duncan228
05-02-2011, 09:34 PM
Danny Ferry: In The Footsteps Of His Father (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110502_rodriguez)
Ken Rodriguez
He never imagined it would turn out this way. That he would play in the NBA, become a league executive, celebrate championships and mirror almost every career move made by his 6-foot-8 father.
“All I wanted to do,” recalls 6-foot-10 Danny Ferry, “was play basketball.”
He got his wish and more. Not many boys get their first ball from an NBA player. Not many learn how to dribble and shoot from a league veteran. But that’s how it was for the son of Bob Ferry. Danny grew up in the lap of a Baltimore Bullets forward. And when dad retired and moved into the front office, Danny tagged along to practices with the general manager.
Decades later, the memories remain vivid. As a kid, when the franchise relocated and became known as the Washington Bullets, he rebounded for Elvin Hayes. He shot with Mitch Kupchak. And he ran for his life from Wes Unseld. Once, Unseld grabbed young Danny and held him by the ankles over a second floor stairwell, just for fun. “To this day,” says Danny, vice president of operations for the Spurs, “he calls me a sissy because I would run whenever I saw him.”
Unseld stood 6-feet-7 and weighed 245 pounds. Picking up the GM’s son was like picking up a ball. “He’d throw him up in the air and Danny tried to act like he liked it,” Bob says, “but he was scared to death. I think Wes was working on his outlet pass with Danny.”
Keep reading... (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110502_rodriguez)
http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110502_rodriguez
Ken Rodriguez
He never imagined it would turn out this way. That he would play in the NBA, become a league executive, celebrate championships and mirror almost every career move made by his 6-foot-8 father.
“All I wanted to do,” recalls 6-foot-10 Danny Ferry, “was play basketball.”
He got his wish and more. Not many boys get their first ball from an NBA player. Not many learn how to dribble and shoot from a league veteran. But that’s how it was for the son of Bob Ferry. Danny grew up in the lap of a Baltimore Bullets forward. And when dad retired and moved into the front office, Danny tagged along to practices with the general manager.
Decades later, the memories remain vivid. As a kid, when the franchise relocated and became known as the Washington Bullets, he rebounded for Elvin Hayes. He shot with Mitch Kupchak. And he ran for his life from Wes Unseld. Once, Unseld grabbed young Danny and held him by the ankles over a second floor stairwell, just for fun. “To this day,” says Danny, vice president of operations for the Spurs, “he calls me a sissy because I would run whenever I saw him.”
Unseld stood 6-feet-7 and weighed 245 pounds. Picking up the GM’s son was like picking up a ball. “He’d throw him up in the air and Danny tried to act like he liked it,” Bob says, “but he was scared to death. I think Wes was working on his outlet pass with Danny.”
Keep reading... (http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110502_rodriguez)
http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/110502_rodriguez