Question for those who know basketball human interest stories

[angel_luv]

Can any of you name some basketball players whom had a hard road to the NBA?

I am particularly wanting to know about guys that were let go repeatedly and/or under extra emotional circumstances.

The reason I am asking is because just yesterday I was informed that corporate of the company I work for has eliminated the receptionist position I was going to be promoted to.
I have already been serving as receptionist for several weeks now. It was all official except for the paperwork.

I am more fortunate than already established receptionists in the organization because they were all laid off.

I am grateful that my sales position with the company is still open for me to be sent back to.
But I really liked my new job and am disappointed and frustrated to have lost it.

That is why I wanted to hear about some b-ball players who came back and made it in spite of it all so I remember him/ her and be encouraged.

P.S. Please tell me about someone other than Avery Johnson. I am in no mood to be compared to him.

[jcrod]

Spurs players:

Bruce Bowen
Ime Udoka
(ex)Stephen Jackson

Keep you head up, it all happens for a reason.

[angel_luv]

Thank you. :)

[thispego]

ehhhhh, uhhhhh, what?

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Oh, angel, sorry to hear that they are sending you back to sales. You struck me as someone who would be a great PA (to start with, as a stepping stone to greater things). One day soon someone is going to give you a break and things will take off for you. Sadly, it's often a matter of meeting the right person who recognises your potential. Hang in there. :)

As for the players, there are few better stories than Bruce Bowen.

[thispego]

you dont get any advice till you tell what happened with that guy you were gonna diss over the date he asked you on

[spursfan09]

Are you goin to school or anything, do you have a degree? Take this as a realization that if you want to get ahead maybe you should go back to school.

[angel_luv]

you dont get any advice till you tell what happened with that guy you were gonna diss over the date he asked you on


Story time.

Your wish, well at least this one, is my command.

The guy and I had set up a tentative date before I even made my thread.
He asked me to go out with him that upcoming Monday. I agreed and we left the details for later.

The day after the thread, the guy approached me again and work and
asked if the Cheesecake Factory was all right for us to go to.
I used some of the advice I was given and suggested we go to Red Robin.
I picked the location near my house, although I didn't tell him it was.
He said he would call me Monday. I said okay.

Before I left for work Monday, I told the woman I live with that I was expecting a call from a guy I was supposed to go out with that night and I had given him the home number.
I told her that I did not have his number so if he called when I was at work to please get his.

I didn't finish work until five but came right home in case he wanted to meet early. I hoped that was the case.

When I walked in the door, my room mate said the guy had called but did not leave a number. My room mate had asked if he wanted to but she said he was really quiet after she told him I wasn't home yet, like maybe he thought I was avoiding him.
My roommate thought though that he might call back.
So I stayed ready to go out all evening, only he never called again.

The guy and I have never discussed what went amiss.
The next time I saw him at work he gave me wounded looks from a distance.
I thought about approaching him to explain that I didn't have his number but decided to wait and give him the chance to initiate conversation with me.

He never did.
I felt really guilty about accidentally standing him up. For days I wrestled with the idea of my being the one to bring up the incident and explain my side.
The only thing that held me back was that I didn't want to encourage him to ask me out again.
So I just felt bad.

But finally though, a freeing thought occurred to me and that was: The guy had no idea why I hadn't gone out with him and didn't have the interest or concern to ask.

I mean I could have had an emergency come up and forgotten to call him in the midst of my stress.

Or, I could be a jerk who played him and if that were the case, he shouldn't let me get away with that.
If I had intentionally stood him up that would have been really rude and he would have been within his rights to tell me so.


This is one of those cases where the more information I hear, the more glad I am that the dinner did not happen.

One of my co-workers told me that the day after our missed dinner, she had heard the guy telling a girl who works with us that she was " eye catching and he was so drawn to her."

Then another friend/co-worker was telling me that the same guy asked her out and has apparently hit on every female on our floor.
Turns out I was one of his last picks. How flattering! ( I said the last pick part, not my friend. :lol)

Oh, and rumor has it that the guy talks to himself but not in the normal way, I mean like hard core.

So that is tale of the dinner that wasn't.

Now give me advice fool! :lol

[angel_luv]

Thanks Ruff!


Are you goin to school or anything, do you have a degree? Take this as a realization that if you want to get ahead maybe you should go back to school.


I graduated from Bible college and may take some classes this summer.

It is not that I am miserable at my sales job. It's a good job.

I am just the one who likes to seize the opportunity to advance.
Also, the new job was great because it fit my best skills and was also teaching me a lot of new ones.
I am going to miss it. That is all.

[ShoogarBear]

Jamario Moon

[slayermin]

Not basketball related but have you ever seen that show "Little People, Big World" on the Discovery Channel? That show inspires me when I'm feeling negative about the world.

Also, I saw Kevin Everett this morning on ESPN. He's the Buffalo Bills player that sustained a spinal cord injury this season and because the emergency medical staff was able to minimize the swelling in his back, he can walk and most of his motor skills look normal. He isn't back 100% yet but he looked great.

[angel_luv]

I guess it was silly to limit my question to basketball players.

There are a lot of inspiring stories to be told, a lot of them I am sure from you guys' own lives.

Bring them all on. :)

[Ronaldo McDonald]

Eminem.

[Ronaldo McDonald]

Kurt Cobain

[marini martini]

Angel, sounds to me like you did the right thing with that guy at work. From an outsider looking in, he sounds like the office playa. Good move on your part.

And about your job, sometimes crappy things happen for a reason. Good things definitely can come from bad.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Angel, well avoided as far as that guy. You're missing out on nothing there.

BTW, are you writing?

[marini martini]

She went night night, Aussie baby! So is everyone here in the land gone over :sleep :sleep :sleep

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

She went night night, Aussie baby! So is everyone here in the land gone over :sleep :sleep :sleep

'Cept you, Ms Martini.

How's things? What are you doing up?

[marini martini]

'Cept you, Ms Martini.

How's things? What are you doing up?

I'm ready for beddy bie. But I am intersted if you can talk about anything other than nucliar biology or ecobullshit? Scuse the spelling! :oops

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I have a broad range of interests... just call me Renaissance man.

Saving the planet from our collective greed and stupidity is only one of them. :lol

Go to bed. We'll have a nice old chat when I next get to SA. I haven't forgotten Wurzbach, you and me, good times. :lol BTW, is it really that dangerous around there? I must've walked those streets 7 or 8 times in the two weeks I was last there. Seemed quiet to me.

[marini martini]

I have a broad range of interests... just call me Renaissance man.

Saving the planet from our collective greed and stupidity is only one of them. :lol

Go to bed. we'll have a nice old chat when I next get to SA. I haven't forgotten Wurzbach, you and me, good times. :lol BTW, is it really that dangerous around there. I must've walked those streets 7 or 8 times in the two weeks I was there. Seemed quiet to me.

You silly dude, I guess none of the hood rats, thought you were with jaggin'.
At any rate, can't wait till you come back in ;09. I will def. be there to stear you clear of any mishaps :toast

[marini martini]

You are more than welcome to stay at my place, where we peepee outside all the time :lol

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

:lol

Thank you. I may even be back this year... it all has to do with finishing my thesis and finding a job in SA. If I can do that, I will be back in October for a year.

[whottt]

Can any of you name some basketball players whom had a hard road to the NBA?

I am particularly wanting to know about guys that were let go repeatedly and/or under extra emotional circumstances.

The reason I am asking is because just yesterday I was informed that corporate of the company I work for has eliminated the receptionist position I was going to be promoted to.
I have already been serving as receptionist for several weeks now. It was all official except for the paperwork.

I am more fortunate than already established receptionists in the organization because they were all laid off.

I am grateful that my sales position with the company is still open for me to be sent back to.
But I really liked my new job and am disappointed and frustrated to have lost it.

That is why I wanted to hear about some b-ball players who came back and made it in spite of it all so I remember him/ her and be encouraged.

P.S. Please tell me about someone other than Avery Johnson. I am in no mood to be compared to him.


Like others have mentioned from the Spurs..

Bowen
Jack
Udoka...

There's also Mario Elie.


I think Bruce's story is the best though...he was pretty much abandoned by both parents.

He had to find his own surrogate family.
He once called scouts and pretended to be a coach to get scouts to show up at his college games to improve his chances of being drafted or signed by an NBA team.

He didn't even really make it to the NBA until he was 30 years old...and since then he's started 500 consecutive games, lead the NBA in 3 shooting, made 7 all NBA D teams, and started on 3 NBA championship teams...and he might finally win a DPOY award this season.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

DJ Mbenga (if you're willing to look past the fact that he was a Mav and now a Laker) had a hell of a ride. He family was part of the government of the Congo I think. Then there was a regime change and his father was subsequently hunted down and executed and the rest of his family imprisoned. They eventually escaped and fled to Belgium, where he first started playing the game when he was nearly 20.

[mrsmaalox]

I found Nazr Mohammed's story pretty amazing. But right now I only remember it vaguely: His parents came to the U.S. from Africa with like 10 kids. They struggled for a long time, then his mom got sick and died. Dad kept the family together with a job as a cab driver. Family had a really tough time. Nazr always worried about his dad's safety as a cab driver. With his first big money, Nazr buys dad an auto parts store and the whole family works there, putting the kids thru school. Then Dad gets killed in a robbery at the store. It never ceases to amaze me, what some people go thru. Everyone has a story.

[angel_luv]

Angel, well avoided as far as that guy. You're missing out on nothing there.

BTW, are you writing?


Yes, I am. :)

[angel_luv]

Thanks all for the stories. :)

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Angel, a great method for climbing the corporate ladder is to sleep with your boss. Promotions, money, cars, it can all be yours. :tu





Sure some people might gossip about you behind your back, but the new Mercedes coupes are so well insulated that you won't even hear them!

[angel_luv]

Angel, a great method for climbing the corporate ladder is to sleep with your boss. Promotions, money, cars, it can all be yours. :tu





Sure some people might gossip about you behind your back, but the new Mercedes coupes are so well insulated that you won't even hear them!


Gain the whole world but lose my soul. Doesn't sound like my kind of plan.

I was hoping for some SPAM inspired advice from you the great guru.

Try again? :)

[E20]

Well if you want people beside basketball players:
Rocky
Rudy
Billy Elliot

[tlongII]

Angel, here's a quick Wikipedia recap of Ime Udoka. He's a great story in my opinion. He's a hard worker, he gives back to the community, and he's just a good person. He's gone through some rough times. Especially when he was trying out for the Blazers and his father died during the preseason.

Ime Udoka, a small forward, attended Portland's Jefferson High School and Portland State University where he starred for the Vikings. He started his professional basketball career by playing in the NBDL with the Charleston Lowgators. He was called up to play with the Los Angeles Lakers on January 14, 2004, but was later waived and joined another D-League team, the Fort Worth Flyers, for whom when he averaged 17.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. On April 6, 2006, Udoka was signed by the New York Knicks. Udoka was waived by the Knicks on September 11, 2006.

Udoka was the last player invited to his hometown Portland Trail Blazers training camp before the 2006-07 season, getting the invite only after Aaron Miles failed a physical. Despite the death of his father during the preseason, Udoka impressed the coaching staff with his defense and professionalism, and improbably, made the team. After having played in only 12 NBA games in his career, Udoka started in 75 games played in the 2006-07 season. He played 28.6 minutes per game while averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.9 steals.

Though American-born, Udoka's father was born in Nigeria, which qualified him as a member of the Nigerian basketball squad, for whom he played at the 2006 FIBA World Championships. His older sister Mfon used to play in the WNBA. His mother is American.

On August 16, 2007 Udoka signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs. Terms were not disclosed, but it is believed to be a two-year deal worth more than $2 million.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Gain the whole world but lose my soul. Doesn't sound like my kind of plan.

I was hoping for some SPAM inspired advice from you the great guru.

Try again? :)

Stick to your guns, Angel.

Yeah, come on Chopper, you must be able to do better than that!