[tribune]RUTHERFORD AND OLAJUWON TEAM UP TO 'SCHOOL' TOP NBA PLAYERS

http://www.tribune242.com/sports/09082011_RutherfordLeBron_sports_pg


RUTHERFORD AND OLAJUWON TEAM UP TO 'SCHOOL' TOP NBA PLAYERS


Published On:Thursday, September 08, 2011

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FAMOUS for his exploits in the area of competition, Frank Rutherford has made a second career serving as a mentor to many young Bahamian athletes and now has teamed up with an NBA icon to tutor some of the league's top talent.

Rutherford and NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon have continued the trend of working with NBA players during the offseason, featuring an appearance by two-time MVP LeBron James this summer.

"We turned down dozens of players who wanted to come down to Houston and work with the Dream but he has such a limited schedule that we are only able to take a few players and of course the best want a chance to work with him because he is the best at what he does," Rutherford said.

"This started three years ago with Kobe Bryant and that gained so much notoriety that every summer we have dozens of players wanting to come down and we try to accommodate who we can. Dwight Howard has been a part of it, Brook Lopez, Marcin Gortat, Emeka Okafor and others so we will see how the trend continues."

Rutherford heads the co-ordination and planning of the "by invitation only" workouts with Olajuwon who now spends most of the year in Jordan.

Olajuwon and Rutherford have worked together since the mid-1980s when both were foreign student athletes at the University of Houston.

Both Olympians and Olympic medallists, Rutherford served as Olajuwon's trainer during his nearly 20-year Hall of Fame career.

Now he facilitates as "The Dream" passes on his unique, self-creative, signature footwork and post moves to the elite NBA superstars.

Bahamians first became familiar with the workouts when Dwight Miller, a member of Rutherford's Elite Development Foundation, rose to international prominence as his one-on-one work with Olajuwon was featured on television stations across America.

Miller is now a member of the Tennessee Volunteers of the Southeastern Conference.

According to Olajuwon, the workouts exist to teach young front-court players the finer points of playing in the post.

"For a big man who is just big, maybe. But not if you play with speed, with agility. It will always be a big man's game if the big man plays the right way.

"On defense, the big man can rebound and block shots. On offense, he draws double-teams and creates opportunities.

"He can add so much, make it easier for the entire team," said Olajuwon.

 

I hope the ""by invitation only" workouts with Olajuwon
part stops the lunatics here who keep asking why [insert scrub] doesn't work out with Hakeem blah blah