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I said he had no nba body and would not make it
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 re blood flow and create a cir stance 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?
I said he had no nba body and would not make it
Glad to see you're taking pride in calling a career of a guy who got hurt.
What's next, Ducks? Are you going to say that Christopher Reeve should have never got on a horse?
just maybe he should have stayed in school
Just maybe you ought to have a little ing compassion.
Damn him for trying to make some money playing ball. Well, if he retires, then he can go and finish school.
What's your problem with him, Ducks? Did he get too hyped because he was from UT and was put in a national spotlight while playing in SA?
But maybe you're right, it's his fault he was born with spinal problems.
I like him I just did not think he had nba body
just maybe he should have thought about his spinal problems and stayed in school
I will give him major props if he goes back to school now though
I would not have wanted spurs to take him in the draft due to his health
would you ?
so I am suppose to feel sorry for him? he choose to go to the nba and get paid more then what most people get paid for 3 years. knowing he had spinal problems he chose to do it anyhow. forgetting that he might get in the nba he said I do not need to finish school I want money. He made his choice and he has to live with it. Money is important but you can not buy health.(yes I know you can go to doctors and stuff but you still have pain)
The whole point is that he could have gotten hurt at school and got nothing.
He made the right decision.
What is the point of going to college? Its to have a career that can support you your whole life.
Will you make 6 million in your whole life?
Let me see..............
Go to the NBA over finishing school and earning $6 million over 3 years, but suffer a career threatening injury.
or
Staying in school to finish my education and earning nothing, but potentially suffering a career threatening injury after a few scares.
hmmmm... hard choice.
Look, TJ made the right decision. You can always go back to get an education after making $6 million bucks. But if you get hurt, you'll never make $6 million over three years unless you're winning the lottery.
yep had he injured his back more and unable to ever ever walk again would be worth the 6 million
now he can not even play ball
could you imagine having to live day by day like that. having a bad body like that. he might not even be able to get out of bed some days now. but you are right money is worth that (atleast to you)
like I said ealier money can not buy health
I think what you're neglecting is the fact that the injury could have happened while HE PLAYED BALL at UT.
Then what?
You know you would take the money, Ducks.
I think that's why you're such a hater on guys like LeBron and T.J. They've got more money for playing basketball and wearing sneakers than you will ever sniff.
What kind of guy takes pride that "Ooh, I told you T.J. would suffer a life-changing, career-threatening injury. I told you so."?
no I think the players earn the money they get
I get sick of people saying they do not
I tell them did the players put a gun to the owners head to make them sign the contract?
health is more important then ball even at UT
good lets see if he can keep his word(if he has not completed yet)
I laugh at all this really.
Who cares if he gets a college education?
Are you somehow a better person with a degree?
I get sick of all these people saying that through college is the best career path for every single individual.
College may help some people in areas such as spelling, grammar, and ability to communicate logical ideas in a clear fashion; and it may help you to grow by providing insight into your own inbred hypocrisies and petty jealousies.
So maybe some people do benefit from college.
Shoogar?
Really? I had learned all that by middle school.
Obviously, $6 million isn't worth losing the ability to walk.
But he could've hurt his back playing basketball in college as well you GOOF. At least in the pros, he's taking the risk at the toon of $6 million bucks instead of for nothing in college.
In case you've forgotten, he was on scholarship with the condition that he play basketball. No basketball. No scholarship.
A lot of colleges run remedial courses to bring college freshman up to _8th grade level_ in reading, grammar, writing, spelling, arithmetic. Maybe that's what Shuggie is referring to.
ducks- Michael Irvin definitley had an NFL body, built to take WAY more punishment than the NBA, and he was felled by the same narrowing of the spinal column. TJ is not built terribly different from other uber-quick guards like AI or even Tony Parker.I like him I just did not think he had nba body
If you need to be run up to remedial level then you dont need to be in college.
Sorry, I was attempting to be clever, and failed. Let me try again.
Yes, you can learn all those things in middle school. Some people don't learn them until college. And some people never learn them.
Including people who post and tell others they should have stayed in college.
What kills me is that the foreign posters here speak, spell, and use correct grammar better than some of the posters for whom English is their native language
Hopefully, TJ will be on the mend and will be able to continue to play in the NBA. However, it could be very easy to go through 6 million dollars, say if he bought houses and cars for members of his family, etc.
One would hope that if he left school because of concerns over his health that he'd be smart enought to sock away some $$$, especially since he was injured in year one (the lowest paying) of his three guaranteed years. Best of luck, TJ.
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