The black barber shop has long served as a location for open conversation about any and every topic. Before Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall donned white jackets in Coming to America, the locale has served as “a sanctuary for black men“.

A few weeks ago, I was waiting for the chair to open and engaged in a discussion about the state of rap music and who was worth listening to. This interaction was the genesis for the RDAT Tournament and I was hoping to test out the remaining albums, but the tall man in the next chair took precedence.

Sean sat me down and turned the chair. With his back to me, I could only notice the length of the tall man’s legs at a 90-degree angle meaning the height of his knees. They were about level to the chest of the man standing in front of him discussing women’s college basketball with a passion.

I worked for a season with the Lady Gamecocks and have witnessed the spectacle that is was the pre-game theatrics before a University of Tennessee Lady Vols game with Pat Summitt at the helm. My knowledge has waned since it was no longer my profession, but when the man turned slightly I felt as if I recognized his face.

Looking at his profile, I knew he was ‘someone’ and silently motioned to the man he was talking to in hopes of some kind of signal. He acknowledged that it was indeed someone and he might have said exactly who, but I couldn’t understand. When another barber came close, again I quiestly asked,

“Who is that?”

“That’s P.J. Brown.”

Earlier in the day, I was chastised by a couple of my fellow employees about my poor memory. That if it was about books or movies, I knew but couldn’t remember simple work things like whether my manager would be in the office tomorrow. I didn’t disagree, only looking to include sports and music to the list of things I actually do remember.

Needless to say, I remember P.J. Brown as a 6-11 power forward who played for the New Jersey Nets before I left for college. I’ve never been a big NBA fan, but was surrounded by them and was still playing the sport at the time. The best way to describe my game is a point power forward, willing to bring the ball up court and start the offense, make the extra pass and crash the boards.

Despite my limited size, I related to forward position and liked players like Brown, who reached and remained in the league for his ability to rebound and play defense. Wikipedia notes he was voted into the NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times and was part of the 2008 Boston Celtics championship team.

I didn’t notice the ring, but the conversations dancing around the room revolved around NBA players. One was about what exactly constitutes a superstar. Another asked how good was Scottie Pippen and was he a star. Who is better – Allen Iverson or Steph Curry?

Occasionally someone would request their question be answered by someone who was actually in the league, allowing deference to his knowledge about the players from a first-hand basis. Brown interacted and responded from a seated position, never raising his voice but clearly cool being the center of the conversation without serving as the main source.

When he rose, talk had turned to Kevin Durant and if he made the players around him better. I looked up (that’s the only way you can truly see a man who stands 6-feet, 11-inches tall) as he walked past me to get his jacket from the hook on the wall.

“What were you saying?”

“That if Kevin Durant is scoring 25-30 points with good defense, isn’t he making his team better?”

“Yeah, but they were asking if he makes other people around him better.”

“But he’s dishing off every now and again, maybe three, four assists a game…”

“And his ability to score means he’s drawing defenders to him. So yeah, I see what you’re saying.”

He nodded in agreement as he walked to the door and made his exit. The barber who had provided his identity earlier mentioned another experience with an athlete.

“Every time he came in the shop, everyone would start talking football. I would just cut his hair and did for a while. Eventually, I asked somebody who he was. They said Jesse Tuggle.”

Tuggle was a staple of the Atlanta Falcons defense from 1987 to 2000, reaching five Pro Bowls and earning three All-Pro honors. But he was just another head in the chair to the barber, just like me.

I paid and left, fully understanding why Books and Sean were discussing the benefits of lowering the basket to 9 feet for women’s basketball and if that would peak interest. Brown’s daughter, Kalani, is a 6-7 junior at Baylor. A finalist for Player of the Year honors, the Lady Bears are currently 24-1 and ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Their next three games are in Texas, which doesn’t answer why P.J. was in Metro Atlanta driving away in a SUV with dark tints. He turned left and I turned right.