duncan228
11-08-2008, 10:27 PM
Tolliver's fantasy follows nightmare (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Tollivers_fantasy_follows_nightmare.html)
Mike Monroe
The lineup Gregg Popovich kept on the court for the conclusion of the Spurs' loss to the Heat on Friday night included a player making his NBA debut.
Two weeks after burying his mother, Anthony Tolliver put in 22 good minutes, part of a group whose competitiveness pleased Popovich on a night otherwise best forgotten.
If Tolliver refused to hide his excitement at finally realizing his hoop dream so shortly after living a nightmare, no one begrudged him a small measure of postgame euphoria.
Donna Lewis taught special education in Springfield, Mo., before retiring this spring, at age 56. Not having to teach at Springfield's two high schools was going to afford her time for trips to San Antonio to watch her only son play in the NBA if he made the team.
But not long after Tolliver returned to his apartment after practice Oct. 23, his sister phoned with bad news: Their mom, who had seemed so healthy, had suffered a fatal heart attack.
“It was so unexpected,” recalled Tolliver. “I just sat there and stared at my table for an hour. There were so many things going through my mind. I'd heard about people being in shock and not having any feelings at all. You don't cry. You don't do anything. That was me.”
Two hours later, finally facing reality, he was on a plane, headed home.
“Everybody with the Spurs was so supportive,” he said, “They just told me to get home as soon as I could, to get with my family.”
The Spurs also assured Tolliver he needn't worry that his absence would affect a final roster decision. They had signed him because he had shot lights-out from 3-point range in summer league. There was a spot for a “big” whose long-range stroke reminded them of Robert Horry's.
Tolliver couldn't help but worry.
“All the feedback I'd gotten from the coaches, and through my agent, was that there was mutual understanding I was going to be here,” he said. “Still, I thought I needed to prove I deserved to be here.”
In Springfield, Tolliver and his sisters discovered the local funeral parlor wouldn't hold all the folks who wanted to say farewell to Donna Lewis. They arranged for services at a theater. More than 700 attended.
“It was a celebration of her life,” Tolliver said, “and by the end of the day, my sisters and I learned a lot about my mom. We heard so many different stories about how she had affected so many different people, how many lives she had changed for the better during her career.
“We didn't know. She was modest. She wouldn't come home each day and say, ‘Guess what I did today?' She just thought that was what she was supposed to do. It was her job, and you do your job to the best of your ability every day.”
Tolliver was still in Springfield when the Spurs submitted their official roster, which included his name, to the NBA. He returned and waited for his chance to play.
He says he now understands how much of his own positive outlook, including his work ethic, comes from Donna Lewis, who was denied the chance to see him play an NBA game.
Just outside the Spurs' team room after his Friday debut, the rookie told a cell phone caller that he knew his mom had seen him in silver and black.
“I know,” he told the caller, a broad smile on his face, “that she's beaming down on us right now.”
Mike Monroe
The lineup Gregg Popovich kept on the court for the conclusion of the Spurs' loss to the Heat on Friday night included a player making his NBA debut.
Two weeks after burying his mother, Anthony Tolliver put in 22 good minutes, part of a group whose competitiveness pleased Popovich on a night otherwise best forgotten.
If Tolliver refused to hide his excitement at finally realizing his hoop dream so shortly after living a nightmare, no one begrudged him a small measure of postgame euphoria.
Donna Lewis taught special education in Springfield, Mo., before retiring this spring, at age 56. Not having to teach at Springfield's two high schools was going to afford her time for trips to San Antonio to watch her only son play in the NBA if he made the team.
But not long after Tolliver returned to his apartment after practice Oct. 23, his sister phoned with bad news: Their mom, who had seemed so healthy, had suffered a fatal heart attack.
“It was so unexpected,” recalled Tolliver. “I just sat there and stared at my table for an hour. There were so many things going through my mind. I'd heard about people being in shock and not having any feelings at all. You don't cry. You don't do anything. That was me.”
Two hours later, finally facing reality, he was on a plane, headed home.
“Everybody with the Spurs was so supportive,” he said, “They just told me to get home as soon as I could, to get with my family.”
The Spurs also assured Tolliver he needn't worry that his absence would affect a final roster decision. They had signed him because he had shot lights-out from 3-point range in summer league. There was a spot for a “big” whose long-range stroke reminded them of Robert Horry's.
Tolliver couldn't help but worry.
“All the feedback I'd gotten from the coaches, and through my agent, was that there was mutual understanding I was going to be here,” he said. “Still, I thought I needed to prove I deserved to be here.”
In Springfield, Tolliver and his sisters discovered the local funeral parlor wouldn't hold all the folks who wanted to say farewell to Donna Lewis. They arranged for services at a theater. More than 700 attended.
“It was a celebration of her life,” Tolliver said, “and by the end of the day, my sisters and I learned a lot about my mom. We heard so many different stories about how she had affected so many different people, how many lives she had changed for the better during her career.
“We didn't know. She was modest. She wouldn't come home each day and say, ‘Guess what I did today?' She just thought that was what she was supposed to do. It was her job, and you do your job to the best of your ability every day.”
Tolliver was still in Springfield when the Spurs submitted their official roster, which included his name, to the NBA. He returned and waited for his chance to play.
He says he now understands how much of his own positive outlook, including his work ethic, comes from Donna Lewis, who was denied the chance to see him play an NBA game.
Just outside the Spurs' team room after his Friday debut, the rookie told a cell phone caller that he knew his mom had seen him in silver and black.
“I know,” he told the caller, a broad smile on his face, “that she's beaming down on us right now.”