Former Oak Ridge player Josh Warren worked to go from Wal-Mart cashier to NBA summer league

McDonald's manager + Wal-Mart cashier = professional basketball player?
For Josh Warren, the jobs did add up to a dream. The 6-foot-9 center has come a long way since leaving Oak Ridge High in 2007.
Back then, he worked at McDonald's until about 1 in the morning five or six days a week. He'd be up for school at 7, then there was basketball practices, games and trying to pass the FCAT, a standardized test that no longer exists
"I look back and all I see is great memories," said Warren, 26. "I don't see one bad memory."

Not even when he failed the FCAT and wasn't awarded his diploma, or when he was working three jobs after high school. Not having to wait until he was 21 to go to college or playing at a community college before joining the Division I Troy Trojans in Alabama.

It all led to last week, to Warren sitting on the bench as part of the Memphis Grizzlies at the Orlando Pro Summer League. He didn't see a single minute of game time, but was the first to leap out of his seat and slap hands with teammates as the Grizzlies (5-0) became summer-league champions Friday following a 75-73 win in double overtime against the Orlando Magic White (4-1).

"You see [Warren] in the room and he just makes you want to have a good day," said Jordan Adams, the Grizzlies' 2014 first-round draft pick. "He's just a guy you'd like to have on your team. He didn't even play this trip, but he never got down on himself. He was there early for every meeting, just has got really good character."
Warren averaged 2.3 points per game and 3.8 rebounds during his career at Troy. He wasn't originally invited to summer league. He had worked out with the Grizzlies last summer and spent three months on the organization's developmental league team before heading to Japan to play for the Kumamoto Vorters.

Shortly after returning to Orlando in May, a workout partner told Warren he shouldn't wait around to get noticed, if he wanted to play in summer league . . . make it happen.
So, Warren sent a text message to Memphis general manager Chris Wallace.
"I took the chance," Warren said. "I was scared to call, of course. I just kept telling myself, 'Why not? Why not take a chance?' You've got to take a gamble in life."
Warren was driving when his phone rang on June 29. The words "Christopher Wallace, GM Grizzlies," flashed across the screen.
"I'm like, 'Oh my god,'" Warren said. "I had to pull over my car because I was just ecstatic."
Wallace told him the Grizzlies were in Orlando and to get to the hotel where they were staying as soon as possible for a physical, Warren said. After getting clearance from his Japanese team, Warren joined Memphis practices two days before the first summer-league game.

Grizzlies summer-league coach Jason March kept telling Warren to be ready to play, but it never happened. Bad matchups and five NBA roster players already on the summer-league team made it impossible. Warren didn't care, though. He said being able to play at Amway and practice with so many well-known young players made it all worthwhile.
"The first thing I did in the locker room after was apologize to him," March said. "His energy is incredible and it's contagious.
"The way he plays . . . that's what everyone needs. They need an energy guy off the bench. There's a lot of guys in the NBA that make a lot of money just by being that type of player."
Warren may live five miles away from Amway Center, but it was a long, winding road to play there.
He grew up playing in the Junior Magic youth basketball league at an area YMCA where his mother worked. He was a good player, but never a star on the court.

At 16, he started working at McDonald's to help pay the bills for his family of eight - mom, dad and six children.
He did OK with grades despite sharing study time with work and basketball, but he struggled with reading, his Achilles heel when it was time to take the FCAT.
Warren was allowed to walk at graduation because he passed his classes, but he never earned his diploma because of that test - something he kept secret from his family out of embarrassment.
It also kept him from being eligible for college. The coach at Brevard Community College - now Eastern Florida State College - said he'd have a scholarship waiting as soon as Warren was eligible.
Warren added Wal-Mart and an area resort to his resume, working non-stop for three years while continuing to re-take the FCAT without success. He ended up earning his GED instead, and the Brevard coach kept his promise.
Calls from Division I programs began rolling in toward the end of his second year.
"There's a lot of kids that play basketball and they've gotten to high places, but they've had a lot of help," former Oak Ridge coach Matt Turner said. "Josh has had no help. He makes opportunities for himself."
Kind of like that text message he sent.
Now, he's wearing a T-shirt that reads "2015 Orlando Pro Summer League Champions" and hoping his work leads to another summer tryout with the Grizzlies or another basketball job overseas.