spurschick
06-11-2005, 09:51 AM
By STEVE KELLEY
Seattle Times
SAN ANTONIO - Still in his black practice uniform, Brent Barry crosses his arms and leans against a whitewashed wall outside the San Antonio Spurs' locker room. He has spent the last half hour answering questions about every other Spur except Brent Barry.
He has talked about the court chaos of Manu Ginobili and the defensive toughness of Bruce Bowen and the metronomic greatness of Tim Duncan. He has answered questions about his team's international roster and about coach Gregg Popovich's preparedness.
In his first season in San Antonio, in his first trip to the NBA Finals, Barry has become a team spokesman. You want a useable quote for a story on any San Antonio player, you go to Brent Barry.
"Maybe if I make a couple of shots, they'll ask me questions about me," Barry says and smiles.
He has practiced, done a public-service announcement for the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars, and now he has a few minutes to talk about himself and his season.
It's mid-June, and Brent Barry is exactly where he had hoped this season would take him.
After nine seasons scuffling for some of the league's also-rans - playing for the Clippers and the post-Jordan Bulls, enduring the Sonics' lengthy rebuilding process - Barry is playing for the best team in the league, playing for a title, playing for a team other teams fear as much as revere.
"I've been able to watch guys who have been here before," Barry says. "That's been a huge key for me. We have a lot of guys here who have had the experience of getting deep into the playoffs and into the Finals. The trap I keep falling into is deferring to those guys. I still have to step out and do the things that I can do. I'm still learning that."
Last July he signed a four-year, $22.million contract with the hope it would get him to this place. And although his playing time has been inconsistent and his production has been down - averaging 7.4 points, 2.2 assists and 21.5 minutes - Barry knows coming to San Antonio was the right call.
"Last summer this was opportunity that was granted to me," he says. "To come to San Antonio and have a chance to maybe win a championship. And if we do that, that's all it was really about. To be here with my family and this group of guys makes it really, really neat.
"I really wish that during this year I had played better basketball. It certainly hasn't been the best basketball I've played in my life. I came here with the thought of trying to win, whether I'm playing 35 minutes or not. It's not about me. It's about what our team is capable of doing and being part of a team. No matter what my minutes have been, we've kept winning."
Despite the inherent pressure of this series, Barry, 33, is trying to savor these moments. He will bring his family to Detroit for the middle games of the Finals. He is filling a journal with his thoughts. And he'll take a camera on the road with him.
"I'm trying to kind of take it all in," he says. "Writing some stuff for myself. I'm going to try to take some pictures of things that maybe people don't normally get to see. That will keep the memories fresh. But if we have the good fortune to win the whole thing, I'll try to document as much as possible, so I can get back to that feeling when I need it."
He struggled in the first game, getting two quick fouls, playing only 10 minutes, collecting four fouls and a turnover and missing his only shot attempt.
"I got two fouls called on me when I was on the treadmill after the game," he jokes.
Last season in Seattle, Barry said he thought he enjoyed the idea of helping a franchise build into a winner as much as he did playing for a winner. But now he's playing for a franchise that is going for its third championship in seven years. His perspective has changed.
"The combination is just so different here," Barry says. "It's just the right chemistry between what management is doing, what the coaching staff is doing and what type of players they bring in. They really just seem to come together and all click. Some teams get it for a year, or two years. They just happen upon some magic formula, but here the Spurs just seem to keep doing it over and over. It's a pretty amazing thing."
Nobody who knows Barry begrudges him one moment of this season's happiness. He is one of the best guys in the game, someone who understands his great fortune.
"I'm in a good place," Barry says. "And as great as all the basketball stuff is, in general I'm in a good place in my life. This stuff, playing for the chance to win a championship, that's just icing."
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/basketball/11868692.htm
Seattle Times
SAN ANTONIO - Still in his black practice uniform, Brent Barry crosses his arms and leans against a whitewashed wall outside the San Antonio Spurs' locker room. He has spent the last half hour answering questions about every other Spur except Brent Barry.
He has talked about the court chaos of Manu Ginobili and the defensive toughness of Bruce Bowen and the metronomic greatness of Tim Duncan. He has answered questions about his team's international roster and about coach Gregg Popovich's preparedness.
In his first season in San Antonio, in his first trip to the NBA Finals, Barry has become a team spokesman. You want a useable quote for a story on any San Antonio player, you go to Brent Barry.
"Maybe if I make a couple of shots, they'll ask me questions about me," Barry says and smiles.
He has practiced, done a public-service announcement for the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars, and now he has a few minutes to talk about himself and his season.
It's mid-June, and Brent Barry is exactly where he had hoped this season would take him.
After nine seasons scuffling for some of the league's also-rans - playing for the Clippers and the post-Jordan Bulls, enduring the Sonics' lengthy rebuilding process - Barry is playing for the best team in the league, playing for a title, playing for a team other teams fear as much as revere.
"I've been able to watch guys who have been here before," Barry says. "That's been a huge key for me. We have a lot of guys here who have had the experience of getting deep into the playoffs and into the Finals. The trap I keep falling into is deferring to those guys. I still have to step out and do the things that I can do. I'm still learning that."
Last July he signed a four-year, $22.million contract with the hope it would get him to this place. And although his playing time has been inconsistent and his production has been down - averaging 7.4 points, 2.2 assists and 21.5 minutes - Barry knows coming to San Antonio was the right call.
"Last summer this was opportunity that was granted to me," he says. "To come to San Antonio and have a chance to maybe win a championship. And if we do that, that's all it was really about. To be here with my family and this group of guys makes it really, really neat.
"I really wish that during this year I had played better basketball. It certainly hasn't been the best basketball I've played in my life. I came here with the thought of trying to win, whether I'm playing 35 minutes or not. It's not about me. It's about what our team is capable of doing and being part of a team. No matter what my minutes have been, we've kept winning."
Despite the inherent pressure of this series, Barry, 33, is trying to savor these moments. He will bring his family to Detroit for the middle games of the Finals. He is filling a journal with his thoughts. And he'll take a camera on the road with him.
"I'm trying to kind of take it all in," he says. "Writing some stuff for myself. I'm going to try to take some pictures of things that maybe people don't normally get to see. That will keep the memories fresh. But if we have the good fortune to win the whole thing, I'll try to document as much as possible, so I can get back to that feeling when I need it."
He struggled in the first game, getting two quick fouls, playing only 10 minutes, collecting four fouls and a turnover and missing his only shot attempt.
"I got two fouls called on me when I was on the treadmill after the game," he jokes.
Last season in Seattle, Barry said he thought he enjoyed the idea of helping a franchise build into a winner as much as he did playing for a winner. But now he's playing for a franchise that is going for its third championship in seven years. His perspective has changed.
"The combination is just so different here," Barry says. "It's just the right chemistry between what management is doing, what the coaching staff is doing and what type of players they bring in. They really just seem to come together and all click. Some teams get it for a year, or two years. They just happen upon some magic formula, but here the Spurs just seem to keep doing it over and over. It's a pretty amazing thing."
Nobody who knows Barry begrudges him one moment of this season's happiness. He is one of the best guys in the game, someone who understands his great fortune.
"I'm in a good place," Barry says. "And as great as all the basketball stuff is, in general I'm in a good place in my life. This stuff, playing for the chance to win a championship, that's just icing."
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/basketball/11868692.htm