By: Simon
Name: Channing Frye
High School: St. Mary's High School(Phoenix, AZ)
Freshman Year: 1998-1999
Before he was on the hottest team in the NBA, Channing Frye was just another tall, awkward 15-year-old freshman at St. Mary's High School in Phoenix, AZ. We caught up with the 6-10 forward at the EA NBA Live Summer Camp in Vancouver, Canada last summer and chatted about what he was like back in the day!
Simon: What were you like back then?
Channing Frye: I was about 210 pounds, 6'10", awkward, could barely dunk. I wasn't even going to make my Varsity team until somebody got hurt. I mean I was shy, but at the same time I was really open with my friends, it was just a different environment. I lived in Chandler (AZ), so I had to drive 20 minutes to school so I didn't really know anybody.
Simon: What was a typical outfit you would wear?
Channing Frye: I wore a uniform everyday to school. But outside of school? FUBU was hot and like Miller's Outpost. And what else? And One! Remember? And One was tight!
Simon: Did you play any other sports?
Channing Frye: No, nobody would let me (laughs).
Simon: What TV shows did you watch?
Channing Frye: Man what did I watch back then? I think American Gladiators was still on. I used to watch cartoons back in the day, like the old Batman. I can't really remember, I wasn't really an inside kid. I was an outside dude, I was always doing something outside, as hot as it was.
Simon: What was your favorite class?
Channing Frye: History was the coolest class.
Simon: And your least favorite class?
Channing Frye: Oh math! Math is terrible, I fear math!
Simon: Describe the friends you had as a freshman.
Channing Frye: Two of my boys I met in second grade and one I met in seventh (grade) so we all went to three different high schools. So when we came back home from school we would meet up at my house, and just kick it like that. And we always used to do cool stuff like play WCW vs. NWO on Nintendo 64. James Bond, when it first came out, we used to play that for hours and hours. Just my boys, man, they're different, they're like me, but they're different. So we always got along together, we never really had a lot of money. So we'd go to Virgin Records and listen to the CD's for about two hours just to get out of the house. Then go to the movies and chill, go to the Krispy Kreme and get the sample.
Simon: Were you a ladies man?
Channing Frye: No, to be honest. I had a girlfriend from pretty much sophomore year of high school to freshman year of college. I was pretty much on lockdown. In college I kind of did my thing here and there, but other than that no.
Simon: What was it like having a girlfriend?
Channing Frye: I definitely took care of her for what we had. We tried to take care of each other and split the dinners and stuff like that.
Simon: Did seniors pick on you?
Channing Frye: Oh yeah the seniors picked on me. They kind of picked on me because I was really shy and skinny. Most of them were football players.
Simon: When was the last time you broke out your yearbook?
Channing Frye: Oh man, heck yes! Sometimes I go an call the numbers and be like, 'hey this is Channing' (laughs). But everyone has pretty much moved on, it's so funny. It's been six or seven years. It's so funny to see everybody from high school and junior high and just die laughing from the stories from back in the day. It's awesome!
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