Jack’s Blog

Tonight UConn tries to capture the Big East Tournament Championship.  If they accomplish this feat, they will have won five games in five days.  And not just five normal games, but five intense contests that would make normal people, pick the word - ill, crumble, gasp, cry, surrender.  After relatively easy victories in the first two rounds, the Huskies needed a buzzer-beating jumper from their main man, Kemba Walker, to knock off #1 seed Pitt.  Anyone who knows anything about college hoops will tell you how physical any battle against the Panthers is and how the effects of the game are not really felt until the next day.

Of course, for UConn, the next day was last night’s game against rival Syracuse.  As if competing four times in four days wasn’t enough, the Huskies and the ‘Cuse went overtime!  Their opponent tonight, Louisville, will have had to play three games in three days but so as not to take too much of an advantage over its fellow Big East counterpart, they also went OT against Notre Dame last night before pulling the game out.

For Kemba Walker, whom Huskies’ coach Jim Calhoun calls the most important player on any team in the country (either he is really biased - understandable - or he has yet to see BYU’s Jimmer Fredette), that would mean he’d be back on the MSG floor one day after never leaving it.  Maybe to prove his MIP point, or maybe because he simply wanted to win, Calhoun kept his star in the game for every second of the 45-minute tilt.  This could be why Calhoun’s a Hall-of-Fame coach because had he subbed - even once - for Walker, the Huskies might not have won.  So, it would seem Walker actually is that important.

Mentally, experiencing all Walker and his teammates did during the past four days has to be exhausting, but how about physically?  The condition Walker must be in has to push the limits of the human body.  When you think about how it’s possible, the quote by the Muhammad Ali comes to mind.

The G.O.A.T. said:

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit.  Suffer now and live the rest of your life as champion.’ “

After all Aaron Rodgers had to endure, none of which was of his doing, he comes out in his first playoff game and puts up numbers a Hall-of-Fame quarterback would hope for.  Yet, his team loses.  

It’s a bummer, sure, but because his team is the legendary Green Bay Packers, the only community-owned NFL franchise, and the quarterback he replaced is the just as legendary Brett Favre (whose new team just happens to be the hated Minnesota Vikings), and the Vikings are still alive in the NFL playoffs, his emotions must skyrocketing.  What’s a guy to do?

For those who’ve never been part of a team (especially one competing at a high level), it’s easy to rationalize what Rodgers is going through.  He did as close to his best (anyone whose career has lasted over 30 minutes has made some mistakes) as he could.  The numbers speak for themselves so he should have nothing to be ashamed about.  Except for one thing.  The dreaded bottom line in team sports: did your club win?

If the answer’s no, it seems as though nothing else matters.  Those who are Rodgers’ fans (and that group should certainly have grown exponentially in witnesses after his  performance yesterday) will walk with their heads held high.  His detractors, though, will point to two areas, one a fact, the other, . . . we’ll never know.  The fact is, naturally, that the Pack lost - and, to fans, nothing else matters (except maybe in the NY-NJ area because whether you “covered” eases the pain somewhat).  The other, which in this group’s mind, he’ll never live down (at least until he leads the Green & Gold to, oh yeah, something called the Lombardi Trophy), is that if Brett were at QB, we’d have won today (”today,” meaning any day the Packers have a game - even though the stats don’t bear that out).  But “he would have led us to a score in OT” and “no way would he have let any defensive lineman strip him of the ball.”  It’s almost like the “h” in he is capitalized.

Unfair?  Hey, in sports - or life - what’s fair?  Ask Colt McCoy.  Or Wes Welker.  Or Bobby Hurley.  Or Muhammed Ali.  Or Wally Pipp.  Or Lou Gehrig.  Or Pat Tillman. 

Aaron Rodgers plays a game for a living.  For a lot of money.  He gave it his all, “left nothing on the field” as they say.  But, because his team, and as quarterback, make no mistake about it, it’s his team, I would imagine, as a true pro, he’s disappointed.  Yet he lives to play another day.  It just won’t be until next season.

Aaron Rodgers should take heed from another (to whom life was anything but fair), the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said:

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

He’ll get over it.Â

As far as which player is the best the sport of basketball ever produced, there’s no debate.  He’s Michael Jordan, inducted yesterday into its Hall-of-Fame.  There are three reasons why: 1) Offense - simply put, no one could successfully defend him.  2) Defense - he’s in the running for best on and off the ball defender ever AND he not only guarded the opponent’s best player, he demanded the assignment.  3) Because of 1) and 2), his teams won (an NCAA championship at UNC, six of ‘em in the NBA - all with the Bulls - and an Olympic Gold Medal).  End of discussion.

So, as Muhammad Ali dubbed it, the title of G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) in the world of basketball belongs to MJ.  And, beyond that, he’s also the G.O.A.T. when the term “pitchman” is mentioned.  I defy anyone to name another person who has transcended racial, gender, socio-economic, age and geographic lines as he has.  White or black, male or female, rich or poor, young or old, no matter where in the world someone lives, they’re buyin’ what he’s sellin’ - or at least they’re watchin’.  And research has proven that if people watch a commercial long enough, eventually, they buy - even if it’s just out of curiosity.

The guy sounds too good to be true, so let’s knock him down a few pegs.  Even when talking about his alleged vices, he’s at the top.  It’s been reported Michael has a gambling addiction, is a world class womanizer (although not even in contention for NBA players’ G.O.A.T.  in this category - and I’m not just referring to Wilt) and has been a dismal failure as an executive.  Hey, if you’re going to do something, get after it and don’t hold back!

The final two segments of this blog define Michael Jordan.  When asked by Michael Wilbon, in an ESPN interview, “Was there anything you didn’t accomplish” (in your profession) “that you wanted to?” His Airness hesitated, briefly, thought about it and finally gave a one syllable response: “No.”  How great must it be to be able to give that answer to that question and not have the needle budge, even a little, if you were hooked up to a polygraph!

The reason for that is Michael Jordan’s most outstanding trait: his confidence.  In that same Q & A, Wilbon asked MJ if he considered himself the G.O.A.T.  He replied with a group of carefully selected words, with the main thought repeated on three occasions.  Part of that answer was, “I would never say I was the greatest player because I never played against all the people who represented the league prior to Michael Jordan.”  What he left unsaid summarizes the savvy of Jordan, a characteristic of his in which he was/is unsurpassed.

What he did NOT say, but left for us to conclude, is 1) “I was better than anybody I did play against” and 2) “don’t even THINK about bringing into the discussion any of the players who followed me,” i.e. today’s superstars.

It was inevitable that Michael Jordan and Nike would form a partnership (move just one space on a keyboard and N-i-k-e becomes M-i-k-e).  A company as visionary and creative in its advertising as Nike is, needed someone like MJ - and he needed them.  When the two finally joined forces, the company’s marketing branch wasted no time - or words - when describing him to the world.  Eventually, everybody wanted to:

“Be Like Mike.”  Â

Since I posted on the blog prior to our leaving for St. Louis the reason we were going, i.e. that our son, Alex, was invited to the NIKE Hoops Jamboree for the Top 100 freshmen and sophomore high school basketball players in the nation, many people have inquired during the past couple days how he performed.

His coach, Norm Persin (an extremely successful high school coach whose ‘08-’09 squad won the State Championship in Ohio) and Vince Baldwin (Director of Scouting for Nike Elite Youth Basketball) each described Alex’s play at the four day event as “solid.”  To the cynic, that may sound like a nice way of telling the kid’s dad that he didn’t suck, but since I know both of those guys, they were aware there was no need to sugarcoat their response.  I already knew spectacular or incredible weren’t words that I would have expected anyone to attach to Alex’s game.

After recruiting Division I college players for three decades, I have a pretty good handle on evaluating potential ballplayers (although if you read the story in my book, Life’s A Joke of the scouting report an NBA coach had asked me to do on John Stockton, you might take issue with that statement).  So, armed with all this experience, solid is the word I’d have used to summarize his play in St. Louis.  Ask anyone who’s ever worked with, or coached, Alex and, to a man, they’ll say the strength of his game is “understanding how to game,” i.e. “making the right play.” 

He does have skills, e.g. shooting, extremely good hand-eye coordination, ballhandling, passing, understanding defensive principles (proper stance, anticipating the next pass, where to be depending on where the ball is, etc.) and overall team play.  Does that sound like a father?  I have to admit I heard that description of many a prospect during my time in D-I hoops and, quite often, the father was a tad prejudiced in his son’s favor.  I’ve tried to separate father from coach, but I doubt I’m as neutral observer as I think I am.

Overall, as my former boss, current mentor and friend (as well as the Director of International Basketball for Nike), George Raveling, said to me, after watching Alex play, “It was a great experience for him.  He can use this as a barometer to work on his improvement.”  As I’ve tended to do often, although not always, I fully agree with George on that assessment.  Alex found out that there are a lot of really outstanding players in his age group (15-16).  He’d known it before, having played for Team Georgia Elite in AAU competition but I don’t think he’s ever seen as many truly talented players all in one gym at the same time.

The facilities were incredible.  The event was run entirely on the campus of St. Louis University.  Their new rec center was where the guys played, they stayed in a dorm on campus and ate three squares meals in a campus facility.  Obviously, Nike put their best foot forward to impress the impressionable, so the kids were treated extremely well.  However, they were expected to be on time and exposed to some leadership training to show them that, even at an event such as a so-called “all-star camp,” there’s more to their lives than just playing the game.

In the upper echelon of the camp, there were several truly gifted players.  I wasn’t there to evaluate talent, just follow my son from game to game, but it was impossible not to take notice of the size, speed, quickness, jumping ability and overall athleticism of youngsters, many of whom aren’t old enough to have a driver’s license.  Each team had a player 6′11″ or bigger and all of the ten-men squads had an exceptionally quick guard, yet the position that was in abundance was the super athletic, leaping wing man.  Other than shot attempts, the number one stat in the camp had to be offensive rebounds.  Few players, if any, blocked out and everybody’s dream (who could) wanted to follow up slam dunk a teammate’s miss.  There were more dunks than in an average college game because 1) there was no real interest in blocking out, 2) everyone was looking to block shots, so 3) defensive rotation (which you’d normally see in an organized college contest) wasn’t present and guys had running, unimpeded head starts.

Still and all, there were some extremely competitive games and an observer could get a feel for how players performed under pressure - especially during the final evening when games were shortened to three minutes and started with the score tied.  In this situation, it was easy to tell which kids understood the value of each possession and which ones played the same as they did in the other games.  Some very talented players have a long way to go, considering where they claim they’re planning on attending college.  Too many of these guys wouldn’t change the way they play if they had a frontal lobotomy.

As with any parent, I was proud of the way my son played.  He didn’t try to do what he couldn’t do (something that’s very tempting when kids see what others their age can do, e.g taking bad shots), knocked down open jumpers (although not as consistently as he needed to at this level, i.e. on his other teams - where he’s option #1 or #2 and it’s not as crucial if he misses three or four shots, because he, and his coach, know he’ll string four or five in a row later on), made the right pass (fed the post when his 7-foot African center had his man pinned or when any of the other guys had mismatches, used bounce passes at the end of a break, as opposed to “falling in love with the lob pass” for the spectacular dunk they see on TV, but turning it over more times than not and ruining an easy scoring opportunity, took defenders off the dribble and allowed the situation to determine whether he was going to pull up or take it all the way to the basket, was usually in a defensive stance and didn’t get too discouraged when he’d get beaten by a super quick guard, handled himself well (blended in with the other guys, something I’ve noticed he has a real knack for, when he would play with other teams in which he didn’t know anybody) and was a credit to his high school, his family (beside my wife and me, his older brother, Andy, and two aunts, Peggy and Susan, made the trip to St. Lou) and himself.

Lessons learned were 1) how to be a complementary player when not everyone can be a star, 2) there are better players than he is so, while hard work got him to this level, even more is necessary to move up to that truly elite status and 3) that he belonged - while there were times he was overmatched quickness-wise, those players were blowing by everybody in camp and that intelligence - shot fakes, understanding proper defensive rotation and offensive technique - can be used effectively against anyone - so what coaches have been teaching (and preaching) for years is worth knowing, and . . . attitude can be the determining factor in how coaches (yours and opposing) view you as a player. 

As any reader of this blog - or simply of my website - can imagine, my two sons are constantly bombarded with quotes (no, I don’t just use them in speeches and blogs).  My hope is that Alex (and Andy, for that matter) learn what was said about Muhammed Ali:

“Champions don’t become champions in the ring.  They’re merely recognized there.  To be a champion, you must be willing to pay the price on a daily basis.”

The NBA concludes its first day of Round One of its playoff games today.  At today comes to an end, every one of the best-of-seven series will be 1-0, most in favor of the home team (which is the reason the teams play so hard - at least most of the time) during the regular season.  However, during Day One of the 2009 version of the NBA Playoffs, the unthinkable happened - three of the games were won by the road team.

How could this happen?  All year, clubs go at it, competing all across the country in a grueling 82-game schedule, nearly all of them attempting to aid their postseason chances on advancing to the next round.  For some, (the Lakers, Celts and Cavs, for example, this year), it’s about vying for the all-important “home court edge throughout the playoffs” a tremendous advantage to the host squad. 

We’ve all heard the positives for it: 1) the players don’t have to travel - great news for most because after 41 road games (not including the preseason contests), nobody, at least nobody I know, has a desire for more travel; 2) the players get to sleep in their own beds (at least, that’s what the assumption is); 3) they get to eat at their favorite places, and finally, and usually most important of all, 4) they get to spend some quality time with their family - especially crucial for the guys who got married shortly after college and have young kids.  The downside deals with all the ticket requests from close friends and relatives - and not-so-close ones, but people from the past who “happened to be passing through and noticed you were playing tomorrow” (or “in a few hours”) or someone who “hate(s) to bother you, but this friend of mine has a son he’s reconciling with and the _____(your team’s name here) are his boy’s favorite team/I’m coming back to see my ______(best friend, closest relative, biggest client)/it’s always has been my dad’s goal, before he dies, to watch an NBA playoff game (”Oh, did I tell you he has ______)?” 

Many of the top players, i.e. the ones who will be playing the most and have the money to do it, hire outside agencies or delegate to trusted relatives the duty of handling all ticket requests for home games - especially the closer it gets to game time, so they can totally focus on the task at hand.

Let’s look at Day One.  It started off with the #7 seeded Bulls upsetting #2 seed Boston in Beantown, 105-103 in OT.  Are you kidding me?  The Bulls beat the Celtics?  Not so surprising, considering The Big Ticket, aka Kevin Garnett is out, and may be for the entire playoffs (which may end sooner than the defending champs ever dreamed because of today’s result).  Regardless of whether the Celts are shell-shocked at letting one slip away (the losing team always believes a play here and another there determine playoff games - and they’re usually right)!  That certainly was the case in this matchup.

KG’s absence leaves Boston without a major scoring threat as well as one who draws a great deal of attention, so the shots his teammates get are all just a bit to quite considerably tougher.  That could have been a major factor in Ray Allen’s shooting 1-12 from the floor in the opener.  On the defensive end, well, Garnett is the best defender in the NBA.  All this means is that Boston, sans KG, is not the same team that won 62 games and got a #2 seed - and now, are looking beatable.

Give credit where it’s due, though, because Chicago, and its fans, were so thrilled with the way they ended the season and really looked to be on an uptick heading into the playoffs.  Even with all that, it took a rookie, a guy who was a high school senior just two years ago, to light up the entire city of Boston, by scoring 36 points (tying Kareem’s record for most points scored by a player in his playoff debut).  In addition, he had $1.10 in assists (11 dimes) and was 12-12 from the FT line. 

A player of uncommon quiet confidence, Rose, at halftime, was overheard to say he was going out to “break Rondo’s will.”  He then proceeded to score on the first five possessions of the second half.  Similar to a dog coming upon another, a stranger, and “marking his territory,” signifying “I own this space” (and along with it, I own you).  This attitude is even more important in the playoffs where a player is going up against the same team game after game, for a possible seven games.  The Blazers crowd was geeked when the game began but the Bulls seemed to take rip their hearts right out - from the beginning of the contest.

In San Antonio, the story line dealt with one guy who everybody knew who didn’t play and another who few knew, who did.  Manu Ginobli, out for the playoffs, is as important to the Spurs as KG is to the Celts.  At the end of every shot clock or, more importantly, every game, it becomes “give it to Manu and let him create something good” - a responsibility in which he seldoms disappoints.  Like Garnett does for Allen, what Ginobli brings to the Spurs makes Tony Parker’s job that much easier.  

Meanwhile, the Mavericks held a coming out party for a relatively unknown backup point guard, a move which was against all odds going into the game, because the guy he’s backing up is Jason Kidd, voted one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all-time.  Coach Rick Carlisle turned to J.J. Berea to give Kidd a break in yesterday’s contest against the Spurs and left him there. Berea made his presence felt in a big way by guarding Tony Parker a heck of a lot better than Parker did him.  The 6-0 guard (maybe) had 13 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter.

Finally, everyone needs to do something nice for Blazers center, Joel Pryzbilla, who went into yesterday’s home playoff opener against Houston thinking he was guarding a guy named Yao and came away thinking it must have been misspelled.  It was more like “Yeow!” as the Rockets’ 7′6″ center torched Pryz and his Portland teammates for 24 first half points (without missing a shot).  Sources, who apparently don’t know Jeff Van Gundy very well, were saying that the reason JVG predicted, not only a win for the Rockets but a blowout - in Portland - was because he’s bitter that Rick Adelman, his successor, is having more success in Houston than he did (which is arguable) and Adleman has had to face the same issues (injuries to Tracy McGrady - remember him? - and Yeow Yao Ming).  Van Gundy happens to be one of the brightest, most analytical commentators who, as much as anyone I know, lives in the moment.  His time at Houston, at New York, all the way back to his high school coaching days in Upstate New York and the graduate assistantship he spent with Rick Pitino at Providence are memories, some good, others not so - at each location, just as his current job (in which he also excels) has brought him.

The success achieved by Rose, Berea and Yao in their respective Game One’s on the road was exactly as Muhammad Ali simply said a long time ago:

“It’s a lack of faith that makes people afraid to meet challenges and I always believed in myself.”

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