Twany Beckham: Finding Purpose After Basketball

On3 imageby:Katelyn Perkins02/13/23

Basketball players are humans, too.

As a Kentucky Basketball fan, it’s easy to look past the human part of the players, but it’s important to remember that before putting the blue and white on, they were that little kid who loved to hoop.

Introducing Twany Beckham

Twany Beckham was that little kid.

Beckham grew up in the inner city of Louisville, Kentucky.

“If you look at the data they say that one in six of the residents that grew up in that area end up in the prison system or worse at some point in their life,” Beckham told KSR in an exclusive interview.

Beckham credits his mother’s hardworking mentality for keeping him on a straight path while growing up.

“She worked extremely hard to mask all the outside noise and make sure that we had everything we needed to be equipped to be successful.”

Not only did his mom give him everything that he would need to be successful, but she also encouraged his love for basketball.

“My mom told me I came out of the womb with big hands and I just gravitated to anything basketball as an infant.”

Love at first hoop

As he grew up, Beckham would play regularly in his community but was always a step or two ahead of the other kids.

There were even times while playing that Beckham’s mom was asked to see his birth certificate to make sure that he was the same age as his peers.

As a high school player, Beckham played for Ballard in Louisville.

He grew three inches his sophomore year, going from 6’1 to 6’5 as his team’s point guard.

As a senior, Beckham had made a name for himself. He won everything from Region Player of the Year to MVP awards while finishing up his high school career and establishing himself as an all-time Ballard great.

All throughout his childhood and high school career there was tremendous pressure coming at Beckham from all sides due to his high-level play and potential.

The one who put the most pressure on him, was himself.

“I placed that pressure on myself because I wanted so bad to see my family make it out and not be a statistic,” Beckham said.

Following high school, Beckham was not very highly recruited.

He opted to attend a year of prep school at New Hampton School in New England to further his skills and gain more attention to be able to play at the college level.

On to college play

Following his time in the northeast, Beckham chose to attend Mississippi State University.

He was drawn to Starkville because of the resources that were available to him in the SEC. Beckham also fell in love with the coaching staff, especially their head coach at the time, Rick Stansbury.

“My dream was to always play for UK, but UK didn’t recruit me so I felt like you know, why not go back and have the opportunity to play against them so I chose to play for Mississippi State,” Beckham said.

After playing some for Mississippi State, injuries set him back.

As a sophomore, Beckham had two hip surgeries which placed him on the sideline.

“Life happens so I decided to make a move,” he added.

While trying to find a new place to land, Beckham was offered a place on Kentucky’s team by head coach John Calipari during the 2009-10 season.

“I had an opportunity to meet with Coach Cal and he said one thing to me, it really blew me away, he said we want you in our program but I want you to understand you might never play for me and everything you get is gonna be earned.”

None of Beckham’s family or friends wanted him to go to UK, but when told that he can’t do something, he’s going to face the challenge.

Putting on the blue and white

After transferring to Kentucky, Beckham faced many setbacks from injuries.

He was on crutches for all of his junior year.

Beckham’s senior year was the championship season in 2012. After being a part of a team with that much talent, he decided to stay for another year because he saw an opportunity to step in and play with the next group.

ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 25: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist #14 and Twany Beckham #10 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrate their 82 to 70 win over the Baylor Bears during the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball South Regional Final at the Georgia Dome on March 25, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, another injury struck him and Beckham had to have back surgery which placed him on the sideline once again.

“I was in a very dark place, I didn’t know what to think or where life was gonna take me,” Beckham said.

He felt like he let himself and his family down.

“It was also a stressful season with going to the NIT (during the 2012-13 season) so basketball was not fun all around.”

Although he got down, Beckham was able to find his way out of that dark place.

Finding a passion again

Beckham grew in his spirituality and got baptized. He also used what he had gone through to find his way back.

“Giving inspiration to the world was what I turned into my passion and I haven’t looked back,” he said.

When first enrolling at Kentucky, Beckham’s credits from Mississippi State did not transfer and he had to pick a new major and start from scratch.

After searching, he chose to go into communications even though he never imagined himself speaking in front of people.

It was not long until Beckham learned that he loved speaking and presenting in front of his fellow classmates.

After basketball, Beckham found his passion to inspire others, but he used his writing and speaking skills from his communication degree to start his career.

Beckham has written multiple books and speaks in front of large crowds where he strives to help them find their own passions and dreams.

“I think the greatest gift in life is having the ability to help others and you have to understand that your life is your life, your journey is your journey.”

When writing his books and giving his speeches, that is what he wants his audiences to get out of them.

Take a step back

Beckham is all for taking a step back in certain areas of your life and putting your next foot forward to overcome the small thing(s) that you may be going through.

Although he has won an NCAA national title and gotten the opportunity to inspire others, one of the most special things that he has been able to do in his life was helping his mom write a book about her own story called, “Superwoman”.

Beckham was able to interview his mom while she was in the hospital battling cancer.

“I learned a lot of things about her that at the time I didn’t know, about where my strength comes from,” Beckham said.

He was able to see her do things in her life that she never thought she would, such as becoming an author and entrepreneur.

After overcoming the injuries and obstacles that had been thrown at him since childhood, Beckham was able to overcome his adversity.

There are so many other athletes out there that are going through the same issues and Beckham had some advice for each of them.

“For so many years you learn a certain way to live which is always work on your basketball game, craft and then you get to college and you’re bogged down with the tutoring, training and you don’t have time for yourself,” Beckham said.

“When some catastrophic injury happens you have to take a step back and look at life to be thankful for what you have accomplished, you were an athlete and there are many people that want to be in your shoes.”

Advocating to be a student-athlete is huge for Beckham. He wants these athletes to take advantage of their classes and make connections with their peers.

Find more than one passion

“My advice to athletes, young, college, NBA whatever it is, start putting your interest in somewhere else as well,” Beckham said. “Because the transition can be easy when something happens, just like how writing was that for me.”

Beckham wants athletes (or anyone, really) to know that if they are struggling or in a dark place, he’s always available. The Bluegrass native is hosting a wellness conference in Louisville in March and is also available on all social media platforms.

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2024-03-28