How and When Uncle Mutombo Start Wagging his Finger??

pryuen · Mar 15, 2008

As I've promised you all, here is that very interesting article from Basketball Pioneers about how and when Uncle Mutombo start wagging his finger.

Just want to share with you guys this article on this history-making day as my kudo and salute to Uncle Mutombo, a great warrior and one of the best buddies of Yao Ming on the Rockets.

ENJOY !!!!

http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2008-03-14/12113531433.shtml

Reporter Zheng Peng of Basketball Pioneers reports in Houston.

"So wtf he wants to imitate me? C’Mon!! I’m the authentic finger-wagger!!” When talked about the incident when Al Jefferson wagged his finger towards him after a dunk, Deke Mutombo held his head up as usual, and did not seem to take that player (who is 14-years younger than he is) very serious.

Finger-wagging has not been merely Uncle Mutombo’s trademark; actually it has long become part of NBA’s legend. Uncle Mutombo does not like other players casually imitating his trademark finger-wagging, but perhaps very few people know, actually Uncle Mutombo also imitated others as he picked up his habit of finger-wagging. And that imitation had to be traced back to 38 years ago.

It was the summer of 1970 in the hot-as-a-big-furnace Congo near Equator. That was the first time Uncle Mutombo wagged his finger, and at that time, he was only 4 years old.

According to Uncle Mutombo’s recollection, at that time, he sort of hit his younger brother when they were playing. His mother wagged her finger at him, indicating to him that he should never treat his younger brother like that. And just like that, Uncle Mutombo took it to his heart about the finger-wagging which will become his trademark symbol in future. After his mother left, Uncle Mutombo did not weep after his mother’s hard scold; insteads, he became very curious and started imitating his mother in wagging his finger. For the very first time in his life, he wagged his finger.

Although he was only 4 years old when he first wagged his finger, Uncle Mutombo did not have to worry that he could forget the movement, because the mischievous and naughty Mutombo had a lot of revision opportunities afterwards. So long as Uncle Mutombo made mistakes, his mother would wag her finger towards him. “I knew what she tried to tell me…..You cannot do this.” Uncle Mutombo was smiling when he told the reporter. “From that onward, I like that finger-wagging movement. I knew that represents prohibition….(You wag your finger to someone to) prohibit him from doing something incorrect/wrong."

Just like Hakeem Olajuwon, Uncle Mutombo was very good in soccer when he was young. But as he grew older, he also grew taller, and he was sort of thrown into the basketball court from the soccer field by his father. At first, Uncle Mutombo was reluctant and resistant to play basketball, because he did not like the fierce and physical contact of the bodies on the basketball court. But gradually, he had fallen in love with basketball, and his finger-wagging habit also found a new platform.

According to Uncle Mutombo’s memory, the first time he wagged his finger on the basketball court was on April 7, 1980; at that time, he was only 14 years old. At that time, another guy of similar age as Mutombo tried to go for a layup within the paint, and Uncle Mutombo jumped up and gave the guy a huge block. And without knowing why, Uncle Mutombo wagged his finger. From then on, his finger-wagging officially became part of his basketball, and every of the kids that played together with Uncle Mutombo at that time all remembered his finger-wagging. It was not all about how intimidating Uncle Mutombo was when he wagged his finger; it was that his opponents started to realize that those 3-seconds zone belonged to Uncle Mutombo, and no one was supposed to mess in his domain.

"If someone wants to go up in front of me for a lay-up, I would not hesitate but gleefully give him a block, and then I will wag my finger towards him. “ Uncle Mutombo chuckled heartily. “I have been doing that for so many years now. And I’ll keep on doing that.”

And in came Herman Henning, a person that Uncle Mutombo said he felt forever so indebted to; Herman Henning was an official in the US consulate in Congo. It was precisely Herman Henning who spotted the talents of Uncle Mutombo on the basketball court; and it was also precisely Herman Henning who introduced/ recommended Uncle Mutombo to John Thompson Junior, the head coach of the Georgetown University basketball team. So in 1988, as a 22-year-old, Uncle Mutombo was admitted to Georgetown University, and started his NCAA years.

On the first night that he put on his Georgetown University jersey, Uncle Mutombo was at it already with his specialty; once he was on court, he delivered a huge block and shoveled the basketball well over to the last 2 rows of the stadium. From then on, those seats on the last 2 rows of the stadium became the hottest seats on demand. Students would all held their heads up in preparation to get their hands on the basketballs that got blocked by Uncle Mutombo. And Uncle Mutombo did not let this first batch of his US fans disappointed. In his first NCAA season as a rookie, Uncle Mutombo was already registering 2.27 block shots per game. And certainly Uncle Mutombo did not forget about wagging his finger. And his finger-wagging immediately became very trendy and popular within the Georgetown University's campus. The Georgetown University basketball department even had to designate those 2 last rows in the stadium, “The Shot-Blocking Zone”.

And later in a big East region NCAA competition, Uncle Mutombo virtually turned all his fans ecstatic and crazy. He broke NCAA records by delivering 12 blocks in that game. And to add to the ebullition of the audience there at the stadium, Uncle Mutombo wagged his finger 9 times on that night. But to everyone surprise, Uncle Mutombo only ranked 3rd in number of block shots (350) in the history of Georgetown University behind Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. But Uncle Mutombo had created a record that no other teams or other players could beat and surpass; according to the stats, he had wagged his finger 278 times in all NCAA competitions, and obviously, that was a feat no one can match up to.

Just wagging his finger on basketball court was not enough; Uncle Mutombo even brought his finger-wagging habit into the classroom. In one of the linguistic tests in his university years, Uncle Mutombo found his score unexpectedly low…..merely 77 points. He threw his examination paper without demur onto the floor, went up to his professor, and started wagging his finger. The professor was angered on the spot, but afterwards, when the professor reviewed the examination paper, he then realized that he had under-scored Uncle Mutombo’s work. So what made Uncle Mutombo so self-confident about his linguistic ability? It was due to that he scored over 90 points in every of his previous linguistic examinations, and it was no exception in this particular instance. The professor had to re-score his linguistic examination paper and gave him a rating of 90.

So his 3-year NCAA experience sort of let Uncle Mutombo abandoned his original aspiration to become a member of the national assembly (of Congo?). He finally made up his mind and entered the 1991 NBA Draft.

For that year, the New Orleans Hornets had the right for #1 draft, and they chose Larry “Grandma” Johnson. And when Denver Nuggets drafted Uncle Mutombo as the #4 draft, he walked straight past the New Orleans Hornets’ table, stared them hard on their faces, put his Denver Nuggets cap on, and walked into an applauding crowd. Of course, he did not forget wagging his finger all along. That was a kind of statement announcement that from that moment onward, NBA would witness the arrival of a hell of a kind of crazy shot-blocker (in Uncle Mutombo).

Until now, Uncle Mutombo could still remember his debut NBA game. “I was on the court and within 14 seconds, I got my first block-shot. 14 seconds!!! ” Uncle Mutombo was all-smiling when he talked about this and written all over his aged and wrinkled face was this self pride and joy. And of course what made it even more exciting and unforgettable for Uncle Mutombo was that in their first match-up with the New Orleans Hornets, Larry “Grandma” Johnson attempted a dunk over the head of Uncle Mutombo, which resulted in Uncle Mutombo blocking the shot straight onto the backboard, and Larry Johnson fell onto the floor. Then and there, Uncle Mutombo was wagging his finger madly towards the direction of the New Orleans Hornets bench.

From that moment onward, Uncle Mutombo had built for himself a stage in NBA and on that stage, he had not stop wagging his finger…..and from then to now, he had wagged his finger for 17 years.
Click to expand...

QdoubleA · Mar 15, 2008

wow great post, i never knew it had such history behind it.

exiaol · Mar 15, 2008

Thanks, pryuen. Very nice read.

levintblack · Mar 15, 2008

You know something just occured to me. He is the best shot blocker in history, better than Hakeem. He didn't get into the NBA until he was 25. He started college at the age most were going pro. If he had those three years he would have the record. No knock on Hakeem love him to death but if you ask who is the best blocker I think it is Deke. (will say I need to do research on it to fully confirm but this is my belief t the moment).

heypartner · Mar 15, 2008

They should have asked him if it's true what they say about guys who have longer index fingers than middle fingers.

<font size=1>Arsenio notwithstanding</font>

dookiester · Mar 15, 2008

wow, sina plagiarism much?

this article was written weeks ago by Blake Murphy of The On Deck Circle.

http://theondeckcircle.net/2008/03/04/the-history-of-the-finger-wag/

Tigerknee · Mar 15, 2008

dookiester said:

wow, sina plagiarism much?

this article was written weeks ago by Blake Murphy of The On Deck Circle.

http://theondeckcircle.net/2008/03/04/the-history-of-the-finger-wag/
Click to expand...

I could've sworn I read this before. Guess I was right

QdoubleA · Mar 15, 2008

dookiester said:

wow, sina plagiarism much?

this article was written weeks ago by Blake Murphy of The On Deck Circle.

http://theondeckcircle.net/2008/03/04/the-history-of-the-finger-wag/
Click to expand...

...I wonder if you can sue China

Oski2005 · Mar 15, 2008

Not the first or last time SINA will have a plagiarized article pertaining to the Rockets. If you make an insightful post on this board, it'll be the basis of somebody's article over there.

Faos · Mar 15, 2008

dookiester said:

wow, sina plagiarism much?

this article was written weeks ago by Blake Murphy of The On Deck Circle.

http://theondeckcircle.net/2008/03/04/the-history-of-the-finger-wag/
Click to expand...

Not only that, it was posted here early March:

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=144053

Clutch · Mar 15, 2008

Oski2005 said:

Not the first or last time SINA will have a plagiarized article pertaining to the Rockets. If you make an insightful post on this board, it'll be the basis of somebody's article over there.
Click to expand...

SINA blows. This is still one of my favorites:

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=38215

DaDakota · Mar 15, 2008

Clutch said:

SINA blows. This is still one of my favorites:

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=38215
Click to expand...

Hey it was a good article, at least they didn't steal from the Chronicle.

DD

vcchlw · Mar 15, 2008

Poor pryuen, who spent hours translating an article into English which was actually translated from English after all.

johnstarks · Mar 15, 2008

I've noticed they didn't translate "Who wants to sex Mutombo?"

timeschinatours · Mar 15, 2008

big finger..haha

rocketshopeful · Mar 16, 2008

Clutch said:

SINA blows. This is still one of my favorites:

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=38215
Click to expand...

wow. is this common practice for sina?

TMac640 · Mar 16, 2008

neat read pryuen. thanks for posting it

Invisible Fan · Mar 16, 2008

vcchlw said:

Poor pryuen, who spent hours translating an article into English which was actually translated from English after all.
Click to expand...

At least we get to see what a fine job Pryuen does when translating Chinese articles. Not much lost in translation!

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