Everyone knows Flavor Flav for the large clock he wears around his neck, his “Yeah, boyeee!” catch phrase, his VH1 reality shows, and as one of the founding members of the rap group Public Enemy.
But to Shep Garner, he’s something different. He’s an inspiration, his famous cousin who has motivated Garner through his many musical accomplishments and their frequent telephone conversations.
“To see someone make it to that level of success [from your family], it lets you know that it’s possible to make it,” Garner said in a phone interview. “He just showed me everything is possible.”
“I let him know, there’s nothing in the world you can’t do,” Flav said.
The two are as different as their paths in life. Flavor Flav (real name Williams Jonathan Drayton Jr.) never attended college, throwing himself into his music after attending Manhattan Center High School. Garner is a basketball lifer, the starting shooting guard for NCAA Tournament-hopeful Penn State. The 58-year-old Flav is as loud and energetic as he is depicted, according to the 23-year-old Garner, who is reserved and laid-back.
“That’s him 100 percent of the time,” the 6-foot-2 senior from Chester, Pa., said. “That’s not a show. He wakes up with a bundle of energy and goes to sleep the same way.”
But there are similarities in their passion, work ethic and the way they treat people. One message Flav got through to his cousin was to appreciate his fans and never take them for granted. He’s made a point of telling Garner, now that’s he’s in the public eye, any mistake can change your life, as Flav has learned.
“He’s been a big part of Shep’s world,” his mother, Kim Pinder-Garner, said. “He has been a great source of inspiration.”
At a young age, Garner had a backstage pass to meeting a who’s who of the music world, thanks to his famous cousin. Flav, who played football in high school and is a basketball enthusiast, only began attending Garner’s games in college because he didn’t want to be too much of a distraction. They would — and still do — frequently talk on the phone about life and basketball. Flav would be critical and supportive, wanting the best for his cousin. Living in Las Vegas, he watches him as frequently as possible, tweets regularly about him and may make the cross-country trip for this week’s Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
“I feel like I’m his whole capacity crowd when I’m watching,” Flav said. “It’s overwhelming watching my cousin out there. Every time he makes a shot, I get crazier than the crowd that’s there watching it live.”
He has a lot to be proud of. Led by Garner and his three former Roman Catholic High School (Pa.) teammates — Big Ten leading scorer Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens and Nazeer Bostick — Penn State enters this week’s Big Ten Tournament in play for its first NCAA Tournament in seven years. When Garner committed to the program, picking the Nittany Lions over the likes of Xavier, Florida, Miami, Villanova and Saint Joseph’s, it was a middling team known as a football school.
“Shep always takes the hard road,” Kim said with a laugh. “He likes the challenges.”
Seventh-seeded Penn State (19-12), which plays Thursday night against No. 10 Northwestern, is still a football school, but basketball is making headway, Garner believes. The crowds have increased each year. The attitude toward the team has changed.
Tenth in all-time Penn State scoring (1,503) and fourth in 3-pointers made (304), he’s played a major a role in the turnaround. His presence was key in Carr, Stevens and Bostick following him to State College. He began the Philadelphia-to-Penn State pipeline that also includes sophomore forward Mike Watkins.
“It really, really opened the door for us,” Penn State coach Pat Chambers said. “We’ll always be indebted to Shep for what he did for the program.”
There was slight progression in each of his first three years. This season, however, Penn State knocked off No. 13 Ohio State twice, beat Nebraska, and is on the bubble, needing a few wins to go dancing. The selfless Garner has sacrificed for the greater good of the team. He moved over to shooting guard once Carr came aboard. He’s given the spotlight to the younger players in the program and taken fewer shots. He’s averaging 10.3 points on 8.2 shots per game, the fewest of his career, while chipping in two rebounds per game.
“We’re brothers, and family sacrifices for each other,” he said. “I played the right role for this team to win.”
Whatever happens, Garner can say he helped change the program. That was his mission from the start.
“I think we’ve already created a culture that’s going to be remembered way after we leave here,” he said. “We built this thing from the ground up. We brought a lot of fans along the way. It would be special to end it with [an NCAA Tournament berth].”
If that happens, there’s a good chance his No. 1 fan will be in the crowd, a large clock around his neck, screaming “Yeah, boyeee!” every time Garner hits a shot.