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COACH Rodrick Rhodes

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Pass 1st shoot 2nd, Dec 12, 2007.

  1. Pass 1st shoot 2nd

    Pass 1st shoot 2nd Contributing Member

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    I have often wondered about whatever happened to Roderick Rhodes after he played his way out of the NBA. Last night I found out that he is now an Assistant Coach at UMass :confused:

    This is almost too hard for me to believe. RR must be coaching athleticism ;) and defense because he couldn't run our easy offense under Rudy (DIT Hakeem), shoot the ball, hit his free throws, wear the "easy to coach" tag, or get along with Rudy T., who was perhaps the best known "player's coach" in the NBA during his tenure as head coach of the Rockets.

    IMHO opinion, RR could have been a great NBA player if it weren't for Rick Pitino. After RR had an off year in the 1994-1995 season, Pitino chased RR out of town (told RR to go pro or elsewhere) so Pitino could give RR's scholarship to Ron "Misspelled Tattoo" Mercer. RR transferred to USC after that season, but had to sit out the 1995-1996 season, thereby (1) wasting a year of RR's eligibility, and (2) keeping RR off of the Kentucky teams that beat Syracuse to win the 1996 NCAA championship and that returned to the finals the following year (loss to Syracuse).

    Who's to say whether RR would have been a great one if he remained at Kentucky, but sometimes bad events are hard to shake. One a similar note, I always thought that Shawn Kemp wouldn't have spiraled out of control (and the NBA) if the Sonics would have given him the money that the organization gave to Jim McIllvane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawn_Kemp). Giving that scrub more money than the team's sole "superstar" surely affected his head. Likewise, I'm sure that Pitino's "dumping" of RR for Ron Mercer, a change of schools and a lost season never settled well with RR, and may have had something to do with his "coachability" in the NBA (couldn't take criticism well after Pitino, never was criticized at USC, and then had to be the next Penny Hardaway in Houston as a rookie).

    Anyway, I wish RR the best and have now become a fan of UMass basketball. Here's a link to RR's bio on the UMass webpage and the text of bio (stats not pasted herein because of formatting issues):

    http://umassathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/rhodes_rodrick00.html

    "Rodrick Rhodes, a former first-round NBA draft pick who played collegiately at both Kentucky and Southern California has been hired by Head Coach Travis Ford to work with the men's basketball program at the University of Massachusetts. Rhodes will serve as the Assistant to the Head Coach/Director of Player Personnel at UMass.

    "A former teammate of Ford's at Kentucky (1992-94), Rhodes joins the Minutemen after serving as an assistant coach at Idaho State last season. Rhodes will be involved in various aspects of the UMass basketball program.

    "'I am so excited that Rodrick is coming aboard to be a part of our staff,' said Ford. 'He was a tremendous high school player, great college player and an NBA pro. He will be a valuable part of our staff as he will be involved with our players making the full commitment to being student-athletes. He will help them be the best they can be in the classroom and community in addition to helping them succeed as teammates. He is someone very close to me, as we played together at Kentucky. I know what type of influence he can have on our players in helping them achieve in life.'

    "Rhodes worked a year at Idaho State (2006-07) after a season at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, where he served as an assistant coach for the Hilltoppers. He helped St. Ed's to a 21-9 record, the Heartland Conference regular season championship, and a spot in the Division II National Tournament.

    "Rhodes, 33, played parts of three seasons with the Houston Rockets, Vancouver Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks after being selected with the 24th choice of the first round in the 1997 draft by the Rockets. Rhodes averaged 5.8 points in 58 games for the Rockets in his rookie season, starting 13 games. Rhodes retired after the 1999-2000 season.

    "Rhodes played for three seasons under Rick Pitino at Kentucky (1992-95), scoring 1,209 points before leaving the Wildcats and transferring to USC for his final season, where he scored 350 points, giving him 1,559 in his collegiate career. Rhodes played in the NCAA Tournament all four of his season, including helping Kentucky to the 1993 Final Four, where the Wildcats lost to the Michigan Wolverines in overtime 81-78. Rhodes was SEC All-Freshman in 1993, 3rd Team All-SEC in 1994, and 2nd Team All-SEC in 1995. After transferring to USC, Rodrick won the Fred Hessler Award Winner as Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year in 1997.

    "Rhodes won a USA Today National Championship in 1988 at St. Anthony's High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was a McDonald's All-American in 1992, a three-time Parade All-American, and a USA Today First Team All-American.

    "After his stint in the NBA, Rhodes played in Athens, Cyprus, Greece, the Philippines, France, and Puerto Rico, and he also founded the Rodrick Rhodes Basketball Camp in Richmond, Texas."
     
  2. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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    Loved RR. Like you mentioned the guy simply could not finish. But he could do so many things so well. With experience he could have minimized his liabilities and proven to be a great role player. I expected him to be the Rockets starting PG until he went out with the chest injury and faded.

    If someone put in the time and effort to make RR a Youtube highlight clip you would witness him picking the pockets of Tim Hardaway, Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, etc... like it was nothing. He would strip the ball in a face-to-face stance. The look on the superstars faces when he simply took the ball. It was seriously something special.
     
  3. A-Train

    A-Train Contributing Member

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  4. Hayesfan

    Hayesfan Contributing Member

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    That's one player I would like to forget. Strange that so many UK players have been at Houston. Of course I don't like to count Rhodes as a UK player because he left us early to play in the NBA and then ended up at USC for his senior year.

    But I am surprised at how many former UK players that the Rockets have had (or could have had) since the last chip.

    Gerald Fitch
    Keith Bogans
    Kelenna Azubuike
    Derek Anderson
    Chuck Hayes
    Scott Padgett
    Roderick Rhodes

    I thought this was interesting.. :)

    http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/rhodes.html

    Scroll down to the bit about the Rockets.
     
  5. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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    You forgot the most famous one. He is still in the league. But he doesn't play...
     
  6. Hayesfan

    Hayesfan Contributing Member

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    that was a Rocket? Who??
     
  7. Clutch

    Clutch Administrator
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  8. Pass 1st shoot 2nd

    Pass 1st shoot 2nd Contributing Member

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    Ummm, RR didn't "leave" Kentucky. UK message boards concede what isn't much of a secret, namely that Pitino told RR to go pro or somewhere else so Pitino could give RR's scholarship to Ron Mercer. There is no lost love between Pitino and RR.
     
  9. Pass 1st shoot 2nd

    Pass 1st shoot 2nd Contributing Member

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    Don't sweat it, HayesFan. Ziggy is not playing fair. ;) This guy was never a Houston Rocket, but he was drafted by and did play for the San Diego Rockets. His name is Pat Riley, who coached the Lakers to glory, made the most out of the Knicks, and who rode Dwayne Wade's wood all the way through the 2006 NBA Finals.

    Ziggy, go tell Earl Campbell and Warren Moon that they are Tennessee Oilers and/or Tennessee Titans. Luv ya, Nashville? :cool:
     
  10. Painting_Shade

    Painting_Shade Contributing Member

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    Rhodes was in Richmond, TX, my hometown for a week once and had this little camp going on (I was like 14). He actually lived in my neighborhood for a while (Pecan Grove) I knew who he was so a friend and I jumped on the opportunity. turns out, we were the only ones. it was him, me and my friend for one whole week. he showed us so much it was awesome.... and whoever is saying he can't shoot, shut the hell up. he must have shot over 80% from 25+ feet. it was so much fun and at that age he just seemed larger than life. he was a really really nice guy. showed us post moves, training patters, shooting technique, and a really classy guy at the same time.

    I wish he coulda made it in the NBA.
     
  11. AntiSonic

    AntiSonic Member

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    He was like a real-life version of NBA Jam. :eek:

    So what was the deal between him and Rudy anyway? He really seemed to be the one piece, a set of YOUNG legs, those 96-98 Rockets desperately needed. IIRC, Pippen publically stated he wanted to work with him when he was traded here.
     
  12. Hayesfan

    Hayesfan Contributing Member

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    read the link I posted... that is absolutely not true.

    Edit.. On Pat Riley... I wasn't thinking prior to the championships.. otherwise I could have included the likes of Dirk Minnefield (did I spell that right?)
     
    #12 Hayesfan, Dec 12, 2007
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2007
  13. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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    Ya I threw in a loopty doop.
    Moon=Titan- [insert throw up smiley, you know the one]
     
  14. Hayesfan

    Hayesfan Contributing Member

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    Not to derail the thread, but Ziggy did you see the Billy G article in USA today?

    Billy Article
     
  15. Pass 1st shoot 2nd

    Pass 1st shoot 2nd Contributing Member

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    Hindsight is 20/20, but this isn't the best example of Clutch the Armchair GM that's out there!!! :D I mean, c'mon, Clutch wanted these guys on the Rockets:

    Jaques Vaughn (taken after RR with the 27th pick; has been in and out of the league, and is still nothing more than a scrub for the Spurs) (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jacque_vaughn/index.html);

    Keith Booth (the 28th pick - out of the NBA after two years in Chicago) (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/keith_booth/);

    Ed Gray (the 22nd pick - also out of the NBA after two years with Atlanta)(http://www.nba.com/playerfile/ed_gray/);

    Dedric Willoughby (never drafted by a NBA franchise; played 25 games for Chicago in 99-00 then went to Europe) (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/players/3388/); or

    Marko Milic (2nd Round - 34th overall pick - two seasons with Suns and back to Europe) (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/marko_milic/index.html).

    Instead, the Rockets picked Rodrick Rhodes (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rodrick_rhodes/index.html), who played in three seasons (okay, only one game in the third season) before leaving the NBA on other than his own terms.

    Face it: the 1997 draft board was not as good (overall) or deep as we saw in 1996 draft, and lots of folks were very disappointed with who was drafted in 1997. The Rockets should draw no more ire than the teams that drafted any of the guys just mentioned, or anybody else who was available at the 24th pick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_NBA_Draft).
     
  16. OrangeRowdy95

    OrangeRowdy95 Contributing Member

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    I saw him 2 weeks ago when the Orange played UMass. I made sure to say hi to him and let him know that I remembered him on the Rockets. He was a hell of a defender.
     
  17. Rowdie Brandon

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    thanx for the update...I was actually thinking about Double R the other day......if that man ever developed a jump shot he could've been really good..........
     
  18. Pass 1st shoot 2nd

    Pass 1st shoot 2nd Contributing Member

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    Oh yeah, wiseguy! ;) Check out these UK fan links, and read them:

    http://kentucky.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1383&tid=107574763&mid=107574763&sid=888&style=2

    http://www.wildcatnation.net/forum/showthread.php?p=316002

    http://www.xanga.com/volfanman2001?nextdate=2/5/2007+15:4:49.363&direction=n (see third paragraph, or second long one, below photo of Nick Saban smiling like a jack-ass)

    There are more links, but they are obscure and don't help (or hurt) my argument that Pitino chased RR out of Kentucky. However you slice the cake, RR didn't just walk away, think he was a top ten pick in the NBA draft, come down to earth/withdraw from the draft, waste a year of eligibility and then decide to go play for USC before reentering the NBA draft.

    Not to be rude or ugly with you, please do more than say "nuh-uh" when somebody makes a point that you don't agree with.
     
  19. Hayesfan

    Hayesfan Contributing Member

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    You are talking about a fan base that blows EVERYTHING out of proportion. Believe me I have been a part of it for a more than half my life. All of those sites you just gave me, are fan sites or message boards.

    I haven't been to wildcat nation in forever, because most of the people there acted like KKK members when Tubby had his first 10 loss season.

    Just because some fans say it doesn't make it true.

    Bigbluehistory is also a fan driven site, but I know that people close to the program have helped contribute to it. I have much more faith in what is posted there than at someone's xanga account.

    Yes Pitino gave RR's scholarship away... it was like when Randolph left after his sophomore year. How long do you hold off on offering a scholarship to a top ten recruit (Mercer) for a guy you possibly won't have because he has submitted his name to the NBA draft??

    Edit: Case in point on the blowing out of proportion. Some kid posted on one of the message boards the other day that Mark Krebs (a walk on that transferred from Thomas More College - a christian college) walked up to him and his friends and made a remark that went something like "Can I sit here with you girls?" What the heck? There were 8 blog posts about it in different UK websites, it made the Herald Leader for crying out loud and Coach was asked about it during a press conference this week. Give me a freaking Break. The story in itself sound highly unlikely and not only that people respond with we're going to boo him if he gets in the game.

    Sorry.. rant over ;)
     
    #19 Hayesfan, Dec 12, 2007
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2007
  20. Pass 1st shoot 2nd

    Pass 1st shoot 2nd Contributing Member

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    As I gather things, you are a UK fan going back to the days when RR played under Pitino and after he "left" the team to (a) go pro and then (b) play for USC. You appear to be charged with a more than casual opinion of this matter. I, on the other hand, am a Rockets fan who was displeased with anything other than RR's potential as a Rocket, but I didn't attend and I don't otherwise care about UK specifically or SEC basketball in general. The tone of my post comes from compassion, rather than animus, which I suspect although I don't necessarily believe to form a significant part of your opinion about RR, whether you are wearing your UK fan hat, your Rockets fan or both.

    We are just going to have to agree to disagree; with that said, please accept that I do respect your opinion, and right to express it.
     

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