thispego
04-11-2005, 04:38 AM
Bustin an all nighter on an informative speech that i forgot was due tomorrow :shootme , was wondering if i could get some feedback and some suggestions. I figured i could whip out a 5-7 minute speech about the Spurs pretty quick so let me know what you think, it mainly just needs to keep the audiences attention and not drone on.....also, what were Manu's numbers for his gold medal winning game?
Now, I know I did my mini-impromptu speech on the Spurs, but five sentences is hardly enough to examine everything that makes the San Antonio Spurs one of the greatest sports organizations both on the court and in the community.
According to the Spur’s website, “a great basketball club is more than a group of superb athletes - It is a partner with its community, solving problems, creating opportunities and enhancing the quality of life.”
Today I am going to explain a little bit about the Spurs as, first of all, a sports organization; There are many elements that make the Spurs the lucrative franchise and the perennial title contenders that they are today, but three premier players are the driving force behind the Spurs’ winning ways. I’m also going to touch on the Spurs as a community organization. The Spurs Foundation, Read to Achieve, and the Drug-Free Youth Basketball League are a few of the charitable endeavors that the Spurs partake in.
Now I’m sure that many of you are not Spurs fans, I’m sure that some of you don’t even like the NBA, but unless you’ve been living in a cave the last few years, you all should be familiar with the name Tim Duncan. Widely considered as one of the best players of all time and by some as the best player ever at his position, he continues to drive the Spurs, as he has since his debut in ‘97, to winning seasons, including two NBA Championships. Tim Duncan was born in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands where he began his sporting career as a swimmer. Duncan began swimming at a very early age and was a top U.S. competitor for his age group in the 400-meter freestyle. However, in 1989, when Tim was in 9th grade, Hurricane Hugo battered the Virgin Islands and destroyed the facility where Duncan practiced and competed in swimming. After that, Duncan decided to pick up the game of hoops, which turned out to be a really good decision.
He received a basketball scholarship to Wake Forest in 1993, where he was awarded NCAA National Player of the Year honors and a Degree in Psychology. After graduation he was selected as the #1 draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs and the accolades began piling up; 1998 Rookie of the Year, 5 All-Star appearances, 2 NBA MVP Awards, 2 NBA Finals MVP Awards, and most importantly 2 NBA Championships.
Now Tim Duncan doesn’t take all the credit for the Spurs’ success, surely the ridiculously deep bench, including such clutch shooters as Robert Horry, Brent Barry, and Glenn Robinson to name a few, has something to do with it. Perhaps it is 8-year Spurs coach Gregg Poppovich with his .653 career winning percentage, which ranks 6th in NBA history and is best among current coaches. Maybe it is the Spurs’ defense first mentality that has kept them head & shoulders above much of their competition. More likely it is the emergence of two of the brightest young stars in the league. The back court tandem of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have flourished in the defensive scheme of Poppovich/San Antonio ball into one of the most offensively explosive combinations we have seen in a long time. In the last two days the Spurs have competed in back to back games on the road in which Tony and Manu scored a combined 102 points, and Manu sat out 1 of the games.
Tony Parker was drafted in 2001from France with San Antonio’s 28th first round pick and immediately made an impact. At 19 years and 166 days of age, Parker became the youngest player to suit up for the Spurs. He became the starting point guard after the first 5 games of the season and averaged 9 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal during his rookie year. Now in his 4th year as a starter and 1 NBA title later he averages 17, 4, and 6 and is only getting better. Parker is quickly becoming recognized as one of the elite point guards in the league and is on the brink of becoming a perennial All-Star. Were it not for Manu Ginoboli, perhaps Tony would have been invited to play in the All-star game this season. Parker and Ginoboli were among the many gifted and talented players vying for the last spot on the Western Conference All-Star roster. All of the coaches in the league were to cast one vote on who they think should fill the last spot based not only on numbers, but what they bring to the team that is sometimes overlooked by sheer statistics. That is what Manu Ginoboli brings to the table. His aggressiveness and hustle are comparable to noone. The coaches recognized this and honored Manu with his first All-Star selection.
Manu Ginoboli came to San Antonio in October of 2002 after being drafted with the Spurs 57th pick in 1999, and began making his climb to the top. But Ginoboli did not need to come to San Antonio to be a winner, he was named the Italian League MVP twice, Euroleague Finals MVP once, and made 3 consecutive Italian League All-Star appearances. More recently, Ginoboli led his National Argentinian Basketball Team to the Gold Medal in the 2004 Olympic games. Ginoboli can do it all because he has an unbridled passion to win, and it is contagious to his teammates when he is on the court. Ginoboli averaged 7 points, 2rebounds, & 2assists his rookie season and now averages 16, 5, & 4.
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginoboli are but three of a myriad of components that make the San Antonio Spurs a successful team and a great sports organization, but what makes the Spurs a great community organization? The Spurs have been actively serving South Texas for 30 years through financial support, educational and recreational programming, publicity and the personal involvement of Spurs management, current and former players, coaches, as well as the Spurs Coyote.
Annually the Spurs and the Spurs Foundation support more than 1,700 different area organizations with in-kind or cash contributions. These in-kind donations (such as tickets, autographed memorabilia, appearances, etc.) are used to raise thousands of dollars for charitable causes in the San Antonio area. Since its inception in 1988, the Spurs Foundation has donated more than $7.5 million to deserving South Texas children through organizations that provide basic, recreational, and medical needs.
One of the nationwide organizations the Spurs are involved in is Read to Achieve, the most extensive educational outreach initiative in the history of professional sports. The Spurs donated more than 16,000 books to Bexar County youth last year. More than 160,000 incentives, which include books, tickets, certificates, scholarships, t-shirts, and player visits are distributed through Spurs education programs each season to inspire student achievement.
In its 15th successful season, the Drug-Free Youth Basketball League offers over 20,000 at risk youth, ranging from ages 5-16, from less affluent city neighborhoods, the opportunity to play basketball, improve their athletic skills and learn the importance of team work, cooperation, sportsmanship, and discipline in a drug-free and safe environment.
From the Admiral, David Robinson to the $7 souvenir beer cups at the SBC center, the Spurs have class written all over them. They’re an organization that value hard work and dedication, community involvement and personal values. I will conclude with a quote from Jacob Riis that is framed in the Spurs locker room that illustrates the Spurs’ philosophy: ”When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone on before.” Jacob Riis
Now, I know I did my mini-impromptu speech on the Spurs, but five sentences is hardly enough to examine everything that makes the San Antonio Spurs one of the greatest sports organizations both on the court and in the community.
According to the Spur’s website, “a great basketball club is more than a group of superb athletes - It is a partner with its community, solving problems, creating opportunities and enhancing the quality of life.”
Today I am going to explain a little bit about the Spurs as, first of all, a sports organization; There are many elements that make the Spurs the lucrative franchise and the perennial title contenders that they are today, but three premier players are the driving force behind the Spurs’ winning ways. I’m also going to touch on the Spurs as a community organization. The Spurs Foundation, Read to Achieve, and the Drug-Free Youth Basketball League are a few of the charitable endeavors that the Spurs partake in.
Now I’m sure that many of you are not Spurs fans, I’m sure that some of you don’t even like the NBA, but unless you’ve been living in a cave the last few years, you all should be familiar with the name Tim Duncan. Widely considered as one of the best players of all time and by some as the best player ever at his position, he continues to drive the Spurs, as he has since his debut in ‘97, to winning seasons, including two NBA Championships. Tim Duncan was born in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands where he began his sporting career as a swimmer. Duncan began swimming at a very early age and was a top U.S. competitor for his age group in the 400-meter freestyle. However, in 1989, when Tim was in 9th grade, Hurricane Hugo battered the Virgin Islands and destroyed the facility where Duncan practiced and competed in swimming. After that, Duncan decided to pick up the game of hoops, which turned out to be a really good decision.
He received a basketball scholarship to Wake Forest in 1993, where he was awarded NCAA National Player of the Year honors and a Degree in Psychology. After graduation he was selected as the #1 draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs and the accolades began piling up; 1998 Rookie of the Year, 5 All-Star appearances, 2 NBA MVP Awards, 2 NBA Finals MVP Awards, and most importantly 2 NBA Championships.
Now Tim Duncan doesn’t take all the credit for the Spurs’ success, surely the ridiculously deep bench, including such clutch shooters as Robert Horry, Brent Barry, and Glenn Robinson to name a few, has something to do with it. Perhaps it is 8-year Spurs coach Gregg Poppovich with his .653 career winning percentage, which ranks 6th in NBA history and is best among current coaches. Maybe it is the Spurs’ defense first mentality that has kept them head & shoulders above much of their competition. More likely it is the emergence of two of the brightest young stars in the league. The back court tandem of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have flourished in the defensive scheme of Poppovich/San Antonio ball into one of the most offensively explosive combinations we have seen in a long time. In the last two days the Spurs have competed in back to back games on the road in which Tony and Manu scored a combined 102 points, and Manu sat out 1 of the games.
Tony Parker was drafted in 2001from France with San Antonio’s 28th first round pick and immediately made an impact. At 19 years and 166 days of age, Parker became the youngest player to suit up for the Spurs. He became the starting point guard after the first 5 games of the season and averaged 9 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal during his rookie year. Now in his 4th year as a starter and 1 NBA title later he averages 17, 4, and 6 and is only getting better. Parker is quickly becoming recognized as one of the elite point guards in the league and is on the brink of becoming a perennial All-Star. Were it not for Manu Ginoboli, perhaps Tony would have been invited to play in the All-star game this season. Parker and Ginoboli were among the many gifted and talented players vying for the last spot on the Western Conference All-Star roster. All of the coaches in the league were to cast one vote on who they think should fill the last spot based not only on numbers, but what they bring to the team that is sometimes overlooked by sheer statistics. That is what Manu Ginoboli brings to the table. His aggressiveness and hustle are comparable to noone. The coaches recognized this and honored Manu with his first All-Star selection.
Manu Ginoboli came to San Antonio in October of 2002 after being drafted with the Spurs 57th pick in 1999, and began making his climb to the top. But Ginoboli did not need to come to San Antonio to be a winner, he was named the Italian League MVP twice, Euroleague Finals MVP once, and made 3 consecutive Italian League All-Star appearances. More recently, Ginoboli led his National Argentinian Basketball Team to the Gold Medal in the 2004 Olympic games. Ginoboli can do it all because he has an unbridled passion to win, and it is contagious to his teammates when he is on the court. Ginoboli averaged 7 points, 2rebounds, & 2assists his rookie season and now averages 16, 5, & 4.
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginoboli are but three of a myriad of components that make the San Antonio Spurs a successful team and a great sports organization, but what makes the Spurs a great community organization? The Spurs have been actively serving South Texas for 30 years through financial support, educational and recreational programming, publicity and the personal involvement of Spurs management, current and former players, coaches, as well as the Spurs Coyote.
Annually the Spurs and the Spurs Foundation support more than 1,700 different area organizations with in-kind or cash contributions. These in-kind donations (such as tickets, autographed memorabilia, appearances, etc.) are used to raise thousands of dollars for charitable causes in the San Antonio area. Since its inception in 1988, the Spurs Foundation has donated more than $7.5 million to deserving South Texas children through organizations that provide basic, recreational, and medical needs.
One of the nationwide organizations the Spurs are involved in is Read to Achieve, the most extensive educational outreach initiative in the history of professional sports. The Spurs donated more than 16,000 books to Bexar County youth last year. More than 160,000 incentives, which include books, tickets, certificates, scholarships, t-shirts, and player visits are distributed through Spurs education programs each season to inspire student achievement.
In its 15th successful season, the Drug-Free Youth Basketball League offers over 20,000 at risk youth, ranging from ages 5-16, from less affluent city neighborhoods, the opportunity to play basketball, improve their athletic skills and learn the importance of team work, cooperation, sportsmanship, and discipline in a drug-free and safe environment.
From the Admiral, David Robinson to the $7 souvenir beer cups at the SBC center, the Spurs have class written all over them. They’re an organization that value hard work and dedication, community involvement and personal values. I will conclude with a quote from Jacob Riis that is framed in the Spurs locker room that illustrates the Spurs’ philosophy: ”When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone on before.” Jacob Riis