Dirk is from Europe (germany to be exact), and he mentioned international player not from Europe, so it would be strange to mention Dirk
I meant to say Nash. seriously though, that's bad reading on my part. but my point is there's no reason Yao has to be mentioned.
I agree he is a role model. And really doubt for the most part American superstar basetball players are any worse than European and South Amercan soccer players. Both are babied and kissed up to from about 10 and have little semblence of reality. The dominant force here isn't American culture, it is wacked out sports excess primadona at a young age culture. For the most part Thomas was counteracting generalizations. Did he mae a few, sure if you look hard enough and look at it like a Biblical literalist, but a hell of lot more thought than Bogut. Adonal Foyle is worse. Super smart off it, but looks like he was born with Down's on it (this was not meant to offend or make fun of persons with Down's playing basketball, merely that the NBA is an odd place for it). Thomas and Foyle are great examples that court smarts has little to do with what most people consider smarts. But as if we didn't know from Larry Bird and Terry Bradshaw ("couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the C and the T") on the flip side that this was the case.
man...pryuen did not even bother to comment other than that, hey etan thomas is quite the thinker one might guess
it is a little ironic that most of the posts applaud Thomas for being "clean and articulate". It sounds as if we really don't expect him (an NBA player, a black man) to be either of those things while he criticizes Bogut for stereotyping American basketball players.
I am truly surprised how nobody on the forum seems to be familiar with Etan Thomas, especially those of us that follow Gilbert.
Maybe it is because being "articulate" and having keen insight is not a prerequisite for being a professional athlete (people have generally been coddled and had their butt kissed since they were teens). If a doctor can really ball and impresses us with his skilz we would probably be surprised and make note of it too.
Maybe it is because being "articulate" and having keen insight is not a prerequisite for being a professional athlete (people have generally been coddled and had their butt kissed since they were teens). If a doctor can really ball and impresses us with his skilz we would probably be surprised and make note of it too. I don't see what is ironic at all. Is it ironic Wayman Tisdale is a hell of musician in addition to at his prime being one of the top 100 baskteball players in the world? No, not ironic, just impressive.
Etan being articulate, in and of itself, is not ironic. Fans describing Etan as surprisingly "clean and articulate" when Etan writes a letter criticizing Bogut for typifing NBA players (or maybe Black men) as materialistic and uncultured individuals, is ironic....maybe i think too much
that was an intelligently written piece... not wordy, not lengthy, just well written. But if you find that op-ed "wordy," you need to study the english language to a further extent.
I am tired of the world's perception that Americans are evil, greedy, elistist people. That's only the West Coast
Actually Thomas and Foyle both strike me as using their intelligence on the court. They just don't have enough actual skill. I agree that court smarts and street smarts are different, but would also argue that all else being equal (talent, height, weight, personality, etc.) it is better to be higher up on the IQ scale in general.
TinFoyle, Thomas, Mutombo, and Steve Nash strike me as the Mensa-bound in today's NBA. Paul Shirley is on the outside looking in (of NBA, not IQ). [If memory serves, a few of Shirley's ESPN blogs were about the detriments of being intelligent on the basketball court, though his bitterness about being omerta'ed out of the league might have colored this view.] Chris Dudley was a Yalie, I think. Curious: who else strike y'all as the mental titans of the sport?
i've met andrew bogut a few times in the clubs here in SLC (he played college at the university of utah). he's a douche. his comments don't surprise me one bit.
