Get some sun. Go for a run. Watch Charles Barkley coach another Rookie game of H.O.R.S.E. and laugh. All are things I've heard beat the proverbial February blahs. It's officially February and many in the NBA are putting on a happy face to beat their own blahs. Just look at the Cleveland Cavaliers. As of Monday, they have been on a 21 game loosing streak and nowhere near winning a title before their South Beach adversary. Speaking before the Heat faced the Cavaliers on Monday Night, LeBron James said he had no reason to enjoy Cleveland's epic struggles. He left Cleveland to further his own career he says, and the fact Cleveland is falling on hard times doesn't make the decision any better or worse. Well, for better or worse, this is the NBA and so unfolds the drama. I think a lot of times things get taken out of context and with February also being Black History month, allow me to quote from the late great Martin Luther King:
"The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy".
On this note, we build today's discussion: achieving greatness after pushing past adversity. Blake Griffin? - did it. The Los Angeles Lakers? Hope to do it. Current and past NBA greats? Are famous for it. Let's begin.
Knee? What Knee?
Meet Blake Griffin. A young basketball phenom hailing from the University of Oklahoma, Griffin was selected first overall by the Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft. Impressive? Gets better. He played for the Clippers' summer League Team and was named Summer League MVP. Taking notice if you didn't already? We all were. Then the day before the 2009-2010 season started, Griffin got a stress fracture (from landing a dunk, no less) that would put him out for weeks. When the healing wasn't going as well as expected, he had surgery on the broken kneecap and was out for the rest of the season. Not a good way for a kid with a lot of fire power to start his professional career. Still considered a rookie, he starts the 2010-2011 season on a team losing 13 of their first 14 games. Clippers looked like normal but how Blake Griffin rose to the occasion, was not. On November 10th, 2010, he single-handedly performed CPR on the Clippers by posting the most points scored by a rookie with 44 in a home loss to the Knicks.
I know this is all common knowledge but the weight of what he accomplished bears the merit of repeating. I think a lot of veterans in this league can learn from him, especially Andrew Bynum. This summer, Bynum decided to use his summer to vacation and take a step away from the game. Everyone is entitled to a little of that. But when you have a bum knee that needs surgery and you are on a team looking to defend its championship throne, do you put off the surgery so your recovery time is paid for during the regular season? Most Championship contenders would answer no but Bynum chose to miss part of this season and now still expects to be an NBA All-Star. Not cool in my books. Not cool at all. In the off season during his knee injury, Griffin spent a great deal of time working out with a San Francisco-based trainer, hungry to get back to the game he loves. Big difference. Now, as a result of this drive, he fills the Staples Center with Clippers fans just waiting to see what he does next. The Clippers' Marketing team no longer has to put Kobe or LeBron's face on advertising in an attempt to sell the team to wayward basketball fans. Now all they have to do is say Blake Griffin and people go bananas. Pure bananas. Only way to describe what he has done for his club, the league and the game. And oh yeah, his dunks.
Will L.A. make the playoffs? Do they deserve to?
This depends on which L.A. based team we are talking about. With the NBA All-Star game just around the corner, I like to look to the previous year's NBA Final. And what better time to do this then a few days after a finals rematch between the Lakers and Celtics. The Lakers got beat Sunday not as a result of complacency or lack of consistency like I have heard some people say. This time the Celtics were just he better team. Plain and simple. What usually happens when a team is playing disjointed and inconsistent going into the month of February? You got it - a trade. But Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak swears up and down they have not even looked into it. Really? The Lakers have dropped two straight as of Tuesday morning: one to the Sacramento Kings (of all teams? It should've been a cake walk) and the other to the Celtics. Well Mr. Kupchak, if you decide to 'look into it', read the previous paragraph of this article mentioning one of your veterans. Rhymes with 'hide 'em'.
We all need a 'pick me up'
Not just because it's February and the 'blah' factor associated with it, but we all need a little pick me up - Raptor fan or not. So I dug deep in to my archives to find my top ten favourite basketball quotations of all time. What could be more inspiring than the game of basketball, right? Here we go (in no particular order):
John Wooden - "What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player".
Robert Horry - "Pressure can burst a pipe or pressure can make a diamond".
Michael Jordan - "I have never been afraid to fail".
Tim Duncan - "Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best".
Phil Jackson - "Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We".
Larry Bird - "A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals".
Magic Johnson - "Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates".
Jim Valvano - "How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal and you have to be willing to work for it."
Mike Krzyzewski - "If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven't done much today".
Elmer G. Letterman - "Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open".
The last one wasn't necessarily basketball related - I just love that one.
Thank-you so much for joining me this week. As always keep your comments and suggestions coming by following me on Twitter (@ddegraauw) or on Facebook (Danielle de Graauw). See you on Thursday for more Raptor oponent analysis in "Behind Enemy Lines" right here on the DNB.
Showing posts with label John Wooden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Wooden. Show all posts
2/1/11
6/7/10
Basketball Has Lost A Legend.
I was deeply sadden to learn that John Wooden had passed away on Friday night. Short of the inventor of the sport James Naismith, you can say John Wooden was the 2nd most influential person on the sport. He was a person that gives me pride in the fact I love this sport. He has had so much influence on so many beyond where he became a coaching legend at UCLA. His 7 NCAA titles in a row and his 10 championships in 12 years will never be matched. But the same can be said for the type of human being he was.
The simple reality is not many people live to be 99 years old in general in this world. Still well into his 90's he would talk to people and attend UCLA games. He even was brought in to talk with the Raptors on a West Coast trip during the Rob Babcock era. You hear people talk about his "pyramid of success" it is not just for basketball but for life.
Last night on the NBA finals you heard from 2 of his great players in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton speaking about him prior to the tip of game 2. It seemed fitting to have both a Celtic and Laker to both speak so highly of their former college coach. In fact whatever team you happen to cheer for it does not matter. John Wooden is a legend that goes beyond team. He was a man built on solid values and ideals. He did his best to share those values and ideals with the world through the sport of basketball.
To often we use words like Legend and Icon in sports. This is a man that truly was one. Despite that he was a very humble man that never let his status of being a true living icon impact on who he was. He loved his wife who he lost 20 years prior to his own death. His love and devotion to her even after she was gone was equally inspiring. In the many tributes of Wooden that I heard over the weekend there was one thing that spoke to this. When they wanted to honour Wooden at UCLA by having his name on the court the Bruins play. He insisted that his wife Nellie have her name on it as well. In fact not just on it but listed first. Nel and John Wooden court is where the Bruins play their games on as a result.
Not just basketball, but the world lost a great man on Friday night. I encourage you to learn more about someone who was a person the likes of which this world may never see again. I think it is important to remember these people that shaped the sport and built it to what it has become. It is why I will always mention Bill Russell in a conversation about the greatest ever. He like Wooden, has always looked give back to those in the game today. He is always willing to talk with players and share his knowledge with others. He himself did some things that will never be done again as well.
So in that spirit, I will close this tribute with some great quotes from John Wooden on life and sports.
There are countless other quotes from this man. Here is a link to website with some of the better ones beyond the ones that I selected. Wooden has a 7 Point Creed that was given to him from his father on his Graduation from grammar school.
John Wooden never coached a game in the NBA but his impact on it and the sport is larger than anyone can imagine. He is one of few folks who has earned the titles of legend and icon in this sport. Sadly for all of us it does not include immortal. He will be deeply missed by his family and the sport of basketball.
Will get back to our normal thing of Raptors and NBA tomorrow. I felt it was important to take the time today to honour a man that is worthy of it. I am only one of many, many that will. John Wooden touched so many people and did so much good for the world. If any of us could accomplish even a quarter of what John Wooden did in life, we could consider our life a success. His memory will live on with the people that love basketball. Just as my memory of my own father lives on with me.
The simple reality is not many people live to be 99 years old in general in this world. Still well into his 90's he would talk to people and attend UCLA games. He even was brought in to talk with the Raptors on a West Coast trip during the Rob Babcock era. You hear people talk about his "pyramid of success" it is not just for basketball but for life.
Last night on the NBA finals you heard from 2 of his great players in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton speaking about him prior to the tip of game 2. It seemed fitting to have both a Celtic and Laker to both speak so highly of their former college coach. In fact whatever team you happen to cheer for it does not matter. John Wooden is a legend that goes beyond team. He was a man built on solid values and ideals. He did his best to share those values and ideals with the world through the sport of basketball.
To often we use words like Legend and Icon in sports. This is a man that truly was one. Despite that he was a very humble man that never let his status of being a true living icon impact on who he was. He loved his wife who he lost 20 years prior to his own death. His love and devotion to her even after she was gone was equally inspiring. In the many tributes of Wooden that I heard over the weekend there was one thing that spoke to this. When they wanted to honour Wooden at UCLA by having his name on the court the Bruins play. He insisted that his wife Nellie have her name on it as well. In fact not just on it but listed first. Nel and John Wooden court is where the Bruins play their games on as a result.
Not just basketball, but the world lost a great man on Friday night. I encourage you to learn more about someone who was a person the likes of which this world may never see again. I think it is important to remember these people that shaped the sport and built it to what it has become. It is why I will always mention Bill Russell in a conversation about the greatest ever. He like Wooden, has always looked give back to those in the game today. He is always willing to talk with players and share his knowledge with others. He himself did some things that will never be done again as well.
So in that spirit, I will close this tribute with some great quotes from John Wooden on life and sports.
John Wooden Quotes
- "Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters."
- "Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."
- "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. "
- "Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. "
- "What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player. "
- "You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one. "
- "A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. "
There are countless other quotes from this man. Here is a link to website with some of the better ones beyond the ones that I selected. Wooden has a 7 Point Creed that was given to him from his father on his Graduation from grammar school.
- Be true to yourself.
- Make each day your masterpiece.
- Help others.
- Drink deeply from good books, especially the bible
- Make friendship a fine art.
- Build a shelter against a rainy day.
- Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.
John Wooden never coached a game in the NBA but his impact on it and the sport is larger than anyone can imagine. He is one of few folks who has earned the titles of legend and icon in this sport. Sadly for all of us it does not include immortal. He will be deeply missed by his family and the sport of basketball.
Will get back to our normal thing of Raptors and NBA tomorrow. I felt it was important to take the time today to honour a man that is worthy of it. I am only one of many, many that will. John Wooden touched so many people and did so much good for the world. If any of us could accomplish even a quarter of what John Wooden did in life, we could consider our life a success. His memory will live on with the people that love basketball. Just as my memory of my own father lives on with me.
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