From a young age Muggsy encountered doubters who constantly told him he was too short to play basketball. Muggsy heard them, but he refused to listen. Muggsy was part of an undefeated championship team at Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Maryland with former NBA stars Reggie Williams, David Wingate and Reggie Lewis, and went on to play college basketball at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The point guard explains that it’s important for young athletes to be fearless and have thick skin. “When you’re fearful and you care about what other people think, it limits you and it stops you from reaching your potential,” he says. “Mainly I just understood that I had a gift of playing the game of basketball. I really didn’t care about what people thought, I think that really carried over and allowed me to become who I am. When you have that belief—I don’t care about what anybody is thinking, and just focus on what you’re trying to do, that carries you a long way.” Although his self-confidence helped him to overcome many obstacles, Muggsy also credits his strong support system, which consisted of his family and his coaches for his success. He had a close network of people who believed in him and continued to support him in his basketball aspirations. One of his biggest supporters was his mom, Elaine Bogues.
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