George Karl has throat and neck cancer

[whottt]

I didn't see anything in the forum about this but.....

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm..._kelley28.html

All the best wishes for George Karl in his battle with cancer
Now Karl, who coached the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996, is fighting for his life. This coach, who has always found creative ways to attack and defend, is trying to outlast a cancer that has invaded his right tonsil and metastasized to a lymph node in his neck.


Seattle Times staff columnist

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George Karl

JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Dwane Casey
Information

Well wishes: Friends and fans wishing to send their good thoughts to coach George Karl can e-mail them to

[email protected]


"Don't sweat the small stuff."

In his years in Seattle, working as an assistant under George Karl, Dwane Casey often heard that invaluable piece of advice from his boss.

"There's always been this unique looseness about George," Casey, now an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, said late last week from his home in Dallas. "He is a basketball junkie. He truly loves basketball. Talking the game, Coaching the game. Watching the game.

"And, when we were together in Seattle, he always made it fun. He made practices fun. He made coaching meetings fun. He made coaching in the NBA fun."

Denver Nuggets coach Karl doesn't live life. He inhales it. He's a social director, always looking for ways to have fun and making sure the people closest to him are having just as much fun. He plays hard, but he works even harder.

Now Karl, who coached the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996, is fighting for his life. This coach who has always found creative ways to attack and defend is trying to outlast a cancer that has invaded his right tonsil and metastasized to a lymph node in his neck.

The cancer was discovered on Dec. 30, but Karl, who beat prostate cancer in 2005, didn't publicly announce his diagnosis until Feb. 16. At that time he said it was dangerous, but curable.

But recently he suffered a setback, blood clots in his lungs and one leg that have forced doctors to postpone radiation treatments.

The Nuggets have said they don't expect him back on the bench before the playoffs. A more likely and still optimistic scenario has him returning sometime during the playoffs.

Karl, 58, who survived as a player, both at North Carolina and in the now-defunct ABA because of his tenacity, still is tweaking and thinking of a game plan to beat this thing.

"What makes George a great coach is also what makes him open to criticism," Casey said. "He's such a creative thinker. He isn't afraid to try new things.

"He is secure enough in his coaching ability, and the players see that security and that confidence and it trickles down to them. He's willing to try anything and everything."

Karl's trapping defenses are one of his trademarks. He speeds up the game with those traps.

On offense in Seattle, he liked to play inside out, posting up his guards and letting his big men shoot threes. He played inside-out the opposite way it was intended.

How many times did he post up point guard Gary Payton and allow center Sam Perkins to roam behind the three-point arc? He created a second career for the 6-foot-10 Perkins as a three-point shooter.

Casey said he was shocked when he came to the Sonics and discovered that Karl didn't have an out-of-bounds, under-the-basket play.

"We never ran a play under the basket, but somehow, somebody always got open," Casey said.

Karl is in love with basketball. Every level. Both genders. When he coached in Seattle it was common to see his entire family, on an off night, sitting together, watching the Huskies, or SPU, or even a high-school game.

Like some recruiting bird dog, he seemed to know the name of every prep prospect in the state. He was involved in the beginning of the King Holiday Hoopfest, one of the best days of basketball in Seattle.

Except for his well-publicized battles with team president Wally Walker, Karl loved his time in Seattle. He started and funded the AAU program Friends of Hoop that Jim Marsh has helped mold into one of the premier programs in the country.

He gave his time to dozens of Seattle charities, including Children's hospital. More than just a coach, he was an engaged member of the community.

George has always been one of my favorite people in sports. We battled. There were stretches after something I wrote when he would greet me with one sarcastic jab or another.

But we always found common ground in our affection for the game and some of my most memorable moments working in this town have been the hours I spent with him after practice, just talking ball.

Karl saw Casey coaching a team of free agents in the Los Angeles Summer League. He talked with Casey after a game and was impressed with his enthusiasm. They were like-minded lovers of the game.

A former assistant coach at Kentucky, Casey was coaching in Japan and looking for a way into the NBA. Karl did Casey and the NBA a favor by offering him a job in Seattle, bringing him into the league.

"No question I owe George a lot," Casey said. "He was a great guy to work for. He gave his assistants and his players a lot of la ude. He listened to us. I learned a lot about the NBA from George."

Casey came to the NBA with a college coach's mind-set. Karl quickly changed that.

"He taught me how to let the little things go and focus on the big picture," Casey said. "In college, you get upset at practice if guys don't do it right every time. But George never sweated the small stuff.

"He taught me that it's important for guys to play with a free mind. He's always given his players a lot of freedom."

I've always respected Karl for his passion for basketball. And, although I don't know how tough his cancer is, I know how tough George is.

And at this glorious time of the year that is a celebration of the game, all of us who are crazy for basketball should be rooting for George Karl, giving him all of our best wishes and sincerely hoping that he can add this win to his remarkable résumé.

[whottt]

Oh and before anybody goes there...this is Spurs related and not just because Karl coaches a playoff team.

Here's why(even if it was before my time):

http://www.basketballreference.com/p...ilkid=KARLGE01

Regular Season Stats
Click on column header to sort
 
Year Age Team Lg G Min Pts PPG FGM FGA FGP FTM FTA FTP 3PM 3PA 3PP ORB DRB TRB RPG AST APG STL BLK TO PF     
1973-74 22 SAS  ABA 74 1339 574 7.8 236 502 .470 94 113 .832 8 22 .364 0 126 126 1.7 160 2.2 65 10 92 161      
1974-75 23 SAS  ABA 82 1629 663 8.1 261 534 .489 137 177 .774 4 23 .174 0 155 155 1.9 334 4.1 96 7 158 207      
1975-76 24 SAS  ABA 75 1200 381 5.1 150 334 .449 81 106 .764 0 9 .000 0 66 66 0.9 250 3.3 60 3 108 149      
1976-77 25 SAS  NBA 29 251 79 2.7 25 73 .342 29 42 .690 0 0 .000 4 13 17 0.6 46 1.6 10 0 0 36      
1977-78 26 SAS  NBA 4 30 6 1.5 2 6 .333 2 2 1.000 0 0 .000 0 5 5 1.3 5 1.3 1 0 4 6      
3 Season Totals     231 4168 1618 7.0 647 1370 .472 312 396 .788 12 54 .222 0 347 347 1.5 744 3.2 221 20 358 517     
2 Season Totals     33 281 85 2.6 27 79 .342 31 44 .705 0 0 .000 4 18 22 0.7 51 1.5 11 0 4 42

The man was a career Spur as a player. Never played for any other team and there is a short list of(non washout) players that can say they were career Spurs.


Get better George

[polandprzem]

There alwas has to be bad news

[boutons_deux]

Very old news

All head and neck cancers have a poor prognosis.

[jiggy_55]

Very old news

Ya exactly.

Did you guys just seriously figure out now??? I don't understand how any NBA fan can have no such knowledge of anything NBA related other than the Spurs. This has been a headline on every sports website for more than a month now. Wow

[Scola]

The story broke weeks ago, I think he was getting treatment for it and missed a couple of games. The announcers mentioned it many times during the nationally televised Nugget's games.

[Flux451]

glad you could take a thread about someone having cancer and turn it into a thread about how well-informed you are

says the psychotic ex-girlfriend

[boutons_deux]

No one is lessening the gravity of George's disease, poor chances, and the current his treatment is giving him. The probability is that the medical system will suck out a few $100K out his insurance and co-pays and he'll die a nasty death anyway.

Losing Karl and Martin is huge hit on the Nuggs' otherwise excellent chances this year.

For comic relief, it's always fun to beat up on self-important, ankle-biting Whott.

[Jason R]

Didn't Roger Ebert just beat this?

[BillMc]

I wish George Karl and his family the best in these difficult times.

[Russ]

The man was a career Spur as a player. Never played for any other team and there is a short list of(non washout) players that can say they were career Spurs.


Get better George

Karl was an orginal Spurs when the team moved from Dallas. He was an effective penetrating and passing point guard (Beno with a brain) until devasting knee injuries ended his career before he reached his full potential (which was pretty high).

I still remember a picture of George in the old Spurs game programs, an advertisement. It was a full page close up photo taken from above the basket. George was about to dunk a bag of Lays potato chips (as I recall).

May he live a long and serene life (although I doubt even George would want the last part).

[SnakeBoy]

Didn't Roger Ebert just beat this?

I don't know if "beat" is the right term, maybe just say he survived.

[FromWayDowntown]

No matter how new or old the news might be, all of the best to Furious George.

[alchemist]

Didn't Roger Ebert just beat this?

the guy was left a mess, cancer is a evil muther er.

[silverblackfan]

Not a good thing at all and I wish him the best in his fight. As far as basketball is concerned, I would think the Nuggets would be playing with a lot of motivation this year. Dangerous team.

[TIMMYD!]

the guy was left a mess, cancer is a evil muther er.

[whottt]

glad you could take a thread about someone having cancer and turn it into a thread about how well-informed you are

ty

®whottt


Karl gets hated on by Spursfan and I don't think many realize he was a career Spur.

[whottt]

Ya exactly.

Did you guys just seriously figure out now??? I don't understand how any NBA fan can have no such knowledge of anything NBA related other than the Spurs. This has been a headline on every sports website for more than a month now. Wow

Very old news

All head and neck cancers have a poor prognosis.

I was about to say I heard about this a couple months ago. It was when I was talking to one of my sources, but I swear I had heard it in the news.

However, I still want Denver in the first round of the playoffs.

I am glad you guys know so much...however, if you can find evidence of it being posted in this forum previously, feel free to provide the link...then ask yourselves this...

How much would there to be to talk about if no body ever posted anything reported on a news site.

That's kind of the entire point of the site.

Geniuses.


Tell me heads 1, 2 and 3...did any of ya'll post it in this forum?

If not then shut up.

[tlongII]

The original diagnosis of cancer was some time ago, but the article being referenced by the OP is new. I wasn't aware that Karl had suffered the setbacks to his treatment that is listed. Tough deal for George.

[FeZZy]

It ain't your fault man just watch espn nba coast to coast show more often or should i say the lakers to caveliers show more often

[Rummpd]

It is an update in regards to how far this has spread. met George Karl when he was coaching in Seattle at a charity golf tournament and he was a real gentleman and best of wishes to him and his family. This is a serious condition and am praying for him.

[whottt]

The original diagnosis of cancer was some time ago, but the article being referenced by the OP is new. I wasn't aware that Karl had suffered the setbacks to his treatment that is listed. Tough deal for George.

Yeah he had a press conference yesterday announcing he is going to have to get chemo and radiation and it is much more serious than they thought and he is probably not going to be able to continue coaching the Nugs although he is going to try.

He broke down crying right during the press conference and it's obvious he's terrified.

[50 cent]

Cancer is a . This latest setback is new news with it spreading into the lymph nodes.

Not good at all.

[duncan228]

It's frightening. I wish him the best, hope he can get through this.