My Relationship With Sports Project
Profile Broadcast on Khalil Cook
7-10 Interview Questions:
- Have you lived in Miami your entire life?
- Can you explain how it felt growing up with a dad who was in the NFL? Was there an expectation to follow in his footsteps?
- You started playing at age 6, what first drew you to the sport instead of football?
- Who did you watch the NBA playoffs with? Why was that important to you?
- Why was LeBron your favorite basketball athlete of all time? How do you implement that in your own life?
- Being dropped from an AAU team in high school must have been tough. How did that moment impact you, both as a player and as a person?
- When you faced that team again in Orlando and had such a strong game (25 points right?), what was going through your mind?
- How have the challenges you’ve faced in basketball helped you deal with challenges off the court? How have they shaped your identity?
- Can you tell me more about your mom’s role in supporting your basketball journey, especially when it came to finding the right teams?
- Looking ahead, what role do you see basketball playing in your life in the future, as a career, passion, or community?
- Khalil’s Moms Question: What do you think is the value of being so supportive and invested in your child’s life, both in his basketball journey and in his personal growth?
Presentation Outline:
[Intro / Hook]
Today I want to share the story of Khalil Cook, a senior here at UNE whose journey in basketball has been shaped by resilience, family, and a deep love for the game. His path hasn’t always been easy, but it shows how sports can give someone not just competition, but identity, lessons, and community.
[Background]
Khalil grew up in Miami, Florida, surrounded by sports from the very beginning. His father, Jameel Cook, played in the NFL, and that brought both inspiration and pressure. As Khalil told me, “It was a gift and a curse… I learned his work ethic, but sometimes the expectations felt like too many hurdles.”
Instead of following his dad into football, Khalil discovered basketball around the age of six. What hooked him was watching LeBron James on TV. He described watching LeBron fly around the court, dunking and shooting threes as something to aspire to. That excitement pushed him outside to his own hoop, where he began building a love for the game.
[Basketball Journey]
Khalil’s talent and dedication grew quickly, and basketball became a central part of his life. He started playing for the Miami City Ballers in 3rd grade, and ironically, playing on the same team as Bronny James. He recalled LeBron himself showing up in the gym. Not just as a superstar, but as a father and mentor. One day after practice, LeBron bestowed a single piece of advice to Khalil, “Always strive for greatness”. That motto has stuck with Khalil throughout his life, pushing him forward with a determination to achieve anything he puts his mind to.
But Khalil’s journey wasn’t without setbacks. In the 6th grade, he was cut from the Miami City Ballers. After years under the same coach and working with the same teammates, he suddenly felt like he wasn’t good enough and admitted it made him consider quitting basketball altogether.
Instead, with great help from his mom, he joined the South Florida Steel, where he played from 6th grade through 10th grade. It was with that team that he faced the Miami City Ballers in Orlando, in what became a defining moment. Khalil turned his disappointment into motivation, scoring 25 points in what he remembers as the best game of his life. That game became a turning point, proving to himself that setbacks don’t define him, how he responds does.
[Support System]
Through it all, Khalil’s family, especially his mom, has been a driving force. She was the one taking him to practices three to four times a week, traveling to tournaments out of state, buying him the shoes and gear he needed, even things he didn’t always ask for. In Khalil’s words, “She was everything… seeing her work so hard for me made me feel like I had to play as hard as I could every time I stepped on the court.”
Khalil’s mom didn’t see the effort as a burden. Instead, she embraced it wholeheartedly. To her there’s a value in investing time and support into her son. That value, she says, “is seeing him grow into a responsible and grounded young man. I knew that the support and guidance was necessary to ensure his future was secured.”
[Future / Reflection]
Now in his senior year, Khalil still plays basketball here at UNE, but he’s realistic about the future. He doesn’t expect to go pro, but he wants to stay in the sports world. This summer, he even landed an internship with FIFA during the World Cup in Boston, where he’ll be making connections and exploring career opportunities.
For Khalil, basketball has been more than a game. It has taught him perseverance, belonging, and the value of being part of something bigger than himself.
[Closing]
From Miami to UNE, from setbacks to triumphs, his journey reminds us that success isn’t only about making it to the pros, it’s about the lessons you carry forward into life.
Oral Presentation:
Reflection:
For my relationship with sports project, I worked on developing a profile of Khalil. I began by taking his essay and pulling out key points, which was fairly easy since he had organized it chronologically-from childhood to the present-which gave me a natural flow to follow. From there, I created 7–10 questions to ask him. My prior experience with journalism helped me develop thoughtful questions, though with everything else going on, I realized later that I had missed some important follow-ups, such as dates, years, and specific names. This required me to email him afterward, which was a valuable lesson for me moving forward: I need to pay closer attention to details during the initial interview. Getting a quote from his mom was also part of the process. The challenge was mostly logistical, since I had to go through Khalil to reach her, and he understandably forgot at first. When drafting the question for her, I thought about everything Khalil had said about her support and wondered whether she ever felt it was a burden to give so much. I felt that her response added depth to my final story. When creating the profile, I formatted it with clear sections: background, basketball journey, support system, and reflections. This layout worked well and even seemed to be a structure others in the class followed without realizing. Finally, in the presentation, I was nervous but proud of how it went. Using my phone to check the time helped me pace myself, and I found comfort in my natural hand gestures, which were noted positively. Overall, I feel the process went well and gave me new takeaways for future projects.
