Trey Draper had already worn a variety of hats.

The 31-year-old Memphis native had represented his hometown as a guard for the Tigers from 2010 to 2014. He had coached at the high school and prep school levels. He had been a key member of Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant’s training team.

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But sometime last year, in 2022, Draper acted on an idea he’d had since his first couple of years after graduating from the University of Memphis.

Draper wanted to explain to others how he was able to turn a collegiate career as a 5-foot-10 walk-on into an array of opportunities to continue to work in basketball. So, he wrote a book.

“The Winning Language” released Wednesday, June 28.

“I’m not the tallest,” Draper said. “I was never the most athletic. I was never the strongest. But I found a way to get into certain rooms and stay in these rooms because of the work ethic, because of the loyalty, because of the relationships. There’s a lot of people out there that are like me. I think I possess something that just the natural eye can’t see.”

The book isn’t an autobiography, though. While Draper shares anecdotes from his professional journey in a few chapters, the project more so provides readers with a list of principles — and ways to apply them — that can help maximize their potential in whatever endeavors they pursue.

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“The Winning Language” is broken up into two sections, the first composed of four chapters and the second made up of six. Part 1 focuses on leadership and building relationships, while Part 2 is centered around mental toughness, teamwork, how to excel in one’s role and reciprocity.

Draper first had the idea to write a book in 2016 during his time as an assistant basketball coach and teacher at Mitchell High, where he graduated from in 2010. But it wasn’t until he was inspired by a mentor that he decided to take action.

Renee Meeks, the principal at Sea Isle Elementary and longtime friend of Draper, was one of the main people who urged Draper to put pen to paper in 2022. Meeks was also a consultant to Draper during the writing process.

“She just made the joke, ‘Everything you touch turns to gold,’” Draper recalled. “‘What is something that you’ve learned along the journey?’ And I told her, ‘It’s not just me. I build relationships. I’ve been loyal everywhere I’ve been. I’ve had integrity everywhere.’ And she said, ‘People need to hear this story.’”

In fact, it was the relationship Draper fostered with Meeks in his time as a Memphis Tiger that later helped him launch his coaching career.

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Draper met Meeks in October 2013 at Memphis Madness — the Tigers’ season kickoff event — and the two stayed in touch even after Draper graduated from Memphis that next year.

In 2015, it was Meeks’ cousin, Mitchell High principal Kelvin Meeks, who hired Draper to be an assistant coach and teacher. The opportunity came after Draper had spent the 2014-15 season as a graduate assistant at UT-Chattanooga, and it eventually led to him becoming an assistant at Florida’s IMG Academy for three seasons and ultimately connecting with Morant in South Florida during his pre-draft workouts in 2019.

Now, Draper works with Morant full-time while continuing to take on new challenges.

But Draper doesn’t lack self-awareness. As a player who played a total of 44 minutes and scored eight points throughout his four-year collegiate career, he knows he doesn’t have a resume littered with on-court accolades to immediately draw in high-level Division I prospects or NBA stars that want to learn from him.

Draper feels he has something within him that’s every bit as valuable, though. His journey is proof of it.

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“I wasn’t a 1,000-point scorer,” Draper said. “I wasn’t a 700-assist guy. I wasn’t a rebounder. But I truly believe I’m one of the most beloved Tigers throughout the city of Memphis. And that’s because I possess these qualities that I talk about in the book.”

Those qualities are ones he’s confident others can tap into within themselves, too.

And he hopes his latest endeavor helps them do just that.

“What my team and I wanted to do was just highlight the importance of the winning language in leadership,” Draper said. “Give you winning strategies and effective communication (skills) to give you the overall mindset of being a winner.”