NBA Lockout Means Home Games for Friends Central Star

Fourth in a series of profiles spotlighting Friends Central School hoops stars.

It could have been a Friday night in Denver, Colorado. You would have sworn for a few moments there you were sitting in the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets play. Or the US Airways Center, where the Phoenix Suns play. Or even the Staples Center in L.A., home of the Lakers.

Hakim Warrick doesn't discriminate. That’s how hard Warrick was going at it one weekday evening at the Competitive Edge Sports Complex in King of Prussia. The 2001 graduate and 6-foot-9, 220-pound Phoenix Suns power forward was taking the Delco Pro-Am League that seriously at times.

Warrick, like a number of high-profile, elite pro-level players in the Philadelphia area, are seeking refuge in leagues like the Delco Pro-Am to stay sharp during the NBA lockout. But with Warrick, there is no let-up. He went up against former college Division-I players he played against locally in high school and college with fierce determination.

Those players wanted to prove something to their old rival, much like Warrick was displaying parts of his A-game in telling them, “Not against me you don’t.”

“There is a lot of talent here in the Philadelphia area, and though there might not have been a lot of NBA talent on the floor here, there were still a lot of guys who played overseas,” Warrick said.

“All of those guys played major college basketball, so going out there, it’s going to be a competitive game ... especially tonight going up against the Temple guys, where everyone gets on Twitter or Facebook and like to joke around, so there is a pride factor that you want to win the game.”

“Friends Central changed my life, and it’s something that I’m always going to be appreciative for.”

Warrick’s six-year NBA career began when he was selected 19th overall in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. In the 2006-07 season, Warrick made his mark professionally. When Memphis lost star forward Pau Gasol, now with the Los Angeles Lakers, Warrick stepped in to average 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds that season for the Grizzlies.

He signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2009, and in February 2010 he was traded to the Chicago Bulls—for, of all players, John Salmon, a local player out of Plymouth Whitemarsh who also plays in the Delco Pro-Am League.

Last summer, Warrick signed a four-year contract with the Phoenix Suns, coming off the bench to average 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds a game.

That’s where the Delco Pro-Am League comes in. It keeps players like Warrick sharp, especially during the current lockout.

“You can work out as much as you want, but there is nothing like playing five-on-five,” Warrick said. “I love the game of basketball. I’m a competitive guy and I try to win every time. Some guys might take it easy. I don’t. I go out there to win and work on things to better myself.

Like his friend and (pictured with Warrick, above), Warrick said playing in a league like this one is also about giving something back.

“Just growing up in Philly, and this being a real big basketball town and [seeing] the guys I grew up watching ... come back and play, that makes me come back and play against the younger guys.”

One of the things Warrick is most proud of is graduating from in 2005 with a degree in retail management and consumer studies from Syracuse, which Warrick led to the NCAA national championship in 2003 over Kansas, coming up with a crucial blocked shot in the title game.

He considers his beginnings at Friends Central the launching point.

“Friends Central changed my life, and it’s something that I’m always going to be appreciative for,” Warrick said. “Before there, I was pretty much an unknown, so anytime I can come back and talk to the kids, or come back and play with my old teammates, I love it.

“It’s a connection that I’ll always have.”