duncan228
03-23-2011, 12:44 PM
Danny Green: A New March Madness (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110323_rodriguez.html)
Ken Rodriguez
The U-turn in the bumpy career of Danny Green came as he rode in the back of a Reno Bighorn van. On his way to practice on a dusty road in Nevada, Green’s cell phone rang. “Start packing,” the caller said last week. “You’re going back to San Antonio.”
A rush of emotion surged through Green. After six humbling weeks in the NBA’s Development League, after a passport misplaced in the mail cost him a job in Italy, after months of doubt and discouragement since his release from the Spurs, he’d secured a second chance. “I was so excited,” Green says, “I almost jumped out of the moving van.”
The timing of the call: perfect. March has almost always been Green’s month. At North Carolina, he made it to four NCAA Tournaments, his Tar Heels advancing deeper each year. In 2009, he reached April, and celebrated as no current Spur has -- with a national championship.
He remembers straining a stomach muscle against Michigan State, remembers fouling out. He also remembers the sweet aftermath: cutting down the nets, hugging teammates, embracing family. His one shining moment.
A smile creases his face. Green is sitting courtside at the AT&T Center, 90 minutes before tipoff against Charlotte, recalling a journey -- from North Carolina to Cleveland to San Antonio to Reno and back to the Alamo City -- and some turns along the way.
Winning the championship was big, yes. Winning in front of his father was even bigger. A year earlier, Danny Green Sr. sat in prison, staring at long, hard time. “I wasn’t sure,” young Danny says, “if he was ever going to make one of my college games.”
Keep reading... (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110323_rodriguez.html)
http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110323_rodriguez.html
Ken Rodriguez
The U-turn in the bumpy career of Danny Green came as he rode in the back of a Reno Bighorn van. On his way to practice on a dusty road in Nevada, Green’s cell phone rang. “Start packing,” the caller said last week. “You’re going back to San Antonio.”
A rush of emotion surged through Green. After six humbling weeks in the NBA’s Development League, after a passport misplaced in the mail cost him a job in Italy, after months of doubt and discouragement since his release from the Spurs, he’d secured a second chance. “I was so excited,” Green says, “I almost jumped out of the moving van.”
The timing of the call: perfect. March has almost always been Green’s month. At North Carolina, he made it to four NCAA Tournaments, his Tar Heels advancing deeper each year. In 2009, he reached April, and celebrated as no current Spur has -- with a national championship.
He remembers straining a stomach muscle against Michigan State, remembers fouling out. He also remembers the sweet aftermath: cutting down the nets, hugging teammates, embracing family. His one shining moment.
A smile creases his face. Green is sitting courtside at the AT&T Center, 90 minutes before tipoff against Charlotte, recalling a journey -- from North Carolina to Cleveland to San Antonio to Reno and back to the Alamo City -- and some turns along the way.
Winning the championship was big, yes. Winning in front of his father was even bigger. A year earlier, Danny Green Sr. sat in prison, staring at long, hard time. “I wasn’t sure,” young Danny says, “if he was ever going to make one of my college games.”
Keep reading... (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110323_rodriguez.html)
http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110323_rodriguez.html