U want to teach him humility. Show him Shane Battier all day everyday during camp and he will sink or swim.
yes humility wins rings? greene is confident. if a rookie doens't think he'll be a contributor on a winning team, get that mentality out of here.
facebook is trash. but it is true, when an entire (or most of the school) doesnt like you, then that means something... just give donte a shot, if the rockets dont like him, trade him.
The guy says that Donte left for the NBA and the money... Isn't that what it's all about?... Starting your chosen career in a good-paying job? If Donte has the skills to make that jump, and there's demand for his nascent services, more power to him. These disgruntled Syraccuse U. folk act like, if they had the choice between staying in school and graduating, or going to the 7-Eleven to cash in their 4 million dollar lottery ticket along with their dream job, that they would choose the former... BS.
I like that Syracuse hates him. It's like a jealous zealous ex-girlfriend. He left, they didn't want him to. He said some things that were insulting of his time at Syracuse... what does that have to do with the Houston Rockets? Nothing. The guy has fire inside and wants to play right away. That is not a bad thing. How about this... the guy is good, real good. AND he has plenty of room to grow.
I think the argument is that his attitude will determine how much he does grow, if he grows at all. You can't teach someone who doesn't want to learn. I think it shakes down like this: 1. Syracuse / NY is just angry he left to go to the NBA and then said bad stuff about his time there. 2. His present attitude is better than "man, they're all really good, I don't know if I can compete," but ideally would have been "I'll be studying everybody, practicing, and watching tape to get out there as soon as I can, I hate riding the pine." 3. God given talent and skill does trump a good work ethic (in any field) ... until you get to the top - then everybody's on even playing ground. I don't think God had given him any more than he's given other established NBA players (not summer league players, not college players, not highschoolers). 4. Attitude does have to do with basketball ... when you're playing on a team. Lets see him try and score 40 when nobody passes him the ball (or from the end of Adelman's bench). 5. Life and Destiny don't owe him anything, he can easily fade away into obscurity, as can the rest of us.
Now I know where to go for basketball pick-up games in NY. Hopefully there are beginners at these places so I don't get owned too bad...
Anything that comes from Syracuse or remotely close to Syracuse, talking about Greene, is severely biased and bitter. THE END.
Sam Cassell had the attitude that he belonged on the court. When Rox needed big shots or made ft's, he stepped up a made them. I'd rather have a guy that has the nuts to take the shot as opposed to being scared like Battier or something like that. The difference between a 10ppg guy like shane and a 20ppg guy like Carmello is confidence and attitude. A player has to be confident in his ability to shoot or score against good defense. I hear people on this board complain about the tough shots Tracy takes, but as a scorer, you don't get uncontested shot. You have to have the confidence in your ability to size a guy up, look him in the eye, and fire in his grill. That's why kobe averages 35 per against Shane since he's been a rox. That's also why shane can only score when he's wide open. It a quiet confindence or arrogance that makes great scoring players. I think Greene can contribute right away. I mean there are guys on this team that do one or two things. Shane to me is a less than 30min player. I think he can get 10mins there and 7mins behind Tracy. Barry can get 8 from tracy and 9 mins from Shane.
How long have you been watching NBA basketball? There are plenty of very talented guys who blew it in the NBA because they didn't work hard enough to get better, didn't have the mentality to play consistently or stay focused through an 82 game season or who weren't responsible enough to live on their own once they became professional and could make their own decisions. To be successful in the NBA, attitude and maturity are VERY important. When Donte Greene finds out how intense regular season NBA games are, he better adjust to it. Plenty of guys with talent don't and that's why they fail. The level of commitment needed in the NBA is far beyond what's needed in college.
I am actually not worried about Greene...he'll be fine. I think everyone is making a big deal over nothing. The kid is barely two years out of high school, and expect him to be a little confident and even cocky. Which is kind of good thing? It might make him work harder. Besides, he's problems are not anything out of the ordinary for a young player, rebounding, defense, and mental lapses. Those are things that can very much improve as he gets accustom to the league. Also, we got really lucky getting a player of his calibur, instead of another one dimensional role player or some obscure 3rd or 4th scoring option from a small school. He has a certain all-star quality/big time scorer to his game. I imagine if he were selected by horrible team, he could be averaging 20 ppg in between the halfway point of this season into the mid point of next season. Talent-wise, he is the most talented player drafted by the Rockets, since Yao Ming, as far as the 2000 go. The Rockets haven't drafted alot of great players in this decade or sent them packing on draft night, if they were worth anything.
Sure there's a bit of hatin' going on in this article, but I agree with most of what it's saying. Unproven rookies (and no, summer league debut doesn't mean much in terms of NBA talent) have no business making claims about their ability. I'm glad Adelman called Him out and I hope TMac shows him he's got nothing. Pride comes before the fall. I just hope it's a fall he can get up from stronger than before and not "fade into obscurity."
