duncan228
12-22-2008, 12:49 AM
Udrih returns ‘home' happy to be a King (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Udrih_returns_home_happy_to_be_a_King.html)
By Jeff McDonald
The Sacramento Kings' charter plane dipped low through the South Texas sky early Sunday morning, breaking through a layer of cloud cover and into a swatch of airspace that Beno Udrih knew well.
From his window seat, even in the pre-dawn blackness, Udrih could see the familiar lights of the familiar landmarks. Before he had even set foot on San Antonio soil, he felt it.
He was home.
“The first time I came to the U.S., it was to San Antonio,” Udrih, the former Spurs point guard, said Sunday. “My first house was here. It still kind of feels like home.”
By mid-afternoon, Udrih was back in the AT&T Center, his home away from home for his first three NBA seasons, where his new team was staging a walk-through in advance of tonight's game against his old team.
On the surface, the Udrih who returns to San Antonio this week is not the same Udrih who left town two Octobers ago, after his Spurs career hit a dead end and he was traded to Minnesota on his way to Sacramento.
Udrih is 26 now. He is an established NBA starter. And he has job security, thanks to the five-year, $33.3 million deal the Kings gave him in the offseason.
“It is the opportunity I have always wanted,” Udrih said.
It is the opportunity Udrih was never going to get in San Antonio, where he was interminably stuck behind a budding All-Star in Tony Parker. And it is the opportunity Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, never the noisiest of Udrih apologists, thought he deserved.
Though occasionally questioning Udrih's mental toughness and often frustrated by his physical fragility, Popovich never doubted his skills as an NBA point guard. He figured Udrih, the Spurs' first-round draft pick in 2004 and a member of NBA championship teams in 2005 and 2007, would one day look elsewhere for more minutes and a fatter paycheck.
“We knew we weren't going to be able to sign him to a $30 million contract,” Popovich said. “He's young. He's not going to want to sit behind Tony for the next 10 years. We knew he was going to go elsewhere.”
Just days before the start of his fourth season, Udrih got his break. He was dealt to the Timberwolves, who immediately waived him, paving the way for a soft free-agent landing in Sacramento.
In his first season as an NBA starter, Udrih averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 assists, while shooting 46.4 percent from the field. The hands-down highlight: Less than a month after his trade, Udrih scorched the Spurs for 27 points, then a career high.
Those left behind in San Antonio were not surprised by Udrih's success.
“I don't see him as so much improved,” said Manu Ginobili, who dressed next to Udrih for three seasons. “He's a confidence player. He found a good place in Sacramento with a coach that trusts him. That's why he's having better numbers.”
If the story ended there, it would be a Slovenian fairy tale. Instead, Udrih finds himself in the midst of a dramatic second act.
His team is 7-21. His coach has been fired. And Udrih is struggling to prove himself worthy of the faith the Kings have placed in him.
Udrih's numbers are down almost across the board. In 27 games this season, he is averaging 11.9 points and 5.1 assists. His 3-point percentage has taken a nosedive from 38.7 percent last season to 23.5.
As he was for much of his tenure with the Spurs, Udrih also has been injury prone. He is battling a strained hamstring, but expects to play tonight (If he does suit up, it will be Udrih's first action at the AT&T Center since the 2007 Finals; he was injured for each of the Kings' two visits to San Antonio last season).
“He worked his tail off last year to really get that contract that he hadn't had,” said Kenny Natt, the Kings' interim coach after Reggie Theus' ouster last week. “My objective right now is to get him back to where he was — hungry, like he was last year.”
One of the first investments Udrih made upon signing his new deal was to buy a house in Sacramento. That is home now.
But San Antonio is home, too. Udrih still owns his house here, which he is finding difficult to sell in a bad economy. And he still owns his memories.
Udrih will be back in the AT&T Center tonight, back beneath the championship banners that he, in some small part, helped the Spurs win. Back home, this time as a visitor.
“I had good times, and it was a great organization,” Udrih said. “I have no regrets about anything here. There are no bad feelings.”
By Jeff McDonald
The Sacramento Kings' charter plane dipped low through the South Texas sky early Sunday morning, breaking through a layer of cloud cover and into a swatch of airspace that Beno Udrih knew well.
From his window seat, even in the pre-dawn blackness, Udrih could see the familiar lights of the familiar landmarks. Before he had even set foot on San Antonio soil, he felt it.
He was home.
“The first time I came to the U.S., it was to San Antonio,” Udrih, the former Spurs point guard, said Sunday. “My first house was here. It still kind of feels like home.”
By mid-afternoon, Udrih was back in the AT&T Center, his home away from home for his first three NBA seasons, where his new team was staging a walk-through in advance of tonight's game against his old team.
On the surface, the Udrih who returns to San Antonio this week is not the same Udrih who left town two Octobers ago, after his Spurs career hit a dead end and he was traded to Minnesota on his way to Sacramento.
Udrih is 26 now. He is an established NBA starter. And he has job security, thanks to the five-year, $33.3 million deal the Kings gave him in the offseason.
“It is the opportunity I have always wanted,” Udrih said.
It is the opportunity Udrih was never going to get in San Antonio, where he was interminably stuck behind a budding All-Star in Tony Parker. And it is the opportunity Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, never the noisiest of Udrih apologists, thought he deserved.
Though occasionally questioning Udrih's mental toughness and often frustrated by his physical fragility, Popovich never doubted his skills as an NBA point guard. He figured Udrih, the Spurs' first-round draft pick in 2004 and a member of NBA championship teams in 2005 and 2007, would one day look elsewhere for more minutes and a fatter paycheck.
“We knew we weren't going to be able to sign him to a $30 million contract,” Popovich said. “He's young. He's not going to want to sit behind Tony for the next 10 years. We knew he was going to go elsewhere.”
Just days before the start of his fourth season, Udrih got his break. He was dealt to the Timberwolves, who immediately waived him, paving the way for a soft free-agent landing in Sacramento.
In his first season as an NBA starter, Udrih averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 assists, while shooting 46.4 percent from the field. The hands-down highlight: Less than a month after his trade, Udrih scorched the Spurs for 27 points, then a career high.
Those left behind in San Antonio were not surprised by Udrih's success.
“I don't see him as so much improved,” said Manu Ginobili, who dressed next to Udrih for three seasons. “He's a confidence player. He found a good place in Sacramento with a coach that trusts him. That's why he's having better numbers.”
If the story ended there, it would be a Slovenian fairy tale. Instead, Udrih finds himself in the midst of a dramatic second act.
His team is 7-21. His coach has been fired. And Udrih is struggling to prove himself worthy of the faith the Kings have placed in him.
Udrih's numbers are down almost across the board. In 27 games this season, he is averaging 11.9 points and 5.1 assists. His 3-point percentage has taken a nosedive from 38.7 percent last season to 23.5.
As he was for much of his tenure with the Spurs, Udrih also has been injury prone. He is battling a strained hamstring, but expects to play tonight (If he does suit up, it will be Udrih's first action at the AT&T Center since the 2007 Finals; he was injured for each of the Kings' two visits to San Antonio last season).
“He worked his tail off last year to really get that contract that he hadn't had,” said Kenny Natt, the Kings' interim coach after Reggie Theus' ouster last week. “My objective right now is to get him back to where he was — hungry, like he was last year.”
One of the first investments Udrih made upon signing his new deal was to buy a house in Sacramento. That is home now.
But San Antonio is home, too. Udrih still owns his house here, which he is finding difficult to sell in a bad economy. And he still owns his memories.
Udrih will be back in the AT&T Center tonight, back beneath the championship banners that he, in some small part, helped the Spurs win. Back home, this time as a visitor.
“I had good times, and it was a great organization,” Udrih said. “I have no regrets about anything here. There are no bad feelings.”