Drop Practice

After Meyers’ sophomore year of college, he was faced with a decision that would forever change the rest of his life. At only 20 years old, he needed to choose if he was going to continue his college career or enter into the NBA draft.

Leaning on mentors, family, coaches, and friends, each person offered differing opinions. Each offering of advice came with pros and cons. If he were to go to the NBA, he would risk the security of the known and gamble with the unknown. College was a safety blanket. A degree was forever while a long NBA career wasn’t promised. Going to the NBA meant that he would be betting all chips on himself.

During this time, I watched him process both sides. It wasn’t that he was necessarily worried about the unknowns of the next chapter, but rather what pieces of the current story would be lost in the transition.

Luckily, in this situation he could test the drop.

At this point in our lives, Meyers and I had been dating for a year. Personally, I was in a tough place when it came to giving him advice. Selfishly, I would have loved for him to stay at the University of Illinois with me. But ultimately, I wanted him to make the best decision for his career and future. I tried my best to play both sides, but he knew how hard it was for me.

So in the Spring of 2012, before he ultimately announced his decision to enter the draft, he decided to “test run” the news on me. Meyers and I were relaxing at his college apartment when he looked over and said,

“I have something to tell you.”

“What?” I said.

“Well….” He paused.

“Well, what Meyers?”

“Uhh…”

“Meyers! You’re fine just tell me.”

In truth, I wasn’t fine. I was bracing. My heart was racing. And, I wasn’t appreciating the suspense.

“Well, I have decided that I am going to the NBA.”

There was my drop.

I broke down. Just as he worried about the unknown, I did too. Our sophomore year of college was my epitome of perfection and the thought of it all changing hurt.

To this day, I’ve never been a crier. So when Meyers saw tears flowing down my face, he realized this “test drop” was a terrible idea. Immediately, he started to retreat.



“Elle!! I’m kidding! I just wanted to see how you would respond. I wanted to make sure that you wouldn’t break up with me,” he said.

Oh, boy. All my emotions took a hard right towards ticked off. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the tears on my cheeks began steaming off my face.

Looking back, I now understand what he was trying to accomplish. While I wouldn’t advise him to EVER take this approach again, I do understand why he did it. If his life was going to change, he simply wanted to know what came with it.

See, to him the decision to go pro was a drop. But, the chance of losing what we had was an even bigger drop. And the thought of this aftershock wasn't something he was willing to gamble.