Jack’s Blog

When the question of who is the better player: Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, the results are usually easy to predict.  The older generation picks MJ, while today’s younger fans say Kobe.  When each makes their case, the obvious bias always shines through.  “The players now are better than those from Jordan’s era (as if he played in the ’50s).  That’s why I think Kobe is better.”  “Michael has six rings.  Until Kobe has that many, there’s no argument.  It’s MJ.”  Can you guess which speaker is older?

In an attempt to keep everything as equal as possible (which is never going to happen when comparing teams or players from different times - even times as close as these are), let’s look at a number of intangible categories since comparing stats is too mundane.

#1 Each player has a focus all his own.  Game’s on the line, who takes the last shot?  MJ then, Kobe now.

#2 Each has a versatility to his game - power dunker in the earlier years, maintained/s ability to go to the hole; neither can be ignored behind the three-point line and both them have fantastic mid-range games (a trait in its own right that separates them from most of basketball’s other “superstars”).  Both are primarily 2 guards,  each can take over the point if necessary.  Yet each has an unstoppable post up game.

#3 Each demanded/demands to guard the opponent’s best offensive player and was/is a shut-down defender.

#4 Each has shown no hesitation to get in teammates’ faces in order to elevate their games and each made/makes his teammates better.

#5 Each has personal flaws (this just in - as spectacular as they are on the court, they are human).  MJ has a reputation as somewhat of a womanizer and a heavy gambler.  While Kobe doesn’t have the gambling rap of MJ, Michael was never subjected to the public humiliation of Kobe’s “post-Colorado” press conference.

#6 As marketing icons go, MJ might own a higher business acumen (has his own brand), but Kobe’s younger and has the identical global appeal Michael did at that stage of his career.

#7 Each has won multiple championships, Jordan 6 (MJ is 6-0 in title series) to Bryant’s 4 (Kobe’s 4-2), BUT Kobe’s career is not yet complete and, if championships is the end-all barometer, what if Kobe ends up with 7?  Is he automatically the better player?  It’s not that simple.

#8 Each had incredible discipline when it came to personal work ethic.

#9 Interestingly enough, the fact I don’t hear when this debate is raged is that both were coached by Phil Jackson, a remarkable coincidence when comparing two players.  Nowhere else is this the case.  Russell-Chamberlain?  Mays-Mantle?  OJ-Sweetness-Sanders-Smith?  Howe-Orr?

As far as differences, Michael went to college (and was mentored by Dean Smith), whereas Kobe’s education was growing up in a foreign country and is the son of a former NBA player.  MJ was an immediate starter; Kobe began his career coming off the bench.

As a math teacher, I understand that answers and solutions mean the same, so when someone wants to know if there’s an answer (solution) to the “Who’s better” question between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, I refer them to Marcel Duchamp’s quote:

“There is no solution because there is no problem.”

Wow!  There’s a real news flash.  If someone’s larger than life, it would stand to reason people would be captivated by them.  I’ve had the good fortune to meet or know a few throughout the years and it is some experience observing these “wonders of the human race” because, although you’ll often hear, “They’re just like you and me,” believe me, they’re not.

When you’re at the early impressionable age, it may be the starting quarterback on the local high school’s undefeated football team who is larger than life to you.  But I’m talking about the real, honest-to-goodness national and world icons, the ones who make the A-1 stories on the big-time papers. 

In my lifetime (so far), I don’t even attempt to make it sound like I’m exactly rubbing elbows with the elite of society on a daily basis, but I will mention a few people I’ve known (or maybe just casually met) who are in that category.  Often, people feel that these folks are controversial, but I worked at the University of Tennessee for seven years and don’t feel that Pat Summitt is controversial in any way, shape or form.

What intrigues me about Pat is she is at the top of her field (the true top - don’t think I don’t know there’s a pun there, but it’s so trite, I’ll pass - as she’s won more games than any other basketball coach ), yet has the ability to really “let her hair down” in social settings.  She doesn’t mind being the butt of a joke (well-intended, not mean) and is totally at ease with any type of crowd, eschewing the center of attention if the gathering is informal.  She could always be the center of attention, but unless it’s a function where she’s the featured speaker, she’d just as soon shun the spotlight.

At UT, the Lady Vols practiced from 12:30-3:30 and the men from 3:30-6:30.  In my seven years, there was never a time when she was on the floor one second past 3:30, even if they were forced to start late and weren’t done.  She’d call one of her managers over and ask her to see if she could find another gym on campus or close by, so they could finish.  That being said, no one ever dared  step foot on the floor if they were practicing and it was before 3:30.  If they did, it was the last time they ever did. 

Since basketball consumed a large chunk of my life, a few coaches, two I got to know a little, while the other I worked for, fit neatly into the larger than life category.  I’m speaking of John Wooden, Bob Knight and Jerry Tarkanian, polar opposites (could there be three poles?) in some ways, blood brothers in other areas.  Coach Wooden is by far the most respected due to his humility, Christian ways and zillion National Championships.  Bob is certainly the louder than the others, but also the most highly principled, while Jerry is the coach’s coach and definitely the most approachable of the three.  Each one were big winners and affected the lives of those they coached in such a positive way.

Outside the world of coaching, there was a year at USC that our secretary got a call from former President Ronald Reagan’s office.  The caller said that the President was a closet SC fan and after we’d beaten UCLA for the fourth time in five games, he wanted to meet the team.  We went to his office in Century City and when you’re standing, shaking hands with the person who, at one time, was the most powerful man in the world, it is quite a humbling experience.  No words were allowed to be exchanged at the photo shoot, just walk up, shake hands (first picture), then turn to the camera for the second shot.  I still vividly recall that day.  Independent of politics, I fully realized I was in the presence of greatness.

Another guy I’ve worked for, although not closely (to him) for the past seven years is Michael Jordan (at his basketball camp in Santa Barbara).  An amazing person, he’s the best player who ever put on a basketball uni, yet is also bright and articulate.  But what the director of the camp and my former boss, close mentor and mentor, George Raveling (someone who commands a presence himself when he enters a room), MJ looks great no matter what he’s got on.  He’ll walk into camp wearing  jeans and a t-shirt and looks like royalty (of course the total cost of the jeans and T is probably in the neighborhood of what you and I would spend on a suit - combined. 

When you work for Jerry Tarkanian, meeting these type of people is like bumping into your dentist at the supermarket, a coincidence, but not that shocking.  At the end of the first year with Jerry, there was a “Roast Tark Night” and I served as emcee.  There I was, at the head table and who am I kibitzing with but James Caan, when this “fan” (of his, not mine) came up, interrupted the conversation and said, “Hey, James Caan.  You know, a lot of people think Sonny Corleone was your best role, but you want to know what I think your best role was?”

Without missing a beat, Caan turns to the guy and casually says, “No,” then turns back and resumes his discussion with me.  One of the world’s all-time greatest putdowns - and I was part of it!  Without being the guy put down.  I did feel bad for the guy (the roast was $125/plate), but he just walked away, probably proud of the fact he was embarrassed by the famous James Caan.

The sweetest, kindest, most “real” guy I ever spent any amount of time with was Walter Payton, another of Tark’s buddies.  Jerry tells the story of his secretary at UNLV getting a phone call from “His Sweetness” and putting it through.  Sure enough, there was that high pitched voice, telling Jerry how much he enjoyed the Runnin’ Rebels, that he was in town and would Jerry mind if he spoke to the team.  Naturally, Tark thought that was a great idea and thus, the beginning of a friendship began. 

To this day I don’t know why he was in Fresno, but he was and it was during our season.  My position as Director of Basketball Operations forbade me from “coaching” so I sat at the end of the bench and would analyze the game in a different manner than I ever had before, a much different outlook on it and it wasn’t before too long I understood why Jerry had me doing it.  But the day Walter came in and I had the honor of sitting next to him in the last two seats, I have no idea of the opponent and I’m sure I did an absolutely awful job of evaluating the game.  Because it was just a couple hours of chattin’ it up with the greatest running back in the history of the NFL (and I felt this way before I’d ever met him). 

In previous blogs, I’ve made mention of how much I enjoy listening to books while I’m driving.  The one I have in the CD player now is by another “giant,” Ted Turner, and just today I heard a line from him I’ll bet every one of these types agree with.  Ted said:  

“When I suffer a setback, I don’t think of myself as losing.  I’m just learning how to win.”

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I got to see an early preview of the movie Semi Pro with Will Ferrell and what came to mind afterward was when Pete Carroll, a friend of Ferrell’s (who happens to be an SC grad), had him show up in USC’s football locker room dressed up as Ricky Bobby, a character from another of his movies.  It was shown on television and the look on the players’ faces when Will Ferrell ran in and started acting up was memorable.

Having served in the college ranks for three decades, I also got opportunities to meet “high profile” people along the way.  In my 9/17 blog, “Do You Really Know MJ?” I talked about having pictures in my classroom of Michael Jordan and me as well as former President Ronald Reagan and me.  However, of all the “famous” people I’ve ever had the good fortune to spend any amount of time with, the most remarkable was Walter Payton.

I met Walter at a Fresno State basketball game.  As with all of these events, there’s a story behind it.  During Jerry Tarkanian’s hey day at UNLV, one day his secretary told him there was a Walter Payton on the line wanting to talk to him.  Jerry, being in Vegas, had superstar personalities wanting to meet him all the time.  Case in point: Frank Sinatra was a personal friend of his.  But to Tark, a big-time football fan (his number one mentor was Clark Van Gelder, former football coach at Fresno State, most of his close friends at Fresno State were football players and his brother, Myron, was a football coach), Walter Payton was … Sweetness. 

“Put the call through,” Jerry told the secretary and he recalled how stunned he was when he heard this high-pitched voice on the other end saying, “Coach Tarkanian, this is Walter Payton and I’m a big fan of your Runnin’ Rebels.  I’m going to be in Las Vegas and would like to come to a game.”  Remember, back in that day, there were no tickets available for any Rebel games.

Of course, Jerry assured him, there would be tickets left for him and whomever at will call.  When Payton showed up, Tark had someone escort him to the locker room and had him speak to the UNLV players.  That’s how their friendship started.

Lo and behold, during one of our first seasons at Fresno, who should call and say he’s coming to town for a game but His Sweetness himself.  My seat was at the end of the bench (it was an NCAA violation for me to do any “coaching” during a game - more on that in an upcoming blog) so I was assigned to “hang out” with Walter.  Believe me, I’ve had worse gigs. 

In the locker room, I went to the bathroom prior to going out to my seat and as I started to leave, Walter said to me, “Jack, your fly is open.”  Naturally, I look down to check (I mean, what would you have done - ignore Walter Payton?) and when I did he lets out a laugh and says, “Gotcha!”  Talk about uncool.  What other superstar would stoop to something of that nature with some one he’d just met for a cheap laugh.  And that is exactly what made Walter Payton the kind of guy everyone who ever met him said he was - a regular guy - albeit one with an extraordinary amount of talent, charisma and class. 

When we got to the bench and the players were warming up, I knew I was in the presence of greatness (it’s not often you get to have that opportunity with someone who is so overwhelmingly dominant in his field) and anytime I find myself in such a situation, I probe to find out as much as I can about them and how they achieved their success.  One thing I distinctly remember talking about was whether he thought, when he was playing at Jackson State (MS) University, he’d get the chance to play in the NFL, that he said something along the lines of, “I felt if I kept playing the way I was, and knew I could, somebody would give me that opportunity.”

He said it so matter-of-factly, and with such humility, that I knew he was giving it to me straight and exactly as he felt at the time.  Possibly he took the advice of another who excelled in his field, Lee Iacocca, who said:

“There ain’t no free lunches in this country, so don’t go spending your whole life commiserating that you got raw deals.  You’ve got to say, ‘I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough, I can have it.’” Â