Did y'all read the article in the Chronicle about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's coaching! Excellent and right on! I'm happy he's finally getting a shot - some of the former players know a hell of a lot more basketball than more than a few of the current NBA coaches. What was really interesting was Kareem's comments about how kids today come into the League with few skills (other than how to dunk) and even less basketball savvy. I hope I'm not misquoting him - but the gist of his comments was that so many young players just don't have a grasp of b-ball fundamentals. Teamwork - team defense - unselfishness. Everybody seems to want to try to do something to make the Play of the Day tape. Too much like schoolyard ball. Less interest in the team and more interest on "how can I get my millions". If any of you are old enough to remember the UCLA teams of the 60s and 70s, you know what I mean about teamwork. Even Bill Walton was a great John Wooden team player (if he hadn't been, I'm convinced would have set his tall butt on the bench). Today we have a lot of arrogance and "me-first" attitudes, e.g. Rider,, Pippen, Spreewell, even Thomas Hamilton, who didn't have the talent to back up his talk. Makes one yearn for the good, old days.
I really hope time has changed Kareem because my impression of him is not the greatest by any stretch of the imagination. My older brother asked Kareem for an autograph in a restaurant when my family was visiting L.A. in the mid 70's. Not such a tough request, but suddenly he was was walking back to the table crying. Apparently Kareem and the chump he was with decided it would be cool to tell a 5 year old to "leave them the F*** alone". Well needless to say my father (a former MP in the Air Force and not a small man by any stretch of the imagination) gave him an earful and called him "a sorry punk", to which Kareem responded with a shrug. I really hope he doesn't teach that "skill" to any up and coming NBA stars. ------------------ The truth is out there. [This message has been edited by Mulder (edited March 02, 2000).]
