Those who knew him best would tell you that sports never much interested Uhkoto Chatman. Instead, they would describe the Texas man as a hardcore news junky. Before liver cancer claimed his life on November 16, 2017, Uhkoto loved little more than to relax in his Dallas-area home watching 24-hour cable TV news networks.
If anything brought Uhkoto as much joy, perhaps it was the close relationship he enjoyed with his nephew, a boy who dreamt of becoming an aviator or a brain surgeon, loved the color green, and did enjoy sports, but also genuinely held his Uncle Uhkoto in high esteem. Eventually, though, another man would vie for the child's admiration.
"From the start," Jalen Mills confesses, "my first love was basketball. My mom loved basketball and used to take me to Dallas Mavericks games – Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse, all those guys." Great though these hometown players were, none could hold a candle in Jalen's eyes to Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 6-foot guard – known for his braided hairstyles and by his two nicknames, A.I. and The Answer – thrilled and inspired a prepubescent Jalen with his on-court killer instinct and fearlessness when taking on players much bigger and taller than him. When Jalen played youth basketball, he tried to emulate Iverson, down to his trademark uniform style.
"I tried to grow my hair out. I had a little bitty 'fro and tried to get braids, but my mom wouldn't let me," Jalen recalls. "I used to wear the headband, the finger wrap where he had his number, a sleeve on my arm. I had all his shoes, the Reebok Questions and Answers. I had his throwback 76er jersey when they were red, black, and a little bit of gold."
By the time Jalen reached high school, however, he'd fallen out of love with basketball because, as he admits with a self-effacing laugh, "Dudes got too tall, too fast!" He switched to football, starting off as a quarterback and wide receiver. During a workout with fellow wide receivers entering his sophomore year at Lancaster High, just south of Dallas, the defensive backs coach approached Jalen. He remembers the man saying, "Hey, I know you think you're a receiver, but you're really a DB. Why don't you come train with me? I think you have a chance to get a scholarship playing cornerback or in the secondary.'"
Now the secondary coach at the University of Missouri, Aaron Fletcher had made an offer and a prediction that would have positive repercussions in Jalen's life to this day.
"I loved competing and making plays and having fun with the guys playing football. It's a kid's sport to me," adds Jalen. "If I could get to college and a get a full ride, that would be a dream. My mom didn't have the funds to send me to any college. I had this opportunity to use what God blessed me with, so, why not."
Jalen agreed to switch to defense, and it paid almost immediate dividends. By his junior year, major college programs were showing keen interest. However, in the classroom, Jalen's grade point average couldn't keep up. Coach Fletcher knew Jalen needed to make another move – to a better school and a better environment that would help his player focus on his academics. His senior year, Jalen transferred to next-door DeSoto High, and Fletcher went with him. Together, they helped guide their new school to a 10-2 record.
As Fletcher predicted, Jalen eventually made the necessary grades to earn a football scholarship to Louisiana State University. As a true freshman in 2012, Jalen started all 13 games for the Tigers and finished with Freshman First-Team All-America honors. Only during an injury-shortened senior season did he miss any games at LSU. However, Jalen had done enough to be selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
"My coach changed my life," Jalen remarks about Fletcher's ongoing influence. "My first couple of years of high school, I was a problem child a little bit, just trying to be with the cool kids. He's all about helping the youth. He's a blessing. I still talk to him. He's still my mentor."
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