ducks
01-12-2005, 08:52 AM
T.J. nears the end?
Buck Harvey: T.J. nears the end? Some consolation
Web Posted: 01/12/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
There's a college athlete somewhere who should go pro, and there are fans and alumni somewhere trying to talk him out of it.
Matt Leinart comes to mind.
So should T.J. Ford.
His story answers all questions of school loyalty.
Ford has other things to worry about now. He'll be in San Antonio tonight with the Milwaukee Bucks, but he'll just be watching.
Watching is what he does now, when he's not being tested. Ford was doing just that in Los Angeles over the weekend, getting another MRI and another evaluation from the surgeon who operated on his spine in May. Ford hasn't even dribbled a basketball since the operation, and he might never again.
Ford wants to play again, and anyone who saw him play at Texas understands why. His personality drove the Longhorns as much as his talent did; he was a miniature Magic Johnson, as joyful with the pass as he was creative.
The personality was there again Tuesday. On his way to San Antonio, he stopped in Austin to see his old friends.
Did he seem upbeat?
"T.J. has never not been," said one.
San Antonio saw his smile firsthand in the Alamodome in March 2003. He led Texas to an historic Final Four, hugging coach Rick Barnes afterward at midcourt, and Barnes had reason to hug back. Ford was the one who changed the image of the Texas program.
Little wonder the Bucks drafted Ford in the eighth slot that following summer. And though he looked at times like a rookie last season, he still impressed in the first 55 games.
"It was like everybody else was regular speed," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, "and he was warp speed. I just thought he had breathtaking ability and real toughness."
Then came a game in February, when a hard foul sent Ford to the floor. Ford fell on his tailbone.
Most others would have simply bruised a bone, but Ford isn't most others. The blow jarred his vertebrae and left his extremities numb, as if he had been hit by a free safety's helmet.
An operation in early May fused his third and fourth vertebrae, but bruising on the spinal cord remained. That's why Ford went to L.A. over the weekend. If the bruise hasn't shown signs of lessening, he likely will sit out the rest of the season. Ford should know the news later this week.
Ford, ever upbeat, thinks he will play again no matter what. The Bucks do, too.
They may be right, but the risks should discourage Ford from even trying. After all, Ford suffered a similar accident before he enrolled at Texas, and that's when doctors discovered Ford was born with an abnormally narrow nerve canal at the top of his spinal column. It can retard blood flow and create a circumstance where a blow to the head could turn him into a quadriplegic.
Ford nearly underwent an operation then. Cleared to play, Ford instead went through two tough seasons at Texas without another scare. That includes, Barnes says, an ugly fall in Madison Square Garden that didn't bother Ford.
Ford was just weeks removed from the Final Four — waiting to announce whether he would return to Texas for his junior year — when a teammate came down on him in a pickup game. "It looked like nothing happened," said a witness. "Everybody thought T.J. was joking."
He was anything but. An ambulance didn't arrive for about an hour, during which time Ford was completely motionless. When EMTs ran cold metal across his feet, he didn't react.
The paralysis passed, and Ford was hospitalized for only five hours. But it's no coincidence he announced shortly after he would leave UT for the NBA.
A reason? Ford would have been pressed to secure a large enough insurance policy.
Knowing this, the Bucks still gambled on him. They loved Ford's talent and, besides, there was nothing definitive about his medical condition.
As a result, Ford is guaranteed a full three years of his rookie contract, a total worth about $6 million. That isn't much by NBA standards, but it's a staggering amount by human ones. Would he have gotten that last summer?
"One of the main things I consider," Barnes said this week, "is that every kid that comes to college is trying to better himself and make a living. T.J. Ford is no different than Michael Dell. We have to respond to that."
In short, Barnes sees the economic mix. It isn't about staying in school as much as it is weighing options. Considering the class of freshmen Texas has now, Barnes will be doing this again over the next few years.
The money won't replace what Ford will miss if he retires at such a young age. But if the same guard who was once a blur is seeing his career speed as quickly by, at least he has the means to underwrite what comes next.
And had he stayed in school?
Buck Harvey: T.J. nears the end? Some consolation
Web Posted: 01/12/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
There's a college athlete somewhere who should go pro, and there are fans and alumni somewhere trying to talk him out of it.
Matt Leinart comes to mind.
So should T.J. Ford.
His story answers all questions of school loyalty.
Ford has other things to worry about now. He'll be in San Antonio tonight with the Milwaukee Bucks, but he'll just be watching.
Watching is what he does now, when he's not being tested. Ford was doing just that in Los Angeles over the weekend, getting another MRI and another evaluation from the surgeon who operated on his spine in May. Ford hasn't even dribbled a basketball since the operation, and he might never again.
Ford wants to play again, and anyone who saw him play at Texas understands why. His personality drove the Longhorns as much as his talent did; he was a miniature Magic Johnson, as joyful with the pass as he was creative.
The personality was there again Tuesday. On his way to San Antonio, he stopped in Austin to see his old friends.
Did he seem upbeat?
"T.J. has never not been," said one.
San Antonio saw his smile firsthand in the Alamodome in March 2003. He led Texas to an historic Final Four, hugging coach Rick Barnes afterward at midcourt, and Barnes had reason to hug back. Ford was the one who changed the image of the Texas program.
Little wonder the Bucks drafted Ford in the eighth slot that following summer. And though he looked at times like a rookie last season, he still impressed in the first 55 games.
"It was like everybody else was regular speed," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, "and he was warp speed. I just thought he had breathtaking ability and real toughness."
Then came a game in February, when a hard foul sent Ford to the floor. Ford fell on his tailbone.
Most others would have simply bruised a bone, but Ford isn't most others. The blow jarred his vertebrae and left his extremities numb, as if he had been hit by a free safety's helmet.
An operation in early May fused his third and fourth vertebrae, but bruising on the spinal cord remained. That's why Ford went to L.A. over the weekend. If the bruise hasn't shown signs of lessening, he likely will sit out the rest of the season. Ford should know the news later this week.
Ford, ever upbeat, thinks he will play again no matter what. The Bucks do, too.
They may be right, but the risks should discourage Ford from even trying. After all, Ford suffered a similar accident before he enrolled at Texas, and that's when doctors discovered Ford was born with an abnormally narrow nerve canal at the top of his spinal column. It can retard blood flow and create a circumstance where a blow to the head could turn him into a quadriplegic.
Ford nearly underwent an operation then. Cleared to play, Ford instead went through two tough seasons at Texas without another scare. That includes, Barnes says, an ugly fall in Madison Square Garden that didn't bother Ford.
Ford was just weeks removed from the Final Four — waiting to announce whether he would return to Texas for his junior year — when a teammate came down on him in a pickup game. "It looked like nothing happened," said a witness. "Everybody thought T.J. was joking."
He was anything but. An ambulance didn't arrive for about an hour, during which time Ford was completely motionless. When EMTs ran cold metal across his feet, he didn't react.
The paralysis passed, and Ford was hospitalized for only five hours. But it's no coincidence he announced shortly after he would leave UT for the NBA.
A reason? Ford would have been pressed to secure a large enough insurance policy.
Knowing this, the Bucks still gambled on him. They loved Ford's talent and, besides, there was nothing definitive about his medical condition.
As a result, Ford is guaranteed a full three years of his rookie contract, a total worth about $6 million. That isn't much by NBA standards, but it's a staggering amount by human ones. Would he have gotten that last summer?
"One of the main things I consider," Barnes said this week, "is that every kid that comes to college is trying to better himself and make a living. T.J. Ford is no different than Michael Dell. We have to respond to that."
In short, Barnes sees the economic mix. It isn't about staying in school as much as it is weighing options. Considering the class of freshmen Texas has now, Barnes will be doing this again over the next few years.
The money won't replace what Ford will miss if he retires at such a young age. But if the same guard who was once a blur is seeing his career speed as quickly by, at least he has the means to underwrite what comes next.
And had he stayed in school?