N-tray, one of the fastest rising freestyle phenoms, took some time to tell us a bit about himself and his goals as freestyler. He also dropped a hot new clip showing his amazing versatility. Check out what he has to show and tell

Tell us a little bit about yourself
Well my name is Kalani Ahmad AKA N-tray and I’m from Honolulu, Hawaii. I was born in 1987 and recently turned 22 in January. I played high school ball for 3 years, and almost made college ball but got injured badly during tryouts and got cut cause of it. But I am still debating on trying out again next year. I’m all about basketball you would probably catch me ballin when ever and where ever, but since I live in Hawaii, I love the beach, and the weather.
Who did you first see freestyling and when?
First freestyling that I have seen was probably the Nike commercial way back with Trikz. I just went crazy for it and just watched it over and over again.
What inspired you to start freestyling yourself?
I always love doing fancy tricks, but what really inspired me was the Nike commercial and And1, but after a few years later I saw some clips on Youtube of Snake, A2W, Out of Bounce, and Kamikaze. Seeing these freestylers on Youtube really inspired me to really get into freestyling.
How did you learn most of your freestyle moves?
I learn most of my moves from watching clips on youtube and self teaching. So basic moves took me a while because I taught myself and I’m not the best teacher lol. But when Takuya was in Hawaii he helped me out by teaching me some Asian tricks and his very own style.
Who are your favorite freestylers right now?
Right now I would say Kamikaze (sick flow), Snake (creative), A2W (spin and all around skills), Takuya (fast two balls), Blenda (creative, stylish) and Basketball Man (entertaining).
Do you have any goals for yourself as a freestyler – short and/or long term?
Some goals that are in my mind are creating a basketball clinic in Hawaii which I would like to teach them some freestyle drills to help them have better ball handling. I think most people in Hawaii lack in dribbling or handling the ball, but I also want to help them enjoy basketball because people working very hard and taking the game very serious tend to forget to enjoy the game. I would also like to do some performance and enter challenges in anything dealing with basketball freestyle.
What do you get out of freestyling?
Freestyling is a way for me to release stress, I just feel free like I am in my own world, and it’s also a way for me to express myself. It something I love doing and helps me out with improving my ball handling skills and dribbling.
Have you met any other freestylers? Can you tell us a bit about those experiences?
First and only freestyler that I’ve met in person was Takuya from Nero Bianco and he was just too crazy I was completely amazed. It was during the summer of 2007, he was in Hawaii for a month just on vacation, caught him balling on the c basketball courts above my home, and we just ended up having a small little battle, but he was a fan fav in Hawaii lol. People loved his two ball skill and break dance move. It was pretty cool to connect with someone that is into freestyling as much as I am. We just freestyle for hours and showed each other some moves.
What’s it like living in Hawaii in terms of the streetball and freestyle scene?
No one does freestyle basketball in Hawaii, but there is basketball man performing at Waikiki once in a while. Never got to meet basketball man yet or catch him around Waikiki. I got to find some time to watch his shows this summer lol. When I freestyle in Hawaii people are just amazed from the tricks I can do because they haven’t seen or heard about it other than from Nike commercial or And1 or Harlem Globe Trotters. Most people in Hawaii refer freestyling as And1 right away. Streetball in Hawaii is pretty weak because some can’t play or just starting to learn how to play the game and most people in Hawaii are short. For example in High School basketball people that are 6FT tall are consider in a public school a center that’s how bad it is lol, but we have some tall people in Hawaii but it’s rare. People still ball it up here though and there are some good ballers out there.
If you could battle any one person in a live competition, who would it be?
I probably would like to battle Kamikaze because I am all about one ball flow and to me he is the best flow freestyler out there right now.
Do you have any type of practice/training routine?
I have no type of practice or training routine. I just freestyle whenever I have free time or sometimes waiting to play the next game, but I probably practice 10 hours a week.
How do you go about coming up with moves and combos?
Just playing around with the ball and I sometimes end up creating moves, but what really helped me in the begging was that I would film myself just freestyling and watch it over and over again and find ideas that I was thinking about at the time. Also watching other freestylers helps me visualize and create combos and moves. After I have a book of moves I just combine them and think of what moves fits best for the situation of where the ball is in.
Have you done any shows, competitions, or events so far?
Nope. I wish. I feel that I am not ready yet because I will probably do a solo performance and it would have been easier to perform with others in a group but nobody freestyles in Hawaii. Also I haven’t built up a routine to perform for shows, which I am still working on. I’m going to school in Big Island of Hawaii which is kind of a low populated island and not an entertaining business, but maybe when I go back home to the island of Oahu at Hawaii which is a more populated and entertaining area. Hopefully in the future to come I will get to do shows, competitions, and events.
Have you been working on any new tricks or styles lately?
I have been trying to work on new tricks, but it’s hard to come up with new tricks very often. Right now I’m trying to improve my speed, flow, and all my weakness like spinning, two balls, and three balls. I want to become more an all around freestyler.
What are your three all time favorite freestyle videos?
I don’t really have a favorite video, but I would choose. Any of the Kamikaze vids, any basketball man performance, and any good Asian style videos like MSDK.
What do you think about the freestyle scene right now?
From the Nike commercial to now it has really improved a lot and I think Nike should update their freestyle basketball commercial to show others how much it has improve and what it’s all about. It has improved, but it’s still an underground thing. If we all just keep working and give it some time I think it will be the next extreme sport like ESPN, soccer, break dance, and etc… People don’t know about basketball freestyle, so I think we just got to show and let people know what it’s all about and then we let the people decide because everybody knows break dancing and most people know about soccer freestyle which has been doing pretty good in the freestyle world and few knows about basketball freestyle. So we just got to let people what basketball freestyle is all about. Streetgodz at NBA all-star jam session helps people know what its all is about and right now we are getting closer little by little.
Where do you see freestyle going in the future?
I see there will be lots of battles, Espn, and an extreme sport. I think it’s going the same direction of break dance, and soccer. But In America basketball is very popular, so I think there is a high possibility in America to become a very popular thing. We just need more exposure to see what basketball freestyle is all about. It is just a matter of time to see freestyle reach to higher heights.