Tim Hardaway Talks about The 5 Tournament Pro Basketball Invitational

On July 19th FITE presents The 5 Tournament Pro Basketball Invitational.
To talk about the event is one and only Tim Hardaway.
Tune in and listen what he has to say and much more!

Matt Striker: Your dossier is known throughout the world, the king of the cross over. And now all of that seems to be coming back with the inaugural The 5 Tournament. It starts on July 19th. That runs all the way the July 29th. Talk to us a little bit about this amazing event.

Tim Hardaway: This is great. You know, it's great for basketball, it's great for the retired basketball players to come in and play, it's to show people that they still can play, you know, like Mario Chalmers, Carlos Arroyo, Eddy Curry, you know, everybody wants to see how he's doing, If he still being in shape, if he could still play, you know, you got all these great basketball players. But The 5 Tournament, that's gonna be really nice.

Matt Striker: Now you mentioned its 3 on 3 half court. Now I remember you for being an amazing passer, but I also remember you for being filthy when it came to a one on one. I always loved when guys went one on one with you, 'cause you're always able to catch the guy slashing or cutting. How's the game gonna be played a little differently now, 3 on 3 half court.

Tim Hardaway: You gotta understand your teammates. You gotta understand your personnel out there. You gotta know who can take the man One on One who can't take a man One on One, who do you think has been practicing and who hasn't practiced. So, you know, somebody like Joe Johnson, you can't leave him alone. So you have to know your teammates. You have no person now on the offensive end on defense. So it's just, you know, scouting your team, understanding your team and understanding the other team.

Matt Striker: Absolutely Now I recall. As former New York Knicks Mark Jackson once said that seeing the floor is one of the most important things. How different is it to see half court as opposed to a full court? From a player's perspective?

Tim Hardaway: To me it's easy. You could really see the half court, because only six are allowed to get there.
In full court, I mean 5 on 5 you need to know what each person where can go. So 3 on 3, you only need to know where are your two teammates. If the defender comes to you, you pass to your teammate. Once you get passed that, you're only looking at two defenders. And if that one defender doesn't come to you, you make the layup. If he comes to you, pass it to your big man.

Matt Striker: Now I love nostalgia and I'm sure a lot of our viewers will as well, I vaguely recall when you first started, Manute Bol was a teammate of yours. Correct?

Tim Hardaway: Correct. Love him, Rest in Peace Manute. That's our buddy.

Matt Striker: Now, here's my question. And be honest, Could you break Manute off the dribble?

Tim Hardaway: No! You could not break Manute off the dribble. He was so long. If you get past him, he can actually catch up with his arms because that's how long his arms were.

Matt Striker: So once again, the event starts on the 19th. It's a 10 day tournament. The championship, the finals on the 29th. There will be wagering as well. I know a lot of investors are going to be excited about that. But I've got to ask you. What kind of defense are we really going to see here?

Tim Hardaway: Defense. Man on Man Defense. People trying to get up in your face and try to play defense. You Know people like Mike James, Carlos Arroyo, Nate Robinson, Geron Johnson, a lot of guys out there that still take pride and moving a feat and defend the basketball.

Matt Striker: Before I let you go, we've been talking about NBA legends and all these champions, and it's coming our way from the Orleans in Las Vegas. But talk to me a little bit about the social responsibility of this tournament because right now so many people are craving entertainment and content as well as the passion of the sport. That's not lost on you guys?

Tim Hardaway: No No. That's not lost on us. We want to keep the word out. We want to make everybody know that we're still marching. We still talking, we still trying to get, people out and awareness out there just stop, stop the violence from everybody.

Matt Striker: Where people can find you on social media?

Tim Hardaway: Yes Instagram: the_original_crossover_king and Facebook: Tim Hardaway, Sr.