Q&A: Donald Ingram on his son’s breakout NBA season, giving back and their New Orleans transition

As a kid, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram spent nights and weekends at the Martin C. Freeman Recreation Center. It was a five-minute drive from his home in Kinston, North Carolina. Ingram’s father, Donald, managed it, which meant after-hours access.

Even though Brandon is in his fourth NBA season and on the cusp of a mammoth new contract, the Ingrams are still heavily involved in their hometown. Donald manages the rec center to this day. Every year, the Ingrams give back in Kinston.

This year, they partnered with Adidas to donate 982 pairs of shoes to the UNC Lenoir Health Care center, the hospital where Brandon was born. Every employee at the hospital received a pair. On Tuesday morning, Donald helped distribute them in 90-degree heat. Normally, the Ingrams donate school supplies, but they shifted gears because of the pandemic.

“Since this is going on with the pandemic, knowing that they’re pulling long hours, on their feet a lot, a lot of overtime, just going beyond expectation,” Donald said. “It was a no-brainer to realize that, ‘Hey, I know their feet are really hurting them, their tired, aching feet.’ We felt like giving back in that capacity.”

Once he finished passing out shoes, Donald spoke to NOLA.com via Zoom about Kinston’s basketball culture, his friend Jerry Stackhouse, and his son’s breakout season.

(Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Q: How did the idea come about to donate one pair of shoes for every person who works at this hospital?

Normally we do a donation every year anyway but not to the hospital. We donate in the capacity of giving back with the school supplies and book bags, pencils and pens. This particular year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to come together like that due to social distancing. During this time last year, Brandon was going through his surgery and his recovery. I got a first-hand look at how the front-line workers function in the hospital.

Q: Kinston has a long history of producing basketball players. It’s not a huge place (population: 20,083). But Cedric Maxwell, Jerry Stackhouse and Brandon are just a few of the players who have come out of there. Why does it produce so much basketball talent?

This is a tight-knit community when it comes to athletics. People really follow basketball, football or whatever the sport may be. There’s a lot of moral support here. Not only does it relate to basketball, but we’ve had some football players who have made it from this small town as well as some baseball players. Coming up as a kid, when you get a chance to see someone come from your community and playing on television, it really gave you inspiration to follow that craft.

Q: That person for Brandon was Jerry Stackhouse, right? I spoke to him at the beginning of the year. He’s been a mentor for Brandon in a lot of ways. Is that accurate to say?

Exactly. Jerry and I, we’re close friends. Always have been. We competed against each other on different levels. He was at a much higher level than I was. We played pick-up ball locally. We became friends a long time ago. As Brandon was growing and we were seeing his talent progress, I was able to reach out to Jerry, and Jerry was able to take him under his wing and show him the next level. Show him how to do it in college. Show him the NBA mechanics. What is expected of him at that level.

Q: I know for me, driveway one-on-one games against my dad, that’s what we did a lot. Did you guys ever play one-on-one?

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Yeah, that’s a prime example when I say the toughness. I didn’t allow him to win the game. I didn’t care if he had tears in his eyes when he lost the game. Not only that, I would also instruct him and teach him the way to overcome adversity and how he lost the game. I would explain it to him. The toughness started at home. And it carried on when Jerry got hands-on, where they were traveling and having a lot of practices. We both played our part in that.

Q: When’s the first time he beat you? Do you remember?

I think he has more insight on that story. I think he said he beat me when he was around 12 or 13 years old. I think I let him beat me. I’m not for sure. He was a pretty tough kid at that age. I could see he was going to be a special kid.

Q: I know the role of the rec center was huge for him. You managed the rec center. Brandon skipped his senior prom to work out there, right?

Yes, he did. That was his choice. I knew there were a lot of people getting ready for the prom. I needed to know ahead of time to make sure I had my money right in case he wanted to get a tuxedo or some type of fancy transportation to get dropped off at the prom. I actually asked him weeks before the prom. I knew a lot of my friends were getting their daughters or their sons their tuxedos or dresses. When I asked him, he didn’t answer that he wasn’t going. He just said he didn’t know. As time approached, he just said he wasn’t going to the prom. Instead he just wanted to go to the gym and work out. He put chairs out. He put cones out. He actually worked on the drills that he was taught to do. That was his choice.

Q: What have you thought about the strides he’s made his first year in New Orleans?

I look at commentators — I got to the place now where I don’t pay them any attention. Because I know my child. He’s up for Most Improved Player of the year. You have some that question that. If you look at the strides he’s made, how can you not choose him when a year ago he was laying in a hospital bed having a major surgery? He had a rib removed and had to recover the entire summer. He missed the last portion of the season with the Lakers. Had the entire summer to recover from an injury and then he starts back this year and averaged 25 points a game and never let off the gas.

It’s a no-brainer. I’m not politicking for him to get Most Improved Player, but it’s a no-brainer. He really has shown me something, from laying on his back in the hospital room to getting a rib removed and having surgery to coming back and playing this strong in such a short length of time.

Q: What do you think about New Orleans as a city?

It’s awesome. The people are so friendly. There are a lot of places that remind us of back home. The travel and the way they can maneuver and get around is really easy compared to some of the bigger cities, which are more congested. The food is good. I’ve got to throw that in. It’s a place where, I know it’s a smaller market, but bigger is not always better. We’re very blessed to be in this situation where they want us. Even more blessed that he’s going in and making an impact to help the team out and the city is receiving him like it is. It’s kind of like we want each other.

Q: The last thing I got for you: I know Brandon’s game really well. What was the scouting report on you back in the day?

(Laughs) I don’t know who you talked to. But if I was doing a scouting report from the stands, I would say when he passes half court, you need him to pick him up because he can shoot the ball from half court better than some of our guys can shoot a 3-pointer. That was the scouting report on me. You have to pick him up early. I’m not bragging, but I had a jump shot. I had a nice jump shot. It had some range on it.