"What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player"

I think that this quote means that who you are as a person is more important than what you are as anything else. An example is if your a football player. If your a really good football player that's a lot less important than what you are as a person. Being a C.T.R person is a lot more important than what you can do on a field or court.