Last month, Toney Douglas had a new roommate living with him right in the middle of the New York Knicks' regular season. But this wasn't just any ordinary roommate he found on Craigslist or an old college buddy who recently moved to New York looking for a job.
Instead, it was a professional athlete named Harry Douglas, Toney's older brother who plays wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. Harry spent three weeks living in Toney's Westchester home as he began preparing for life after football with an internship at the NFL's league office in Manhattan. Toney couldn't have been happier having a family member, mentor and workout partner all in one close by as he began the tail end of his rookie season in the NBA.
Toney and Harry, who are separated in age by only 18 months, currently talk every day, but nothing could have benefited Toney's progression this season more than having somebody in the same house who has already experienced a professional rookie season of his own. While Toney admits that "you have to have it in you" to make a living playing sports on the world's biggest stages, he does believe that having a role model around helps motivate him to reaching his highest potential.
"I don't think my brother motivated me to be a professional athlete but I feel like he motivates me with his work ethic," Toney, a 6-foot-1 guard, said after a recent practice. "He has a great worth ethic. When I was a senior in college and he was in his rookie year in the NFL, I kind of got a heads up before I came to the NBA."
Harry began his NFL career nearly two years ago when he was drafted by the Falcons in the third round of the 2008 draft. Last June, Toney was selected 29th overall in the NBA Draft after playing a combined four college seasons at Auburn and Florida State. The brothers have certainly come a long way since the days of being teammates in three different sports - basketball, football and baseball - at Jonesboro High School in Jonesboro, GA.
