Fast Breaks: Julian Gamble

Nov. 1, 2011

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – They are stories of perseverance. Stories about growing up, becoming men and being a part of a family. One-by-one, we hear from them. These are the Miami Hurricanes…

Julian Gamble | Forward | Senior | Durham, N.C.

I was raised in many different places. I moved around a lot as a child and met a lot of different people so that makes me very social, very easy to get along with and very outgoing. It helps me very easily adapt to different situations.
I started playing basketball when I was young. I grew up in North Carolina. It’s a basketball state. I grew up around the ACC. I grew up watching North Carolina play. The Tar Heels were my favorite team, obviously not anymore since we play them, but where I grew up definitely influenced me to play basketball. I started young, probably around five.
My favorite holiday is Christmas, not necessarily because of getting gifts and giving gifts but because of the theme of the holiday and being with family and being able to give people gifts. Not necessarily things they can see, like material things, but things they’ll remember for a long time and things that will change people’s lives.
Nobody knows that I can cook. I’ve never even cooked for anybody but I can cook for myself. I have to eat, I eat a lot. I learned how to cook at a young age because my mom would travel a lot. I’m really good at making French toast. I lived one week straight off of just French toast.
To be a Miami Hurricane means a lot. I take a lot of pride in it. When I go home that’s how people identify me as I’m the guy who went to Miami. Especially where I’m from, not a lot of people made it out. It’s definitely a pride thing and I represent it everywhere I go with that in the back of my mind I know that I have to carry myself in the correct manner at all times.
Right now I’m listening to J. Cole. He’s from North Carolina so it’s like a sense of pride thing and when I listen to music I like lyricists and people who talk about different things in a song. Not something you can just listen to once and get it or just a catchy beat. I like a lot of music with content in it so it’s definitely on repeat right now.
If I wasn’t playing basketball I would be coaching somewhere or broadcasting or doing something with video. I’m very articulate and it’s easy for me to talk to people. I don’t get nervous in front of large crowds. I like teaching and I love basketball so all of that helps me to do some stuff now, especially since I started doing it at such a young age.
When I was younger I wanted to be a professional basketball player. I never thought I would make it to this level or have the opportunity to be able to play pro after college. Just to be here is a dream come true but I know I still have a long way to go.
My family is probably the most important thing in my life. My family is my motivation. I do everything for my family. I talk to my mom all the time. I have my mother, my sister and my grandmother’s names all tattooed on my arm, I see it every day. Family is definitely a very important part of my life.
Legacy it is what you make it. I think some people put more of a premium on it than others, but I really feel like when it comes to legacy, most of your legacy is made off the court than on the court within your career here. Of course you can make great moments on the court and people will remember that, but I think people remember more so who you were than how you played.
My favorite UM athlete is Jacory just because of the type of person he is. I know him and he’s very humble, he’s very intelligent and with the type of scrutiny he’s under every game, one mistake people turn on him and he’s still the same person, he doesn’t change. I definitely look up to him in a sense of adversity and I hope our team can do the same.
The U is a special place. I committed to come here before I even saw the campus. I just had a good feeling about the coaching staff and the people here. Once I met the team, it’s a real family atmosphere and everyone is so close-knit you can walk around and all of the athletes know each other and speak to each other when we see each other and it’s just a very unique place. It’s definitely one of a kind.
At The U, I’ve learned so much from Adrian Thomas. He just left and it’s crazy because I’m in a similar situation. He was here for six years because he had two season-ending injuries and now that I have a season-ending injury. I kind of get to go down that same path and I just hope I can be half the person he was because he definitely dealt with adversity and still kept his head high and came out on top.
Before every game I try not to think about the game as much as I try to stay focused on the  team and my teammates and go out and do anything possible to help them win. Not go out and score 20 points but if I need to get a block to win the game or a couple rebounds, I’m fine scoring no points and getting two rebounds and a block to win the game. I don’t really care about stats.
My favorite movie is I’d have to say Friday After Next. I watch so many movies I don’t have one favorite but that’s just the one I’m watching the most on Netflix all the time.
Who on the team would win Dancing with the Stars I’d have to say Malcolm. Pregame, he’s always dancing a lot and we always have fun in the locker room just dancing around being crazy.