Working full time, Herren hoping for a job

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Working full time, Herren hoping for a job


By Peter May, Globe Staff, 7/17/2003

e wants another chance. That's basically why Chris Herren is at UMass-Boston
this week, wearing No. 9 for the Dallas Mavericks summer league team. (And do
they ever have a team of summer leaguers.)



He's played in Italy. He's played in China. He's played in Turkey. He'll go
back overseas again if he has to. But listening to Herren yesterday, this is
one hungry (famished might be a better word) and determined 27-year-old who
believes he has learned from the past and is pointing straight ahead.

His last NBA stop was here, in the 2000-01 season. He appeared in 25 games for
the Celtics that year, but spent most of the season injured (shoulder) or on a
Rick Pitino-inspired weight-loss program. He averaged 3.3 points for the
Celtics and then was basically let go.

''When it's all said and done, I should have worked harder at my job in
Boston,'' Herren said. ''I let a lot of things get in the way. The injury set
me back quite a bit. But I simply didn't work hard enough. You can't keep your
job when you don't work hard enough. I know the mistakes I made and I'm trying
to fix them now.''

Based on his play in the Mavericks' first two games, he stands a chance of
getting a chance in Dallas, or perhaps elsewhere. A big part of summer league
is not necessarily the team you're with, but the eyes of the coaches, general
managers and other team officials in the stands.

It's called Maximum Exposure and it's something Herren and his agent, Michael
Martin, felt was the right thing to do at this point in his career.

''We got calls from some other teams who wanted him in for workouts, like
Indiana,'' Martin said yesterday. ''But we needed to get the exposure for him.
There's nothing promised here, but it's a chance to showcase himself.''

Said Herren, ''The last couple years I chose not to play in these things. And
just went overseas and forgot about that,'' he said, pointing to the summer
league court. ''I didn't want to put myself and my family in a situation where
I'm hustling for a job. I had a job waiting for me. I signed a contract. I was
comfortable.

''But I've been playing. I'm hungry. I want to get back into it.''

He has made himself well known in the two Mavericks games at the Reebok Summer
League. In the opener Tuesday evening, he had 19 points in 24 minutes as
Dallas beat Atlanta, 87-80. Yesterday, he survived a rolled left ankle and
finished with 16 points and 10 assists in 26 minutes in the Mavericks'
triple-overtime loss to the Knicks. He had to sit out the third overtime with
five fouls; under summer league rules, if you pick up a sixth foul, it is
ruled as a technical with the other team keeping possession.

''It just feels good to be back and out there,'' he said. ''It feels good to
be playing again. I'm in fabulous shape. Let's see what happens.''

Dallas summer league coach Rolando Blackman said Herren ''definitely can play
in the league. And he has handled himself as a professional. He's a leader on
the court. He gives you a lot of energy and force and he plays with a lot of
courage. It's great to see.''

Herren's non-NBA basketball resume includes teams in Bologna, Istanbul, and
Beijing. The first stop, Bologna, was Herren's first overseas adventure and it
did not go well. His wife was pregnant, his mind was not where it should have
been, especially after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He eventually returned
to the United States without ever playing a game for Skipper Bologna.

He then landed a job for Galatasaray in Istanbul for the remainder of the
2001-02 season. In nine games, he averaged 15.4 points and 2.9 assists. Then
it was off to China, where he played for the Shougang Beijing Ducks of the
Chinese Basketball Association last season. He set a league scoring record
with 60 points in one game and said he enjoyed the whole Chinese experience.

''It was great,'' he said. ''The people were great. The organization was
great. I lived in Beijing for seven months. They made it as easy as possible
for me. And I know. I've played in other places where it wasn't that way.''

Dallas, needless to say, is the NBA's Valhalla since the arrival of Mark
Cuban. The Mavericks also are one of the league's better teams. But Herren
figures there really can't be a downside to any NBA job. If it doesn't happen
this time around, he's prepared to go back across the pond.

If it doesn't happen this time around, it won't be for a lack of effort on his
part.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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