Croshere awaits second chance

[Pooh]

Forward is hopeful return of Bird, Carlisle will help revive his stagnant career.

By Sekou Smith
[email protected]
October 4, 2003

He wasn't supposed to be here. Not after the tumult of the past three seasons. Not after his rapid descent from rising star to seldom-used role player.

Yet there was Austin Croshere this week, striding through the bowels of Conseco Fieldhouse like a man no longer carrying the burden of unrealized expectations.

Being injury free for the first time in two summers and basking in the euphoria of the birth of his first child three weeks ago has altered his outlook at the start of training camp.

But there's more for Croshere, because he's been granted a rare second chance. He can prove that the first three years of his career, not the past three, better reflect the player he is and will become.

"Obviously, the last three years haven't gone the way I wanted them to, so I'm real excited and optimistic going into training camp," said Croshere, who acknowledged he and Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh had agreed last season that the best thing for both sides was for the forward with a multiyear contract to be traded.

"Not a lot of people get second chances in this league, so I have to make the most of it."

Croshere's reprieve is a direct result of the return of Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird, and perhaps more importantly, Rick Carlisle being named coach. They helped mold Croshere, who emerged on a veteran-laden team in the 2000 NBA Finals.

Some fans assumed when Bird returned, Carlisle would replace Isiah Thomas as coach and Croshere would regain the form that netted him a seven-year contract that will pay him $7.6 million this season.

Seven weeks into Bird's tenure, Carlisle did replace Thomas, who was fired with a year remaining on his contract. Croshere's return to a prominent role, however, might take longer. Croshere said even after Bird came aboard, their discussions involved him being traded. It wasn't until Carlisle was hired that he thought he'd come back to the Pacers.

But if he is to play more minutes, that means someone else would play fewer. On a team stocked with talent at both forward positions, the compe ion for time will be furious.

"I know that Austin makes no assumptions about what his playing-time situation is going to be," said Carlisle, an assistant coach to Bird during Croshere's first three seasons. "He's fully aware that minutes have to be earned and that if he plays well and can help the team, he'll have a great opportunity to play just like everybody else."

Why that didn't happen in the past remains a mystery to Croshere. Jermaine O'Neal's addition and the emergence of Al Harrington did play a role.

"In the first year, Isiah really wanted to play him and tried to play him," Walsh said. "Maybe it was the makeup of the team or maybe it was what we were doing. It's hard to say."

Croshere couldn't even find a spot in the regular rotation last season. He saw action in just 49 games -- his fewest since the 1998-99 season -- and averaged 5.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 12.9 minutes. He and Jamison Brewer were the only players on the roster the entire season who did not start a game.

Croshere's unpredictable role in the Pacers' first-round playoff loss to Boston was a microcosm of his sixth NBA season. He managed 16 points and 17 rebounds in the first three games against the Celtics but played a total of three minutes in the next three games.

"I never asked (Isiah) for an explanation as to why I wasn't playing," said Croshere, 28. "Our dialogue broke down early and I'm probably just as much to blame as he is for that."

Bird warned all the young players on that 2000 team of the uncertainty that comes with a coaching change. He took Croshere -- whom he called "the best player" on the team when he left -- Harrington, Jonathan Bender and Jeff Foster out to dinner and explained why he was leaving and that he wasn't sure who would replace him.

"I told them that a new coach might not like you and you might not play a minute or you might play all the time," Bird said. "I think that held true."

Croshere, who rented an apartment last year in anticipation of departing, is a homeowner now with his wife Emily. Through that long season, he said his confidence never waned. Now he wants to finish what he started.

"It's time for him to play," Bird said. "Austin's a good basketball player. He's going to get his chance. Now he can show everybody what he can do."

[pacersrule03]

Croshere is getting paid 7.6 million dollars this season, !

[Pooh]

Yeah hard to believe he signed that big contract and for how much as well. Hopefully this season he'll start to earn some of the money.