Jordan on Walker

[Kestas <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>]

And this is Michael Jordan's contribution to the Great Annual Antoine
Walker Debate. Most of you have probably seen it already, but just in case
you didn't, here it is, courtesy of the Boston Globe:

"But the Wizards star saved his best remarks for Antoine Walker, against
whom he played for much of the summer in Chicago. He said Walker was one of
the most gifted and talented athletes in the NBA, especially at his size.
But ... 

''Athletically, you [can] have all the talent,'' Jordan said. ''But
sometimes you have to put the education of the game in your learning
[process] to where those skills supersede anyone that you play against. The
thing he's missing is the education of how to play with the athletic skills
he has and to play with other people and make other players better. I think
he's improving, but not nearly as fast as he probably could if he just
sacrificed some of his offensive capabilities for the benefit of other
players. 

''He's a great guy,'' Jordan went on. ''I enjoy being around him. He's like
a project to me. Whenever I can, I sit down and talk to him. But he's got a
hard head. He has his own vision. Some day, he's going to have to learn.
And he will learn. But until he gets to the point where he's willing to
sacrifice those athletic skills on the offensive end, to where he
complements the other players, he's going to struggle a little bit and the
players around him are going to struggle.'' 

Did Jordan think Walker needed, well, someone like him to be his chief
adviser and counselor? 

''He needs a mentor that's going to help him get better,'' Jordan said,
mentioning someone like Larry Bird. ''He's playing in memory of some of
those [ex-Celtics]. If they didn't score, they still made other players
score or became threats to the point where they made other players better.
This is where he is going to have to continue to grow. He has the talent.
He's more talented [than Bird]. But those guys learned how to play with
other players. They were very smart. He is capable of being smart. He just
has to be willing to do that.''