The transition from fantasy to reality: It’s a tough change to grasp for people, including student and professional athletes who struggle to find out who they are and what they want after their athletic careers are over.

Sacramento State basketball Hall of Fame guard Jameel Pugh dealt with the experience firsthand.

After playing collegiately at University of Massachusetts and Sac State, he had a brief stay in the NBA Developmental League. He then headed overseas to play on teams in New Zealand and Australia before finishing his stint with a team in Mexico.

As he sits at his dining room table in his small one-bedroom apartment near Sac State, Pugh said that coming to the realization that his playing days were over was difficult.

“It was a tough transition for about six or seven months. I spent a lot of time in church, prayed about it, tried to figure out. Really trying to detox from basketball,” said Pugh, 28. “It was something I had done all my life and it was like “Am I really going to stop now at 25?'”

It all ended all too fast for Pugh, who was waived by a Mexican professional team following a loss. Team officials drove Pugh to the airport but it was closed.

Pugh found himself sleeping on top of his bags until the morning.

“That was my last experience with basketball and it really left me with the feeling of do I really want to continue playing?” said Pugh, who works in the Youth Development Department for the Sacramento City Unified School District and on the City of Sacramento planning commission.

Pugh credits his mother, Louise Pugh, for being one of the most important people in his life but even she struggled with the notion that her son’s NBA dreams were over.

“I just felt like if he stayed in the D-league and worked a little harder he could make it to the NBA,” Louise Pugh said. “He still had talent to continue.”

Although moving on from basketball was like moving on from a long-term relationship, Jameel Pugh’s transition was easier than most.

He had many mentors who told him life was more than basketball.

“The reason I’ve been able to navigate this differently is because I have my mentors who have pulled out things within me that I didn’t know were there,” he said. “They have always told me that I should never define myself by the sport I play. Even as a basketball player that was just a platform to kind of ease into other things.”

One of his many mentors is his former middle school basketball coach Jonathan Chirunga. Chirunga saw the academic potential in Pugh, and wanted to assist him in seeing that potential.

“Unfortunately being a young black male that could run and jump high, people would only look at him as a basketball player rather than a student,” Chirunga said. “I just wanted to help him realize he could be a very smart person and be a high-flying basketball player.”

But for some athletes, the transition is not so smooth. Whether it is a college athlete or a professional athlete whose career comes to an end, those individuals have identified themselves with that sport for so long it becomes their life.

“It’s a lack of preparation. People prepare you to make it to the NBA but no one prepares you to leave,” Pugh said. “No one prepares you to transition to the real world. The support system that you had in place since you were 10, now that you’re 35, no one’s holding your hand.”

Chirunga, who first coached Pugh in Fremont when Pugh was 13 years old, believes student-athletes need to better prepare themselves for their post-playing days.

“Most athletes aren’t going to be professional and secondly, they need to take advantage of the free education even if it takes you five years. Make sure you walk away with a bachelor’s degree,” Chirunga said. “Don’t be used by the system; use the system.”

Pugh is using the system and also pushing to make changes to the system.

His living room consists of some furniture, and an old television that has not been used in three years is tucked away in the corner.

The most important part of his living room is his “motivational corner.” This is where Pugh’s mind goes to work and his ideas flow.

A whiteboard above his desk reads: “I will not be afraid to follow my dreams because of fear of not making money.”

Whether it is studying for school or developing ideas for his “U BRIDGE THE GAP” program, which raises the awareness of the importance of education, the one constant on his mind is education.

His own struggles in school motivated him to help others.

“To fail seven math classes in college is ridiculous,” Pugh said. “I just didn’t have the skillset. I had to work extra hard but where is the time to work extra hard when you have to work extra hard to make it to play professional basketball?”

Pugh’s work with Sacramento City Unified provides him the opportunity to work with the youth and help them the same way he was helped.

“When he sees the potential in them, he wants to push them fast and furiously and sometimes I think he forgets, and I have to remind him. You’re looking in the mirror,” Chirunga said, “He’s learning.”

Pugh may have missed out on playing in the NBA. Deep down he may dream about playing hoops and the stardom he could have had, but his mother could not be more proud about where his life is headed.

“I’m just proud he’s successful after basketball,” said Louise Pugh. “I’m even more so now because he’s on the right path for success for himself.”

And the journey continues.

Dave Mason can be reached at [email protected]