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In an interview last year with Jimmer Fredette, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill said, "I want to be the best player I can be. I play on a championship-level team. I want to win a championship. I want to participate in that, and I'm going to work as hard as I can to do that. But I also know what's really most important, and that's my family and my faith."

End quote. I've found Sam Merrill's journey in the NBA fascinating, as the former Utah State Aggie has gone from averaging just 7.8 minutes per game in his rookie season with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020 to 2021 to last season, starting 38 games for the Cavs and averaging over 26 minutes and 12.8 points per game.

Our conversation on this week's episode gives insight into the drive that has made that climb possible. Nicknamed Money Merrill, Sam Merrill is originally from Bountiful, Utah, where he led Bountiful High School to a 4A state title. He was recruited by Stanford and Princeton, but ultimately chose the school he'd cheered for all his life, Utah State.

He had many memorable moments and an impressive college career but will be remembered forever by the Aggies for a game-winning three-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining to upset San Diego State in the Mountain West Tournament championship. He was drafted into the NBA in 2020 and, through his resilience, has made himself a key player for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He and his wife, Canyon, are the parents of three children.

This is All In, an LDS Living podcast where we ask the question, what does it really mean to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ? I'm Morgan Pearson, and I am honored to have Sam Merrill on the line with me today. Sam, welcome. Yeah, thanks for having me. Really excited for this. Well, I am a basketball junkie, Sam.

Everybody that listens to this podcast knows that I have a... well, sports in general are, like, my weakness, but basketball in particular. So this is really exciting for me. I wanna start out with you served your mission in Nicaragua. You've previously said that you didn't have any hesitations about going on a mission, and that one of the reasons for that was that you had seen people in Utah go on missions and see that it didn't really seem to set people back athletically when they came back.

Are there any examples of that that stand out in your mind where you were like, "Oh, you can go and be gone for two years and, and be fine"? Yeah, definitely. I think I've loved sports my whole life too, and always wanted to play for as long as I could. You know, until maybe eighth or ninth grade, I wasn't sure what my best sport was gonna be.

Played football and baseball, and then I realized that basketball was gonna be my chance. And I grew up a big Utah State fan, so my, my dad's from Logan. Both my mom and my dad, they both graduated from Utah State. That's where they met. I have a bunch of family up there. My sister played soccer there, so grew up a big Utah State fan.

And, um, Utah State has a good history of guys that have, you know, served missions and have had really good college careers and professional careers as well. I think to Spencer Nelson, who played in the early 2000s, who's a good friend of mine now. He served a mission and had a, a long career overseas. JC Carroll's probably the most well-known all-time leading scorer there.

Had a incredible career overseas, played with Real Madrid, who's one of the best teams in Europe for 10-plus years. Ty Wesley as well. A bunch of guys that were kind of that example for me and gave me the The belief and the confidence that serving a mission was, you know, not gonna be something that was gonna hurt me.

I, uh, told my husband as I was prepping for this interview, I was like, "I'm really glad 'cause I feel like Utah State has been kind of underrepresented on this show." Yeah. So I'm glad we got you on, Sam, and I'm glad that we're able to highlight a few of those guys because I think you're absolutely right.

Like, every year it seems like Utah State has guys where it's like, wow, they, they serve missions and look at them. They're out there- Yeah ... in the NCAA tournament playing great. You have posted multiple times in recent years about your mission on your Instagram, which otherwise is mostly just basketball or your family, but you've posted about your mission and what it meant to you, and it's clear that it meant a lot.

You quoted on another podcast Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who said, "You tell me how those morning hours," referring to your morning hours on a mission, "go from 6:30 AM until you're on the street in your mission, whatever time it is. You tell me how those hours go, and I will tell you how your day will go. I will tell you how your month will go.

I will tell you how your year will go and how your mission and your life will go." And you referenced that quote saying, you know, the, the part about I'll tell you how your life will go based on your mission, and you said that, that you've seen that to be true. How did your mission teach you resilience, Sam, and how have you found your life to resemble what you've learned from your mission?

Yeah. So I think the, the key word that you said is r- resilience. I really had to learn that. I'm, you know, extremely grateful for the experience that I had, and every mission's different, right? One of my best friends served in Russia. You're not gonna see two different missions than Nicaragua where it's hot and you're sweating all day and versus Russia where it's, you know, freezing cold and he's got six layers on and, you know, and Central America is well known for you baptize a lot of people, and Russia you don't.

So it's just, it's funny that we, we can, you know, talk about our, our similar experiences, but I really had to learn how to work. I, I always thought I was a, you know, a hard worker growing up, but I learned Really what it takes to, to work hard and to grind through difficulties and, you know, I was just saying earlier, like, we baptized a lot of people and that's great and, uh, you have a lot of fun experiences, but because of that there comes a level of almost expectation.

And our mission was pretty numbers, numbers-oriented, which I think in some cases it needed to be just with some of the personnel we had. And so if you had a bad month where you only baptized one or two people, which I know for some people sounds incredible. Or maybe a month with zero baptisms, you started to, to wonder like, "Oh, am I doing something wrong?

What's going wrong?" And we really, really worked hard in that mission. And so battling through the ups and downs of, of the mission and learning how to persevere and be resilient and work through, work through those difficulties has really translated to my college career and my professional career as well.

I've had some ups and downs. It's... I had to grind through some injuries and getting cut by multiple teams in the NBA to kind of find my spot, and I had to, you know, be resilient and I, I don't know if I would've been able to show that if not for having served a mission. Sam, you mentioned the missionary aspect of being being on a mission, but you had a clip that went viral in the last, I believe, year where you talked about getting your teeth knocked out-

on your mission. Yeah. That's, like, no joke either. And so- ... like, that's another aspect of learning to be resilient is going through that situation. No doubt. Yeah, we, uh... And Nicaragua was actually a pretty safe, pretty safe country. There were very, very few incidents. I unfortunately was involved in one of the biggest ones.

Yeah, we were... I had just gotten out of training and went to an area that was... You know, I was, I was training a new missionary, and we went to the assistance area. So It was, it was the, for the four of us, but obviously they weren't around too much, so it was really just our area. And so neither of us had been there.

It was brand new, and I think our f- it was the first Sunday of the, of the transfer. We were walking down. We were just about time to go home. It was dark, and came across some guys sitting on the corner, and there's always people sitting outside, so take nothing of it. And they came up, and guy asked for our...

not asked, but told me to give him, give him our phone. And I, so I gave it to him, and then they started talking to my companion, and he went and grabbed a huge rock and chucked it right at my face. And that was really... I mean, we just... You know, I started gushing blood, and we turned around and ran. And I don't wanna say it really wasn't that big of a deal.

Like, it could've been probably worse, but I had to get pretty extensive dental care to get a couple new teeth. Took probably six months of on and off, you know, coming back, not coming back, but going to the dentist down there and till I finally got my new teeth in. So it was a, it was a, an interesting experience, but, uh, it's fun to look back on it now.

My, uh, dad got his teeth knocked out playing basketball. Nice. And I know, like, for him it's just like, that is a big deal. People don't think about everything that goes into that experience of getting, like, teeth implanted, but it does not sound like fun. Mm-hmm. And especially when, I think you said on the other podcast that I heard you telling that story, like initially you were like, "Did I just get shot?"

It, it, it was... Must've been a big rock 'cause it, uh, it felt like, it literally felt like I got shot. Like, it was, it came out of nowhere. I didn't see it coming, and there was, there was a lot of blood, for sure. Awful. Well, we're glad that you were okay. You have talked about the Nicaraguan people. Specifically, you've talked about, you know, their dedication to the gospel, what you saw there and that you, you posted about them getting a temple and how excited- Yeah

you were for them to, to receive those blessings closer to home. What did the people there in Nicaragua, what did they teach you? Yeah, so many things. I think number one, like I've mentioned before, when you look at the members there and the strength that they have, it's, it's- It's not easy, and I'm sure, you know, growing up in North Carolina, right?

Mm-hmm. Like it's, it's different when you're not in Utah, and members have to handle multiple jobs. And out, out there, the bishop or the, the branch president like has a ton of responsibilities. And same thing with the other members, 'cause there just aren't a ton of, you know, either members that have grown up in the church or have been around for a long time and kinda know exactly what we're trying to do.

So- Right ... I have so much respect for, for all the members down there that work hard and work with the missionaries. Again, and we're constantly bringing in new investigators, and there's a lot of baptisms, so it's a lot of work to try to retain people, and those people work so hard and are so dedicated.

And I think it's easy for us ho- back home in Utah or even in the States where it's a little easier to not focus as much as maybe we should on stuff like that. And so I gain an appreciation for them, and it's, it's really cool, you know, this year to have two places that are, you know, very important to me, Cleveland and Managua, are both...

Cleveland's temple was dedicated a couple weeks ago, and Nicaragua's is scheduled to be in October. So it's, it's really cool to, to see both these places get temples. Yeah, I wanna talk about that. I wanna ask you one more question, kind of as a follow-up. You mentioned North Carolina and how maybe I could relate, and I absolutely can.

It's interesting. I went back a couple years ago to speak at, like, a single adult thing, and I realized that the same, like, 10 people who had done everything when I was in the youth program were the same people putting on the single adult conference. Yeah. And I was like, hang on a second. Like, I thought they were only doing the youth stuff, but they're doing this too.

And I think there is an element of you just have so much respect for those people who show up no matter what it is and contribute. I imagine, Sam, that the church in Cleveland is different than the church in Utah. Yeah. Not that the gospel's different, but the church experience. What has it been like for your family to kind of experience the church on that end of the country?

Yeah, it's been, it's been great. Now that, you know, my first, my first year, really first two years we were in a w- in a weird spot where we, we knew some people in one ward, but that's not the ward we were assigned to, and so we'd kind of switch off between the two wards. Um, but now having a, a, a home for a couple years and being in the ward that we're in, it's, it's such a good ward.

It's fairly big. We get generally over 100 people a week, which is great. There's enough young kids where there's a nursery and a primary, which is obviously great for my kids. But yeah, like you talked about, it's, um, there's a level of gratitude for the, the Bishop Rick and, um, the elders quorum president, the Relief Society president, young men, young women who, who put in the work and, and also have other stuff going on, have young kids sometimes, and they are putting in a ton of work to try and help build up the church in that area and, um, so it's been really cool to see and experience that.

That's awesome. You mentioned the, the temples in, in both of these places that have become kind of dear to you, and when the Cleveland Temple was gonna have their open house, I believe they had you do, like, a video on social media inviting people to come to the temple open house, and you mentioned that the temple means a ton to you, as it does for many of us that are members of the church.

What has the temple meant in your life, Sam, and what, what kind of purpose does it give your life that you recognize you might not have otherwise? Yeah, it's been really good. Me and my wife actually did a session yesterday, and with, with there not being one in Cleveland and all the... You know, that we're very busy in the summer when we come home.

We haven't gone as much as we would like and probably should. And my, my mom has been a great example, um, about serving in the temple, and she several years ago decided she was gonna try and go once a week, and I think she's mostly kept up with that, and she's talked about how much that's blessed her. And I was yes- yesterday when we were there, I was kinda sitting there thinking like, "Man, that's a lot.

That's a lot." Um, like it's, it's so good for us and, you know, you receive personal revelation, but that's, that's still a lot. And then pretty early on, I, you know... One of the first things they say when you're there is, "You're here to, to serve the Lord," and I think sometimes we forget that. Sometimes we go for our own benefit, which is awesome and great and what we should do, but we're primarily going to the temple to serve the Lord and do, do His work and work for others, obviously.

And that was a pretty cool reminder to me and maybe an even greater motivation of like, um, trying to make it more and more often, um, as You know, with the number one purpose of serving the Lord and then everything else that comes with it, um, for our own personal spiritual benefit. So I'm, I'm really grateful that we have one in Cleveland now.

It's actually w- literally right next door to our practice facility Oh, no way ... which is really cool. We're only... We're getting a new practice facility. I think we're moving into it midway through the season, so it won't be too long, but it's, it's really cool, and I've f- obviously been able to have a lot of good discussions with people in our facility because there's this massive building being

that was being built right next door. They're like, "What the heck is going on over there?" Yep. No, I think it's, it's interesting, as is the case with so many things that the Lord asks of us, that no matter what, in the end, like, we end up being the beneficiary, but I do think that it's so important to remember that we are serving Him and that then we receive blessings.

But I think that I love that you shared that. I also will say, I was telling my dad just the other day, so Sam and I were talking at the beginning of our call before we started recording about how we have kids similar ages, although his last two are even closer in age than my oldest two. Um, and I said to my dad, I was like, my dad said that he had put us on the temple prayer roll, and I said, "Hey, thanks for doing that."

I was like, "Our temple attendance has been lackluster to say the least." And he was like, "Well, times and seasons for everything." So I do think it's so hard when you have young kids, but I also recognize, like, going makes such a difference when- Mm-hmm ... we do get there and, and put in that effort. I wanna go back to your mission, Sam.

Your mission president has been quoted as saying that you were not someone who came to the mission field trying to find your testimony or figure out your relationship with the Savior, but that instead you came ready to hit the ground running. I wondered, I think especially right now where you have missionaries going even younger than ever before, having that foundation of a testimony of Jesus Christ or relationship with Jesus Christ is so important.

So I wondered, what would you say in retrospect best prepared you for your mission and shaped that relationship with the Savior before you even left on your mission? Yeah, I think when I was 12, I believe, it was my grandparents' 50th anniversary, and they, they took our whole family, which was incredible, out to Palmyra.

And so we got to do all the, you know, church history stuff, and I don't remember much of that, but I do remember when we all went into the Sacred Grove. And like, I, I wanna... I, we actually live, you know, four or five hours away now. I'd love to go back 'cause that, the feeling there is pretty undeniable. And so I, I felt like from, from that moment, I had a pretty strong testimony of, you know, the restoration, as much as you can have at that age, and that's always some- that's something that's always gonna stick with me.

And, you know, I, I was never probably not going to serve a mission, but sometime during high school, maybe my junior, junior year, I think, I decided Am I gonna go on a mission because it's what I'm supposed to do and is it 'cause it's what everyone does, or am I gonna go because I actually want to go and really wanna do this?

So I just made the commitment that I was gonna read the Book of Mormon and give it a try. And, you know, my, again, my mom is awesome and we had, we read it every morning. But I wanted to actually read it by myself and really read it, not just read it 'cause I'm being woken up to read it, you know? And that was such a great experience for me where I really felt like it, it just made me happier, I felt like, and I was constantly had the desire to sh- to share it.

Um, not listen, all, most of my friends were all members of the church, but just, just to talk about it and talk about how great it was and invite other friends to read it together and stuff. And that was when I really, like, developed a testimony of the Book of Mormon and I, I didn't need, I didn't feel like I needed the, the burning in the bosom at the end because I had realized how it had made me happier, and that's, that's when I really felt like, okay, a mission was something that I actually wanted to do, wanted to go share that stuff.

That's awesome. Sam, you met your wife, Canyon, while you were at Utah State, and from what I understand, she was on the soccer team and a heck of a soccer player. Correct? Yes. Okay. She did, yeah. How has having someone who understands what it takes to be an athlete, not just at a high school level, but at a, at a higher level, helped you in your career?

Uh, it's, it's been great, so helpful. Understanding the kind of work that it takes and, um, it's, I know it's, it's hard. I travel a lot. I'll be gone for two weeks at a time during the season and, you know, we try and get people back out to, to visit and come help and whatnot, but I know, I know it's hard for her and her understanding of and willingness to Be supportive of me throughout that.

Been very, very grateful for, and I think her understanding of the stress that comes with it as well for me, especially at the level that we're at now, where it's, there's a lot of pressure and there's a lot of, you know, you have a bad game and people are gonna talk about it, and you have a bad stretch and people are really gonna talk about it.

And the comfort that she gives to me and the obviously incredible j- job that she does with our kids has been, you know, makes, makes it a lot easier for me, and for that I'm very grateful. I think when you are married to somebody too, like, criticism of your spouse almost, like, hits you even harder- ... than it does- Yeah

your spouse. So I can imagine that that can be hard sometimes, but the two of you seem like such an awesome couple, so I appreciate your example. Sam, Georges Niang said of you, "When you talk about him living his faith and what he has gone through, it's probably one of the reasons why he's become so successful.

He doesn't try to control everything. He just does what is meant for him to do. He's never too high, never too low. He always keeps a balanced life. He continues to stick to what he knows, his faith, his strength, what gets him through every single day." Uh, Utah Jazz fans will recognize Georges Niang's name, the minivan.

He's your teammate in Cleveland. How does your faith affect your approach to basketball? Yeah, I mean, Georges is one of my great buddies in the league. He's such a, such a fun time and such a great dude, and I have a lot of appreciation for him too, and, uh, we have somewhat similar journeys, so it's cool to see him back and to hear that.

But yeah, I just think as, as much as I love it and care about it and wanna succeed and wanna be my best, it's, basketball never will be everything to me. At the end of the day, like, I wanna be the best person that I can be, and there are things that are more important, and I think that allows, allows me to take a step back occasionally and just say, "Hey, it's, it's not the end of the world.

Like, it's gonna be okay. You have a great family. You have a great support system and friends and, you know, people that care about me." And that just makes, makes it a lot easier. And also, you know, the things that I've learned throughout my time with the Gospel has You know, allowed me to get better as a basketball player, too.

Having faith in what you're doing and I talk about, a lot about trusting, trusting your work and having faith that the work you put in is gonna, is gonna pay off and having the patience to do that, and these are all things that I've learned and make it a lot, a lot less stressful, a lot, a lot easier to manage the ups and downs of it.

I ... Speaking of, of ups and downs, you have talked about how your, uh, opportunity to play for an NBA championship team with the Milwaukee Bucks when you first entered the league, that it was so great and also so hard. Um- Yeah ... because for the first time in your career you weren't really seeing the floor much.

Yeah. Um, you're brand new to the NBA, still trying to kind of find your place and, and then your team wins the NBA championship, which has to be so cool. But you've talked about how there were kind of multiple LDS guys involved with that NBA championship team, and we have had Craig Manning on this show.

For a long time, Craig's episode was, like, one of our most downloaded episodes. People loved hearing him. And he talked about how his faith impacts his work. He even, I remember him talking about, like, using the Book of Mormon in training sessions, like, sessions with- Yeah ... athletes that were not members of our faith, and I thought that was so cool.

And then from what I understand, there was also a strength and conditioning coach that was a member- Yeah ... of the church, is that right? Mm-hmm. Yep. Okay. Can you talk a bit more about how and why having those guys involved with that team made a difference for you? Yeah. It w- it was great. Unfortunately, Dr.

Manning, we didn't see him much. That was the COVID year. So he, he came- Yeah ... and talked s- he came and spoke to us as a team maybe three times. Yeah. So I was able to have some conversations with him, but nothing, nothing crazy. But obviously appreciate what, when he did come, you could feel like this guy definitely knows what he's talking about.

And then our, my strength coach was Wiz Davey, Michael Davey, who's now the, he's the strength coach for BYU basketball. And, um, he was great. Uh, meeting him day one and him introducing himself and just adds a level of comfort, like you, you can, you can- Get away from basketball and just talk about, you know, our families and his experience.

He's, he's either Australian or from New Zealand. Um, he's gonna not be happy that I'm forgetting this. But- ... talking about his ex- his experience back home and it's really cool. And then lat- later on in the season, Elijah Bryant, who played at BYU, joined the team as well, and it was, you know, really cool to experience everything that we went through in the playoffs and winning a championship with those guys.

We also had Elijah on here, and he was, he was awesome too. So- Yeah, he's great ... uh, we're just trying to check every one of those people off. The whole Milwaukee Bucks team. We're gonna have Giannis on soon. Yeah. Um, now that you're in Cleveland, you have had a pretty key role on the team. You got a lot of minutes this last season.

Um, one teammate that I would imagine has a, a good amount of experience with members of the church, having played in Utah, is Donovan Mitchell, and he has publicly expressed his belief in you and kind of been a witness to your value to your team, and a big advocate for you, um, even wearing a Money Merrill jersey for the three-point contest-

which was pretty cool. Um, what has his belief in you meant to you, Sam? It's, it's, it's meant everything. I keep trying to get that jersey from him- ... but he keeps telling me, he keeps telling me it's back home in Connecticut, and at some point I'm just gonna have to fly out there and go grab it from his house, 'cause I need, I, I really need that jersey.

Yeah. That was re- I actually wasn't watching when that happened, and in an instant I got, like, 30 texts. And it was all just like, "Oh, are you seeing this?" And I, I had no idea he was gonna do that, so that was really cool. Uh, I love Donovan. A, a great, great human who's about the right stuff, and we've been able to develop a really good relationship.

And he's the exact kind of superstar you want on your team because he'll, he takes accountability. He is an extremely hard worker. He cares about everybody on the team, even the, the two-way players and the rookies and the, the guys that may not be on the roster in a couple weeks. He cares about them and, and communicates with them.

So I have a lot of gratitude for him. That's so cool. Well, we... My husband is, like, a diehard Jazz fan, and, um, we love Donovan. Yeah. And so we we still sometimes we'll see him on TV and stuff and be like, "Oh, it just hurts." Um, Sam, you have, uh, you've talked about how having kids and, and your wife, Canyon, to come home to has actually helped you in your career.

What is it about having that presence? 'Cause I think some people would look at it and say, oh well, you know, whether it's, oh, they're distracted, or they have that one other aspect of their lives, they could look at that as a negative. But how have you seen that having their presence in your life grounds you?

Yeah, it's just, it's nice to be able to just get away from the game, I think. And it's not that I don't do this, but I'm, I'm sure, like- You go to the gym, you work out, you have practice, and you do your treatment and stuff, and you go home and you s- sit on your phone and you read about your team and yourself and for the rest of the day.

And that's, for me, being able to get home and even if it's not easy with three kids, three young kids, to be able to just get away and not think about it and almost refresh your mind every single day has been very helpful. And like I talked about earlier, the perspective that comes with that where at the end of the day, doesn't, doesn't really matter what, what, what type of, you know, husband and father and person that I am is what's, what's really important.

I think the really beautiful thing about having especially young kids, I hear it's different once you have teenagers, but- ... sometimes I, like, look at my girls and they just, like, look at me like, "You are the greatest thing that has ever existed," you know? And it doesn't matter to them, I, I'm sure it doesn't matter to your girls that you play in the NBA.

Yeah. It's like, "You're our dad," and that, that's what makes you the coolest person in the world. Sam, you've had some pretty crazy moments in your short career thus far, some pretty crazy highs where you've, you know, had these exceptional games and shown what you're capable of doing, and then moments that I'm sure were hard to swallow.

I, I watched a video in preparation for this interview where somebody was asking Mike Breen if they, if he regretted saying bang when your shot was, like, literally going in the hoop. And he was like, "I watched the replay back and I felt even better about it because I was like, 'That shot was going in.'" So in those moments where, you know, it's kinda hard to swallow or understand why things didn't go your way, how do you keep your focus on the future and continually becoming better without letting those moments get you down or, or frustrated?

Yeah, I think the older you get and the more you play, like I talked about, you just gotta trust that, trust in what you do and the work that you've put in. And I've gone through shooting slumps and times where I haven't played as well as I'd like, just like everybody does, and it's so hard to not get into your own head, and sometimes you, you, you think it's just never gonna end.

But, like, I, I constantly try to remind myself, like, gonna start making shots at some point. Like, I've done this before. I've gotten out of slumps before. My track record, you know, speaks for itself or whatever. And again, it's, it's, it's not easy because if you allow outside influences and outside voices to get into your head, it makes it even harder.

But blocking stuff out like that, just trusting in what you do allows you to, to, you know, persevere and get through stuff. I've talked with-- I talked to Mike Breen before game two 'cause I-- he, uh, he was walking by when I was warming up, and I made a joke about it too. I-- "Listen, I still can't believe that shot didn't go, didn't go in."

It was, from the second it left my hand, it was, that was going in, so. It was good. Yeah. Yeah. But it's, like, easy to say, like, "Man, why did that shot not go in?" That would've been such a cool moment for me. But, you know, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, and I've had plenty of fun moments and, you know, got to hit one of the, the coolest shot of my life at Utah State, a place that I love dearly.

And, you know, hopefully I'll have another opportunity like that and maybe next time it'll go in. Yeah. That reminds me of the, the quote that President Hinckley has quoted. Let's see. So it, it wasn't President Hinckley that said it originally. He was quoting a newspaper journalist, but it said, "The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.

Life is just like an old-time rail journey, delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." And I just think, like, w- if we can keep that perspective, it makes such a massive difference and, in trusting that, you know, maybe this shot didn't go in, but like you said, the shot at Utah State did go in and another one will go in as well.

Um, Sam, what are you most excited about this coming season? I think, you know, for me personally, it's just-- and I, I've realized this over the last couple years, I think, you know, what's allowed me to, you know, get to where I am, I feel like is I have-- I really consistently just wanna get better and better, and 'cause we all have areas where we can, even the best players have areas where they can just continue to get better, and I feel like I'm gonna continue doing that until I'm done playing.

So, um, I've tried to get better in certain areas this summer and worked really hard on it, and I'm excited for a, another opportunity to go out and prove that, and, um, just be a more, an even more complete player. And then as a team, like, we have an- another opportunity to, to prove what we're capable of. And, you know, two years ago, we have this incredible regular season.

We win 64 games. We're just destroying everybody. And then in the span of a week in the second round, everything that could go wrong went wrong. We had a couple injuries. We missed a bunch of shots. We played a team that was playing incredible basketball, and it just, just out of nowhere, our season's over.

And then last year, we had a ton of injuries. We had some trades, had to grind through a lot of stuff throughout the season. We're able to make it to the conference finals, and then we get swept. So, uh, just another opportunity to, to try and take us to that next level and, uh, excited, you know, about this group and to see where we can take it.

Well, we're, we're excited to watch you another year. Sam, my last question for you is what does it mean to you to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ?

I think that it's hard to define it maybe in one sentence, but I think back a lot to, uh, that great talk that Brad Wilcox gave. It would've been s- 15 years ago probably now, his talk about grace, and you know, he goes deep into what that means. But the overarching message was you just gotta keep trying and just keep trying to get better and better, and similar to, to basketball, like, you're gonna make mistakes.

But I think when you look at a t- a team that's all in, it's every guy is doing the best that they can do to help the team win, whatever that looks like, and there's a level of humility that that takes. You can have no, no pride, no egos, and everyone is focused on what really matters. And I think from a gospel perspective it's very similar.

It's not all in on being perfect, but having a constant desire to get better and to strive to be the best that you can be. I think over the last year or two I've really tried to develop a mindset of, of daily repentance, where every night it's, "Okay, I didn't do this well. I gotta ask for forgiveness and try and be better the next day."

And there's been plenty of times where I'm not better the next day, but then I go try and be better the next day, and I think that's, that's the mindset that, um, allows us to continue to get better. And because of that I feel like I've had more spiritual experience and, and have definitely grown, and I think that's, that's how, that's how I would define it.

Well, Sam, thank you so much and, and tell your wife thank you, because as as a wife myself, I know that that time is valuable and important. But thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, and thanks for your example, and, um, go Cavs. Thank you. That was fun. We are so grateful to Sam Merrill for joining us on this week's episode and look forward to cheering him on in this year's NBA season.

Big thanks to Derek Campbell of Mix at Six Studios for his help with this episode, and thank you for listening. We'll look forward to being with you again next week