Memphis native, former Tigers basketball player releasing first book

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Memphis native Trey Draper wears a lot of hats: former Memphis Tigers basketball player and coach, trainer, and now — author.

Draper will release his first book “The Winning Language” on June 26.

“The power of relationships, loyalty, and integrity,” says Draper on the gist of the book. “When you look at me, and people look at my story; you know I’m not the tallest, never was the most athletic.

“But I always found a way to make myself into rooms and stay in these rooms because of these three things: Having relationships, having loyalty no matter what, and having integrity and just doing it the right way. I wanted to tell that story and help people that look like me.”

Sports are a big part of Draper’s background, but the book is much more about life lessons than it is anything involving athletics.

“Sports is just an avenue to life,” Draper explains. He uses the San Antonio Spurs as an example.

“They have accountability, they have great relationships, they have teamwork. When you look at them, guess what? They’re on time every day, they work hard, they go the extra mile and want to see each other succeed.”

Draper’s own journey captures a lot of those values and led to him putting pen to paper to share his message.

“I’m a hard worker,” says Draper. “I rarely sleep, man. I want to be involved in anything that can motivate the youth, and can motivate honestly African American young men from the City of Memphis. Because when you look at us in the city, there’s an image, but that’s not everybody.

“What I wanted to do was say, hey, a young man, African American from inner-city Memphis who had no handouts, who just had a family that supported him. You can do it.”

“The Winning Language” will be available to buy at Barnes and Noble stores and on Amazon.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2023 WMC. All rights reserved.