Posts tagged NBA
Tim Hardaway talks about his days in the NBA, his son playing for the Knicks, and more
Tim Hardaway was fun player to watch in the NBA. Tim entered into the NBA in 1989 from his college playing days at UTEP. He played for the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, and Indiana Pacers. He was a five time NBA All-Star and had his numbered retired by the Miami Heat.
Now Tim gets to watch his son, Tim Jr. follow his footsteps by playing in the NBA. Tim’s son got drafted this year by the New York Knicks. Hardaway also started up the Tim Hardaway Foundation to help kids have a brighter future.
I was able to chat with Tim about his playing days in the NBA, fatherhood, and his foundation.
Art Eddy: You played in college for UTEP and then was drafted in 1989 by Golden State. What was the toughest transition for you from college to the NBA?
Tim Hardaway: I really didn’t have a tough transition from college to the NBA because I had the best of both worlds. Every time that I went home during the summer I would play against NBA All-Stars. Michael Jordan, Craig Hodges, Mo Cheeks, Isiah Thomas, Doc Rivers, Terry Cummings, overseas guys, so I had the best of both worlds.
I had a whole bunch of guys that taught me about how to play the game of basketball. I was fortunate to have them to come back to Chicago and play in all the Pro-Am tournaments around the Chicago area. That’s how I became confident. That’s how I became real tough. So my transition from college to the NBA wasn’t that difficult. Plus, I went four years in college so that was great.
AE: I loved the nickname “Run TMC” given to you and the two other Golden State greats Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. How quick was it to build chemistry with those guys?
TH: It was great. You had (Mitch) Rookie of the Year the year I was coming in. You got an established ball player, a two time Big East Player of the Year in Chris Mullin. You had great guys on the team like Rod Higgins, Tom Tolbert, Jim Peterson, Alton Lister, Sarunas Marciulionis. You had a great Hall of Fame coach in Don Nelson. Had some great assistant coaches. The organization was great.
I couldn’t have thought about coming into a better situation for myself. It was an easy transition for me because I had people that cared about young people and guys who were veterans.
AE: You were known for your killer crossover move that would break ankles. When in your career did you master that and did it become your go to move?
TH: It wasn’t my go to move. I just did it. I just came down the court and did it. It wasn’t like I was going to do the move on this guy. I just came down the court and did a series of moves. If it was a crossover, it was a crossover. If was me in an in and out move coming off a pick and roll, I was going to pick and roll. I just worked on my game to perfection to do all those things the correct way. I would try and get me and my teammates open for a better shot. I worked hard on my game to get it to where it was real good.
AE: You reached 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster than any other NBA player, except Oscar Robertson. What did that milestone mean to you? To me that is an amazing stat.
TH: That is an amazing stat. I couldn’t have done it without coach giving me the ball and saying, ‘Go for it you are running my team.’ You can’t have assists without guys that can put the ball in the basket. I was fortunate to have all this stuff play out in a way that I like to play and a coach that gave me the ball and said ‘run my team.’
I had great guys on my team that loved to play and I loved giving the ball to them. It was an accolade that I never knew nothing about. You always have to get accolades. It was nice then, but I always wanted more.
AE: Who gave you the biggest headache on the court?
TH: Oh man, Kevin Johnson. Rod Strickland, Gary Payton, John Stockton. Each and every night you had a game to play. You had Magic Johnson and Byron Scott and Coop (Michael Cooper). Every game was tough. I guess to answer your question the guys that I liked and loved going against were Kevin Johnson was one, John Stockton was two, and Gary Payton was three. It was tough day in and day out on the west coast.
AE: As a father you get to watch your son, Tim Jr., play in the NBA. He just recently got drafted by the New York Knicks. What advice did you give him about playing in the NBA?
TH: I think that he already understands. He is very humble. He is like a sponge. He wants to learn. He doesn’t like losing. He is a competitor. He has heart. He has confidence, all you want in a basketball player.
He is going to a team that is trying to get their image to be well liked around the NBA. I think that they have done that. They brought in some key pieces. I think fans around the NBA like what they are doing. He will be a consummate pro. He is going out there and learn and be taught and just like a sponge he is going to absorb everything.
AE: Also he and his fellow teammates at Michigan had a heartbreaking loss in this year’s NCAA tournament. What did you tell him after the game?
TH: It was hard to try and tell him anything. I think that he understood the situation. I think the coach handled it in great fashion. They exceeded all expectations. If it wasn’t for Behanan getting three or four offensive rebounds they could have won. They took it as well as I expected.
I didn’t have to say nothing. When I asked him, ‘How are you doing?’ He said, ‘It hurts, but I am fine.’ That was the extent of our conversation. That was if for that. As long as he said he was fine. You got to let your kids, like I was brought up, you got to let them get through the bumps and bruises. The good and the bad and the heartbreaks of the game. They did that all season long. It is going to prepare him for the next challenge in his life in the NBA.
AE: Tell me about the great work you do with your foundation.
TH: The Tim Hardaway Leadership Academy is about reaching out to the kids and preparing them for life. Making sure that we care about them. Making sure that they understand to respect themselves. Go to school and get their education. Respect their parents. Respect the teachers that are teaching them.
My grandmother always quoted Martin Luther King, ‘Be somebody.’ Make your parents proud. We are going to help you out with tutoring. We are going to help you out with counseling. We are all here to build a village. It is just not one person to build a village. Everybody has to come out and build a village. That is what we try and do. We are out here as a team and helping each other and working with each other to strive for better in the world. That is what the Tim Hardaway Leadership Academy is all about.
AE: What motivated you to start that up?
TH: People gave back to me. I wouldn’t be here today if people didn’t give back to me. They opened up their eyes and helped me out to keep me off the streets of Chicago. They cared about me to point me in the right direction. You don’t need to go there. You need to go this way.
I had parents too. A lot of kids don’t have both of their parents. I was lucky. I had both of my parents. Even though my parents were divorced, my dad used to live right down the street. My mom would him and say the boys are acting up. He would be there Johnny on the spot with his belt ready to discipline us.
I wish more kids had both of their parents, their moms and their dads especially their dads. No matter if you are a girl or a boy. You definitely need your dad in your life. People gave back to me. I want to give back to them to help these kids out. These kids are our future. I am on my kids every day. Talking to them and making them understand saying, ‘No that wasn’t right.’ You got to have them accountable for what they do. If they aren’t accountable for what they do than they can go anywhere and do anything that they are not supposed to do. So that is why I am here and I am doing it.
Jul 24th
Dee Brown talks about playing for the Celtics and his 1991 Slam Dunk Performance
When you think of Dee Brown a few things come to mind. One is the ridiculous no look dunk he performed at the 1991 Slam Dunk. Two is the Reebok Pump Omni Lite shoe that he made famous during that contest.
Besides winning the Slam Dunk title that year, Brown had a great career in the NBA playing for 12 years most notably for the Boston Celtics. I was able to have Dee Brown answer some of my questions while he was being interviewed for a documentary on the late Reggie Lewis, directed by Torey Champagne.
I wanted to know where and how Dee came up with the no look dunk, who if any pushed his competitive edge on the court, and how it felt to have his own shoe.
Art Eddy: How many weeks or months did you plan out the iconic no look dunk in the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest?
Dee Brown: The first time that I did it was in during the dunk contest. Never practiced it. I didn’t figure I was going to do that dunk until I was running towards the baskets. I pretty much knew I already won the dunk contest. So I wanted to do a signature dunk. I wanted something that everyone would remember me by.
Michael Jordan taking off from the free throw line or like the Dominique windmill, I wanted to do something that no one has ever done before. So while I am running I thought why don’t I just close my eyes? If I close my eyes no one will know that my eyes are closed because the judges are behind me. So it went from closing my eyes to maybe just putting my hands over my eyes and it just gravitated to my arm.
As I was jumping my hand going, my arm going, my eyes closing and it was the first time I ever did that dunk. I was either going to make it and have people talk about me now or I miss it and guess what and talk about it now. People would be like remember that guy that ran into the side of the backboard? That would have been me so never practiced it at all.
AE: You were going head to head with a phenomenal dunker in Shawn Kemp that year. What was it like to compete against him?
DB: The funny thing about the Shawn Kemp head to head thing was that all the contest guys were sitting all together. Rex Chapman, Otis Smith, Blue Edwards, a bunch of really good guys that could dunk, and I was sitting next to Shawn Kemp. Everyone knew who Shawn Kemp was. We both had the Gumby haircut.
So everyone is asking Shawn for his autograph. I remember one kid goes, ‘Hey what’s your name?’ I said Dee Brown. He really didn’t know who I was and he looked at Shawn and said, ‘Shawn is that your little brother?’
I said, ‘Wait a minute….wait a minute…did he just say? Ok I get it.’ That got the competition started at that moment when that kid asked me if I was Shawn Kemp’s little brother. It transpired into the contest with some great dunks. For a guy that tall at 6’10” to be able to move his body the way he did and being able to slam with so much force it was unbelievable.
I just tried to be creative as possible and do different dunks. Do things that people haven’t seen like pumping up my shoes kind of got the crowd into it. It was one of the good head to head battle in the finals.
AE: Was there one player whether it be a teammate or an opponent that drove your competitive spirit?
DB: I think the main guy was Larry Bird because he was the best player on our team. To me top two or three player in all-time Celtic history. Him and Russell. I got a chance to play with Larry. He drove me as a rookie because even though he was the best player and it sounds cliché, but he was the first guy in the gym and the last guy to leave.
He made sure I understood what Celtic Pride meant, being a student of the game. You wear the uniform the right way and respect the game. He drove me to the best player that I could be in not so much personal glory, but for the team. For all the Celtics like the Havlicek’s, the Jo Jo White’s, the Dennis Johnson’s, the Dave Cowens, and the Bob Cousy’s.
On a daily basis I got to see those guys respecting that uniform. The other guy that was more like a mentor type was Robert Parrish. He was like my big brother. He took care of me. He made sure I know what people to stay away from. Taught be to be a professional and go buy suits. He took to places on where to buy suits my rookie year. He mentored me in the professional way off the court. Larry was my inspiration and driving force on the court.
AE: Is there one thing that stands out most in your career?
DB: People would assume it would be the dunk contest because it was an individual event. I think the really big thing that drove me and stands out was when I got drafted. To hear Red Auerbach say your name. To hear him say, ‘We are taking a 6’2” guard from Jacksonville, Dee Brown.’ It is Red Auerbach.
He has said everybody’s name. Every guy that he had drafted over that 30 year time came out of his mouth. To be a part of that group and that guy wanted you, the greatest coach of all-time, to make sure that you are a part of that franchise. He wanted you to be a part of that Celtics history and Celtic pride. Just to hear him say that and be around him for so many years was such a great feeling.
AE: How cool was it to have your own shoe?
DB: It’s good because you can go anywhere and I mean anywhere, beyond the states, China, Australia, you say Reebok Pump and the first thing that comes up is Dee Brown. You felt like you did something. I really put a mark on a shoe and identify with a shoe.
Obviously everybody knows that you say Jordans, its one guy. It’s Michael Jordan. When you say Reebok Pump you think Dee Brown. So that is unique and it feels good. To this day 20 some odd years later people still talk about the shoe and the contest and what I did. They identify me with that. Even the kids who really don’t know or were not even born, because I work with a lot of kids on the basketball court or even guys I coach in the NBA, will say ‘You are that guy who did the pump thing.’
So it is good that people still talk about it and still identify me with it. So it is good to still be relevant in a way every few years when people want to talk about the shoe. Even in February when the Dunk Contest comes I’m popular again, so it is always good to talk about it.
Jul 2nd
Julius Randle and Jabari Parker Share MVP Honors at 2013 Jordan Brand Classic
Last night the Barclays Center showcased three games. The first game was the International Game that had the best and brightest from players all around the world compete. The second game was a Regional Game in which every player was from the New York area. In this game it had the best high school players from the city to go up against players from the New York suburbs.
The final game was the National Game which filled up the Barclays Center with fans to see the future stars of the NBA. This game displayed the talents of the top rated high school players from all over the country. The future of Kentucky basketball was well represented last night. There was a total of six players in the game. Three on Team East and three on Team West.
Julius Randle, who is one of the players that will be playing ball for Kentucky, shared in the MVP Honors. He had 19 points and seven rebounds. The other MVP was Jabari Parker, who will be playing for Duke next year. He scored 16 points and seven boards as he and the West Team beat the East 102-98.
Other Kentucky bound players put in work as well last night. James Young had 10 points. Dakari Johnson contributed with eight points. Brothers Andrew and Aaron Harrison chipped in each with six points.
Indiana University looks to have a promising future as both future Hoosiers Troy Williams and Noah Vonleh played well for the West.
Along with the game the Jordan Brand Classic had some notable people in the stands. Since the game has his namesake, Michael Jordan came to watch the game in a suite. He got an enormous round of applause when he was mentioned during the festivities.
Even though the Barclays Center is home to the Brooklyn Nets there were some New York Knicks in attendance. Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith sat courtside. Spike Lee, Drake, who performed at the game was on hand. Plus CC Sabathia, Eric LeGrand, Fabolous, Chromeo, Andre Ward, Busta Rhymes and Michael K. Williams checked out the Jordan Brand Classic.
Photo Courtesy of @JordanClassic Twitter
Carmelo even took the time to take a picture with Co-MVP’s Julius Randle and Jabari Parker. Earlier this past week I caught up with Randle during the East’s practice. I asked him about the game and if he was looking to build chemistry with his future Wildcats teammates. He said, “Oh yea definitely. Last week I played with Dekari Johnson and it was great. This week I am playing with the Harrison twins (Andrew and Aaron). It is crazy. I always used to play against them and now I am playing with them. It will be fun this weekend.”
I would say winning the MVP Award made the weekend even sweeter for him. Kentucky looks to have a bright future with Randle and the rest of the Kentucky bound players. I am guessing John Calipari, head coach for Kentucky, was watching the game last night with a big smile on his face.
Apr 14th
Kenny Smith Interview
Kenny “The Jet” Smith is no stranger to people who follow the game of basketball. An All-American point guard from North Carolina, Kenny still holds the record for career assists by a Tar Heel (769 – including 86 in NCAA Tournament play). He was the sixth overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft and a two-time NBA Champion with the Houston Rockets. He could distribute, drop outside jumpers, glide inside and as soon as his playing days were done, Kenny Smith went straight into broadcasting. He’s been a fixture on TNT since the 1997-1998 regular season.
Leading up to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, Smith is working with Coke Zero to promote the Coke Zero School Shout Out and Enjoy More Madness campaigns. We sat down with Kenny before the All-Star break to chat about the NBA, the NCAA Tournament, the Coke Zero tournament tie-ins and his TNT broadcasting crew. Here’s the interview:
CS: Hey Kenny, who gets further in the NBA playoffs this season, the Clippers or the Lakers?
KS: Wow. As it stands, before possible trades or anything could happen?
CS: Yeah, as the teams stand currently.
KS: As the teams are constructed as they are now, I would say that the Los Angeles Lakers still have an advantage over the Clippers.
CS: I know you know all about trade rumors. You were traded by the Kings to the Hawks and from Atlanta to the Rockets. With the all of the Pau trade rumors making the rounds lately let me ask you, did trade rumors impact your performance when you played the game?
KS: You think about them, but when the game starts you don’t. You only think about it when you get asked in the media before and after games. There’s been great players—I’ve stood next to two of the greatest players that ever played the game, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. They’ve been traded. So there’s no reason why Pau Gasol would think that he couldn’t be traded, or any other player, because the greatest players in the world are wanted by other teams. So that’s what it is. It’s not so much someone doesn’t want you, it’s other teams want you.
CS: Right, I gotcha. After all the compliments and sunshine do you think Kobe Bryant has given management the okay to get rid of Pau?
KS: No, I just think that as a player on the team, you know, Kobe knows his window of winning championships is short and he’s like “can we figure out what’s going on right now?” I don’t think he would have made the same statement if it was his second year in the NBA.
CS: Yeah, fair.
KS: But being as, you know, he’s got two to three really good years left he’s like “no I gotta make a statement, cause I gotta figure out not only for me—for the team, but for me as well.” So I think that’s when you see that frustration. But Kobe Bryant 4, 5 years ago was asking to be traded to Dallas.
CS: Right.
KS: So he’s been part of this. Every player has been part of this type of situation before.
CS: You played for six different NBA franchises, which team do you think had the best combo of ownership and front office people?
KS: Well I would have to—I played with the Rockets the longest, you know. I played with the Rockets for 7 ½ years so I would say that that combination of understanding players and understanding management, the relationship, I would say, with the Rockets was easily—far easily the best.
CS: Who was the most difficult player you ever had to defend?
KS: Anyone on a hot streak in the NBA. You know because someone says, “hey I gotta play against Chris Paul tonight.” Chris Paul might not play well. And then you get a Jeremy Lin who comes in. A guy who hadn’t been playing and then he gives you 25 points and 11 assists. So the NBA is really about timing, about when you meet guys up, you know. So I don’t think that you can just say “the toughest guy is” on that level. There’s guys who are far ahead. In my era—the Jordan era, he was far above a lot of even the superstar players. But when you get to the superstars, the great players, they’re all difficult to defend and to play against.
CS: Would the Rockets have won those titles if Jordan never retired? Be honest Kenny!
KS: Well, he actually—he played one year. I just can’t help it he was wearing number 45 but…
CS: (Laughs)
KS: He lost to the Orlando Magic. You know they had the opportunity when he came back so I think that we would have won and we already did. We’ve proven that we won when he played. He just didn’t play the first year.
CS: Where do you think Hakeem ranks all time?
KS: In terms of centers or players?
CS: In terms of centers.
KS: Well, he’s definitely in the top five. But when you say the top five centers of all time it’s like picking a banana over an orange, you know what I mean? It’s just a personal choice. And what team are you building around. But Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the top 5 centers of all time.
CS: Speaking of top 5 centers, what’s it like having Big Diesel on the TNT set?
KS: Lots of fun. I think Shaq is finding his niche every day, we’re enjoying having him. He doesn’t have to be the best player on the team, or the most dominant (laughs). He can just come in and be part of the show and have a great deal of fun and that’s what he’s doing.
CS: Tell me something about Charles Barkley that the public might not already know.
KS: About Charles?
CS: Yeah.
KS: Wow. He’s a gym rat.
CS: Really?
KS: A habitual gym rat. Meaning he watches a bunch of basketball on off days. And he’s a movie buff. He can tell you not only the movie, but he can tell you the actors in it. And not the main actors, but the supporting actors.
CS: (Laughs)
KS: He knows those supporting actors names that I would never know.
CS: Do you think that E.J. gets enough respect and recognition for being a total badass?
KS: I think—I think he does. I think people recognize it now. They know what he does and how good he is to our show and how much he has to facilitate things and make them happen.
CS: So you’ve been on TV now longer than you were actually a player in the NBA. Did you always know that you wanted to go the TV route?
KS: No. This is something new—I mean it was new when I first started it. I knew I would be in basketball, I didn’t know that this would be the route. But I’m enjoying the fact that I am and it’s a lot of fun. I really did not know that I would be in television, but I knew I would be in basketball in some type of way.
CS: Now what are your thoughts on that crazy Jumbotron thing that I see on the set? Where you have to go and like stand around life-sized players and stuff. Do you like that? Is it kind of gimmicky or weird? What’s that like in person?
KS: I mean it gives a better perspective because sometimes I can actually show you the position that the defender or the offensive player should have been in. So I can actually be in that spot and say “he should have been here and not over here because the space is not good enough.” So sometimes it’s great, other times I just have fun with it because it’s a really big TV. (Laughs).
CS: (Laughs).
KS: So it’s a little bit of both.
CS: So are you going to be working as an analyst for March Madness again this year?
KS: Yeah I’ll be doing the March Madness. I’ll be doing it with Turner and CBS and that’s why I’m basically on the talking with you now because we’re doing a big promotion with Coke Zero where college basketball fans get a chance to enjoy more Madness and show their school spirit by texting [in the Coke Zero School Shout Out program]. It basically gives kids an opportunity and fans an opportunity by texting “zero” plus their team name to “2653” and they can win free access to March Madness live, which now you have to pay for but you can get it on your Android phone and you can get it on your iPhone phone and you can watch March Madness live for free. And put yourself in for a chance to win tickets to the final four, so I’m all over it.
CS: So do you expect your Tar Heels to cut the Nets down this year? Or if not, who you got?
KS: There’s never a year I don’t expect.
CS: (Laughs)
KS: This year I’ll just expect more (laughs). I just expect more in other years and this year I expect more. I think we have everything that you have. Do we have good guard play? Yes we do. Do we have good inside play? Yes we do. Do we have a great coach? Oh, yes we do. So we have all of the makings of what it would be. Do we have experience? Yeah. We have all the basics to be an NCAA champion.
CS: Do you think this is the year of the mid major?
KS: I don’t think they’re the mid major anymore. I think mid major—that phrase should be eliminated in sports, in NCAA. Because of the fact that so many schools, you know, the top players don’t stay for 4 years or 3 years anymore. Every school has a legitimate chance to win the NCAA championship this year. So I don’t call them mid’s anymore, I just call them season teams now. They’re guys like Butler last year, they had juniors and seniors on their team you know, and that’s the difference from years past.
CS: Who do you like in terms of tournament sleepers this year?
KS: I think once they get out of the league play and we see who actually wins at tournaments, then we get an opportunity to see. Even like let’s say last year we—speaking of Jeremy Lin—but Harvard last year, they were coming out of the Ivy League last year and I was like “Wow, Tommy Amaker’s got these guys playing. They could actually play around and upset a team; they’re not your traditional Ivy League school.” And then they lost and didn’t make the tournament you know? (Laughs)
CS: Yeah. (Laughs)
KS: So we gotta see like how it plays out a little bit over these next weeks or so.
CS: What do you think about Gonzaga’s chances?
KS: I think Gonzaga’s a really good team. You know, they had some inconsistencies at times, but I think they’re a really good team. You know, Murray State’s come out of nowhere. But I mean a school sometimes—say like Florida State who has beaten Duke and North Carolina. They could play around and lose in the first round of the playoffs in the ACC tournament and then be one of those bubble teams you know?
CS: I gotcha.
KS: They’re the team that could beat Duke or North Carolina and may be on the bubble. But that’s what I’m saying, you have to kind of wait and play everything out over these next couple of weeks.
CS: If I had to press you right now for your final four picks what would you say?
KS: I think—I think it’s impossible to pick that right now. Only because I can tell you Duke vs. North Carolina and then all of a sudden they’re in the same region. You know what I mean?
CS: (Laughs) right.
KS: So it kind of—it gets more dictated by who you’re seeded against and where’s your region? Are you a 1 or a 2 in your region and who else is in your region? So that’s what I’m saying, we’ve still got to kind of play out the ACC tournament, the Pac-10 tournament and so forth.
CS: Do you think we’ll ever see a point where college basketball players get paid to stay all four years? Like some kind of reward for sticking around?
KS: I think that guys should get paid if they stay four years and graduate.
CS: Okay, that’s fair.
KS: Key word being graduate. I think they should get a stipend of what’s been made during their—like a percentage. You know, 3% of what’s been made at your university to basketball while you were there. Or 2%, whatever it is. But I think that the amount of money that is generated—and if you stay and you graduate, you should be able to participate in financially after you graduate of what you’ve done.
CS: Right right.
KS: Because a college education doesn’t really add up a lot of times to what they bring in. It’s not an equal agreement.
CS: Yeah, I gotcha. Switching back to the NBA, do you think Lin’s the real deal?
KS: Yeah, Lin’s the real deal. You can’t go this long and not be the real deal.
CS: Do you think “feel good” stories like Linsanity or Tebow-Mania can reach a point of oversaturation where other players start getting sick of the headlines? Like Deron Williams said the other day?
KS: Well, Deron was sick because he was the one who it started on.
CS: Oh right, true.
KS: Yeah. He was the guy that it started on so he had a personal agenda to let everyone know “you know what, I’m still a top three guard in the league. Like if you could name three guards, I don’t know if you can name 3 guards better than me.” And that’s what great players do. They do that every night. They don’t show that just against Lin. But they circle a lot of games. I think what’s great about Lin is we’ve all at one time in our life had been misevaluated in terms of our talent. And he just kicked in the door and shows that you don’t have to be a great Xs and Os guy or a personable coach, you’ve got to be able to evaluate talent. And you know— he’s every underdog story if you think about it. His ethnicity, that’s been a question. The fact that he’s been in the D league, that’s been a question. The fact that he didn’t go to a perennial powerhouse school for basketball, that’s been—like we all understand some part of what he is. That’s what makes his story so great.
CS: Do you think Seattle deserves another chance at an NBA team?
KS: Oh yeah. I mean that was one of the most fun cities to play in when they were the Supersonics. I mean that was—they had so much support. I was surprised that—I mean, I felt that they’d never not had a basketball franchise because of the enthusiasm that was there.
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Time was short, so I had a bunch of questions that didn’t get asked, but just wanted to say thanks again to Kenny Smith for taking the time to chat with us. Make sure you guys check out all the Coke Zero prize-winning action leading up to and throughout the NCAA tournament this year. Check out our post or visit EnjoyMoreMadness.com to learn more.
Mar 5th
