Mr.Bottomtooth
11-19-2006, 01:12 PM
Battier 'dreams' of finishing career with Pistons
Vincent Goodwill / Special to The Detroit News
AUBURN HILLS Coming home isnt easy for everybody. But for Shane Battier, seeing The Palace is a welcome sight and perhaps a glimpse into the not-so-distant future.
Battier, who attended Birmingham-Detroit Country Day, is in his first season with the Houston Rockets after being traded from Memphis for the draft rights to Rudy Gay.
He still is getting used to a new city and system.
Its difficult, uprooting and moving everything, he said. But you have to adjust.
Battier, who is averaging nine points a game, down from his 10.5 career average, was drafted sixth overall by the Grizzlies in 2001.
But the former Duke standout always envisioned putting on a different cap than the one handed to him by commissioner David Stern.
Detroit had the ninth pick that year, said Battier, who scored nine points and had six rebounds in Saturday night's 104-92 loss to the Pistons. I really wanted to come here. It would have been a dream come true.
Rodney White, who the Pistons ended up selecting ninth, now is out of the league.
Could Battier still end up as a Piston?
Battier let in on a secret: He wants to finish his career where he felt it should have started.
I would love to finish my career here, he said. Thats my dream now, even though Im happy the way things have gone so far.
Battier spent the summer playing for Team USA in Japan, but he also found time to settle some roots back home.
He and his wife, Heidi, bought a condo in metro Detroit, and he plans to move back here full-time once his playing days are over.
I finally wised up and got a place here this summer, he said. But I want to walk away before the game kicks me out.
On a separate note, Battier said he felt the loss of Michigan legendary football coach Bo Schembechler, who died Friday at the age of 77. Battiers wifes grandfather was Bob Ufer, the late legendary Michigan announcer.
So we are a Michigan family through and through, Battier said. We are saddened by the news and he was a big part of the tradition of Michigan football and he touched and affected the lives of so many people in such a positive way.
Saturdays sell-out was the Pistons 140th in a row, though the arena had noticeable sections that were less than half-full.
The entire Pistons bench was assessed a technical foul in the second quarter. So, who pays the fine? Well, later, they assessed it to Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons are contesting it, saying they believe the deserving party is assistant coach Ron Harper.
The Michigan-Ohio State football game was being played on the Jumbotron so the early-arriving fans could see the second half. Cheers and groans were heard loudly throughout The Palace.
Vincent Goodwill is a free-lance writer.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061119/SPORTS0102/611190346/1127
----------------------------
I don't know what the hell is in the text.
Vincent Goodwill / Special to The Detroit News
AUBURN HILLS Coming home isnt easy for everybody. But for Shane Battier, seeing The Palace is a welcome sight and perhaps a glimpse into the not-so-distant future.
Battier, who attended Birmingham-Detroit Country Day, is in his first season with the Houston Rockets after being traded from Memphis for the draft rights to Rudy Gay.
He still is getting used to a new city and system.
Its difficult, uprooting and moving everything, he said. But you have to adjust.
Battier, who is averaging nine points a game, down from his 10.5 career average, was drafted sixth overall by the Grizzlies in 2001.
But the former Duke standout always envisioned putting on a different cap than the one handed to him by commissioner David Stern.
Detroit had the ninth pick that year, said Battier, who scored nine points and had six rebounds in Saturday night's 104-92 loss to the Pistons. I really wanted to come here. It would have been a dream come true.
Rodney White, who the Pistons ended up selecting ninth, now is out of the league.
Could Battier still end up as a Piston?
Battier let in on a secret: He wants to finish his career where he felt it should have started.
I would love to finish my career here, he said. Thats my dream now, even though Im happy the way things have gone so far.
Battier spent the summer playing for Team USA in Japan, but he also found time to settle some roots back home.
He and his wife, Heidi, bought a condo in metro Detroit, and he plans to move back here full-time once his playing days are over.
I finally wised up and got a place here this summer, he said. But I want to walk away before the game kicks me out.
On a separate note, Battier said he felt the loss of Michigan legendary football coach Bo Schembechler, who died Friday at the age of 77. Battiers wifes grandfather was Bob Ufer, the late legendary Michigan announcer.
So we are a Michigan family through and through, Battier said. We are saddened by the news and he was a big part of the tradition of Michigan football and he touched and affected the lives of so many people in such a positive way.
Saturdays sell-out was the Pistons 140th in a row, though the arena had noticeable sections that were less than half-full.
The entire Pistons bench was assessed a technical foul in the second quarter. So, who pays the fine? Well, later, they assessed it to Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons are contesting it, saying they believe the deserving party is assistant coach Ron Harper.
The Michigan-Ohio State football game was being played on the Jumbotron so the early-arriving fans could see the second half. Cheers and groans were heard loudly throughout The Palace.
Vincent Goodwill is a free-lance writer.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061119/SPORTS0102/611190346/1127
----------------------------
I don't know what the hell is in the text.