By Marc D'Amico | November 19, 2008
Confidence Breeds Success
Confidence. It’s a characteristic that often resembles a roller coaster ride with athletes and fans alike -- first it’s up, then it’s down, then it’s up again. But for a select few, confidence is the one characteristic that can drive them through any type of adversity. For these people, confidence isn’t like a roller coaster, it’s more along the lines of a joy ride down a straightaway. These individuals’ confidence isn’t going anywhere but straight.
Who is it that’s been coasting down that straightaway for his entire life? Keith Bogans.
“I’m always a confident player and person,” says Bogans. “I don’t let my confidence go up or down. It’s staying the same all the time no matter what.”
His name wasn’t called much during the preseason. His name wasn’t even called much at the beginning of the regular season. But because of his attitude and demeanor, he showed up to practice and worked hard each and every day. For that reason, you didn’t hear him complaining at all about his situation, either. Keith Bogans knew his time would come. He was just taking that joy ride and waiting for his chance.
“I think in my younger days I might have blown up or been upset or said crazy stuff, but I’m older now,” Bogans says. “It’s a long season and I was frustrated because I know what I can do. But I knew I had to keep working and stay ready for whenever I was called.”
He began the season as a reserve, seeing only 13 minutes in the season opener against Atlanta while recording only two points. At that point, not many outside of Bogans himself believed he would be an important factor on this team.
Fast forward to November 19. The Magic are sitting atop the Southeast Division with an 8-3 record and Bogans is one of the key reasons this team is looking down at their divisional rivals in the standings.
After a slow start in the first few games of the season, Bogans caught fire against the Chicago Bulls on November 3. He scored 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field (2-of-3 from beyond the arc) and grabbed five rebounds. Since that night he has been the most consistent player off the Magic bench and has provided a spark of energy to the team every night. He knows that’s his role and he’s loving every second of it.
“I want to come out and try to force some things defensively,” he says. “I want to try to shut a guy down and tell the other guys ‘Ok, let’s get it going!’ I’m the one out there talking on defense and that’s kind of my job (to provide a spark) when I get out there.”
If that’s his job, he’s owning it right now. He’s playing great defense against some great scorers (i.e. Andre Igoudala, Caron Butler, Josh Howard, etc.) and on top of that is hitting big shot after big shot. He has hit 14 shots from 3-point range in only 11 games and is making a career-high 85.7 percent of his free throws.
It’s not just his stat line that looks good, it’s the critical moments in which he is making these plays.
Take Tuesday’s contest against the Raptors, for example. Hedo Turkoglu began the fourth quarter with seven points for the Magic to open up a cushion on the scoreboard. But Chris Bosh, who finished the night with 40 points and 18 rebounds, wasn’t about to let his team fall too far behind. He made an great reverse dunk and then hit a jump shot just 39 seconds later to pull the Raptors to within seven. Toronto had some life and the momentum was definitely in their favor.
Then it was time for Bogans to step up.
Anthony Johnson saw Bogans spotting up behind the 3-point line and hit him with a pass. Bogans set his feet, concentrated on the rim and calmly rose for his shot. If he misses this shot, the Raptors could have come down court and pulled the game to within four or five points, the closest they would have been since the opening minutes of the third quarter. But Bogans doesn’t miss this type of shot this year. He hits nothing but the net and then blocks a Jamario Moon shot at the other end. Comeback attempt over. Magic win.
It’s the type of play we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Bogans early in the 2008-09 season. It’s also the type of play that, entering the regular season, no one expected to see from him in these first 11 games.
Well, that is, except for Bogans. He was cruising down that straightaway the whole time and no one even noticed.
In a mind like his, confidence breeds success. Take a look at his 2008-09 performance and the Southeast Division standings -- they prove it.
Confidence Breeds Success
Confidence. It’s a characteristic that often resembles a roller coaster ride with athletes and fans alike -- first it’s up, then it’s down, then it’s up again. But for a select few, confidence is the one characteristic that can drive them through any type of adversity. For these people, confidence isn’t like a roller coaster, it’s more along the lines of a joy ride down a straightaway. These individuals’ confidence isn’t going anywhere but straight.
Who is it that’s been coasting down that straightaway for his entire life? Keith Bogans.
“I’m always a confident player and person,” says Bogans. “I don’t let my confidence go up or down. It’s staying the same all the time no matter what.”
His name wasn’t called much during the preseason. His name wasn’t even called much at the beginning of the regular season. But because of his attitude and demeanor, he showed up to practice and worked hard each and every day. For that reason, you didn’t hear him complaining at all about his situation, either. Keith Bogans knew his time would come. He was just taking that joy ride and waiting for his chance.
“I think in my younger days I might have blown up or been upset or said crazy stuff, but I’m older now,” Bogans says. “It’s a long season and I was frustrated because I know what I can do. But I knew I had to keep working and stay ready for whenever I was called.”
He began the season as a reserve, seeing only 13 minutes in the season opener against Atlanta while recording only two points. At that point, not many outside of Bogans himself believed he would be an important factor on this team.
Fast forward to November 19. The Magic are sitting atop the Southeast Division with an 8-3 record and Bogans is one of the key reasons this team is looking down at their divisional rivals in the standings.
After a slow start in the first few games of the season, Bogans caught fire against the Chicago Bulls on November 3. He scored 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field (2-of-3 from beyond the arc) and grabbed five rebounds. Since that night he has been the most consistent player off the Magic bench and has provided a spark of energy to the team every night. He knows that’s his role and he’s loving every second of it.
“I want to come out and try to force some things defensively,” he says. “I want to try to shut a guy down and tell the other guys ‘Ok, let’s get it going!’ I’m the one out there talking on defense and that’s kind of my job (to provide a spark) when I get out there.”
If that’s his job, he’s owning it right now. He’s playing great defense against some great scorers (i.e. Andre Igoudala, Caron Butler, Josh Howard, etc.) and on top of that is hitting big shot after big shot. He has hit 14 shots from 3-point range in only 11 games and is making a career-high 85.7 percent of his free throws.
It’s not just his stat line that looks good, it’s the critical moments in which he is making these plays.
Take Tuesday’s contest against the Raptors, for example. Hedo Turkoglu began the fourth quarter with seven points for the Magic to open up a cushion on the scoreboard. But Chris Bosh, who finished the night with 40 points and 18 rebounds, wasn’t about to let his team fall too far behind. He made an great reverse dunk and then hit a jump shot just 39 seconds later to pull the Raptors to within seven. Toronto had some life and the momentum was definitely in their favor.
Then it was time for Bogans to step up.
Anthony Johnson saw Bogans spotting up behind the 3-point line and hit him with a pass. Bogans set his feet, concentrated on the rim and calmly rose for his shot. If he misses this shot, the Raptors could have come down court and pulled the game to within four or five points, the closest they would have been since the opening minutes of the third quarter. But Bogans doesn’t miss this type of shot this year. He hits nothing but the net and then blocks a Jamario Moon shot at the other end. Comeback attempt over. Magic win.
It’s the type of play we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Bogans early in the 2008-09 season. It’s also the type of play that, entering the regular season, no one expected to see from him in these first 11 games.
Well, that is, except for Bogans. He was cruising down that straightaway the whole time and no one even noticed.
In a mind like his, confidence breeds success. Take a look at his 2008-09 performance and the Southeast Division standings -- they prove it.
