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Primoz Brezec, Bobcats center The best player I ever played with was definitely Reggie Miller. Against? Lots of players, Shaq, Tim Duncan, there are lots of great guys.
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Bernie Bickerstaff, Charlotte Bobcats head coach I think we've improved, for the simple reason that we've been together another year. We had some setbacks, where Emeka missed alot of time last year, but we've improved our depth..veterans like Othella Harrington, guys who are good in the locker room.
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Brevin Knight, Bobcats guard I'd like to become a more confident three-point shooter and continue to be healthy and have fun and contribute like I have the past two seasons. Those are my personal goals.
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Chris Bosh, Raptors forward Our goal that we need to set now, is to compete and try and win every single game. We need to limit our mistakes and push hard in every game. If we can do that, I think we can make the playoffs.
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J.R. Smith, Nuggets guard We open up with the Clippers, so it's a great way to start the season, trying to get back at the team that ended our season last year. I really look forward to playing for the Nuggets.
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John Starks, New York Knicks A player who may not be like me, but who I really like...is Dwyane Wade. I love the way he attacks the basket.
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Nick Anderson, Orlando Magic The biggest moment of my NBA career had to be reaching the NBA Finals. Most people would say the block or steal on Michael Jordan, I can't argue with that too much. But for me, it was reaching the NBA Finals.
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Mike James, Timberwolves guard I was excited (to sign with Minnesota). It was a great opportunity. Maybe this is the place where I can lay some roots. I am really estatic.
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Ben Gordon, Bulls guard This offseason, I've been working on a mid-range game. A lot of young guys, including myself, are shooting the three or going to the hole for a dunk or contested shot. But this season, I am working on a mid-range game to make it harder to guard me.
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Shane Battier, Rockets forward I'm very excited about going to Houston and I think we have a great opportunity, if we stay healthy, to contend for a playoff spot in the West.
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Otis Smith, Orlando GM J.J. Redick has the ability to put the ball on the floor and create his own shots, but he also has the ability to come off screens and shoot. So, that's why he was a good pick for us.
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Dave Twardzik, Orlando Assistant GM Years ago, every team needed a seven-foot center, and I don't see that anymore. I see teams playing smaller guys in the backcourt too.
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Bernie Bickerstaff, Charlotte GM and head coach If we can get Emeka back and Sean back and get our team playing together, and get our group developing together, I expect tremendous improvement in our basketball team.
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Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers head coach I like guys who can play both ends of the court and give 100-percent...not just in games...but in practice. I want guys who will do whatever it takes to win. A scrapper. I want scrappers.
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Brian Hill, Orlando Magic head coach The one area I really feel we need to work the hardest on and improve in, is reducing turnovers. If we can cut back on our turnovers per game in addition to continue to improve defensively and with our offensive execution, I think we can be a vastly improved basketball team.
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Billy King, 76ers President and GM We're going to try and build a team that is competitive and plays hard every night, but the goal is always to make the playoffs and win a championship.
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Antawn Jamison, Wizards forward We feel we had enough talent to compete with Miami. It was a rollercoaster season. But in my mind our goal is win a division not to just make the playoffs.
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Matt Harpring, Jazz swingman My biggest mentor when I came into the league was Horace Grant. He took me under his wing and showed me the ropes in the NBA.
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Raymond Felton, Bobcats guard Everyone talks about the Rookie Wall, but I haven't hit it! I'm going strong.
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Charlie Bell, Bucks guard To come back now and have a big role on this team, is something I could barely dream of. It's really been great.
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Vladimir Radmanovic, Clippers forward The team accepted me from the beginning and the coaches also gave me a very clear role right away.
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Corey Maggette, Clippers forward I think I'll be 100-percent in the playoffs. And I think the team will do great.
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Ryan Gomes, Celtics forward Whatever decisions are made, starting, the bench, whatever, I will bring the same intensity and hustle and do everything I can to help the Boston Celtics win.
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Gerald Wallace, Bobcats forward It's been a good all-around season for me...I just want to stay healthy and contribute and do my best job each night.
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Zach Randolph, Trail Blazers forward Every aspect of my game, I need to keep working on, improving on. My perimeter game, my rebounding, my defense, everything.
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Bill Cartwright, Nets assistant coach It's not complicated. When our Big Three ball, Jason, Vince and Richard, we win games.
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Pat Garrity, Magic forward My role is to be a floor-spacer who can knock down open shots when teams collapse on Dwight or any of our other scores.
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Peja Stojakovic, Pacers forward I guess I'm just healthier now and even though we are still learning on the court, we are getting better.
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Travis Diener, Magic guard My favorite player growning up was Michael Jordan. He was the best player ever.
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Richard Jefferson, Nets forward My bastketball inspiration was probably Magic Johnson. And then, as I got older, Scottie Pippen and Penny Hardaway.
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Sebastian Telfair, Trail Blazers guard The hardest player in the NBA to guard, for me....as a point guard...is Stephon Marbury or Baron Davis.
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Hedo Turkoglu, Magic forward As long as I get minutes, it really doesn't matter to me anymore whether I start or not.
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Mehmet Okur, Jazz forward I'm focusing on playing well and most importantly I'm focusing on the Jazz winning games.
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Delonte West, Celtics guard Out of 15 guys on our team, at least 14 of those guys had to be the class clown at their school!
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Shavlik Randolph, 76ers forward I never thought anyone could get 81 points in the modern era.
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Jameer Nelson, Orlando guard It's a big difference, because, as a starter, I feel I will be out there a lot longer and earlier and get more chances to get things done on the court. Off the bench, the opportunities to contribute are not as high.
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Travis Outlaw, Blazers forward Ha-ha (Laughing) I don't know, it depends on the mood I'm in. I've gotten close when I wasn't tryin' that hard...I've never touched the top-top of the backboard, but you never know....
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Martell Webster, Blazers guard Portland is great. It's just like Seattle, where I'm from. And it's very close to home, which is very convenient. The fans have been great to me too, they've really supported me and I'm just concentrating on performing for them and my teammates and doing what I can to help us win games.
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Elton Brand, Clippers forward Yeah, we hang out off the court, from time-to-time, we'll hit a nice restaurant. We like to have some good food, get some jokes in and have a good time together off the court.
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John Salmons, Sixers guard I would like to be in politics....maybe I can be the Mayor of Philadelphia.
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Scottie Pippen, Bulls great Well, I always use my size and speed to defend. I also wanted to get in front of players and fill lanes, and work off the picks. I also wanted to use my strength and anticipation and size to keep focused on what I needed to do for the entire 48 minutes. Even if they could sustain their offense at the beginning, usually by the end of the game, all the effort you put in would eventually pay off.
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Tony Battie, Magic center I think our morale is pretty good. The injuries have been tough, but we're still competing.
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Antawn Jamison, Wizards forward After I'm done playing, I want to keep doing work in the community and influence kids in a positive way.
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Paul Pierce, Celtics forward Of course I love Boston. The people here are very knowledgable fans, very into their sports.
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Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz forward I love playing on the computers. It's my biggest hobby. I don't like email, but I like games and the internet.
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DeShawn Stevenson, Magic guard I need to consistently knock down that 15-foot jumper and I'm working hard on that.
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Gilbert Arenas, Wizards guard A reporter told me the other day, 'now people know who you are because you're winning and you're on TV' and that's kinda true.
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James Singleton, Clippers forward I think I can play better in the NBA than overseas.
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Caron Butler, Wizards swingman Shaq is just so big and powerful, he is one of the most dominating....if not THE most dominant player.....ever.
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Martell Webster, Trail Blazers guard/forward Michael Jordan. I loved watching him play. He is the one who inspired me to play basketball. Before that, I played mostly baseball and football.
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Al Jefferson, Celtics forward I can step out and hit the J and go to my left hand if they shut my right hand down.
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Steve Francis, Magic guard Every team in the Eastern Conference improved this season. And for us to be competitive we just have to take it one game and one week at a time.
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Emeka Okafor, Bobcats forward/center I didn't get as many blocks as I would like last year, and I hope to improve that number a little bit..and by that...I mean alot. (Laughing) Ha-Ha.
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Dan Dickau, Celtics guard I'm comfortable scoring and distributing, whatever it takes for us to win games.
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James Jones, Suns swingman I'm a good team defender, I'm a smart basketball player and an efficient player. I can fit into any situation.
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Allen Iverson, Sixers guard All summer I got everything healed up. I didn't play much, just did alot of shooting so lots of those nagging injuries are gone and I feel great.
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Shawn Marion, Suns forward We have good energy and there is good effort out there and good focus and everyone seems to be on the same page in getting going for a new season.
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Robert Sarver, Suns owner The feedback I'm getting from the coaching staff and basketball staff is that we have some great new players and we're very excited about the prospects for this season.
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Bo Outlaw, Magic forward I hope I can bring a little experience and help out in the basketball knowledge side, in addition to bringing some energy to the team. |
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Bryan Colangelo, Suns president We feel we accomplished alot last season, but we are not satisfied with losing to San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals. |
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Mike D'Antoni, Suns coach I think it was enjoyable for players, coaches and fans to play with the speed and ability we had. We really look forward to the game every night. |
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Lawrence Frank, Nets coach Jason Kidd is a one-man fastbreak and we have some talented wing players, but we need to balance that with effective play in the halfcourt offense. |
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Brendan Haywood, Wizards center I'd like to average a double-double and I think if I can consistently get 30 to 35 minutes per game, I can put up a double-double most every night. |
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Doc Rivers, Celtics head coach Consistency is something we need and that is sometimes a problem with young kids. Also, accepting roles is important. Not everyone can be the star. Players need to accept their roles and that is sometimes a challenge. |
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Maurice Cheeks, 76ers head coach We have young energetic players, but we also have Allen Iverson and Chris Webber who know how to win and lead, and I think we can not only make the playoffs, but go even farther than that. |
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lakers legend I know a lot about the game, and I've noticed that what I learned in my time, isn't necessarily being taught now and I'd like to help impart that knowledge to a new generation of players. |
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Delonte West, Boston Celtics After I got drafted, Red (Auerbach) called and wondered if I wanted to do lunch in D.C. And in my mind it didn't exactly click that it was the legend, it was Red. |
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Donyell Marshall, Cleveland Cavaliers From being in the league a long time, I've hard to guard a lot of players ... Garnett, Barkley, Olajuwon, Pippen. I think the hardest was Yao Ming or Shaq. |
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Joe Maloof, Sacramento Kings and Monarchs owner I love the Monarchs. Gavin and I, when we purchased the Kings, decided to purchase the Monarchs as well. We knew we were getting the finest women's athletes in the world. It is a great sport, a great group of athletes and this is going to be a very successful league. |
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Robert Horry, San Antonio Spurs I think I probably enjoyed playing with Dream the most of anybody. He was a great talent and he was so amazing. Plus to work with someone from another culture was special. Of course, playing with Shaq and Kobe and Tim Duncan is great too! Oh, I almost forgot. For all you youngsters out there, The Dream is Hakeem Olajuwon and he was a great, great player. |
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Carrie Graf, Phoenix Mercury head coach I don't know that we underachieved. Our record may not be what we'd like, but we had roster implications early and to our credit we turned it around and now we are fighting for a playoff spot. |
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Jerry Stackhouse, Dallas Mavericks I definitely feel we will be a better team next year. We have pretty much the same team...except for losing Finley in the Amnesty Rule....so I think we will be even better. I wear No. 42 because my brother wore No. 24 at Florida State, so I turned that around and also, I was always a big James Worthy fan. |
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Anne Donovan, Seattle Storm head coach The 100th victory to me, means it's just one more step to the playoffs this season. That is our goal, to get back into the playoffs and challenge for a title and every win helps that happen. But, I do acknowledge the accomplishment of getting that many wins as a female coach and I'm very proud of that achievement. |
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Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls Coming off the bench last season made me realize it's more important who finishes the game than who starts the game. So, I'm not really concerned with whether I start or not. It's more about getting the minutes and doing what I need to do to help us win games when I am on the court. |
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Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards Definitely. I think we're gonna miss what Larry brought to the team, but when you lose a guy, in return you have Chucky Atkins a proven veteran who knows what it takes to be successful in the playoffs. And we all know that Caron Butler is a good player. I think we can get those guys and Antonio Daniels on board, we can actually improve as a team. I think we can do even better than last year. |
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Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury The All-Star Game was great, to be back in Connecticut and playing with Sue and all the other great players and to get on the court and play with and against them. It was great. |
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Baron Davis, Golden State Warriors Everyone gets along, so we stay in touch. But we're all individuals and busy with our family and friends, we're mainly in touch over the phone. When we can, we meet up in Oakland and practice together. The offseason is really a chance to chill with the family and friends. |
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DeLisha Milton-Jones, Washington Mystics One thing is that I have always been taught, and more so now. Michael Cooper always used to say respect all, but fear no one. If you put it that way, it might sit better with people. To say it the way you said it might ruffle some people the wrong way. I understand where you're coming from, and there is nothing wrong with being confident. Just respect everyone. |
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Bruce Bowen, San Antonio Spurs He understands the game, and doesn't try and make himself bigger than the game. He doesn't try and come up with crazy schemes, he prefers to go at things the simple way, with no gimmicks. |
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John Starks, former New York Knick It felt good! (Laughing) Obviously dunking on Horace Grant and Michael, in those circumstances, is just an incredible thing to happen. I'm happy I was able to make that play, and I'm fortunate I was in that position where I could make that happen for my team. I'm very happy to be a part of Knicks history in that way. |
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Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Conneticut Sun Definitely like the first half. Every team in this league is gonna try and improve and we're the same. We want the second half to be better though, we want to improve by addressing some deficiencies in our losses and by having fun out there playing. |
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Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks It's been great. I went out to eat yesterday and when I walked in the people there started applauding. It's a real treat and I look forward to doing my job on the court to return the great feelings I've been getting from the fans here. |
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Dr. Sheila Johnson, Lincoln Holdings LLC, Washington Mystics part-owner I love this question. Games usually start at 7, and I get to the lockerroom about an hour or two beforehand, sometimes we go to chapel together beforehand. And, after the game, I'm in there too....win or lose. It's harder after a loss, because these girls really put it all out there and try their best and they feel it when they lose. But I'm there to support them...either way. That's what it's all about here. |
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Stephanie White, Indiana Fever I think I came to the final decision, probably mid-March and it was extremely hard. I spent the whole offseason having to decide what I wanted to do, and in the end, it was a decision I had to make to commit fully to coaching. It came down to that and I decided it was time to do it. |
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Steve Patterson, Trail Blazers President Seung-Jin Ha made a great deal of progress this year, if he were coming out of his freshman year in college, it would be considered a good first step for him. We look forward to him continuing to mature, but we think that will take time and it could be a few years away before he is an impact player in the league. But he works hard and is very dedicated to the game and we like that. |
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Pat Coyle, New York Liberty head coach I think the talent level and the athletic ability of the players coming in has really increased. We have very athletic players now, who might not make a roster, because that talent level has really increased over the years. |
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Darryl Dawkins, Director of Scouting Best part about narrating on the DVD is looking at over 50 years of basketball in Philadelphia. I got a chance to watch Wilt, Dr. J, Moses Malone, Mo Cheeks, Charles Barkley AND myself! And the other thing, was seeing basketball from where it started in Philly, from the Syracuse Nationals and Warriors all the way up to today's Allen Iverson Sixers, which was pretty cool. |
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Alana Beard and Rookie Temeka Johnson, Washington Mystics Temeka Johnson: I agree. Playing with Alana and my other teammates, I think we can be really good. It should be a great experience competing with the other guards in the league and I'm really looking forward to it. |
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Betty Lennox and Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm Lauren Jackson: The toughest center to guard, one of the toughest is Margo Dydek, because she is so, so tall. She can just stand there and block your shot! Lisa Leslie is a good player and Cheryl Ford is so strong, she is hard to guard too. |
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Kevin Pritchard, Director of Player Personnel, Portland Trail Blazers That's another very good question. I think the most important thing a coach can do is analyze the skill sets of a team. When I opened the hood on this team, I kinda saw a racehorse engine. Sebastian has open court skills and speed. Darius Miles as a three/four is one of the fastest players in the league. And Pryzbilla is another guy who can play an up-tempo game. With the new handchecking rules, if you can get in transition and get easy baskets, you can win in this league. Plus, it's more fun to watch! These are the greatest athletes in the world, so why harness them and slow them down? That takes some of the excitement out of our game. |
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Richie Adubato, Washington Mystics head coach Yes there is. We started with Hubie Brown and a guy named Al Labalbo, who went on to coach with Louie Carnesseca. Mike Fratello. Brian Hill. Herman Kohl. Dick Vitale, Rollie Massimino. Most of us were in high school at the same time...except Hill and Fratello who were a bit younger. But we really had a great group that lived basketball as much as any group of coaches in the country. One story, I recall, was when we came out of a sports bar one night at 2 am. It was me, Hubie, Fratello, Dick Vitale and Kohl around Paterson, NJ and we were moving garbage cans around talking about how to cover the pick and roll. We got so loud the cops came over, thinking there was a riot, but we were just passionately trying to figure out the best way to defend that pick and roll! The cops knew us, let us go, and we continued the heated debate later on in the diner, using the salt and pepper and sugar shakers. |
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Chris Webber, Philadelphia 76ers |