Kori Ellis
02-26-2007, 01:26 AM
Simple Life challenges Bonner
Web Posted: 02/26/2007 12:17 AM CST
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA022607.bonner.139a3890.html
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
Tucked somewhere far away in the recesses of YouTube.com, yet easily accessible with only a few keystrokes, is a 3-minute, 45-second video clip titled, simply, "The Matt Bonner Challenge."
The Matt Bonner Challenge consists of Bonner's younger brother, Luke, trying to make a layup, another layup, a free throw, a college 3-pointer, an NBA 3-pointer, another NBA 3-pointer, a college 3-pointer, a free throw, a layup and another layup in succession.
Or, as the title screen says, "In A Row!!"
The video was shot and edited by Matt and set to rap music and other sound effects. But while the clip documents Luke, a sophomore center at the University of Massachusetts, as he repeatedly flubs his way through the series of shots, it reveals less about him than it does his older brother.
"Watch that," Spurs guard Brent Barry said, "and you'll know just how simple Matt Bonner really is."
Barry and the rest of the Spurs have quickly come to appreciate not only Bonner's homespun humor but also his game. Since returning last week from a month-long absence, Bonner has shown off the same hustle and aggressiveness that allowed him to carve out a spot in the team's rotation before he tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
"He's strong - maybe stronger than he was x before the injury," coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's back."
Bonner is still trying to regain his timing - he missed seven of eight shots in his first two games back before scoring 13 points in 12 minutes during Saturday's victory over Seattle - but said he has had no trouble with his knee. His next goal is to get rid of the brace he's been wearing.
"It stinks," Bonner said. "I have to keep it in the trunk of my car because it smells so bad."
If nothing else, Bonner's sweat-stained brace is evidence of how hard he's worked to return. After Bonner injured his knee while jumping for a rebound and had to be carried off the court Jan. 13 against Washington, Popovich initially thought he might be out for two months.
Four weeks later, Bonner was cleared to play.
Before Bonner was injured, Popovich had begun using him to spell Robert Horry, and he did the same Wednesday in Atlanta, choosing to sit Horry on the second night of a back-to-back. It remains to be seen how much Bonner will play tonight against his former Toronto teammates, but Popovich clearly considers him an important member of the rotation.
When the Spurs acquired Bonner and Eric Williams from the Raptors last summer for Rasho Nesterovic, they knew the 6-foot-10 forward was a good 3-point shooter who could help space the floor for Tim Duncan. They have since come to value his offensive rebounding just as much.
"He's a better rebounder than we thought," Popovich said. "He's got more of a post game than we thought. He's more athletic than we thought. And he's even tougher than we thought.
"We're thrilled with him."
The trade seems to have worked out for both teams. In unloading the remaining three years and $23.5.million on Nesterovic's contract, the Spurs were able to sign Francisco Elson, whose athleticism so far appears to be a better fit in the Western Conference. The Spurs further improved their frontline depth this month by trading Williams to Charlotte for Melvin Ely.
Nesterovic, meanwhile, has been a steady starting center for the Raptors, who have won 12 of their past 15 games to surge up the Eastern Conference standings. Bonner, who spent his first two seasons in Toronto, isn't surprised to see his former team doing so well.
"All last year, you could see us getting better and better," said Bonner, who planned to get together with some of the Raptors players and staff members for dinner Sunday. "You knew (Toronto general manager
Bryan) Colangelo had a vision, and once he could start putting his pieces in place, things were going to turn around.
"It's tough to be part of a rebuilding process for two years and then get traded right when we're starting to turn the corner, but I'm very happy here. I don't have a single complaint."
Bonner became one of Toronto's most popular athletes. He was dubbed "Red Rocket" after the city's identically-named subway system, which, aside from his own two feet, served as his only mode of transportation.
Bonner now owns a car - "If I walked here, I'd have to bring a couple of gallons of sunscreen with me, too," he said - but his scrappiness has quickly earned him the respect of Spurs fans, particularly the Baseline Bums, who have been in mourning since Malik Rose was traded. The 26-year-old also has filled a hole in the team's locker room and now serves as the Spurs' representative to the Players Association.
"For me, personally, losing Sean (Marks) last year, who was a good friend of mine and a guy I had some good times with, was tough," Barry said. "I didn't know much about Matt other than he was another slow white guy who could shoot, but I kind of bonded with him early."
Bonner grew up in Concord, N.H., and graduated as his high school's valedictorian, before attending the University of Florida. His mother is a teacher and his father a postman, who, when visiting San Antonio, introduces himself to anyone wearing Spurs regalia as "Matt Bonner's Dad."
In addition to introducing the world to the Matt Bonner Challenge, Bonner also will put on the "Matt Bonner Presents: Sneakers and Speakers Charity Rockfest" on July 14 in Concord. The event, which will benefit the local Boys and Girls Club, will be headlined by Bonner's favorite indie band, Okkervil River.
"He just enjoys the simple things in life," Barry said. "He's not a complicated fellow, that Matt Bonner."
Web Posted: 02/26/2007 12:17 AM CST
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA022607.bonner.139a3890.html
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
Tucked somewhere far away in the recesses of YouTube.com, yet easily accessible with only a few keystrokes, is a 3-minute, 45-second video clip titled, simply, "The Matt Bonner Challenge."
The Matt Bonner Challenge consists of Bonner's younger brother, Luke, trying to make a layup, another layup, a free throw, a college 3-pointer, an NBA 3-pointer, another NBA 3-pointer, a college 3-pointer, a free throw, a layup and another layup in succession.
Or, as the title screen says, "In A Row!!"
The video was shot and edited by Matt and set to rap music and other sound effects. But while the clip documents Luke, a sophomore center at the University of Massachusetts, as he repeatedly flubs his way through the series of shots, it reveals less about him than it does his older brother.
"Watch that," Spurs guard Brent Barry said, "and you'll know just how simple Matt Bonner really is."
Barry and the rest of the Spurs have quickly come to appreciate not only Bonner's homespun humor but also his game. Since returning last week from a month-long absence, Bonner has shown off the same hustle and aggressiveness that allowed him to carve out a spot in the team's rotation before he tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
"He's strong - maybe stronger than he was x before the injury," coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's back."
Bonner is still trying to regain his timing - he missed seven of eight shots in his first two games back before scoring 13 points in 12 minutes during Saturday's victory over Seattle - but said he has had no trouble with his knee. His next goal is to get rid of the brace he's been wearing.
"It stinks," Bonner said. "I have to keep it in the trunk of my car because it smells so bad."
If nothing else, Bonner's sweat-stained brace is evidence of how hard he's worked to return. After Bonner injured his knee while jumping for a rebound and had to be carried off the court Jan. 13 against Washington, Popovich initially thought he might be out for two months.
Four weeks later, Bonner was cleared to play.
Before Bonner was injured, Popovich had begun using him to spell Robert Horry, and he did the same Wednesday in Atlanta, choosing to sit Horry on the second night of a back-to-back. It remains to be seen how much Bonner will play tonight against his former Toronto teammates, but Popovich clearly considers him an important member of the rotation.
When the Spurs acquired Bonner and Eric Williams from the Raptors last summer for Rasho Nesterovic, they knew the 6-foot-10 forward was a good 3-point shooter who could help space the floor for Tim Duncan. They have since come to value his offensive rebounding just as much.
"He's a better rebounder than we thought," Popovich said. "He's got more of a post game than we thought. He's more athletic than we thought. And he's even tougher than we thought.
"We're thrilled with him."
The trade seems to have worked out for both teams. In unloading the remaining three years and $23.5.million on Nesterovic's contract, the Spurs were able to sign Francisco Elson, whose athleticism so far appears to be a better fit in the Western Conference. The Spurs further improved their frontline depth this month by trading Williams to Charlotte for Melvin Ely.
Nesterovic, meanwhile, has been a steady starting center for the Raptors, who have won 12 of their past 15 games to surge up the Eastern Conference standings. Bonner, who spent his first two seasons in Toronto, isn't surprised to see his former team doing so well.
"All last year, you could see us getting better and better," said Bonner, who planned to get together with some of the Raptors players and staff members for dinner Sunday. "You knew (Toronto general manager
Bryan) Colangelo had a vision, and once he could start putting his pieces in place, things were going to turn around.
"It's tough to be part of a rebuilding process for two years and then get traded right when we're starting to turn the corner, but I'm very happy here. I don't have a single complaint."
Bonner became one of Toronto's most popular athletes. He was dubbed "Red Rocket" after the city's identically-named subway system, which, aside from his own two feet, served as his only mode of transportation.
Bonner now owns a car - "If I walked here, I'd have to bring a couple of gallons of sunscreen with me, too," he said - but his scrappiness has quickly earned him the respect of Spurs fans, particularly the Baseline Bums, who have been in mourning since Malik Rose was traded. The 26-year-old also has filled a hole in the team's locker room and now serves as the Spurs' representative to the Players Association.
"For me, personally, losing Sean (Marks) last year, who was a good friend of mine and a guy I had some good times with, was tough," Barry said. "I didn't know much about Matt other than he was another slow white guy who could shoot, but I kind of bonded with him early."
Bonner grew up in Concord, N.H., and graduated as his high school's valedictorian, before attending the University of Florida. His mother is a teacher and his father a postman, who, when visiting San Antonio, introduces himself to anyone wearing Spurs regalia as "Matt Bonner's Dad."
In addition to introducing the world to the Matt Bonner Challenge, Bonner also will put on the "Matt Bonner Presents: Sneakers and Speakers Charity Rockfest" on July 14 in Concord. The event, which will benefit the local Boys and Girls Club, will be headlined by Bonner's favorite indie band, Okkervil River.
"He just enjoys the simple things in life," Barry said. "He's not a complicated fellow, that Matt Bonner."