whottt
03-28-2010, 03:15 AM
I didn't see anything in the forum about this but.....
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stevekelley/2011460881_kelley28.html
All the best wishes for George Karl in his battle with cancer
Now Karl, who coached the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996, is fighting for his life. This coach, who has always found creative ways to attack and defend, is trying to outlast a cancer that has invaded his right tonsil and metastasized to a lymph node in his neck.
Seattle Times staff columnist
PREV 1 of 2 NEXT
George Karl
JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Dwane Casey
Information
Well wishes: Friends and fans wishing to send their good thoughts to coach George Karl can e-mail them to
[email protected]
"Don't sweat the small stuff."
In his years in Seattle, working as an assistant under George Karl, Dwane Casey often heard that invaluable piece of advice from his boss.
"There's always been this unique looseness about George," Casey, now an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, said late last week from his home in Dallas. "He is a basketball junkie. He truly loves basketball. Talking the game, Coaching the game. Watching the game.
"And, when we were together in Seattle, he always made it fun. He made practices fun. He made coaching meetings fun. He made coaching in the NBA fun."
Denver Nuggets coach Karl doesn't live life. He inhales it. He's a social director, always looking for ways to have fun and making sure the people closest to him are having just as much fun. He plays hard, but he works even harder.
Now Karl, who coached the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996, is fighting for his life. This coach who has always found creative ways to attack and defend is trying to outlast a cancer that has invaded his right tonsil and metastasized to a lymph node in his neck.
The cancer was discovered on Dec. 30, but Karl, who beat prostate cancer in 2005, didn't publicly announce his diagnosis until Feb. 16. At that time he said it was dangerous, but curable.
But recently he suffered a setback, blood clots in his lungs and one leg that have forced doctors to postpone radiation treatments.
The Nuggets have said they don't expect him back on the bench before the playoffs. A more likely and still optimistic scenario has him returning sometime during the playoffs.
Karl, 58, who survived as a player, both at North Carolina and in the now-defunct ABA because of his tenacity, still is tweaking and thinking of a game plan to beat this thing.
"What makes George a great coach is also what makes him open to criticism," Casey said. "He's such a creative thinker. He isn't afraid to try new things.
"He is secure enough in his coaching ability, and the players see that security and that confidence and it trickles down to them. He's willing to try anything and everything."
Karl's trapping defenses are one of his trademarks. He speeds up the game with those traps.
On offense in Seattle, he liked to play inside out, posting up his guards and letting his big men shoot threes. He played inside-out the opposite way it was intended.
How many times did he post up point guard Gary Payton and allow center Sam Perkins to roam behind the three-point arc? He created a second career for the 6-foot-10 Perkins as a three-point shooter.
Casey said he was shocked when he came to the Sonics and discovered that Karl didn't have an out-of-bounds, under-the-basket play.
"We never ran a play under the basket, but somehow, somebody always got open," Casey said.
Karl is in love with basketball. Every level. Both genders. When he coached in Seattle it was common to see his entire family, on an off night, sitting together, watching the Huskies, or SPU, or even a high-school game.
Like some recruiting bird dog, he seemed to know the name of every prep prospect in the state. He was involved in the beginning of the King Holiday Hoopfest, one of the best days of basketball in Seattle.
Except for his well-publicized battles with team president Wally Walker, Karl loved his time in Seattle. He started and funded the AAU program Friends of Hoop that Jim Marsh has helped mold into one of the premier programs in the country.
He gave his time to dozens of Seattle charities, including Children's hospital. More than just a coach, he was an engaged member of the community.
George has always been one of my favorite people in sports. We battled. There were stretches after something I wrote when he would greet me with one sarcastic jab or another.
But we always found common ground in our affection for the game and some of my most memorable moments working in this town have been the hours I spent with him after practice, just talking ball.
Karl saw Casey coaching a team of free agents in the Los Angeles Summer League. He talked with Casey after a game and was impressed with his enthusiasm. They were like-minded lovers of the game.
A former assistant coach at Kentucky, Casey was coaching in Japan and looking for a way into the NBA. Karl did Casey and the NBA a favor by offering him a job in Seattle, bringing him into the league.
"No question I owe George a lot," Casey said. "He was a great guy to work for. He gave his assistants and his players a lot of latitude. He listened to us. I learned a lot about the NBA from George."
Casey came to the NBA with a college coach's mind-set. Karl quickly changed that.
"He taught me how to let the little things go and focus on the big picture," Casey said. "In college, you get upset at practice if guys don't do it right every time. But George never sweated the small stuff.
"He taught me that it's important for guys to play with a free mind. He's always given his players a lot of freedom."
I've always respected Karl for his passion for basketball. And, although I don't know how tough his cancer is, I know how tough George is.
And at this glorious time of the year that is a celebration of the game, all of us who are crazy for basketball should be rooting for George Karl, giving him all of our best wishes and sincerely hoping that he can add this win to his remarkable résumé.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stevekelley/2011460881_kelley28.html
All the best wishes for George Karl in his battle with cancer
Now Karl, who coached the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996, is fighting for his life. This coach, who has always found creative ways to attack and defend, is trying to outlast a cancer that has invaded his right tonsil and metastasized to a lymph node in his neck.
Seattle Times staff columnist
PREV 1 of 2 NEXT
George Karl
JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Dwane Casey
Information
Well wishes: Friends and fans wishing to send their good thoughts to coach George Karl can e-mail them to
[email protected]
"Don't sweat the small stuff."
In his years in Seattle, working as an assistant under George Karl, Dwane Casey often heard that invaluable piece of advice from his boss.
"There's always been this unique looseness about George," Casey, now an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, said late last week from his home in Dallas. "He is a basketball junkie. He truly loves basketball. Talking the game, Coaching the game. Watching the game.
"And, when we were together in Seattle, he always made it fun. He made practices fun. He made coaching meetings fun. He made coaching in the NBA fun."
Denver Nuggets coach Karl doesn't live life. He inhales it. He's a social director, always looking for ways to have fun and making sure the people closest to him are having just as much fun. He plays hard, but he works even harder.
Now Karl, who coached the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996, is fighting for his life. This coach who has always found creative ways to attack and defend is trying to outlast a cancer that has invaded his right tonsil and metastasized to a lymph node in his neck.
The cancer was discovered on Dec. 30, but Karl, who beat prostate cancer in 2005, didn't publicly announce his diagnosis until Feb. 16. At that time he said it was dangerous, but curable.
But recently he suffered a setback, blood clots in his lungs and one leg that have forced doctors to postpone radiation treatments.
The Nuggets have said they don't expect him back on the bench before the playoffs. A more likely and still optimistic scenario has him returning sometime during the playoffs.
Karl, 58, who survived as a player, both at North Carolina and in the now-defunct ABA because of his tenacity, still is tweaking and thinking of a game plan to beat this thing.
"What makes George a great coach is also what makes him open to criticism," Casey said. "He's such a creative thinker. He isn't afraid to try new things.
"He is secure enough in his coaching ability, and the players see that security and that confidence and it trickles down to them. He's willing to try anything and everything."
Karl's trapping defenses are one of his trademarks. He speeds up the game with those traps.
On offense in Seattle, he liked to play inside out, posting up his guards and letting his big men shoot threes. He played inside-out the opposite way it was intended.
How many times did he post up point guard Gary Payton and allow center Sam Perkins to roam behind the three-point arc? He created a second career for the 6-foot-10 Perkins as a three-point shooter.
Casey said he was shocked when he came to the Sonics and discovered that Karl didn't have an out-of-bounds, under-the-basket play.
"We never ran a play under the basket, but somehow, somebody always got open," Casey said.
Karl is in love with basketball. Every level. Both genders. When he coached in Seattle it was common to see his entire family, on an off night, sitting together, watching the Huskies, or SPU, or even a high-school game.
Like some recruiting bird dog, he seemed to know the name of every prep prospect in the state. He was involved in the beginning of the King Holiday Hoopfest, one of the best days of basketball in Seattle.
Except for his well-publicized battles with team president Wally Walker, Karl loved his time in Seattle. He started and funded the AAU program Friends of Hoop that Jim Marsh has helped mold into one of the premier programs in the country.
He gave his time to dozens of Seattle charities, including Children's hospital. More than just a coach, he was an engaged member of the community.
George has always been one of my favorite people in sports. We battled. There were stretches after something I wrote when he would greet me with one sarcastic jab or another.
But we always found common ground in our affection for the game and some of my most memorable moments working in this town have been the hours I spent with him after practice, just talking ball.
Karl saw Casey coaching a team of free agents in the Los Angeles Summer League. He talked with Casey after a game and was impressed with his enthusiasm. They were like-minded lovers of the game.
A former assistant coach at Kentucky, Casey was coaching in Japan and looking for a way into the NBA. Karl did Casey and the NBA a favor by offering him a job in Seattle, bringing him into the league.
"No question I owe George a lot," Casey said. "He was a great guy to work for. He gave his assistants and his players a lot of latitude. He listened to us. I learned a lot about the NBA from George."
Casey came to the NBA with a college coach's mind-set. Karl quickly changed that.
"He taught me how to let the little things go and focus on the big picture," Casey said. "In college, you get upset at practice if guys don't do it right every time. But George never sweated the small stuff.
"He taught me that it's important for guys to play with a free mind. He's always given his players a lot of freedom."
I've always respected Karl for his passion for basketball. And, although I don't know how tough his cancer is, I know how tough George is.
And at this glorious time of the year that is a celebration of the game, all of us who are crazy for basketball should be rooting for George Karl, giving him all of our best wishes and sincerely hoping that he can add this win to his remarkable résumé.