duncan228
10-01-2009, 09:16 PM
Young Grizzlies eager to learn from Iverson (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=txlearningfromai&prov=st&type=lgns)
By Teresa M. Walker
Rudy Gay listened as Grizzlies’ teammate O.J. Mayo talked of the team’s need to meld at practice and couldn’t stop himself from piping in, “Practice?”
Oh yes, the player who’s been with the Memphis Grizzlies the longest has seen video of Allen Iverson’s infamous 2002 rant during a feud with Larry Brown about missing practice and heard that word maybe 20 times in the clip. Still, Gay and the other Grizzlies are eager to learn from and play with the 10-time All-Star and former league MVP. They’re also hoping he helps them win more games.
“Actually getting a chance to sit down and talk to him really shows his growth,” Gay said of Iverson. “Of course, that was a while ago, and Allen Iverson is a talented player. To see his growth from then to now and how much he’s turned into a leader and how much he wants to win. … It’s definitely someplace he wants to influence and bring that winning to Memphis.”
The player nicknamed the Answer faces his biggest questions going into his 14th NBA season. Can Iverson, the scoring machine used to leading on the court during games but not in practice, provide the leadership needed to turn around a franchise that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2006?
Iverson sounds as if he’s embracing that role.
“That’s the fun part about being a veteran is that you get a chance to lead guys to places they’ve never been before and give them something they’ve never had in the league,” Iverson said.
Leadership? From Iverson? The man happiest when his teammates feed him the ball to take all the shots? Iverson said he learned how to be more vocal from Eric Snow and Aaron McKie, and he wants the Grizzlies to follow his lead, watching and learning what he called the right way of doing things to see how it translates into wins.
He also understands how reaching the NBA can satisfy so many young players. They start cashing paychecks, find themselves surrounded by people telling them how great they are and get comfortable. Iverson, who hopes to be named a team captain, wants to stoke their hunger to play games that really matter in the postseason.
“I’m not saying that it matters a lot, but it does. I want to be something people think I can’t be,” Iverson said.
No promises have been made or lineups drawn up yet.
Coach Lionel Hollins first wants to see in the preseason how Iverson and Zach Randolph, an offseason trade pickup, combine with draft picks like Gay, Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. Gay and Mayo, so used to winning until they arrived in Memphis, believe they can learn plenty from Iverson.
“He’s reached levels most of the guys on our team dream of reaching. … Just as far as getting to the finals, he’s been there before. I think seeing him every day working in practice and in games, how focused he gets I think it’s definitely a plus to a young team like us,” Mayo said.
The 6-foot-8 Gay, now 240 after adding 10 pounds of muscle this offseason, has been most impressed with watching the 6-foot, 165-pound Iverson average 27.1 points per game through his career.
“You see how small he is. If I went through as much as he did with what he has there, obviously there’s something in him I want to know about,” Gay said. “Just being around him and learning things from him can really help my game I believe, and O.J. as well.”
Hollins has focused on improving the Grizzlies stamina, and that is why Conley is eager to study Iverson, who has averaged 41.4 minutes per game, even though the veteran could cost him minutes or starts this season.
“To get that mentality, I think that’ll rub off on a lot of us,” Conley said.
Iverson has taken teams to the playoffs in nine of his 13 seasons. Since reaching the NBA finals in 2001, Iverson’s teams have reached the postseason five times but were eliminated in the first round on four of those trips. He is coming off a year in which Denver traded him to Detroit, where he averaged a career worst 17.5 points for a Pistons team that didn’t reach the playoffs.
That output would rank him third behind Gay and Mayo in Memphis. Fans eager to think playoffs rather than lottery draft position already have embraced Iverson hoping he can be the difference for a franchise that holds the record for postseason futility, losing its first 12 playoff games.
Hollins knows that most of his young Grizzlies idolize Iverson, and he doesn’t want them standing around and watching.
“I’ve already told AI and Zach that we can’t have our young guys deferring to them because if they’re the two mainstays of the squad, then we’re going to be like we were last year,” Hollins said of the team that finished 24-58. “If those guys continue their improvement and development and stay aggressive in their game, then we’re going to be much better.”
AI might even lead the way.
By Teresa M. Walker
Rudy Gay listened as Grizzlies’ teammate O.J. Mayo talked of the team’s need to meld at practice and couldn’t stop himself from piping in, “Practice?”
Oh yes, the player who’s been with the Memphis Grizzlies the longest has seen video of Allen Iverson’s infamous 2002 rant during a feud with Larry Brown about missing practice and heard that word maybe 20 times in the clip. Still, Gay and the other Grizzlies are eager to learn from and play with the 10-time All-Star and former league MVP. They’re also hoping he helps them win more games.
“Actually getting a chance to sit down and talk to him really shows his growth,” Gay said of Iverson. “Of course, that was a while ago, and Allen Iverson is a talented player. To see his growth from then to now and how much he’s turned into a leader and how much he wants to win. … It’s definitely someplace he wants to influence and bring that winning to Memphis.”
The player nicknamed the Answer faces his biggest questions going into his 14th NBA season. Can Iverson, the scoring machine used to leading on the court during games but not in practice, provide the leadership needed to turn around a franchise that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2006?
Iverson sounds as if he’s embracing that role.
“That’s the fun part about being a veteran is that you get a chance to lead guys to places they’ve never been before and give them something they’ve never had in the league,” Iverson said.
Leadership? From Iverson? The man happiest when his teammates feed him the ball to take all the shots? Iverson said he learned how to be more vocal from Eric Snow and Aaron McKie, and he wants the Grizzlies to follow his lead, watching and learning what he called the right way of doing things to see how it translates into wins.
He also understands how reaching the NBA can satisfy so many young players. They start cashing paychecks, find themselves surrounded by people telling them how great they are and get comfortable. Iverson, who hopes to be named a team captain, wants to stoke their hunger to play games that really matter in the postseason.
“I’m not saying that it matters a lot, but it does. I want to be something people think I can’t be,” Iverson said.
No promises have been made or lineups drawn up yet.
Coach Lionel Hollins first wants to see in the preseason how Iverson and Zach Randolph, an offseason trade pickup, combine with draft picks like Gay, Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. Gay and Mayo, so used to winning until they arrived in Memphis, believe they can learn plenty from Iverson.
“He’s reached levels most of the guys on our team dream of reaching. … Just as far as getting to the finals, he’s been there before. I think seeing him every day working in practice and in games, how focused he gets I think it’s definitely a plus to a young team like us,” Mayo said.
The 6-foot-8 Gay, now 240 after adding 10 pounds of muscle this offseason, has been most impressed with watching the 6-foot, 165-pound Iverson average 27.1 points per game through his career.
“You see how small he is. If I went through as much as he did with what he has there, obviously there’s something in him I want to know about,” Gay said. “Just being around him and learning things from him can really help my game I believe, and O.J. as well.”
Hollins has focused on improving the Grizzlies stamina, and that is why Conley is eager to study Iverson, who has averaged 41.4 minutes per game, even though the veteran could cost him minutes or starts this season.
“To get that mentality, I think that’ll rub off on a lot of us,” Conley said.
Iverson has taken teams to the playoffs in nine of his 13 seasons. Since reaching the NBA finals in 2001, Iverson’s teams have reached the postseason five times but were eliminated in the first round on four of those trips. He is coming off a year in which Denver traded him to Detroit, where he averaged a career worst 17.5 points for a Pistons team that didn’t reach the playoffs.
That output would rank him third behind Gay and Mayo in Memphis. Fans eager to think playoffs rather than lottery draft position already have embraced Iverson hoping he can be the difference for a franchise that holds the record for postseason futility, losing its first 12 playoff games.
Hollins knows that most of his young Grizzlies idolize Iverson, and he doesn’t want them standing around and watching.
“I’ve already told AI and Zach that we can’t have our young guys deferring to them because if they’re the two mainstays of the squad, then we’re going to be like we were last year,” Hollins said of the team that finished 24-58. “If those guys continue their improvement and development and stay aggressive in their game, then we’re going to be much better.”
AI might even lead the way.