Spurs Brazil
12-22-2007, 07:34 AM
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/122207dnspomavsbriefs.2b9df0f.html
Dallas Mavericks notebook: He's Spur of the moment
Mavs' rival will raise Johnson's No. 6 jersey to the rafters tonight
12:02 AM CST on Saturday, December 22, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]
Every time Avery Johnson visits Madison Square Garden, he practices a little ritual.
"I go over to that spot in the corner and just remember that moment," he said. "I'll never forget that spot."
That spot was the place near the baseline where the 5-11 San Antonio point guard sank an 18-foot jumper that clinched the Spurs' first NBA championship in 1999.
Tonight, San Antonio will honor the General who delivered that shot. Johnson's No. 6 jersey will be hoisted to the rafters in a ceremony after the Spurs play the Los Angeles Clippers.
"It's going to be different going there as a former Spur that they are acknowledging for his work on and off the court," Johnson said. "It'll be good to go there and be able to relax, because normally when I'm in that building, I can't relax."
A few of Johnson's assistant coaches will be there with him. His players will be there in spirit.
Johnson played for a handful of teams through his career, but he will be best remembered as a Spur.
"Oh yeah, that's where I really made my mark," Johnson said. "The other teams were really just pit stops."
But that doesn't mean Johnson ever expected to be hanging from the rafters alongside David Robinson, James Silas, Sean Elliott, George Gervin and Johnny Moore. Remember, he was cut on Christmas Eve, one of two times he was jettisoned by the franchise.
"I don't think when I got cut from the Spurs the second time that I was thinking that, 'Hey, my jersey's going to be retired here someday,' " he said. "I'm just thinking, 'How am I going to be able to take care of my family?' I wasn't thinking about jersey retirements."
Johnson firmly believes his relationship with the San Antonio community is every bit as important as anything he did on the court. He and his wife, Cassandra, spearheaded the fundraising effort that built the Antioch Community Center that is a pillar in the east-side neighborhood that is barely a mile away from the AT&T Center where Johnson's jersey will be raised.
It's a building he never played in. But all the fans who saw Johnson at HemisFair Arena and the Alamodome will never forget him.
Nor, will they forget the shot.
Mavericks assistant coach Mario Elie was Johnson's teammate in '99.
"When I think back to that shot he made in New York, all I can see is us in the shower pouring champagne on each other," said Elie, who will be at the ceremony. "Those are the things you treasure."
■ AAC rafters will wait: Mark Cuban said he has not discounted expanding the retired-number list of Mavericks, which includes only Brad Davis and Rolando Blackman.
But adding to that twosome is not on the front burner.
"I just think it has a lot to do with being on winning teams, and we didn't have a whole lot of those before," he said. "There's a couple guys you have to consider – Derek Harper, obviously, and Mark Aguirre.
"And I haven't decided how I want to do it. Do you want to retire jerseys? Do you want to do a ring of honor?"
Dallas Mavericks notebook: He's Spur of the moment
Mavs' rival will raise Johnson's No. 6 jersey to the rafters tonight
12:02 AM CST on Saturday, December 22, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]
Every time Avery Johnson visits Madison Square Garden, he practices a little ritual.
"I go over to that spot in the corner and just remember that moment," he said. "I'll never forget that spot."
That spot was the place near the baseline where the 5-11 San Antonio point guard sank an 18-foot jumper that clinched the Spurs' first NBA championship in 1999.
Tonight, San Antonio will honor the General who delivered that shot. Johnson's No. 6 jersey will be hoisted to the rafters in a ceremony after the Spurs play the Los Angeles Clippers.
"It's going to be different going there as a former Spur that they are acknowledging for his work on and off the court," Johnson said. "It'll be good to go there and be able to relax, because normally when I'm in that building, I can't relax."
A few of Johnson's assistant coaches will be there with him. His players will be there in spirit.
Johnson played for a handful of teams through his career, but he will be best remembered as a Spur.
"Oh yeah, that's where I really made my mark," Johnson said. "The other teams were really just pit stops."
But that doesn't mean Johnson ever expected to be hanging from the rafters alongside David Robinson, James Silas, Sean Elliott, George Gervin and Johnny Moore. Remember, he was cut on Christmas Eve, one of two times he was jettisoned by the franchise.
"I don't think when I got cut from the Spurs the second time that I was thinking that, 'Hey, my jersey's going to be retired here someday,' " he said. "I'm just thinking, 'How am I going to be able to take care of my family?' I wasn't thinking about jersey retirements."
Johnson firmly believes his relationship with the San Antonio community is every bit as important as anything he did on the court. He and his wife, Cassandra, spearheaded the fundraising effort that built the Antioch Community Center that is a pillar in the east-side neighborhood that is barely a mile away from the AT&T Center where Johnson's jersey will be raised.
It's a building he never played in. But all the fans who saw Johnson at HemisFair Arena and the Alamodome will never forget him.
Nor, will they forget the shot.
Mavericks assistant coach Mario Elie was Johnson's teammate in '99.
"When I think back to that shot he made in New York, all I can see is us in the shower pouring champagne on each other," said Elie, who will be at the ceremony. "Those are the things you treasure."
■ AAC rafters will wait: Mark Cuban said he has not discounted expanding the retired-number list of Mavericks, which includes only Brad Davis and Rolando Blackman.
But adding to that twosome is not on the front burner.
"I just think it has a lot to do with being on winning teams, and we didn't have a whole lot of those before," he said. "There's a couple guys you have to consider – Derek Harper, obviously, and Mark Aguirre.
"And I haven't decided how I want to do it. Do you want to retire jerseys? Do you want to do a ring of honor?"