Dave Bing - Dave Bing: Attacking the Rim: My Unlikely Journey from NBA Legend to Business Leader to Big-City Mayor to Mentor

I dedicate this book to the memory of my parents, Juanita and Hasker Bing, who provided me the foundation to realize my potential and my dreams. All of my achievements are the fruits of their labor and the seeds planted for my children and grandchildren: my daughters, Cassaundra, Bridgett, and Aleisha; my grandchildren, Kenneth, Caris, Denzel, and Alexander; and my great-grandchild Delilah, and those yet to be born.

Dave Bing

Contents

Foreword by Jalen Rose

As Dave Bing puts it in this wonderful book, he knew me from the beginning. At the time I was conceived and born, my biological father, Jimmy Walker, was Daves backcourt mate with the Detroit Pistons. I never knew my father, but for me, Dave was the very model of responsible fatherhood. He really was a godfather to me.

While at Southwestern High School, my basketball coach, and Daves friend, Perry Watson, put us together as mentor and mentee. The NBA legend Dave Bing was rapidly becoming one of the countrys top Black businessmen, and one of the many things he gave me was a summer job at Bing Steel. Yes, he gave me the job, but he also made it clear that I would need to work my ass off to keep it. I worked as a press operator, which was hard and demanding work, but I never complained. Id heard the stories about how Dave had hired friends and fellow NBA alums, like Campy Russell, Curtis Rowe, and George Trapp, and then fired them when they apparently thought theyd be getting a free ride. Point well taken.

While at Bing Steel, I got to see Dave every day and witnessed how under a great deal of pressure running multiple businesses with several hundred employees, he never appeared to be upset or to lose his cool. I marveled at that, and his leadership, his focus, his attention to detail, and how he was extremely hands-on and knowledgeable about each facet of the business. Dave challenged me as a young would-be entrepreneur and shared all the tools and tricks of the trade hed learned in order to be successful, and Im forever grateful for that.

Away from the job we naturally talked hoops, and one of the 50 greatest players of all time schooled me in the finer points of body-positioning, getting that crucial first step on an opponent, and the challenges and advantages of being a 68 point guard. Daves expectations of me were high. Even when my name would appear in the paper or Id score 25 points or win a state championship, Daves quiet advice was, Dont forget to take care of business in class and make the honor roll. Make sure youre ready to go on to college.

When I chose University of Michigan over his beloved Syracuse he was, as always, supportive and happy for me. And in the midst of all the Fab Five pressure and wild excitement, I appreciated even more the calm, steady, even-keeled friendship Dave offered. As usual, he encouraged me to look ahead. No matter what happens, make sure you finish your degree, he would say. It took me a while, but thats what I did. Although I left school early for the NBA, Daves voice stayed in my head, until I returned to complete my degree. His wisdom was a model for me, and having him as an influence gave me the courage to do it, and so much more.

In July of 2007, when I got word that Jimmy was dying of lung cancer, Dave and I made plans to go see him. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, he had already passed. He was 63. I never got to meet my father, but fortunately I could share that sad moment with the man who was a deeply important father figure to me.

Looking back, Dave has been present for some of the most significant moments in my life. In 2011, when I started the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, an open-enrollment, tuition-free, public charter high school in the Detroit neighborhood where I grew up, Dave BingHall of Famer, business leader, mayor of the City of Detroitwas right by my side at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. With all the many busy demands on him, he took the time to be there for me. He later joined our board of directors, where he continues to make significant contributions.

Daves level of commitment and dedication to his work and to others is truly inspiring.

His extraordinary and unique accomplishments, his great heart and great discipline, his proud self-belief and genuine humility are all part of the rare and admirable combination that is Dave Bing. In this fraught time of cutthroat business and financial dealing, racial animosity, and heartless political leaders, Daves remarkable story has lessons for us all.

Jalen Rose

Foreword by Mike Tirico

There are events as a sports fan that you will never forget. For me, one of those moments was March 18, 2018.

As a proud alum of Syracuse University and a nearly two-decade resident of Metro Detroit, it was the perfect intersection of things I love. Syracuses basketball team was playing a second-round NCAA Tournament game in downtown Detroit against Michigan State. Nothing in sports turns me back into a passionate fan like my alma mater and March Madness. The day pitted two Hall of Fame coaches and personal friends, Jim Boeheim and Tom Izzo, against each other in one of those made-for-March moments.

The day was made even better by the company surrounding me. To one side in our row of the Syracuse rooting section was my wife, who grew up in Michigan, and our two children, who grew up rooting for the Orange. Seated to the other side were arguably the two greatest basketball players in Syracuse history, both of whom call Detroit home: Derrick Coleman, the No. 1 pick of the 1990 NBA draft, who I had the pleasure of covering during my days in Syracuse, and Dave Bing, the No. 2 pick of the 1966 draft by the Detroit Pistons.

Public figures are often introduced by the title that indicates their most significant life accomplishment. If Dave Bing walked into a room, he could be introduced by a different title of acclaim every day of the week.

College All-American, NBA All-Star, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, member of the Top 50 NBA all-time team, founder and CEO of the largest steel company in Michigan, mayor of Detroit, or founder of a groundbreaking youth mentoring program for African American middle and high school boys.

What a rsum. What a man. What a story.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to have many opportunities to cross paths with Mayor Bing (which is what I always call him). Any time there is a big event involving Syracuse basketball, he is there to support his college roommate and fellow Hall of Famer coach Jim Boeheim. When Detroit reaches back to its basketball history or calls on the leaders of the community, Dave Bing is always there.

The arc of Daves life story is familiar to me. I knew he was raised in Washington, D.C., had a legendary basketball career, and, after excelling in business, took on the challenges of repairing the reputation of beleaguered Detroit. But in Attacking the Rim, I have learned that there is much more to the man. His incredibly humble nature has not only been at the core of his many successes, but also has benefited so many around him.

Every step of the way, Dave has displayed a selflessness mixed with self-belief that has allowed him to assess situations and shine a positive light in even the most difficult of times. Syracuse basketball was not the perennial national power it is now until Dave Bing arrived on campus. Dee-troit Basketball was not representative of the citys great legacy with the game, until a rookie turned Pistons games into an event attended by Motown stars. The 1980s decline of Detroit-based industries did not deter the growth of the Bing Group from four employees to 1,400, evolving into one of the nations major auto industry suppliers.