Celtics sign Tony Adams

["hironaka@xxxxxxxxx"<hironaka@xxxxxxxxx>]

According to the article below found through Google, the 
Celtics beat out offers from China, Turkey and the Frito-
Lay Company to sign MEAC Player of the Year Tommy Adams, 
a 6-3 guard. He played with Minnesota in the Summer 
circuit. The article also mentions that Boston's training 
camp opens next Tuesday, the 1st of October. I didn't 
know that. Paul Pierce has had a non-stop hectic summer. 
I hope he can get this trial behind him.

Joe H.



Sep 24, 2002
Hylton's Adams signs with Celtics
http://www.manassasjm.com/sports/MGB1COM9H6D.html
BY KEITH MCMILLAN
kmcmillan@potomacnews.com

It's been a long time since Tommy Adams played basketball 
for Hylton High School. 

He averaged 18.7 points per game during his senior year, 
1997-98, for the 13-10 Bulldogs. He was better known as a 
soccer standout, and jokes that he had a hard time 
earning local postseason basketball honors. 

On Friday, Adams signed a one-year, non-guaranteed 
contract with the NBA's Boston Celtics. He'll compete 
with Shammond Williams and fellow rookie J.R. Bremer for 
Boston's point guard job when training camp begins 
October 1. 

"I'm happy," said Adams, who returned to Virginia this 
weekend after spending much of last week in 
Boston. "Making a vet camp was my main goal. The good 
thing is I've signed the contract, and if I get released, 
it won't be on a bad note." 

Adams expects to participate in exhibition games with the 
Celtics, and signed a backup deal with the NBA's 
Developmental League, the NBDL, in case he is cut before 
the season begins. Even in that event, he could be called 
up and signed by the Celtics or any other team at any 
time. 

Adams, who garnered little attention from college 
recruiters out of Hylton and went undrafted out of 
Hampton, passed up a marketing job at Frito-Lay and 
basketball contracts offered overseas to pursue the NBA, 
against the advice of his mother and agent. 

"I went out on faith," he said. "Nobody expected me to 
make the team out of Hampton. I fell through the cracks. 
I was a player who had trouble making first-team all-
district in high school." 

Woodbridge head coach Will Robinson, who coached against 
Adams in high school and is a deacon at Adams' church, 
Ebenzer Baptist in Woodbridge, said Adams didn't make it 
this far by luck. Adams, at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, was 
a scoring point guard at Hampton. In postseason 
tournaments and workouts, Adams drew plenty of praise for 
his jump shot. 

"Tommy shoots the ball extremely well," said 
Robinson. "He has the body and the athleticism [to make 
it in the NBA]. Now he just needs to work on the handle 
and the ability to orchestrate a team." 

Adams, who was the 2001-02 Mid-Eastern Athletic 
Conference player of the year and graduated from Hampton 
in May, played with the Minnesota Timberwolves' summer 
league team. He expected that to be the best fit for him, 
though he'd received interest from Denver, Seattle, 
Dallas, Detroit, the L.A. Clippers and Milwaukee. He also 
attended a mini-camp with the L.A. Lakers earlier this 
month. 

He landed in Boston for a workout on Wednesday and signed 
a contract on Friday, three days before he expected to. 
He also signed a contract with the NBDL in case he is cut 
in training camp. 

Adams says Boston is committed to keeping 12 players, the 
size of an NBA active roster. He could displace someone 
by playing well in training camp, find himself on the 
NBA's version of a practice squad, the three-man injured 
reserve, or get cut altogether, voiding his one-year deal 
and sending him to the developmental league. But even 
there, where eight players were called up to the NBA last 
season, he can pursue his dream. 

Frank Catapano, Adams Boston-based agent, advised him to 
accept an overseas deal, Adams said earlier this summer. 
Teams in Greece, Turkey and China were interested in him. 
Adams' mother, Marietta, suggested he take the job at 
Frito-Lay. 

"Her thing was to go get a job," he said. "She had a 
mother's reaction, she didn't want to see her son get 
hurt [if he failed]." 

Adams said his father Tom is proud of him because few 
people can earn a living doing something he or she loves. 

Tony Adams followed in the footsteps of his older brother 
by going to Hampton. He also believed in Tommy. 

"My brother always thought I could make it if I got the 
right chance," said Adams. 

Adams credits a lot of people for helping get him this 
far. Robinson recommended him to then-Hampton coach Steve 
Merfeld. He also put Adams together with Ed Myers and 
Reggie Kitchen, with whom Adams worked out this summer. 

Adams also credits Rev. Dwight Michael and the 
congregation at church for supporting him along the way. 

"A lot of people play a part," said Robinson. "[But] the 
person has to be willing to accept that, to want that for 
himself, and Tommy wanted it." 

Adams had no idea when he was at Hylton that staying the 
course would get him this far. Neither did Robinson. 

"My feeling at the time was that he'd be a good Division 
I player," Robinson said. 

Now Adams has got his shot in the NBA. 

"The Lord led me to the right place," Adams said of 
landing in Boston. "I've tried to put as many things in 
his hands as possible."


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