Jimcs50
06-16-2005, 08:21 AM
June 16, 2005, 12:58AM
Massenburg gains wisdom from a world of experiences
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — If his basketball life is remembered at all, Tony Massenburg will be called a journeyman — perhaps the epitome of the word.
We should all be so wise for the journey. We should all see the world with such balance and sense of privilege rather than entitlement.
And we should never forget, as Massenburg never has, that while a single moment in time might be cruel, it doesn't have to break us or define us.
On Sunday, the Spurs might be celebrating their third NBA title. It would be the first for Massenburg, after playing 15 years for 12 NBA teams and two European ones.
Sunday also will be the 19th anniversary of Massenburg's journey taking a fateful turn. Until that day, when Celtics No. 1 draft pick Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose in a University of Maryland dormitory next to his, Massenburg's world was perfect.
Everything was going exactly the way every teenager diagrams it in his mind's eye, a lifetime of layups and long-term contracts in front of him.
Massenburg was playing ACC basketball, starting his first game as a freshman for Lefty Driesell's Terps and playing alongside Bias, of whom he said, "That was my idol. That's who I wanted to be like. People don't know how special he was."
Everything changed on June 19, 1986.
"(A teammate) came over about four or five in the morning and said something happened to Lenny," said Massenburg, a member of the Rockets during the 1999-2000 season. "He was lying on the floor convulsing. We ran down to Leland (Hospital). We were just thinking it was nothing.
"Then his mom comes out and, no tears in her eyes, stone-faced, walks right out and says, 'He's gone.' After that, it was pandemonium. From that point, we had about five years of darkness." :depressed
The Maryland program was wrecked, and no one was spared. Deep-seated corruption was found throughout the program in the wake of Bias' death, from academic scams to a culture of over-indulgence — drugs, money, promiscuity.
Driesell was forced to resign. The program was put on major probation. Those left behind were sent down a long, dark path that most Terps fans wanted to forget. And have.
Wrong place, wrong time
"I was at Maryland at a time when everybody chewed us up," Massenburg said. "Everybody talks about from the '60s through the '80s; then they talk about '93. They jump right over us.
"We were fighting a lot of stereotypes the way many guys assumed it about us all. It got to the point where I think it hurt me and a lot of other guys as far as our chances in the (NBA). It was a stigma."
Despite All-America-type numbers at Maryland (18 points, 10.1 rebounds per game), Massenburg was left off every All-America list. He stayed out of trouble and, instead of transferring, stayed with a team that was decimated after Bias' death. Still, it was not until the 43rd pick when San Antonio drafted him.
"I think I was considered the last rotten apple in the bunch, and I had nothing to do with what was going on there," Massenburg said. "People didn't have any sympathy for the guys still there after (Bias) passed. We didn't kill him. He made a bad decision."
Massenburg lasted in San Antonio for parts of two seasons, establishing a perseverance and in-between game — a big man trapped in a small forward's body — that has defined his career.
Coaches and GMs always like to have him around, but always he is the first to go. Easily liked, easily expendable.
His career has taken Massenburg to San Antonio (twice), Charlotte, Boston, Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto, Philadel-phia, Vancouver (twice), Houston, Memphis, Utah and Sacramento, as well as Barcelona and Malaga, Spain.
He is what the NBA needs more of, someone who doesn't gripe about playing time, whine about contracts and boast of his own greatness. Massenburg only wants what he always has wanted: A day's pay for a day's work. And a title ring.
"I don't expect to be given things," he said. "I didn't come into the league with the big shoe deals, anything like that, people kissing your (backside), All-American status and things that go along with it. The time I came in, you had to earn those things. You had to earn the right to be called a superstar or franchise player or just a player."
Gaining perspective
In a world where everyone seems to want to be a bigger star than the guy sitting across the locker room, a fateful moment helped Massenburg understand privilege.
"I've never gotten caught up in why everything didn't happen for me the way it did for that guy," he said. "That's life. Basketball is just a microcosm of life.
"Anybody can be happy and an easygoing guy when it's all going in your favor. But can you still be professional when it's not? My career has not been what it's been for other guys in the league, but I know a lot of people that would trade places with me right now." :smokin
If the Spurs do win these NBA Finals, there will be all the appropriate and deserving accolades for Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, the coaches, the front office.
Then there will be Massenburg. And the journey.
"It would be the culmination of a lot of years and hard work," he said. "Some guys come in, and everything goes as planned — they have great careers, and they ride off into the sunset. Then some guys, bam, you're hit with something you weren't prepared for, and it's all about how you respond."
Massenburg will be at the end of the Spurs bench tonight for Game 4, unlikely to play significant minutes. But he'll be ready. And he'll be wearing No. 34.
Len Bias' number.
[email protected]
Massenburg gains wisdom from a world of experiences
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — If his basketball life is remembered at all, Tony Massenburg will be called a journeyman — perhaps the epitome of the word.
We should all be so wise for the journey. We should all see the world with such balance and sense of privilege rather than entitlement.
And we should never forget, as Massenburg never has, that while a single moment in time might be cruel, it doesn't have to break us or define us.
On Sunday, the Spurs might be celebrating their third NBA title. It would be the first for Massenburg, after playing 15 years for 12 NBA teams and two European ones.
Sunday also will be the 19th anniversary of Massenburg's journey taking a fateful turn. Until that day, when Celtics No. 1 draft pick Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose in a University of Maryland dormitory next to his, Massenburg's world was perfect.
Everything was going exactly the way every teenager diagrams it in his mind's eye, a lifetime of layups and long-term contracts in front of him.
Massenburg was playing ACC basketball, starting his first game as a freshman for Lefty Driesell's Terps and playing alongside Bias, of whom he said, "That was my idol. That's who I wanted to be like. People don't know how special he was."
Everything changed on June 19, 1986.
"(A teammate) came over about four or five in the morning and said something happened to Lenny," said Massenburg, a member of the Rockets during the 1999-2000 season. "He was lying on the floor convulsing. We ran down to Leland (Hospital). We were just thinking it was nothing.
"Then his mom comes out and, no tears in her eyes, stone-faced, walks right out and says, 'He's gone.' After that, it was pandemonium. From that point, we had about five years of darkness." :depressed
The Maryland program was wrecked, and no one was spared. Deep-seated corruption was found throughout the program in the wake of Bias' death, from academic scams to a culture of over-indulgence — drugs, money, promiscuity.
Driesell was forced to resign. The program was put on major probation. Those left behind were sent down a long, dark path that most Terps fans wanted to forget. And have.
Wrong place, wrong time
"I was at Maryland at a time when everybody chewed us up," Massenburg said. "Everybody talks about from the '60s through the '80s; then they talk about '93. They jump right over us.
"We were fighting a lot of stereotypes the way many guys assumed it about us all. It got to the point where I think it hurt me and a lot of other guys as far as our chances in the (NBA). It was a stigma."
Despite All-America-type numbers at Maryland (18 points, 10.1 rebounds per game), Massenburg was left off every All-America list. He stayed out of trouble and, instead of transferring, stayed with a team that was decimated after Bias' death. Still, it was not until the 43rd pick when San Antonio drafted him.
"I think I was considered the last rotten apple in the bunch, and I had nothing to do with what was going on there," Massenburg said. "People didn't have any sympathy for the guys still there after (Bias) passed. We didn't kill him. He made a bad decision."
Massenburg lasted in San Antonio for parts of two seasons, establishing a perseverance and in-between game — a big man trapped in a small forward's body — that has defined his career.
Coaches and GMs always like to have him around, but always he is the first to go. Easily liked, easily expendable.
His career has taken Massenburg to San Antonio (twice), Charlotte, Boston, Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto, Philadel-phia, Vancouver (twice), Houston, Memphis, Utah and Sacramento, as well as Barcelona and Malaga, Spain.
He is what the NBA needs more of, someone who doesn't gripe about playing time, whine about contracts and boast of his own greatness. Massenburg only wants what he always has wanted: A day's pay for a day's work. And a title ring.
"I don't expect to be given things," he said. "I didn't come into the league with the big shoe deals, anything like that, people kissing your (backside), All-American status and things that go along with it. The time I came in, you had to earn those things. You had to earn the right to be called a superstar or franchise player or just a player."
Gaining perspective
In a world where everyone seems to want to be a bigger star than the guy sitting across the locker room, a fateful moment helped Massenburg understand privilege.
"I've never gotten caught up in why everything didn't happen for me the way it did for that guy," he said. "That's life. Basketball is just a microcosm of life.
"Anybody can be happy and an easygoing guy when it's all going in your favor. But can you still be professional when it's not? My career has not been what it's been for other guys in the league, but I know a lot of people that would trade places with me right now." :smokin
If the Spurs do win these NBA Finals, there will be all the appropriate and deserving accolades for Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, the coaches, the front office.
Then there will be Massenburg. And the journey.
"It would be the culmination of a lot of years and hard work," he said. "Some guys come in, and everything goes as planned — they have great careers, and they ride off into the sunset. Then some guys, bam, you're hit with something you weren't prepared for, and it's all about how you respond."
Massenburg will be at the end of the Spurs bench tonight for Game 4, unlikely to play significant minutes. But he'll be ready. And he'll be wearing No. 34.
Len Bias' number.
[email protected]