Rowan Kavner

PHILADELPHIA – Tattoos and the life lessons learned from parents don’t always go hand in hand.

But among the bible verses permanently etched on J.J. Redick’s body is an eagle tattoo he got after his rookie year, constantly reminding him of something his mother told him when things weren’t always going smoothly.

“My parents always wanted me to do the right thing,” Redick said. “My mom, I think her exact words were, ‘You’re not a chicken in the coop playing in the scraps, you’re an eagle.’ I was like, ‘Oh, OK…’ But really, I’ve used that throughout my life. It was just a reminder for me to remain grounded in my faith, remain grounded in my love for my family.”

His family traveled various distances to get to Los Angeles to watch Redick, a son, brother, husband and the all-time leading scorer at Duke, get recognized at Club Nokia earlier this week during the premiere of his “Before the Bigs” show, which will air after Friday’s game on Fox Sports Prime Ticket. The story details all that went in to Redick’s journey, from childhood all the way through the 2006 draft and getting his jersey retired by Duke.

After the show, fans and season ticket holders asked Redick a variety of questions, from what barber he goes to, to how he got his number – he was No. 25, but looked in the rafters before he ever attended Duke and saw that number was retired, so he switched – to which player’s the toughest to guard – the unorthodox styles of Manu Ginobili, Kevin Martin and James Harden came to mind – to the players he models his game after.

“When I was in college, kind of transitioning from my sophomore to junior year, I started watching a lot of tape on Rip (Richard Hamilton) and Ray Allen and Reggie Miller,” Redick said. “Those were the three guys I really wanted to be like in terms of running off screens and moving without the basketball – but Reggie was the guy.”

Years later, Redick’s established himself as one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the game. Never satisfied with being “good enough,” Redick’s points per game have increased each year since his second season in the NBA.

That steady improvement’s something that’s been there since way before his professional days.

Before The Bigs

In front of his family, a handful of Clippers players and a crowd full of season ticket holders, Redick’s “Before the Bigs” show flashed back to his beginnings.

It detailed how J.J. got his nickname from his twin sisters. It detailed how from the moment after watching Christian Laettner’s famous buzzer-beater against Kentucky he knew he wanted to go to Duke. It detailed how he persevered through injuries and pressure to finally win a state championship against all odds his senior year of high school.

That last moment was one of the best days of his life.

As Redick watched on, certain moments evoked more emotions than others. Seeing the court in his backyard, enveloped by trees, one of which included a branch hanging over the left corner of the 3-point line forcing him to put an atypical arc on his shot, particularly brought a sort of catharsis out of Redick.

“There was nothing that could keep me away from that court,” Redick said. “For me, that was the thing that really stood out.”

His high school coach, Billy Hicks, and his AAU coach, Boo Williams, both detailed Redick’s skill and determination. Williams coached the likes of Alonzo Mourning and Allen Iverson, but he knew there was something special about Redick, whose parents would drive hours to get him with the top AAU team.

Hicks also taught him life lessons.

“Billy, my high school coach, used to steal John Wooden quotes all the time and would say, ‘If it’s easy, everybody would do it,” Redick said.

That’s stuck with Redick to this day.

“It’s a simple quote,” Redick said, “but any time I’m training in the summer or if I get hurt or if I have a bad game, I say that to myself.”

Redick’s “Before the Bigs” also detailed the road blocks, from off-court obstacles to on-court struggles and the inevitable taunting that goes with being one of the best Duke players ever from a young age.

He was talented enough for coach Mike Krzyzewski to come out to his high school games, which Redick described as “pandemonium” in his relatively small neighborhood and school, where standing-room only was the only option for some people wanting to see Redick play. Even in those situations, Redick said there was no simulating the pressure, excitement and theatrics that he’d eventually experience at Duke.

His relationship with Coach K is still strong to this day. Redick’s had a lot of reasons to call Coach K – winning gold medals, setting the all-time wins record and getting 1,000 wins among them – but Coach K has returned the favor since early in Redick’s NBA days.

“I could remember if I had a big game, it was guaranteed, didn’t matter what was going on, I would get back to the locker room and the second I picked up my phone I was calling Coach K,” Redick said. “That guy’s always had my back. It’s an incredible relationship I’m very, very grateful for.”

The one thing both of them regret is not winning a championship while Redick was there. That was really the first time he’d ever set his mind to something and couldn’t achieve it.

“Maybe my next championship will be here with the Clippers,” Redick said.

J.J.'s Career Year

Redick’s doing more now than ever before in his career to ensure the Clippers are in position for that lofty goal.

Finally healthy, only missing four games this season with back spasms, Redick’s posting career highs in points per game (15.9), field goal percentage (47.1), 3-pointers per game (2.5), 3-point percentage (42.9) and plus-minus per game (7.1). He’s also on pace to set career highs in points, field goals and steals.

Redick just got through a stretch of scoring at least 20 points in four straight games for the first time in his career. He’d never gone more than five straight games with at least 15 points in his career; he’s currently done it 12 straight games.

Even Redick has to admit this is the best stretch of his career.

“I think so,” Redick said. “I’d rather not talk about it. But for sure, I feel like I’m in a good rhythm. I have a good kind of understanding and knowledge of where my shots are going to be each night. I’m getting shots, but I’m not forcing shots. It’s a good rhythm to have.”

At 30 years old, he’s just hitting his stride, recording a career-high 19 games with at least 20 points; the Clippers are 15-4 in such games.

Twelve games still remained when Redick hit his 162nd 3-pointer of the season to set the Clippers’ single-season record for most made 3-pointers.

“I think our guys are getting better adapted to playing with J.J.,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “J.J. is constant movement. When you’re on the floor with him, you have to have that same mentality. Last year, there were so many missed picks with him, because guys didn’t realize he was still coming. Now, guys search him out.”

The crescendo to his career is nothing new for Redick, who needed to do more every year in high school before ultimately winning the state championship. In college, Redick’s point totals increased every year. A similar feat’s happening now in the NBA.

On a team with Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan, it’s Redick the Clippers make a point to get going early. He ranks first in the league with 2.6 points per game in the first three minutes of games and shoots an NBA-best 50 percent from 3-point range in first quarters this season.

Opposing Coaches Have Taken Notice

Derek Fisher said before Wednesday’s game against the Knicks that Redick sets the tone. A similar comment came from Steve Clifford, the current Hornets coach who had Redick as an assistant in Orlando.

Clifford said Redick’s catch-and-shoot ability is giving the Clippers a “totally different element,” and Redick has a knack for turning it up another notch in the playoffs.

“One thing about him if you’re around him, he’ll always keep getting better, which not many guys in this league do,” Clifford said. “Most guys when you get 27, 28, you play well or you don’t play well. He keeps getting better and better.”

The Clippers needed more from Redick when Jamal Crawford went down, and he delivered. Redick’s been the Clippers’ leading scorer since March 4 (240 total, 21.8 per game).

Teammates on Redick

Chris Paul said Redick’s probably the best shooter he’s ever played with. He joked that he’s not sure if this is the best he’s ever seen Redick, however, but that’s only because he saw him in college.

“You just expect it,” Paul said.

Whether it’s from deep, where he’s shooting the highest percentage of his career, or from mid-range, where he’s connecting more than 50 percent of the time, or at the line, where he’s only missed one free-throw since the start of January, Redick’s offense has given an already potent Clippers offense another dimension.

It’s a dimension DeAndre Jordan said the Clippers need.

“It’s not like we’re surprised he’s capable of doing it, because he’s working so much on it,” Jordan said. “He doesn’t get tired. I would definitely get tired running off nine different screens and coming up to shoot a jump shot. He’s just been great for us.”

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