Kori Ellis
01-09-2005, 04:48 PM
My prayers go out to D.A.'s mom and his family ...
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1105275332236240.xml
Family troubles could take Anderson off court
Sunday, January 09, 2005
JASON QUICK
NEW YORK -- First it was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, out five weeks for elbow surgery. Then it was Darius Miles, out two weeks with a bruised knee. Now, another bombshell has hit the Trail Blazers, as starting shooting guard Derek Anderson said he might leave the team this week to tend to a family matter in Louisville, Ky.
"My mom is drinking again," Anderson revealed Friday night.
Anderson said his older brother Steve called three days ago to say their mother, Brenda Anderson, has suffered a relapse after completing an alcohol rehabilitation program five years ago.
What's worse is that Anderson said nobody can find his mother. Anderson said he has been frantically trying to call siblings and cousins in Louisville to get updates on her whereabouts, saying that if nothing is resolved by Monday night, he will leave the team after its game in Philadelphia to fly to Louisville.
"I don't want to lose my mom -- man, I've only got but one," Anderson said Saturday night in New York, where the Blazers play the Knicks today. "I can't just let this go by and say I will take care of it tomorrow. I've got to get her in rehab. My grandmother died from alcohol, and I don't want to lose my mother to it."
The situation has been compounded by a growing impatience from Blazers fans regarding Anderson's season-long inconsistency with his shot. Anderson said he heard several biting catcalls from the Rose Garden crowd Friday night, when he had a season-high four turnovers and missed all eight of his shots during a 103-92 loss to Miami.
"I hear the fans in crowd, saying 'D.A. you've got to do this, D.A. you are not doing that' -- they were brutal," Anderson said. "But hey man, I'm trying. I know people say I've got a job to do, and I'm trying to do it. Fans think because you have a bad game, you are not trying, but when you have other things going on, basketball sometimes becomes secondary. This is a part of our lives that people just don't see, they take it for granted. But I'm sure if their mother was sick, they wouldn't be there watching us play."
Anderson is shooting a career-low 39.8 percent from the field, and he was reluctant to go public with his problem because he didn't want to make it appear as if he was making excuses.
"This isn't the reason," Anderson said. "I was sucking before."
The development with his mother came at a time Anderson already was distracted.
Anderson's wallet was stolen late last month from his Hummer while it was parked at the Blazers' practice facility in Tualatin as the team went through its shootaround before a game against San Antonio.
"I've been going through all that fraud-protection stuff," Anderson said. "Seems like I have been on the phone constantly. I've been trying to relocate my sister to Louisville to get her with mom, talking to lawyers, faxing stuff . . . and sometimes you are just tired. But I can't give up on my mom regardless of how bad I've been playing."
Anderson has had an off-and-on relationship with his mother. He didn't see her from his senior year in high school until his junior year in college. After she completed her rehabilitation five years ago, she went to San Antonio and watched Anderson play for the first time as an NBA player.
"I had just found her, it seems," Anderson said. "Our relationship was getting better. And when I got traded to Portland, everything seemed OK, everything was going good. I've been taking care of her, paying her rent and everything, but when you are so far away, and when you are not there . . . it's hard. And that's the scariest thing in the world now, knowing she is on the streets. You just don't know being so far away, and you can't just say let's sit down and go over this. It's something I've got to see first hand."
Anderson said he has not informed coach Maurice Cheeks or general manager John Nash of his intention to leave. In fact, only a few teammates -- Theo Ratliff among them -- know about his mother, as a result of being with Anderson during chapel.
"There can be no secrets in chapel," Anderson said. "I've got to let God know and pray for him to help her. So me and Theo have been praying for her. I've just had a lot on my mind, and that is a place to vent."
Anderson said he has acquired the phone number of former NBA coach John Lucas, whom Anderson hopes can assist him in getting his mother into a rehabilitation program in Houston called First Step.
"This is a part of life, but it's a hard thing to deal with," Anderson said. "I'm going to keep playing for a couple days, but if things don't get better, I've got to go find my mother."
Note:
Today's game is the first of six in a row on the road for the Blazers, but Cheeks decided Friday to change the team's travel plans, opting to return to Portland after Saturday's game at Minnesota. The Blazers will spend two days in Portland, then fly to Sacramento on Monday night for Tuesday's game against the Kings.
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1105275332236240.xml
Family troubles could take Anderson off court
Sunday, January 09, 2005
JASON QUICK
NEW YORK -- First it was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, out five weeks for elbow surgery. Then it was Darius Miles, out two weeks with a bruised knee. Now, another bombshell has hit the Trail Blazers, as starting shooting guard Derek Anderson said he might leave the team this week to tend to a family matter in Louisville, Ky.
"My mom is drinking again," Anderson revealed Friday night.
Anderson said his older brother Steve called three days ago to say their mother, Brenda Anderson, has suffered a relapse after completing an alcohol rehabilitation program five years ago.
What's worse is that Anderson said nobody can find his mother. Anderson said he has been frantically trying to call siblings and cousins in Louisville to get updates on her whereabouts, saying that if nothing is resolved by Monday night, he will leave the team after its game in Philadelphia to fly to Louisville.
"I don't want to lose my mom -- man, I've only got but one," Anderson said Saturday night in New York, where the Blazers play the Knicks today. "I can't just let this go by and say I will take care of it tomorrow. I've got to get her in rehab. My grandmother died from alcohol, and I don't want to lose my mother to it."
The situation has been compounded by a growing impatience from Blazers fans regarding Anderson's season-long inconsistency with his shot. Anderson said he heard several biting catcalls from the Rose Garden crowd Friday night, when he had a season-high four turnovers and missed all eight of his shots during a 103-92 loss to Miami.
"I hear the fans in crowd, saying 'D.A. you've got to do this, D.A. you are not doing that' -- they were brutal," Anderson said. "But hey man, I'm trying. I know people say I've got a job to do, and I'm trying to do it. Fans think because you have a bad game, you are not trying, but when you have other things going on, basketball sometimes becomes secondary. This is a part of our lives that people just don't see, they take it for granted. But I'm sure if their mother was sick, they wouldn't be there watching us play."
Anderson is shooting a career-low 39.8 percent from the field, and he was reluctant to go public with his problem because he didn't want to make it appear as if he was making excuses.
"This isn't the reason," Anderson said. "I was sucking before."
The development with his mother came at a time Anderson already was distracted.
Anderson's wallet was stolen late last month from his Hummer while it was parked at the Blazers' practice facility in Tualatin as the team went through its shootaround before a game against San Antonio.
"I've been going through all that fraud-protection stuff," Anderson said. "Seems like I have been on the phone constantly. I've been trying to relocate my sister to Louisville to get her with mom, talking to lawyers, faxing stuff . . . and sometimes you are just tired. But I can't give up on my mom regardless of how bad I've been playing."
Anderson has had an off-and-on relationship with his mother. He didn't see her from his senior year in high school until his junior year in college. After she completed her rehabilitation five years ago, she went to San Antonio and watched Anderson play for the first time as an NBA player.
"I had just found her, it seems," Anderson said. "Our relationship was getting better. And when I got traded to Portland, everything seemed OK, everything was going good. I've been taking care of her, paying her rent and everything, but when you are so far away, and when you are not there . . . it's hard. And that's the scariest thing in the world now, knowing she is on the streets. You just don't know being so far away, and you can't just say let's sit down and go over this. It's something I've got to see first hand."
Anderson said he has not informed coach Maurice Cheeks or general manager John Nash of his intention to leave. In fact, only a few teammates -- Theo Ratliff among them -- know about his mother, as a result of being with Anderson during chapel.
"There can be no secrets in chapel," Anderson said. "I've got to let God know and pray for him to help her. So me and Theo have been praying for her. I've just had a lot on my mind, and that is a place to vent."
Anderson said he has acquired the phone number of former NBA coach John Lucas, whom Anderson hopes can assist him in getting his mother into a rehabilitation program in Houston called First Step.
"This is a part of life, but it's a hard thing to deal with," Anderson said. "I'm going to keep playing for a couple days, but if things don't get better, I've got to go find my mother."
Note:
Today's game is the first of six in a row on the road for the Blazers, but Cheeks decided Friday to change the team's travel plans, opting to return to Portland after Saturday's game at Minnesota. The Blazers will spend two days in Portland, then fly to Sacramento on Monday night for Tuesday's game against the Kings.