Where Are They Now? Mike Hall
7/2/2020 10:19:00 AM | Men's Basketball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
Men's basketball alum's 14th pro season was unlike any other
Mike Hall was ready for his farewell tour. The former GW forward had made peace with the notion that his 14th season in pro basketball, and fifth straight playing in Italy's Serie-A2, would likely be his last.
As with so much else around the globe, Hall's plans this spring changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of savoring one last run with UCC Assigeco Piacenza, he's spent the past three-plus months in Alexandria, Va., relishing full-time dad duties and pondering what's next.
"My life right now is pretty damn boring," Hall said with a laugh. "Just hanging out at home, trying to survive like everyone else."
Hall, now 36, has been doing his best to stay in shape and will keep his options open heading forward, but if this is the end of the line for his time on the court, the Chicago native can be proud of all he's accomplished.
A self-described "GPA recruit" rather than a headliner in GW's decorated Class of 2002 recruiting class, Hall became a vital cog in one of the most successful periods in program history – and last November, a member of the GW Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted alongside classmate Pops Mensah-Bonsu.
A two-time All A-10 Second Team pick, Hall showed he belonged among the world's best by earning a roster spot with the Washington Wizards during the 2006-07 season, and he's continued his pro career all over the world, battling through a series of injuries, including a torn Achilles and three knee surgeries, to keep going.
Understandably, Hall's game isn't as high-flying as it used to be, but he's proud to have earned his first two team MVP awards in his 30s and even more proud that he's extended his pro run long enough to share it with his 5-year-old son MJ.
"I've had fun every step of the way," Hall said. "I was always the type of player who just played with my heart. I enjoyed it. I never took myself too seriously. It's still a game. Every game, I'm out there smiling, having fun. To be able to play with that same joy at 35 that I played with at 15 was just awesome for me every day."
Hall has been preparing for his next step for years, making sure he's ready for the transition to scouting or coaching when the time is right.
In Italy, he's taken it upon himself to join his coaches regularly to break down film and help game plan for opponents. Each summer, he travels to the NBA Summer League to network and makes stops around the country to see old friends and learn more about the game, including a visit to GW head coach Jamion Christian's camp last year.
He's excited about the chance to pay his experience forward to the next generation.
"I feel like I can help a lot of young kids given my story, given my trajectory," Hall said.
Yet, Hall was happy to put that future on hold to join UCC Assigeco Piacenza this season.
Although he's also logged time in Spain, Turkey, Greece, Argentina, Venezuela and Israel, Hall has played the majority of his career in Italy. He's learned the language and embraced the culture, and in turn, the basketball fans there have been good to him.
"It's just an amazing way of life, and I fell in love with it," Hall said. "I've made a lot of good friends there that I still talk to daily, so I just kind of stayed. When I had the opportunity to go other places, I just stayed in Italy because I was comfortable."
This season, Hall was making sure to appreciate the bustling cafes, boisterous dinners that extend deep into the night – and yes, even the marathon practice sessions that can sometimes span three hours.
On the court, he was as reliable as ever, averaging 14.7 points and 10.6 rebounds heading into the home stretch. Not bad for an old guy.
"At a certain point, you just realize two points is two points," Hall joked. "If they want to see dunks, they can YouTube it, but I'll save my knees and just go for the nice, little layup. Live to play another day."
Then, COVID-19 put a quick and scary end to the season, just like that. In mid-February, the initial outbreak in Italy hit just a town over from where Hall was playing in Piacenza.
"The whole thing was surreal," Hall said. "We were seeing life change a few days before everything hit the news.
"The city was slowing down. All you heard was ambulance sirens every 10 minutes. Then they cut the grocery store hours and they shut everything down – schools, restaurants, bars, everything. The whole city was completely pitch-black by 5 p.m. every day."
After about three weeks alone in lockdown, Hall went to the airport, bought a ticket and headed back to Northern Virginia, worried about being trapped across the globe from MJ and his wife, Kacey, a former GW gymnast.
Ever since, he's been at home, embracing the new normal. He's teaching math and reading lessons, leading arts and crafts projects and when time allows, introducing MJ to the finer points of the Super Mario video games.
"It's definitely an adjustment because he's ready to go at 6:30-7 every morning," Hall said. "He's ready to play immediately. There's no warm-up. He's just ready to go, but it's been great. It's tough to be away from the family, but now I'm here and get to watch his personality grow."
With no gym access for most of the spring, Hall rolled with the punches. He's actually lost weight with his quarantine regimen, recently hitting a milestone on the scale at his senior-year playing weight of 225 pounds.
Hall has eaten healthier thanks to the elimination of postgame fast-food runs, and he's taken to running more than ever before, up to 25 miles per week.
"My life has been devoted to basketball and the same types of workouts for the past 20 years," Hall said. "This situation now has definitely forced me to find different ways to stay active, stay fit, stay sane."
Moving forward, Hall will be ready for anything. It's an attitude that has served him well on his basketball journey.
Despite his humble recruitment, Hall's NBA dream became reality thanks to a Hall of Fame career in Foggy Bottom, capped by the unforgettable 2005-06 campaign in which GW streaked through the A-10 regular season unbeaten to break into the national top 10. ("I'm honestly still a bit shocked but for sure, grateful," Hall said of the HOF nod from his alma mater. "It meant the world just to be even considered.")
Since heading overseas for the first time in 2008, Hall has appreciated every stop, showing a keen ability to adapt to any situation in a pro career that's been anything but boring.
"It just shows how fickle this professional athlete thing is," Hall said. "If you're not in the right situation or don't get the break or have the right person believe in you, it's over before you know it. I'm just lucky being more of a cerebral player, a team-first guy that's found my way from team to team, from country to country, just trying to fit in that way. It's been a wild, wild ride."
As with so much else around the globe, Hall's plans this spring changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of savoring one last run with UCC Assigeco Piacenza, he's spent the past three-plus months in Alexandria, Va., relishing full-time dad duties and pondering what's next.
"My life right now is pretty damn boring," Hall said with a laugh. "Just hanging out at home, trying to survive like everyone else."
Hall, now 36, has been doing his best to stay in shape and will keep his options open heading forward, but if this is the end of the line for his time on the court, the Chicago native can be proud of all he's accomplished.
A self-described "GPA recruit" rather than a headliner in GW's decorated Class of 2002 recruiting class, Hall became a vital cog in one of the most successful periods in program history – and last November, a member of the GW Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted alongside classmate Pops Mensah-Bonsu.
A two-time All A-10 Second Team pick, Hall showed he belonged among the world's best by earning a roster spot with the Washington Wizards during the 2006-07 season, and he's continued his pro career all over the world, battling through a series of injuries, including a torn Achilles and three knee surgeries, to keep going.
Understandably, Hall's game isn't as high-flying as it used to be, but he's proud to have earned his first two team MVP awards in his 30s and even more proud that he's extended his pro run long enough to share it with his 5-year-old son MJ.
"I've had fun every step of the way," Hall said. "I was always the type of player who just played with my heart. I enjoyed it. I never took myself too seriously. It's still a game. Every game, I'm out there smiling, having fun. To be able to play with that same joy at 35 that I played with at 15 was just awesome for me every day."
Hall has been preparing for his next step for years, making sure he's ready for the transition to scouting or coaching when the time is right.
In Italy, he's taken it upon himself to join his coaches regularly to break down film and help game plan for opponents. Each summer, he travels to the NBA Summer League to network and makes stops around the country to see old friends and learn more about the game, including a visit to GW head coach Jamion Christian's camp last year.
He's excited about the chance to pay his experience forward to the next generation.
"I feel like I can help a lot of young kids given my story, given my trajectory," Hall said.
Yet, Hall was happy to put that future on hold to join UCC Assigeco Piacenza this season.
Although he's also logged time in Spain, Turkey, Greece, Argentina, Venezuela and Israel, Hall has played the majority of his career in Italy. He's learned the language and embraced the culture, and in turn, the basketball fans there have been good to him.
"It's just an amazing way of life, and I fell in love with it," Hall said. "I've made a lot of good friends there that I still talk to daily, so I just kind of stayed. When I had the opportunity to go other places, I just stayed in Italy because I was comfortable."
This season, Hall was making sure to appreciate the bustling cafes, boisterous dinners that extend deep into the night – and yes, even the marathon practice sessions that can sometimes span three hours.
On the court, he was as reliable as ever, averaging 14.7 points and 10.6 rebounds heading into the home stretch. Not bad for an old guy.
"At a certain point, you just realize two points is two points," Hall joked. "If they want to see dunks, they can YouTube it, but I'll save my knees and just go for the nice, little layup. Live to play another day."
Then, COVID-19 put a quick and scary end to the season, just like that. In mid-February, the initial outbreak in Italy hit just a town over from where Hall was playing in Piacenza.
"The whole thing was surreal," Hall said. "We were seeing life change a few days before everything hit the news.
"The city was slowing down. All you heard was ambulance sirens every 10 minutes. Then they cut the grocery store hours and they shut everything down – schools, restaurants, bars, everything. The whole city was completely pitch-black by 5 p.m. every day."
After about three weeks alone in lockdown, Hall went to the airport, bought a ticket and headed back to Northern Virginia, worried about being trapped across the globe from MJ and his wife, Kacey, a former GW gymnast.
Ever since, he's been at home, embracing the new normal. He's teaching math and reading lessons, leading arts and crafts projects and when time allows, introducing MJ to the finer points of the Super Mario video games.
"It's definitely an adjustment because he's ready to go at 6:30-7 every morning," Hall said. "He's ready to play immediately. There's no warm-up. He's just ready to go, but it's been great. It's tough to be away from the family, but now I'm here and get to watch his personality grow."
With no gym access for most of the spring, Hall rolled with the punches. He's actually lost weight with his quarantine regimen, recently hitting a milestone on the scale at his senior-year playing weight of 225 pounds.
Hall has eaten healthier thanks to the elimination of postgame fast-food runs, and he's taken to running more than ever before, up to 25 miles per week.
"My life has been devoted to basketball and the same types of workouts for the past 20 years," Hall said. "This situation now has definitely forced me to find different ways to stay active, stay fit, stay sane."
Moving forward, Hall will be ready for anything. It's an attitude that has served him well on his basketball journey.
Despite his humble recruitment, Hall's NBA dream became reality thanks to a Hall of Fame career in Foggy Bottom, capped by the unforgettable 2005-06 campaign in which GW streaked through the A-10 regular season unbeaten to break into the national top 10. ("I'm honestly still a bit shocked but for sure, grateful," Hall said of the HOF nod from his alma mater. "It meant the world just to be even considered.")
Since heading overseas for the first time in 2008, Hall has appreciated every stop, showing a keen ability to adapt to any situation in a pro career that's been anything but boring.
"It just shows how fickle this professional athlete thing is," Hall said. "If you're not in the right situation or don't get the break or have the right person believe in you, it's over before you know it. I'm just lucky being more of a cerebral player, a team-first guy that's found my way from team to team, from country to country, just trying to fit in that way. It's been a wild, wild ride."
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