[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
No Subject
The talent was never an issue. But the problem for the ultra-gifted =
ones, the Jordans, the Thomases, the Iversons, and the like, the ones =
who can always get off a shot by playing clear-out, is how to =
incorporate that talent into the whole, and how to make the others =
benefit fully from that special set of skills. Figuring all that out is =
the hard part, and it always takes time.=20
The young Isiah Thomas understood the problem, but he wasn't always sure =
how to solve it. As he explained in his autobiography, ''Bad Boys,'' =
''I've attended the Finals every year I've been in the league ... Why =
did I visit the winners year after year? Because I wanted to find out =
the secret of winning. Those teams didn't necessarily win because they =
had superior talent, they won because they had something the others =
lacked, and I wanted to find out what it was.''=20
When Daly took control of the Pistons, they were a scattergun team =
incapable of playing defense and uninterested in the nuances of the =
game, and the embodiment of it all was young Isiah Thomas. They banged =
heads. ''I've had some run-ins with him, some hot ones, too,'' Daly =
wrote in his book, ''Daly Life.'' ''But I always knew I had to have him =
on my side if we were going to be successful.''=20
Daly knew he was dealing with a complex person, a young man who had come =
out of the mean streets of Chicago with some heavy emotional baggage =
while in full possession of a vibrant intellect. ''Basically, Isiah is a =
very nice person,'' Daly wrote. ''He has a superior intellect, and an =
ability to perceive his profession beyond the reach of others. He has =
been on the streets, and he knows all the games people try to play with =
him, so coaching him can be a little difficult just because he is so =
much different than the others.''=20
It did take Isiah Thomas a good six or seven years to get it all in =
balance (the same can be said of Michael Jordan). But once he did, that =
magnificent talent, combined with a fierce competitive fire and a =
sincere desire to be a true ring-laden champion, turned him into a =
forceful backcourt package - a Hall of Fame package, in fact.
------=_NextPart_000_00CF_01C034EF.ECA5F0A0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>From Ryan's nice piece on Isiah:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>
<P>The talent was never an issue. But the problem for the ultra-gifted =
ones, the=20
Jordans, the Thomases, the Iversons, and the like, the ones who can =
always get=20
off a shot by playing clear-out, is how to incorporate that talent into =
the=20
whole, and how to make the others benefit fully from that special set of =
skills.=20
Figuring all that out is the hard part, and it always takes time.=20
<P>
<P>The young Isiah Thomas understood the problem, but he wasn't always =
sure how=20
to solve it. As he explained in his autobiography, ''Bad Boys,'' ''I've =
attended=20
the Finals every year I've been in the league ... Why did I visit the =
winners=20
year after year? Because I wanted to find out the secret of winning. =
Those teams=20
didn't necessarily win because they had superior talent, they won =
because they=20
had something the others lacked, and I wanted to find out what it was.'' =
<P>
<P>When Daly took control of the Pistons, they were a scattergun team =
incapable=20
of playing defense and uninterested in the nuances of the game, and the=20
embodiment of it all was young Isiah Thomas. They banged heads. ''I've =
had some=20
run-ins with him, some hot ones, too,'' Daly wrote in his book, ''Daly =
Life.''=20
''But I always knew I had to have him on my side if we were going to be=20
successful.''=20
<P>
<P>Daly knew he was dealing with a complex person, a young man who had =
come out=20
of the mean streets of Chicago with some heavy emotional baggage while =
in full=20
possession of a vibrant intellect. ''Basically, Isiah is a very nice =
person,''=20
Daly wrote. ''He has a superior intellect, and an ability to perceive =
his=20
profession beyond the reach of others. He has been on the streets, and =
he knows=20
all the games people try to play with him, so coaching him can be a =
little=20
difficult just because he is so much different than the others.''=20
<P>
<P>It did take Isiah Thomas a good six or seven years to get it all in =
balance=20
(the same can be said of Michael Jordan). But once he did, that =
magnificent=20
talent, combined with a fierce competitive fire and a sincere desire to =
be a=20
true ring-laden champion, turned him into a forceful backcourt package - =
a Hall=20
of Fame package, in fact.</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_00CF_01C034EF.ECA5F0A0--