Cato was interviewed on Fox 26 in Houston tonight and says he realizes that expectations are high and that is why he is working so hard this offseason. He said that he hasn't ever worked this hard becuase he knew he would only play 15 minutes a game but now that he figures to play 35 minutes per game, he has stepped up his conditioning. I have heard recently that Cato has been working out with a vengence and that, if he continues, there is no reason to believe he will be traded. Centers are very hard to come by in this league and a good defensive center will be even more important than ever with Shaq out west. I really hope he continues to work hard because, although I've been quiet about him, I like him as a player and, while his offensive skills are lacking, he has terrific defensive instincts. ------------------ "No one gets out ALIVE!" SaveOurRockets.com
Great to hear on Cato...imagine if he steps up, that'll be huge. ------------------ The more lefties on your team, the better.
I'll believe it when I see it. DaDakota " I want it to be true, but work ethos is not generally learned late in life." ------------------
Wow! Great news! I too like Cato... I think he's a sensitive sort however and if his head is not on right than he he doesn't have the intensity. On the upside no one in the playoffs guarded Shaq as good as I saw Cato defend him. And he has a fire in him that is a rare commodity in centers. (Granted we only saw glimpses of it last year) but no center we could draft has it. Mihm doesn't have it nor any other center in this years draft. Now if we just pick up Johnson or Miles in the draft and sign a solid PF(Webber) next year we will be a force to be reckoned with. Thanks for the info. Can't wait for the draft and the start of the season! ------------------
It's amazing what the specter of playing in New Jersey, Vancouver, Los Angeles, or even Milwaukee will do to a player's work ethic. ------------------
Grummet, Exactly, look what it did to Walt after he was on the block last year. I wonder if we could get Van Horn from New Jersey? DaDakota ------------------
Interesting side note on mr cato, he went to the circuit city next to westoaks mall in Houston with his girlfriend the other day. My friend works there and she helped him buy a cell phone. She had no idea who he was, just that he was damn tall. After he left, the other employees told her he was a basketball player. She said, ‘I don’t care who he is, he was damn rude.’ Her words of the encounter as she told me: She asked him to do a survey on the service she gave him. At the end of the survey you have to sign your name, he said, ‘oh sh*t, this is a cheap way to get my autograph isn’t it?’ Since she had to activate his cell phone, she had to enter his info such as name, address, phone number, etc. into the computer system, he refused. Then he saw my friend wearing a trainee button, (she just got the job about a week ago) and said, “damn f*cking trainee, don’t know sh*t.’ at this point, my friend called a manager and that manager took over. Nothing really to do about the tread, but I thought it was a nice piece of info on cato. By the way, long time reader, first time poster. ------------------
I hate to hear this kind of stuff. Athletes need to realize that they are blessed to be the athlete they are, sure they are tall or fast or quick, but generally, they all have been blessed with athletic talent. It is only when you combine superior athlete with smarts that you have a superstar. Cato...get your CRAP together...based on last years performance. NO ONE WANTS YOUR AUTOGRAPH, now get your arse in the gym and work on your game.....you lazy sack of..... DaDakota Opinions expressed here are those of an average fan and are not necessarily representative of everyone else. ------------------
Hey, Cato! How's this for ethical inspiration: Treat clerks more respectfully or next time you'll be paying them in Canadian money.
I thought he was in Iowa for classes. ------------------ "Go to hell Costas"-Dave Nelson after sweeping the ABSCAs on NewsRadio visit www.swirve.com
I could really care less what kind of person Kelvin is off the court. As long as the guy brings it out on the hardwood and doesn't get himself arrested, I'm ok. I really hope that Kelvin really does plan to bring it this season. The Cato of last preseason is better than anything we could get for him in a trade (barring the Duncan miracle). We made our late season push solely due to the offensive determination/ability of the 3-headed Anderson/Mobley/Francis monster. Can you imagine the results if we could couple that effect with a 7-0, athletic, shotblocking SOB who foams at the mouth?! If we can get the Cato of preseason, I'm willing to take my chances with this team + #9. Of course, Cato is our only real trade bait so that would mean we would not use the trade exception this summer. That leaves us with enough space to make a push for Finley/Webber without disrupting our core. Bring it, Kelvin. It's all on you.
on the note of personalities and views. me and my family have just moved into a new home. The builder of the home is really good friends with Hakeem Olajuwon. THis is becuase they are in the same congregation and they are building hakeems new building. i was just chilling with him asking about hakeem and all and i asked about how good of friends hakeem is with anyone and he said that hakeem is the classiest guy that you will ever meet as well as the nicest. I asked about how good of friends hakeem is with everyone and he said that hakeem did not like mj because mj was stuck up and thought he was better than everyone else (off the court) and that shaq is great and very nice and same goes with tim duncan and David Robinson. He said that the big feud with clyde and chuck was one was jealous of the other and that they always wanted media attention and that was the conflict. KNow back to cato...if you want to know the truth you can be a jacka$$ and most people wont care or respect u...that is if word of mouth gets around nobody will respect you. I personally want stand up respectfull guys in the orginazation. But it wont kill me. if you have a mean demeanor than keep it to urself. But we have seen what the rockets org. is about and what they do with straight up publick a$$holes like pippen...or should i say quitten? either way im just happy hes not in this org. ------------------
Isn't it a requirement that whenever you go into a store and there is trainee working you lay as much crap on them as possible. Who here hasn't gone into a fast food store and seen the trainee badge and eyes just light up and then proceed to trying a confuse the bejesus out of them, by changing your order 50 million times and then when you eventually get your order, you say this isn't what i ordered, and then I wanted my meal for free, cause of this delay. It's nothing personal, just the trainees job. Whatever doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. It would appear from the comments that Cato is looking to improve this season and this time not just in the pre-season. ------------------ Mango is the Smeg of Bizarro World
staying on the tangent: What a crappy thing to do. As someone who worked retail for two years it's pretty sad that people seem to think that because you are an employee they can treat you like crap, when in reality the level of stupidity in some of the customers never failed to amaze me. I too hate to hear stuff like that. I'm hoping that maybe what was heard was a mistake, because nothing is sadder than an athlete who thinks they can look down on the rest of the world. And if Cato isn't really putting that much work into the offseason, he can look forward to the rest of the league looking down on him. ------------------ Rokkit
Stop putting my man Cato down.....he will bring it this year just watch him. Shaq wont even be able to get bricks up without Kelvin swatting em away! ------------------ I'm tha hip hop attracta, rapper slash acta, right back at cha!
If Cato's attitude like that, it's a good thing. If he brings that to the court, it'll be the Preseason Cato. The one that blocks over 5 shots a game...ok, so maybe not 5, but if he's got that mean streak, all the better. ------------------ The more lefties on your team, the better.
Ditto Miggidy Markell and NIKEstrad. The Catomic Bomb will be dropped on all. ------------------ I AM SPARTACUS
Big deal. One incident with a clerk does not a bad man make. Oh, and salespeople aint saints either. Ive had plenty treat me like crap for various reasons. And if salespersons dont want to deal with stupid people with attitudes, then they should pick another line of work cuz there are plenty in the world. I have to deal with plenty of morons everyday w/o having to sell them something. I would be a little suspicious of a "survey" on how the salesperson did. Ive never been asked to fill one out before. And if I were really rich, I'd be reluctant to give out my address too. But I wouldn't cuss. ESPECIALLY to a lady. Tsk tsk Cato. Bad boy. ------------------ No signature for you!
