Judd Spicer/SLAM Online on lunch with Ryan Gomes:
Rather, Gomes comes very much as advertised: polite,
handsome, well-spoken. But perhaps his path to Minneapolis should have
afforded me the expectation of such virtues. Gomes is, after all,
something of a rare entity in the NBA. A four-year college grad with a
degree in Social Sciences, he also had a year of prep school to boot. A
recent study of the league found that about 40% of players are
four-year college guys, although that research was from ‘05, and didn’t
consider players who actually earned a degree. In addition, it should
be noted that Gomes is recently married with his first child on the
way. All told, the guy is unique. He’s sharp. He’s a grown-up in a
league where adolescence has run amok.
handsome, well-spoken. But perhaps his path to Minneapolis should have
afforded me the expectation of such virtues. Gomes is, after all,
something of a rare entity in the NBA. A four-year college grad with a
degree in Social Sciences, he also had a year of prep school to boot. A
recent study of the league found that about 40% of players are
four-year college guys, although that research was from ‘05, and didn’t
consider players who actually earned a degree. In addition, it should
be noted that Gomes is recently married with his first child on the
way. All told, the guy is unique. He’s sharp. He’s a grown-up in a
league where adolescence has run amok.
McHale’s many critics and fans turned off by the Wolves’
more-dark-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel plight say that Hoiberg is learning
from the wrong guy. They want a housecleaning rather than an orderly
succession, whenever the time comes (with such low expectations now,
there is a palpable lack of urgency around the team).
more-dark-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel plight say that Hoiberg is learning
from the wrong guy. They want a housecleaning rather than an orderly
succession, whenever the time comes (with such low expectations now,
there is a palpable lack of urgency around the team).
Some feel Hoiberg would have been better trained, and the Wolves better
served, had he understudied someone enjoying more success, like R.C.
Buford in San Antonio or Joe Dumars in Detroit.
served, had he understudied someone enjoying more success, like R.C.
Buford in San Antonio or Joe Dumars in Detroit.
Obviously, Taylor doesn’t see it that way. And neither does Hoiberg, who wants to soak up as much from McHale as he can.
We can look positively on it a little bit, but the game is won in all
quarters, not just one. They came out in the first half with a little
bit more in their step, I’d say. We had some turnovers, which led to
easy baskets for them — 20 turnovers and 31 points off that, so that’s
a big factor with a team that does that every night. We’ve got to take
care of the ball a little bit more and give ourselves a better chance.
quarters, not just one. They came out in the first half with a little
bit more in their step, I’d say. We had some turnovers, which led to
easy baskets for them — 20 turnovers and 31 points off that, so that’s
a big factor with a team that does that every night. We’ve got to take
care of the ball a little bit more and give ourselves a better chance.
I’m just trying to bring something positive, give us some lift somehow
and play my role, which is rebound and run the floor and knock down
open shots. That’s what I’ve been trying to do lately and it’s been
working, so I’m going to continue doing that. The beginning of the
season, the first 15 games, I wasn’t playing well and other guys were
playing well. Now I’m playing well and other guys aren’t playing as
well as they were before, so we’ve got to be on the same page to give
ourselves a great chance of winning.
and play my role, which is rebound and run the floor and knock down
open shots. That’s what I’ve been trying to do lately and it’s been
working, so I’m going to continue doing that. The beginning of the
season, the first 15 games, I wasn’t playing well and other guys were
playing well. Now I’m playing well and other guys aren’t playing as
well as they were before, so we’ve got to be on the same page to give
ourselves a great chance of winning.