I think the following article, written by Myron Medcalf for ESPN, is worth reading for those interested in Royce White's situation. Medcalf was the guy who interviewed White on a video posted at the ESPN site (see link) and has covered him since his high school days. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8462144/nba-houston-rockets-royce-white-bus-request-matter-trust
**** Carl. I just opened it. Sigh I shall post my thoughts here. Hopefully someone will lock the previous one up. I thought this was a great article, informative, from someone who knows Royce personally. Royce is definitely a work in progress and he brings a lot of off the court stuff. Nonetheless I believe in his talent but most importantly him as a person he seems like such a class act & is a great inspiration. I know a lot of people have jumped off the Royce bandwagon but I have definitely not. People are saying send him to the D-League but if he goes there it shouldn't be because of his anxiety or what he brings off court but strictly because of his play.
methinks white's trust w/ espn is going to blossom over the next few months, growing ever stronger whenever white comes up with a new whim to publicly request
Methinks you may be right. Methinks also, it will not if he has a SAS-like ESPN reporter blasting him off.
I'm a huge Royce White fan, but I'm starting to think this too. No reason he should not be in camp right now. He handled this very poorly.
Very insightful article. Durrel Mohrey's reputation as a cold, calculating businessman is on the line here. If he can earn the trust of the league's most distant/guarded player, I think he deserves a solid pat on the back.
Great so the flakiness has been a habit of his. Who knows if we'll ever be able to rely on him completely.
He handled it poorly, but he admitted that. That shows character. Kids make mistakes. Sounds like if you back him up, he will back you up. This was a step in the right direction for both parties. Should tighten the bond.
He admitted that he made a mistake. It is hard for me to get on him for it because anxiety is no joke & anxiety is such a huge part of his life & you see as much from some of the things he does good & bad. I really want this kid to succeed and refuse to start thinking that things will end poorly.
While I wholeheartedly sympathize with Royce's illness and hope that the Rockets support him, professional sports really isn't an arena that is conducive for people with mental illnesses. I don't fault him for not trusting people and being very impulsive and at times whimsical given his mental disorder, but the league will never conform to the wishes of one player regardless of his condition. It's just not going to happen. The NBA is a business. Most likely he won't be with one team for his entire career. He is going to have to learn how to operate under uncomfortable circumstances whether is mental illness allows him or not if he is to have a successful career. That's really just the cruel truth.
Sorry. I don't think this will work. So if the Rockets have a new uniform he'll freak out? Sounds like he won't hang or eat with the team either. This is not the Lakers or the Heats with tons of talent, and White is not a superstar that can bring immediate impact to just any team. This is the Rockets, young and green. The team's chance of success this year and the next few to come will depend a lot on team chemistry, team culture, everybody buying into the system, and everybody being on the same page. They need to be close to each other like a family. White will always be the odd man out. IT JUST WON'T WORK. IT'S A SERIOUS DISRUPTION. White is a lost cause. Let's just send him to the D-League.
That is up to him to decide. If he really is the kind of guy who thrives on normalcy and routine, then he may be very quick to re-sign here. If the Rockets feel his condition does not affect the team adversely, they will likely accommodate him as best they can as long as he is producing on the basketball court. Yes, it is frustrating that he missed some camp, but the Rockets knew this was not going to be your run of the mill draft pick when they took him. So, if they weren't ready to deal with some wonkiness, they should've looked elsewhere. Way too early to cut bait or call this one a bust.
Why didn't he come to camp after the agreement was reached? Why does this have to wait until Monday? The article makes it sound like Royce needs to mature.
He admitted he was wrong after he got what he wanted. What if the Rockets had said no the bus? Then the Rockets are the bad guys.
You are the first to pick up on the most important part of the article. White had consulted with a family doctor he's known since high school -- the same woman who treated him for anxiety when he was first diagnosed with the condition nearly five years ago -- about the team's plan for his care. They decided that the bus was essential. No bus, no training camp. White trusts that family doctor in Minnesota. She has been there from the beginning of his bouts with anxiety disorder. Ummm, what? He is taking the advice from a general family Dr. rather than a psychologist or psychiatrist? I stopped reading after that because the rest doesn't matter. I have said this from the beginning that I think he is getting poor care for his serious problems. I'm guessing that he could get his family doc to approve anything he wants to avoid facing his fears. I hope White's "plan" includes seeing the best mental health professionals the Rockets can afford, even if he "trusts" his family doctor more.