would allow him to become a television host after his NBA career. The Goals Are Set Some might wonder why twenty­ and thirty­somethings would bother going back to school when they are already extremely wealthy. Clippers point guard Chris Paul has made roughly $116 million in salary alone during his 10 NBA seasons. On top of that, he has earned a lot of extra money from starring in a series of State Farm Insurance ads. “A wise man once told me, ‘If you’ve got money, you don’t need a degree,’" quipped center DeAndre Jordan, who was drafted by the Clippers after one year at Texas A&M University. Jordan then turned serious and said he would like to finish college because it is what his grandmother has always wanted him to do. Paul said he intended to take classes at Wake Forest University in the coming months because he expected to spend the summer at home in North Carolina. Paul is resolved to earn a college degree — he wants one almost as much as he wants to win an NBA championship. “I told my mom, even if I have to walk with little Chris,” Paul said, referring to his 5­year­old son, “I’m going to get it.” Basketball players want to finish their college degrees ­ 6 LOS ANGELES — Spencer Hawes has spent much more time playing professional basketball than he spent playing college ball at the University of Washington. He was a star player at the school for only one season. Then, he was picked to play professionally for a National Basketball Association (NBA) team. Hawes took the offer and dropped out of school. Hawes now plays forward­center for the Los Angeles Clippers. He was in college so briefly he did not even choose a major. He later discovered that the classes he took were not much use when it came to his basketball career. His studies did not turn out "to be that helpful later on in life,” he said. Still, there is something that makes him want to go back and get his college degree: He promised his mother he would do it. Not A Lot Of Free Time Hawes is not unusual for the Clippers. Eleven players on the team do not have a college degree, and each said they planned to get one. It would be easy for NBA players to feel like they do not need a college degree — after all, they already have millions of dollars in the bank. Plus, they rarely have a day off during the playing season, which can last eight months. “It’s just so hard to do it,” point guard Austin Rivers said of going back to college. “You’re so busy during the season," he said. "When you finally get time off, it’s like, do you want to go to school or actually spend time with your family?” His Dad Did It Rivers spent only one year in college before before becoming a professional basketball player. He still has many classes to complete before he can earn a college degree. Rivers said he would prefer to take courses in the summer, even though it will take him a long time to finish that way. Rivers believes the degree is worth all the extra hard work. It could lead to a job in TV sports broadcasting and later coaching after he stops playing ball, he said. Rivers is inspired by the example of his father, Doc, who was also a professional basketball player. During summer breaks early in his own NBA career, Doc Rivers went back to college and managed to get his degree. He went on to become a sports broadcaster and now coaches the Clippers. “I went back my first two years in the NBA,” Doc Rivers said. “Everyone told me, including my professors, ‘If you didn’t go back right away, you’re probably not going back,’ so I went back.” Some Guys Made Promises Point guard Nate Robinson needs to finish one more year of coursework to get his college degree. He is majoring in drama and hopes his studies will help him develop as an actor. Robinson has already co­starred in the “Uncle Drew” Pepsi commercials, alongside Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Some might wonder why any of the Clippers would even bother going back to school. After all, they are all already extremely wealthy. For example, Clippers point guard Chris Paul has made around $116 million during his 10 NBA seasons. On top of that, he has earned a lot of extra money from starring in a series of TV ads. “A wise man once told me, ‘If you’ve got money, you don’t need a degree,’" joked center DeAndre Jordan. He was drafted by the Clippers after just one year of college. Jordan then turned serious. He said he would like to finish college because getting a degree is what his grandmother has always wanted him to do. Chris Paul said he is determined to get a degree and will be taking classes in the coming months. Paul said he promised his mother he would go back to college and earn a degree. “I’m going to get it,” he added. Career before college? 11 Clippers say earning degree is still a goal ­ 12 LOS ANGELES — Spencer Hawes has spent seven times as long in the NBA as he did at the University of Washington, where he starred for one season before becoming a lottery pick in the draft. The Clippers forward­center was on campus so briefly he didn’t even choose a major. He later discovered the classes he took didn’t help him make three­pointers or defend All­Star big men. “No offense to some of the sciences and humanities and whatnot,” Hawes said, “but it’s not really my passion or proved to be that helpful later on in life.” And yet, there is something tugging at him to complete his coursework. He promised his mother he would do it. Hawes isn’t an anomaly in the Clippers locker room. Each of the 11 players who have not obtained their college degrees said they planned to do so. Of the four who have graduated — J.J. Redick, Ekpe Udoh, C.J. Wilcox and Dahntay Jones — Jones has already started work toward a master’s degree in business and Redick said he would like to get an MBA once his playing career ends. It would be easy for NBA players to major in indifference about their college degrees when they already have millions in the bank. They rarely have a day off during a season that can last eight months and they like to spend summers training and traveling. “It’s just so hard to do it,” point guard Austin Rivers said of going back to college, “because you’re so busy during the season and when you finally get time off, it’s like, do you want to go to school or actually spend time with your family?” A degree would take some extra doing for Rivers because he spent only one year at Duke. He said he would prefer to take courses in the summer, meaning it could take seven or eight sessions to get his diploma. The upshot to all that work would be a degree from a top U.S. college, which could lead to a job in broadcasting and later coaching. A template for that path was created by Austin’s father, Doc, who returned to Marquette during summers early in his career with the Atlanta Hawks to finish his degree. Doc Rivers went on to become a broadcaster and now coaches the Clippers. “I went back my first two years in the NBA,” the elder Rivers said. “Everyone told me, including my professors, ‘If you didn’t go back right away, you’re probably not going back,’ so I went back.” Another avenue for back­to­school specials could open in the summer of 2017 if there’s a lockout, as widely expected. Udoh, the Clippers’ backup center, used the last work stoppage in 2011 to complete the final semester toward his degree in general studies from Baylor. Udoh said the classes he needed were paid for by the school as part of his basketball scholarship. It wasn’t that odd being an NBA player on campus, he said. “Shoot, I was another regular guy driving a nice car,” Udoh said. The big debate among players who choose to go back to school is to be or not to be on campus. Many like the convenience of online classes but others have picked majors that lend themselves to more direct interaction with classmates and teachers. “Drama major is kind of hard online,” point guard Nate Robinson said. “It doesn’t really make any sense.” Robinson needs to finish one more year of coursework toward a degree he hopes will help him develop as an actor. He has already co­starred in the “Uncle Drew” Pepsi commercials alongside Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving. Veteran forward Hedo Turkoglu is unique among his Clippers teammates because he never spent one day in college. Having started his professional career in Europe when he was 16, Turkoglu was ineligible to play collegiately in the United States because of amateurism rules. He said he would like to eventually get a degree in business management. “Hopefully,” Turkoglu said of going to college, “it will make my transition a lot easier when I stop playing.” That Jordan Hamilton was able to attend college at all was an achievement considering he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and received 22 Fs from seventh to ninth grades. The forward took medicine to help him combat the disorder and was accepted to Texas, where he spent two years before turning pro. Now Hamilton hopes to complete a degree in communications that would allow him to become a television host after his NBA career. Some might wonder what’s the point of twenty­ and thirty­somethings giving it the old college try when their bank accounts rival the endowments of their respective schools. Clippers point guard Chris Paul has made roughly $116 million in salary alone during his 10 NBA seasons, not to mention the financial haul of imaginary twin Cliff through all the State Farm ads. “A wise man once told me, ‘If you’ve got money, you don’t need a degree,’" quipped center DeAndre Jordan, who was drafted by the Clippers after one year at Texas A&M. Jordan then turned serious and said he would like to finish college to appease his grandmother’s wishes. Paul said he intended to take classes at Wake Forest in the coming months because he expected to spend the summer at home in North Carolina. He needs mostly electives to finish his degree in communications after completing much of his coursework in his major during his two years on campus. “I’ve got to take like golf and all that,” Paul said. His resolve to get his degree may be topped only by his determination to win an NBA championship. “I told my mom, even if I have to walk with Little Chris,” Paul said, referring to his 5­year­old son, “I’m going to get it.”