[CHRON] Opportunity with Rockets is chance of lifetime for Alston

Opportunity with Rockets is chance of lifetime fpr Alston
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Rafer Alston wanted a second chance. After a disastrous season in Toronto, filled with emotional breakdowns and public crises, he needed one. He got more than that.

"This environment is a chance of a lifetime," Alston said after his first practice with the Rockets since he was acquired Tuesday for Mike James. "You don't get many chances at winning a title or coming close to contending.

"I'm happy to be a part of that. I'm happy to be part of a team that's contending, that's looking forward to playoffs, looking forward to trying to get out of the first round. It comes once in a lifetime."

For all that went wrong with the Raptors, Alston was confident enough that the tensions were gone that he was stunned when told he was gone.

He described the problems last season as "personality clashes" and said he reacted badly. But he also suggested he was reacting to situations, including a lack of commitment.


Shocked at trade

"I was pulled off the court and told I was traded," Alston said. "You're shocked. You signed a long deal there, even though some of the distractions and some of the things last year, you thought you'd come back and put it behind you and work together. Some people are going to have different agendas. Mine was to win games. I wanted to win games, and I wanted to come in and work as hard as I can. Coming from Miami, that's all I knew. The things that happened in my past, my intentions were good, but my reactions were bad."

Alston, a 6-2 guard, said his recent past did come up in his meeting with Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, if only for Van Gundy to promise him that he would "start with a clean slate."

Alston, 29, probably need not have worried, given the rave review Van Gundy apparently received from his brother Stan who coached Alston in Miami.


With a clean slate

Still, Alston felt the need to promise there would be no repeat of last season's tumult.

"He told me I was starting off with a clean slate, just go out and perform, and put things behind you," Alston said. "I think I explained to him I'm not this bad, crazy guy. If I was that crazy, trust me I wouldn't have one year in this league and I think everyone knows that. My play and my persona coming up to last year was I was a hard-working guy, a guy who loves to laugh, smile and enjoy playing the game of basketball."

The Rockets had to have thought Alston could bring the same reliability as James. But Van Gundy made sure Alston knew it was expected.

"When you give up a guy who was as valuable to us last year as Mike was, you have to be sure, as sure as you can be, that a guy can help you win," Van Gundy said. "What you never trust is numbers on a losing team. I didn't really look at the numbers as much as what I saw on film and try to find out from my brother what kind of guy he was to coach. What I saw, I liked and what I heard my brother say, I liked. I liked what kind of guy he described, a guy who loves basketball and who worked, passed and was liked by his teammates.

"He's a highly energetic player who would be the first one to recognize at times he's gotten himself into a little bit of trouble with emotional instability. If he wants to play at the highest level and play successfully, he's going to have to be intense and energetic, but emotionally under control, and we feel he can do that."

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

ROCKETS SUMMARY

Too early to choose

Just two days into training camp, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was not ready to reach opinions about his starters, particularly at power forward, where Stromile Swift was an important free-agent signing and Juwan Howard is back and healthy as a returning starter.

Van Gundy probably won't reach — or share — a decision after two weeks. But he did not expect either player to become the starter by default.

"I'm not really looking at it yet," Van Gundy said. "Those things will work their way out. Juwan's a great professional, and Stromile's a younger player trying to earn his way to better things. Both guys have practiced very hard for two days, but it's a little premature for anything like that. I'm happy with both of them."

Intensity up

Even after going to training camp with Hubie Brown as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies last season and playing for three coaches in five NBA seasons, Stromile Swift said Jeff Van Gundy has been the most intense.

"He just has a different style," Swift said. "Every coach is different. He's a lot more intense. He expects everybody to come out and work hard. It's hard to compare. Hubie was intense. He went hard. But it's different."

JONATHAN FEIGEN

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3384425