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Great interview, I'd love to watch some rookies' videos doing all those stuff.
I still wonder how it is possible to have half the NBA player practicing 2 hours before the others and being last to leave the court.Ian didn't know that but everybody has noticed when he was practicing two hours before the others players and was the last one to left the court.
Great interview, I'd love to watch some rookies' videos doing all those stuff.
For Tony opinion about French players not really belonging to the NBA.
He speaks the truth at least for Petro, Gelabale, Diawara... but he is very harsh on Turiaf or Pietrus:
Pietrus played 26 mpg last year, he isn't the greatest player but belongs to the NBA has a role player. If he considers Pietrus dosn't, TP should tell to all his teammate but TD, Manu and Bruce they don't belong to the league.
Turiaf didn't play in Euroleague but he had a full college cursus. He is not the most talented player and isn't an athletic freak but he is a hard worker. I think he proved he belongs to the league. He will never be an All-star and may never be a starter but he earned his place with the Lakers.
I understand why Tony said that. French media always seems to believe we have 9 NBA stars... this is stupid... but Pietrus or Turiaf deserves respect.
Tony is supposed to be be a leader in the french team and should sometime keep the hurting truth for discussion in the locker room. Actually, if I am Turiaf (who was one of the few good French player during the last Euro) I tell Parker: "If you are so great, go win your medal with the french league stars playing 30+ minutes. I am sure Ferchaud will make a great job to bring you to the Olympics".
Just look at the Italian NT... no NBA stars (appart from Bargnani) and they have been performing incredibly well on the International stage...
The thing is, unlike in Italy, the French domestic league sucks hard
I thought Gelabale was in Spain, and Diawara in Italy before joining NBA ?
It's not his new at ude. He has always been like that.
A friend of mine who was at the INSEP with Tony said he had a huge ego.
he was like that when he was a teenager so I'm not surprised
Georges Eddy is the main commentator of the nba in France.
Because of what TP said, there isn't much spurs game on TV in France.
I think all NBA players have an ego.
All pro athletes and rock stars too.
Parker hit this league at 19, with a Championship caliber team.
He was the starting point guard fast.
He's got to have an ego.
My issue with the ego is not that they have it, but how they manage it.
That's part of why I'm such a Duncan fan. As the most decorated active player, with the Spurs last 10 years being called the "Duncan Era," I can only imagine the ego he has. But we don't see it. He's humble, he's quiet, he lets his game speak for him. He never pushes for the individual accolades, only for the wins for his team.
Parker is still pretty young, and he rose to an elite playing status fairly quick. I think his ego is bound to show up here and there. But he's a Spur, he'll tame it.
I didn't know all this incident btw TP and Eddy!
It's really strange that TP is showing another face in the USA, he's iness makes him hated by most of French basketball fans! I know how he behave in interviews for the american media, that's why I've got mixed feelings when friends tell me that TP has too much of a bad ego.
Parker has always had a big ego. As timvp, whottt (it's a point where they agreed), duncan228 and other have said , it is likely a reason why he has succeed.
I just find that he has crossed the line. He has gone from being confident and having a lot of ambitions to being y and disrespectful.
Saying that, everyone has his own feeling about TP at ude. I can understand that some people don't like his at ude for years or that some people have nothing against his recent at ude. How you judge that depends a lot of your own personality.
BTW, a video in french of the incident between TP and George Eddy :
I agree with what he said.
He said it also because French journalist can't understand how the French NT could fail with that much nba players (what romain.star said).
However, he could have said it without trashing other French players who are his teammates.
Parkers should also be pissed because, despite the fact that he made the effort to play almost each summer with French NT, the basketball in France is a disaster. Outside of him, you have two or three average nba players (Diaw, Pietrus and Turiaf). Other players suck in nba or at average at best in Europe. The French league is becoming a very weak league in Europe. French NT won't go in Beijing. French NT hasn't even a coach for the moment. People who takes decision in France about basketball are a bunch of incompetent people.
I agree with both you and bruno. When you read english interview it does not come out the same way and he controls what he says. I am starting to feel like bruno and his comments in france are getting annoying. It is especially wierd for him to say when turiaf or pietrus are close friends. I have 2 theories on this:That's understandable.
However, hasn't Parker always talked junk when in France? I remember translating stuff back in 2001 and he was saying things to the French media that he'd never dare say in the United States. I think he likes to play up his celebrity status in France with the country's media. I agree some of that is over the top but it sounds to me like Parker more just trying to be the Basketball King in France where he has a public that might not fully understand the game so he can get away with inaccurate comments.
The funny thing is if an American reporter asked him the same questions, he'd have totally different answers
1- french media are not use to the way americans show their confidence and take it as being y and make the article this way (i had to re-do my CV for france and injected a big dose of humility for it to be ok)
2- The main reason i think, tony was really disappointed by the way the national team played this summer and the agression they took from the press. Journalist could not understand that a team of nba players could not do better than this. I think it broke something and closed the honeymoon between tony and the press.
did not take the time to read all reactions but i see we are all thinking along the same lines
How many times have timvp and whottt agreed on something? Anything?As timvp, whottt (it's a point where they agreed
It's something I actually love to read. They both usually have great points, (although they probably wouldn't say that about each other!), and the dialogue between them is always educational and entertaining.
A little update :
After Parker's words about Pietrus in this interview (he said "if Pietrus was an established player, he would have received a contract this summer"), Pietrus has answered to that in today's newspaper by saying :
"Words like that, coming from Tony, have hurt me a lot. I don't want to go further in this controversy.[..] I want to continue to work hard and prove my value to everyone who are mistaken on me. Everyone can have his opinion but I find Tony's one very harsh.[...] We haven't spoken about that for the moment but I haven't hard feelings about him"
TP has given his explanations about that :
http://www.rmc.fr/edito/sport/22862/-je-suis-desole-/
He said "I didn't want to lack of respect to Mike. I'm really sorry. Mike is someone that I like a lot. [...] The journalist just asked me why the French NT wasn't stronger when there are 9 French players in nba. I've answered that one mustn't overrate the French NT by saying that. Most of the French players didn't play a lot in nba. When you play an international compe ion, you play against players who have played 30 mpg all years long in Euroleague. I have never wanted to trash Mike or another player.[...] I've tried to speak to him for two days. This whole story really makes me sick. As soon as I've heard that Mike hasn't well reacted to my words, I've tried to speak with him to explain myself. I've never wanted to hurt him. It's not my style to bash players and even more my teammates. I apologize to him."
Parker has had a nice reaction by apologizing him. I guess that he will now be more careful when he will do some interviews.
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