Jenni Carlson: How an Oklahoma native got to ride shotgun on James Harden's amazing season

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Jenni Carlson: How an Oklahoma native got to ride shotgun on James Harden's amazing season
by Jenni Carlson Published: May 3, 2017 5:00 AM CDT Updated: May 3, 2017 5:00 AM

Irving Roland, left, worked with James Harden every day last offseason. For the Oklahoma native and Carl Albert High alum, it led to a player development job with the Rockets and a front-row seat to one of the most amazing seasons in NBA history. [PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN]


Irving Roland sat only steps from the court in San Antonio on Monday night but struggled at times to see the action.

The tall guys in the short pants in front of him kept jumping up to celebrate.

Not that he minded.

Roland works in player development for the Rockets, so nights like Monday, when Houston blasted San Antonio in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals, are a sign of a job well done.

Then again, such signs have been abundant this season for Roland, an Oklahoma native and a Carl Albert High alum. He worked last summer with James Harden. He spent every day of the offseason with The Beard.

And perhaps you've heard — Harden had a pretty decent season.


But you won't hear Roland taking any credit for all the things that Harden has done. The near triple-double average. The MVP-caliber season.

"James Harden was special before I ever met him," Roland said. "I just think he's comfortable with me. I push him. I know what he needs to work on.


"We have a good little partnership."

That might be underselling it; Harden has gone from being an elite player to being in the conversation for best player on the planet. Part of that is Mike D'Antoni taking over as Houston's coach, implementing his run-and-gun style and putting the ball in Harden's hands in the process. Part of the equation is the players around Harden, too. No stars much less superstars, but a fantastic fit for his style.



And yet, last summer was the launchpad for this Rocket.

Why was Roland there to help light the fuse?

It started in the summer before his senior season at Southwestern Oklahoma State. He had played junior college ball at Carl Albert State after being an honorable mention Big All-City selection during his senior year of high school, but he wanted his last year at Southwestern to be his best. He paid his own way to attend a shooting camp in Chicago. It was run by Dave Hopla, who has a long history working with NBA players.

Roland, the only Division II player at the camp, ended up in a room with Mike Procopio. The player from Oklahoma and the scout from Boston hit it off.

Procopio promised Roland an internship in basketball operations with the Celtics.

"So as soon as I graduated ... I went to Boston," Roland said.

That internship during the 2004-05 season was supposed to turn into a full-time gig, but it never materialized.

As the start of the 2005-06 season approached, Roland was looking for his next job when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and forced the Hornets to relocate to Oklahoma City. One of Roland's bosses with the Celtics called the Hornets, and suddenly, Roland was working for his hometown's first NBA team.

He spent five years with the Hornets, first in Oklahoma City, then in New Orleans. He worked daily with Chris Paul, and their relationship connected Roland to some of the best players in the NBA. He went to the LeBron James Skills Camp. He worked with Thunder players after they moved to Oklahoma City when he came home for the summer.

Those connections only deepened and widened during the summer of 2011. Roland had left the Hornets a year earlier to open his own offseason training business in Miami, and when the 2011-12 season began with the players locked out, they knew Roland's Blueprint Basketball was a gathering ground.

Harden was one of the regulars in Miami.

Roland and Harden continued to work together over the past few years even as Roland took a player development gig with the Suns.

Last spring, Phoenix fired Jeff Hornacek and most of his staff was let go, including Roland.

The next day, Harden called.

"I want you to train me the whole summer," he told Roland.

Harden had decided to spend the majority of his offseason in Phoenix, where he played college ball at Arizona State. He wanted to work out with the Sun Devils' longtime sports performance director Rich Wenner, but he needed a skills coach.

Roland was in.

Even before player and coach devised a training plan, Roland had a sense of what Harden needed.

"Being with the Suns the last couple years, when we would play Houston, their body language was terrible," Roland said. "They didn't have good cohesion, synergy on the court. It was bad."

Last season was the worst. A year after making the Western Conference finals, the Rockets scuttled to an eighth-place finish and exited the playoffs in the first round. Harden, a first-team All-NBA pick a year earlier, was no longer on an upward trajectory. He has called last year the worst of his life and his career.

He needed to be re-energized, and once they talked, Roland was even more sure about how to do it.

"It was really just getting back to the basics," he said.

No hypoxic training masks. No cryogenics. No new-agey methods of any kind. Just focus on fundamentals. Drills in the morning, oftentimes with Roland guarding and harassing Harden. Pick-up games in the afternoon. In what those close to Harden came to refer to as "The Lab," he became immersed in basketball like he had been in his early years, in those days he fell in love with the game.

Roland, who not only worked with Harden in Phoenix but also Amsterdam and Paris and wherever else the offseason took him, saw the joy return and the vibe change as the summer went on.

"I could tell this was gonna be an MVP-caliber season," Roland said.

And in July, Roland got a courtside seat for the show when the Rockets hired him to work in player development. It was a nod to what he had done with Harden and what he could do with even more players.

Roland marvels at what he's seen with the Rockets. Harden's historic season. Houston's 55-win season. A first-round playoff series against the Thunder in his hometown.

The past few years, Roland would be home when the Thunder was in the playoffs, and he'd hit up Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook for tickets. This year, he was the one leaving tickets at will call. And he was happy to do so. For coaches. For family. For friends. Roland still visits those he's closest to whenever he's back in town.

The not-forgetting-his-roots narrative is especially strong with Mason Harrell. Roland has helped and mentored the rising senior at his alma mater, Carl Albert, and refers to Harrell as "my guy."

From NBA superstars to prep hopefuls, Roland enjoys working with basketball players at every stage. It goes back to his belief that he isn't the reason for anyone's success. He just wants to teach the game, just wants to be around the game.

Right now, Roland just happens to be riding shotgun on an amazing season.

"God really put me in the right places," he said.

Even if his seat on the second row of the Rockets' bench sometimes comes with an obstructed view.

Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at (405) 475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or view her personality page at newsok.com/jennicarlson.






Jenni Carlson
Jenni Carlson, a sports columnist at The Oklahoman since 1999, came by her love of sports honestly. She grew up in a sports-loving family in... read more ›