Modern-day hero survives pain of $93 million deal

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

****We are all complaining about the Celtics, and not without reason, but
look at the bright side....we could be the Magic.  1 and 11 as of last night.



Modern-day hero McGrady survives pain of $93 million deal
JOHN MCGRATH; The News Tribune
The NBA season is only three weeks old, but it's already provided an
inspirational profile in courage that could serve as a primer on why
fallen-away pro
basketball fans should still love this game.
Remember Tracy McGrady, the dynamic Orlando Magic guard who won the NBA
scoring championship last season by averaging 32.1 points a contest? Remember
how
he garnered attention, at the precocious age of 23, as a Most Valuable Player
candidate?
A few days ago, McGrady's storybook world seemingly fell apart. Orlando was
in the throes of a 1-10 start, and his scoring average had dipped to 25.9.
Meanwhile, he carried on a feud with coach Doc Rivers, who clearly wasn't
showing
the love due a defending league scoring champion.
"Everything came crashing down on me," McGrady told USA Today in a page-3
profile that appeared Thursday under a sub-headline: "Family, friends help
Magic
star rebound from emotional crisis."
Even though McGrady is financially secure with a seven-year contract worth
$93 million - even though he earns enough in endorsements alone to cover Walt
Disney World's monthly utility bill - a young man's "emotional crisis" can't
be
dismissed as the frivolous complaints of a brooding superstar.
Talent, fame, wealth, health ... what's any of it matter if you're used to
scoring 32.1 a game and you're being held to 25.9?
A personal note: On Nov. 7, I sat in front of a television and watched the
Minnesota Timberwolves roll over the Magic in Orlando. (What can I say? It was
a
Friday night in Pullman, and, besides, I love this game.) Anyway, McGrady
spent the fourth quarter giggling and yawning on the bench.
Not knowing him but finding myself moved by the sheer human-interest
magnitude of his saga, I continued reading the USA Today story, learning that
McGrady
was so frustrated with basketball he "basically just gave up."
As McGrady explained: "You don't want to go on and on being depressed, not
wanting to eat, constantly having this on your mind."
And just what was on his mind?
"The losses and double- and triple-teams have taken an emotional toll," the
newspaper pointed out. "So has the continued absence of Grant Hill, whose
lingering ankle injury has put him on the floor with McGrady fewer than 40
times
the last three-plus seasons. Adding to the strain was the loss of his closest
friends - locker room leader Darrell Armstrong and best friend Mike Miller.
Armstrong was not re-signed as a free agent, and Miller was traded in
February."
No wonder McGrady felt that "everything came crashing down" on him and
"basically just gave up" six years out of high school: Mike Miller was
traded!
"Tracy was frustrated, confused, not sure of himself," Magic broadcaster Jack
Givens told USA Today. "I thought we lost him for a week or two."
Whew. Close call. But the Magic found him. More specifically, McGrady found
himself through the help of family and dear friends who presumably convinced
their meal ticket of the virtues of eating again.
"They pulled me through this, absolutely," said McGrady, referring to what
the newspaper described as an "inner circle" of his mom, grandmother,
once-estranged father, personal trainer and three buddies from his high school
days in
nearby Auburndale. Then there are the people with whom he shares his $6.6
million home in Isleworth - his fiancie, 10-month-old daughter Layla, two
cousins,
a friend from New York and the teenage half-brother he took in two years
ago."
(Excuse my digressing, but is this an inner circle surrounding McGrady, or a
population the size of a congressional district?)
In any case, basketball has become fun again for The Speaker of the $6.6
Million House. Embattled coach Doc Rivers has been replaced by Magic assistant
Johnny Davis, who, as McGrady said, "keeps it real with me. He's the guy I
turn
to and talk to when I'm struggling."
Although five months remain in an NBA regular season that'll precede two
months of playoffs, I sense McGrady's "emotional crisis" has reached a happy
ending. He's decided that any retirement plan is probably premature, as he is
41
years shy of his 65th birthday.
He's learned to enjoy basketball again, and trust a head coach again, and -
this can't be overemphasized - eat again.
Best of all, McGrady can't ever be looked upon as some former high-school
phenom who had the raw ability to go on to the next level - excuse me; I mean
the
level after the next level - and excel against the best players in the world.
After suffering through three weeks of NBA hell, McGrady has earned the badge
of a survivor.
Next time I talk to my kids about the virtues of perseverance, I'll recall
the competitive zeal of somebody who was challenged by double- and triple-team
defenses and, aside from whining about his coach and giggling on the bench
during the late stages of humiliating blowouts at home, comported himself as
an
ultimate pro.
I'll recall the hardships of an All-Star who sucked up the sour first weeks
of a disappointing NBA season and mustered the will to fulfill terms of his
$93
million contract.
Tracy McGrady: He was lost, and then he got found.
I suppose it's crass, but I must ask anyway.
Is anybody in Hollywood paying attention?


TAM