All language subtitles for Home.Town.Bens.Workshop.S02E04.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-NTb

You know, there ain't
many people out there

who can say
they're the first person

in the world to do something.

Lisa Leslie is on that list

for multiple things.

She is the first athlete
to win

four consecutive gold medals
in a team sport.

She's also the first
WNBA star

to win MVP for the season,

MVP for the all-star game,

and MVP for the playoffs.

She's the first WNBA superstar

to come to my workshop.

And because Lisa
is so focused on community

and leadership,
and using her platform

to give people a voice,

we've got the perfect person
in Laurel that we can build

something for her
to honor her.

- Ben.
- Hey.

- Lisa Leslie.
- What's up?

Are you in here shooting
buckets?

- What's happening?
- It's the closest thing

we get to in the shop.

- Okay, hi.
- How are you?

Oh, 6'5".

Look at you,
a normal-sized person.

So is everybody
in your family tall?

Yes, my mom was 6'2"...

- 6'3"...
- Okay.

she's probably about
6'1" now.

Sorry, mom. She...

she's coming down
a little bit.

She said some people
are blessed on the inside

and some people are blessed
on the outside.

And we've been blessed
both, meaning, you know,

we have great height
and to be proud of that

but also,
to know it's important

to be good on the inside.

Role models and being
a good role model

it's so key, for kids.

I think it's so important

and becoming a role model
to me

was not just about signing
the autographs,

but it's also changing
the perspective...

people's perspective
about me personally,

about women's basketball,

and it's really a blessing.

- So I love it.
- Yeah.

I wanted to build something

that would kind of center
around that,

having a platform
to speak from.

- Yes. Yes.
- Okay? So first time...

- in a woodshop?
- This is my first time

in a woodshop, in fact,
I took drama

when I could have taken woodshop

in middle school,
so I missed it.

I took drama also
instead of woodshop.

Did you? See?

Just one more thing
we have in common.

Let's go see
what we're gonna build.

We're gonna actually
work, huh?

- Yeah, we are.
- Oh, wow.

All right, so when I found out

that you were going
to be here,

I was pretty dang excited.

The really cool thing
is our Laurel High School

varsity girls won the state
championship this year.

- Woo-hoo.
- And it's the first time

in school history
that our girls have won

- the state championship.
- Really?

- Isn't that cool?
- That is a huge accomplishment

and you can't
take it lightly.

So Coach Cooley, this was her
first state championship.

- Oh, nice.
- She had actually planned

on retiring and the girls
wanted her to come back,

so she stayed one more season.
They won.

- Wow, how inspiring.
- And...

I know. Isn't that great?
There's a movie

- in there somewhere.
- Right.

The cool thing
about her is that

it's less about raising
incredible athletes

and more about raising
incredible people.

And so I went to the school
and talked to them.

And they actually said, "Well,
we don't have a podium."

So I wanted to do something
for the basketball team,

but then also something that
was more for the community.

- Look at you Ben, I like that.
- See?

How do you build it?

Here's how we're gonna
build it.

It's gonna be the shape

of the key in basketball,

and then it will all be plexiglass

so whoever is sitting
in the crowd

that you're speaking to,
they will be able to see.

The top of the key
will have a circle,

the free throw line is where
our tabletop will be.

And then I want to use maple
for all of the frame

and all of the trim,
because basketball courts

are built from maple,
but then we'll incorporate

mahogany bow tie joints,

because the Laurel High
School Tornadoes

are Cardinal and gold.

And that'll give a nod
to the Laurel Tornadoes.

The main thing is that
it's an opportunity

for the young people
to be able to aspire

to stand up
to be able to speak

to be able to give back
to the community.

So I think at this point,
we probably shouldn't even

call it a podium,
we'll call it a platform

because a platform
is of space of power,

and also a place of
communicating need, right?

- Bringing awareness.
- Leadership.

Leadership, all those things.

- So let's get started...
- Way to go.

- with this rough stuff.
- All right.

We're gonna get back
to math class. All right?

- Yeah. Let's do it.
- I've already done

the dimensions in my head.

In basketball,
some plays can be run

a little looser,
we can't slough off on this.

This has to be
to the decimal point.

If it is off,
our circle will not line up.

So that's what
we're going to use.

We're gonna cut sections
out of this, okay?

We have to figure out
the length of our pieces

and what angle they need
to be to make a circle.

So the first step
is going to be actually

cutting the segments.

Picture a stop sign,

it's straight lines

that create almost a circle.

That is what we are doing,

is we are taking
straight lines

and creating a hexadecagon.

A hexagon has six sides,
a decagon has ten.

- It's a hexadecagon.
- Look at you, Ben.

So we're gonna call
this play.

- Okay.
- We're gonna call it

the Hex Flex.

The Hex Flex.

- We're running a flex drill.
- We're running a flex drill.

That's right. All right,
so this is to figure out

the length
that comes out to...

Twenty-eight times
three point one four

divided by sixteen
comes out to...

it comes out to like
about five-and-a-half.

That's what I got.
What do you think?

- Around 5.49.
- That sounds right.

So then to figure out
that angle,

we do three-sixty
divided by sixteen

divided by two.
11.25 degrees.

- Okay.

- For the angle.
- Once we glue it all together,

- it will make a circle.
- Got it.

We got it.

- I'm ready for adventure.
- We're ready.

Let's do it.

We've got our strategy,
we've got our game plan.

Now we're going to actually
cut out the segments

and I'm gonna let Lisa
cut these.

Practice makes perfect.

Your coach is going
to show you one time,

then you got to take over
and you got to run it

until you understand it.

So I'm gonna let her cut

all 16 pieces.

So we'll cut them
a little bit big

and then we'll sand them
down to size,

and then it'll join up perfectly.

It's like a fingernail,
because if you do it

too short, you can't fix it.
But if it's too long,

I can bring it down.
I got you.

- You got this?
- I got it.

So it's got a little trigger
up here, a safety.

Yeah, you flip it over
and then pull the trigger.

There you go. You got it.

That had a little kick to it.

It's got a little torque.

- Is that it? Boom.
- Boom.

- One down fifteen to go.
- Fifteen.

So your mom
was a mail carrier.

She was a mail carrier.

So my granny
was a mail carrier.

She became a mail carrier
to provide for the family.

- Wow. Look at us.
- I mean...

- It's amazing.
- So she's a mail carrier.

She's a mail carrier,
and then once

my mom got pregnant
with my younger sister,

she decided that she wasn't
making enough money

to take care of three girls

and went to become
a truck driver.

So you know what's great
about mom

is that she sat us down.

And she's told
my sisters and I,

give her five years
to give us a better life.

So like she would leave
Monday morning?

She was gone most of the month

and that was the toughest time
I think in my life

and my sister's life,
to be without your mom

for that long.

It was sad but it also...

- made me stronger.
- Yeah.

Made me a leader,
I had to take care

- of my little sister.
- I was going to say...

yeah, that it teaches
leadership, like...

so my dad is also...
was a truck driver.

Same thing like the heartbreak
of seeing them go,

but then also being proud
of them

- and what they were doing.
- Yeah,

my mom worked very hard. Yeah.

- All right, let's go.
- Let's get to work.

Yeah.

I'm having Lisa
cut these a little big,

then we're going to take them
over to our sander

and we're going to set
the angle perfectly

on our guide there,
on our slide.

So you turn the dust
collector on.

On, oh.

By sanding it,
it's going to give us

a perfect glue surface.

So once we join it up,
it's gonna make

that joint even stronger.

All right, do the other side.

All woods act differently.

I wanted to use Maple
because basketball courts

are built from maple.

Maple doesn't really expand

and contract
like a lot of woods do.

It's hard,
but it still has flex.

So if you ever are down low

and you're looking across
a court

and players
are running on it,

you'll see the floor give

and flex a little bit.

Players will tell you
they prefer to play

on a wooden court
because of that,

because you can jump a little
higher and it feels better

on your knees
and your shins.

- Perfect.
- Perfect.

Before we actually
glue it up,

we're going to dry fit
it together

and we have a strap clamp

and what we do, is we'll lay
them all together,

get them as close as possible,

then we'll put the strap
around it,

and when we tighten
that strap up,

it draws it all together perfectly.

And we have a perfect circle.

So you see here you know
that it's perfect

- because once we clamped it...
- Yes.

- It's all close.
- We're tight.

And now we're gonna
take it apart,

- and put glue on it.
- What?

- Are you serious?
- This is a dry fit.

Oh, so we got to
glue them. Okay.

So you started playing
basketball in seventh grade.

Were you good?

- No.
- Really?

I was not good
because I had never played

and I didn't know the rules.

But I have one boy
cousin, Craig.

And Craig was amazing.

I don't know how at that age,

he probably was like
only 18 or 19.

He sacrificed a lot
of his time

to take me to the gym.

And I remember the first time
we went to the gym,

I was thinking that
I was going there

just to play with the ball.
And he's like,

"So listen, put the ball down,

and sit on the wall,

you know, hold that".
And I'm like, "Wait, what?

I just came to play with
the ball". And he was like,

"No, either you're gonna
play basketball

and you're gonna
get serious,

or we're not
coming back again."

And he taught me that it's
not just about basketball.

It's about taking care
of your body,

which was so helpful,
and I'm really thankful

to Craig because when I think
about how young he was really,

I mean, what young male
takes that time

out of their life to invest
in like a 13 year old.

- He was a mentor.
- Absolutely.

He was helping you pursue
your hoop dreams.

Hoop dreams. I like that.

All right,
while this is drying,

we're gonna work
on our uprights,

- the sides of the paint.
- Okay.

Let's go cut some
longer pieces.

Let's do it.

All right, so now
that we've got it glued up,

while it's drying,
we're going to cut

the sides of the lane,

which are going to act
as the leg for our build.

Now this is the only saw
that I'm afraid of.

So I'm gonna let you do it.

No.

I'll do this one.

All right, so you ended up
living in Inglewood, right?

I did. So I was actually
in school,

from kindergarten...
from preschool,

all the way through seventh
grade in Compton, California.

- So I think I'm from Compton.
- Okay.

I then moved one year
to Carson with my aunt...

- Okay.
- Where my cousin Craig lived,

and then I only lived there
for one year

then I moved to Inglewood, California.

Why the move to Inglewood?

Because I went to go live
with my grandma.

- Okay.
- We moved around a lot

because my mom was on the road

and then ninth grade year

my mom stopped driving
cross country,

found a job locally
and that really was awesome.

For the first time we're
all back living together.

My mom started to come
to my basketball games, like,

she had not seen me play
before that.

- She'd never seen you play?
- No.

- Dang.
- Yeah, she was gone.

Mom came to my games
in high school though

so I was... I was happy

but I do remember it being
very specific, 'cause if

my mom was there,
she was always talking

and so I'm playing
in the game.

And afterwards I'm like,
"Mom, you miss it.

You didn't even see
when I did the shot.

You didn't see this
because you were over there

talking to that lady."
She's like, "Baby,

I saw everything, you know?"

So it was sweet.
I love that

she was able
to be there and...

- That's awesome.
- Yeah.

So this piece here.

This is gonna be our upright,

- our legs, the lane.
- Yeah.

So I'm gonna cut this
to length,

and then let's go cut
out our circle.

Okay, let's do it.

So now we'll take our circle

and we'll install a jig
which is just a cross piece.

We have a metal dowel
that goes into that.

And then we have a table
extension on our bandsaw

and down the center of it,
we have holes drilled

so that we know exactly
which one

to drop our jig into.

So that when we spin it
on that dowel,

it cuts a perfect circle.

Smooth, huh?

Whoo-hoo.

- How about that?
- That was cool.

Oh, We got some scraps left,
making buckets?

- Oh.
- Oh, airball.

I read that you scored
100 points

in a game in high school.

No you read that I scored
101 points

in half of a game
in high school, right?

- Only one-half?
- One-half,

16 minutes of glory.

- That's crazy.
- Did you win?

I didn't realize that
that was like a big deal.

I mean, meaning that day
I was like,

"wow, oh my God, like,
that was cool, right?"

I went to the movies,
go home the next day

I never make it back
to class, like...

I had press from every
channel, newspaper,

Sports Illustrated,
like, USA Today.

Everyone was at my school

so I did interviews
all day long.

- Dang.
- Crazy, right?

All right,
so that's two half circles.

We're gonna work
on our bowties.

All right. Let's get that one.

- So this...
- Oh, the bowtie.

That's a bowtie.

We're gonna add butterfly
joints, bowtie joints

is actually known
as a dovetail key.

It is a key that locks
two things together.

For our segmented circle,

it'll make that joint
a little stronger.

And it's going to be
so pretty.

Having that mahogany
against the maple,

it's going to really
stand out and really pop.

So what was the jump
to college like?

Oh man, well the jump

to college was...
it was a real jump.

And a lot of times,

athletes don't understand
how big the gap is

- from high school to college.
- Yeah.

It's huge. It was tough.
When you're a freshman,

I remember going
into practice,

I was the number one player
going into college.

And I went and chose USC,

which was not a very
good team at that time.

But I had to make a choice
if I wanted to go

to a program that was already established

or help establish
a new program.

So I did the latter
and tried to help establish

a new program at USC.

And I mean in that way
you were kind of...

using your platform
as an athlete...

- to show change.
- Absolutely.

- Gave me a voice...
- Yeah.

In Los Angeles to impact
other young people

who wanted to go to college,
from the inner city

and showing them
that you can do it.

Gosh. That's cool.

All right. Now let's see
if that lines up.

Put a little glue on it.
I know you're ready.

Bam, Bam.

Nice.

In this shop,
we have cut metal,

we've cut brass,

we even cut the cheese
every now and then.

We actually...

for lunch, eating cheese,

but today we are cutting plexiglass.

First time for that.

And so what we're going
to do, we're going to cut

our half circle
out of the top,

sand it to get
the perfect size,

and then we're going to cut
a groove

that the glass will fit into.

Here we go.

I'm gonna clear us
a spot here.

I like the plexiglass.
This is a awesome idea.

I was thinking about speaking
being in front of someone

but still being
a part of the crowd.

Yes, being transparent.

Being transparent.

- Open.
- Open.

Leadership is inclusive.

- I like it.
- I love it.

The assembly,
we're going to slot

our plexiglass in.

Then we will put
the bottom on.

And then this is our base.

It's gonna go at the bottom,

but then we're going to add
quarter-circle brackets

to stabilize it.

And then the bottom half
of the circle is gonna go in

the table top half circle
is gonna go in.

We built the podium
standard height, 36 inches.

It just looks really small
next to Lisa and I.

So, okay, WNBA.

- We got next.
- We got next.

That first dunk
kind of changed the game.

I think for fans
and for viewers,

- and probably for players.
- I think that in our country

we as the women
are very conscious

that we were trying
to grow this game.

Yes, it was about winning.
Yes, it was about...

championships, I love winning.

I love having on the purple
and gold

and representing Los Angeles.

But I saw it as a bigger opportunity.

And even for little girls
that look like me out there

who didn't get a chance
to see a lot of black women.

That was another opportunity

to be able to represent
my community.

When thinking about
your career.

Would you say the WNBA
was the pinnacle?

WNBA, so winning two
championships was amazing.

We lost the third one
so I'm always

a little salty about that.

Won several different
MVP awards,

whether it was all-star games

or regular season,
I have three MVPs.

Eight or nine all Star-games
I have played in.

I don't know all of my
statistics, but...

nothing beats a winning
Olympic gold medal

in our country, 1996.

That's really the highlight
of my career.

- Of all of it.
- Of all of it.

1996 Olympic team.

- That's pretty cool.
- Because you're in the USA

and 35,000 fans
chanting "USA", like,

doesn't that give you
chills still.

Yeah, I mean It's still...
just like hearing it is...

- Yeah, that's the best.
- That's big.

How many gold medals?

I have four Olympic
gold medals

and two world championship
gold medals.

No big deal.

All right,
we're gonna do the finishing.

- Let's do it.
- And then we're ready
to deliver.

- We gotta get this
thing delivered.
- Yeah.

The front of the plexi

honestly looks
a little empty.

And so I'm wanting
to add something.

And I'm thinking, an L.

L for Lisa.
L for Laurel.

L for...

- Leadership.
- ...leadership.

And then the cherry on top

is the little brass plaque
that says

dedicated to Coach Cooley.

All right.

Well, from one coach
to another,

let's go give this
to Coach Cooley and...

- Yes.
- The Laurel Lady Tornadoes.

Let's do it.

I love building things
that connect to...

the people I'm working with,

that connect to the people
that we're giving it to.

Every detail about it
was thought out

with the person
helping build it in mind

and the person
we're building it for in mind.

This is a symbol of giving
these girls a platform,

something that they
can speak from,

something that they can
lead from.

This is a really
special moment

to be here for this.

Not every day
that a WNBA superstar

shows up at the girls varsity
basketball practice.

They don't know that
we're coming.

I can't wait to see
the surprise.

Here we go.

- Hey, you guys.
- Laurel Tornadoes?

Hi, ladies.

Hi.

Hello, hello, hello.

There's a lot of champions
in the room right now.

Yes, go tell it.

Hey, coach.

- Coach Cooley in the house.
- Miss Leslie, in the house.

- We brought this.
- How short you are.

Especially for you.

Because she and Lisa

view this game
as more than a game,

but as a way to have
a platform

- to speak from.
- Oh, look at you...

- dropping knowledge.
- I mean...

- I like it.
- Lisa and I

built this together...

- Today.
- Today.

- All day.
- All day.

And then we got
an L here for...

For Lisa Leslie,
or for Laurel.

Or...

Or for leadership.

The reason that I'm here
is not just to bring

this platform,

but it is about
hopefully inspiring

you young ladies
who are the future

to use your voice
and use your platform

to speak and you may not play
pro basketball,

whatever you choose to do,
do your best.

You can be successful.

But it takes
a lot of hard work

and courage,
to have the courage

to believe in yourself
and surround yourself

with other people
who inspire you

and believe in you
like Coach Cooley.

Because you need to have
the courage to believe,

why not you?

We are role models to...

cousins and nieces,
and nephews.

We are role models
in our community

and our churches.

It's about using your voice

and the opportunities
that you have

right here in your community.

So Coach Cooley,
thank you for all that you do.

We appreciate you.
And would you like to say

a few words on your podium
that's dedicated to you.

Thank you, thank you.

I would like to thank you
all for this.

This means so much to us.

And I would like to recognize
these young lady

not only just basketball players,

but as great young ladies.

And we would just like
to thank you again

for taking the time
to recognize us.

And Coach Lisa,
we appreciate you.

Thank you.

Coach Cooley
and Lisa Leslie,

these are two ladies
who have excelled

in the world of basketball.

But what they are
excelling more at

is raising role models

and young women
of the community.

Lisa had people helping her
along the way

she had role models
to look up to,

to have her in Laurel

to bring that
to the next generation.

That's incredible.