The "Next" Michael Jordan could come from under CBH
Saw this,, and it really made me think of Ben Howland as far as developing Elite Talent is concerned, UCLA Players are practically a guaranteed success if they listen to CBH, and apply what he is teaching to their game. Not just betting on their Athleticism... UCLA players should be drafted higher the longer they work in Howland's system
"Kerr added: "Michael had three years at North Carolina with Dean Smith. That makes a big difference. I think he was brought up at a time when there was probably better development at a young age in terms of coaching. I think LeBron is a product of the AAU system where you rely on your athleticism, you go and play 100 games a year but maybe you don't focus on your weaknesses and what you need to lock in on.
"As a result, fundamentally and technically LeBron has some flaws. He has to address those. If I were him, I would spend all summer down on the low block shooting jump hooks and turnaround jump shots -- the entire summer.""
12 months ago
UCLABRU1
17 comments
0 recs |
Email
PrintComments
personally I hope for the next . . .
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Big Red Head
Reggie Miller
Baron Davis
Gail Goodrich
Mark Eaton
Walt Hazzard
Marques Johnson
Willie Nauls
Sidney Wicks or
Jamal Wilkes
Come out of CBH’s program. ;)
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
+1000 but I was just going along the theme of that article.
Work ethic and motivation will always be what got and kept MJ at the top. Unfortunately we haven’t had anyone since Westbrook who has been really"hungry" to be the best of the best. And look what happened to him when after having Howland for just 2 seasons. It was a lethal combination and who knows what would have happened if he had stayed even longer. These players should be using Howland as a “tool” to give them that edge over more simple minded and linear players in the NBA. The biggest term i heard tossed around the entire time of the playoffs was Defense. Shutting down the other teams star. And of course being an all around player is what they keot talking about. It just emphasizes what all the Moderators have been talking about, in terms of learning everything, to be the best possible player you can be. And motivation is the biggest part of that, being an “eternal” student and always seeking to improve upon yourself is how you get to the top and stay there, It is in essence what COACH always knew how to extract from his players!
There will never be a "next" Jordan
sincerely,
Kobe Bryant
Lebron James
Vince Carter
Tracy McGrady
Anfernee Hardaway
Harold Minor (haha)
There will be.
In the case of LeBron, his career has barely begun. In the case of Kobe, who knows, maybe he goes off and wins another 3 rings (not likely, but hey). There will be another Jordan, but will there be another Phil to coach him, another Rodman to rebound, another Pippen to glue everything together? Legends don’t become great by themselves.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
Agree with the Kobe part.
If he wins one more he will have “tied” Jordan. No small feat with or without Shaq.
As for Lebron, not to hate on the guy who has enough hate directed at him already, but while athletically he is there, he is not there mentally yet.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
There won't be.
Jordan never lost a final. Hell, he never played a game 7 in one. Has he ever been swept out of a series? Ever? So all of the guys on this list, even if they go on to win the next 10 rings, you will never be able to say that about them. No one has ever accused MJ of being soft or not being aggressive enough. Fans and commentators always seem to have sports amnesia, forgetting everything that happened before us and giving far too much credit for what is happening now. Its the reason we get lured into thinking every year that its Lebron’s year, even though we see what he does in clutch moments year after year.
formerly Westwood78
by PhoenixBruin on Jun 15, 2011 9:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Exactly.
Jordan is incredible, but not invincible. Someone will achieve his success, somewhere, unless an asteroid hits and Bruce Willis is too busy to save us.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
No small feat indeed.
However, he did do it with Pau, and Odom. So… Everyone is focused on winning rings without Shaq, and they leave out the fact that he’s been winning them with one of top 3 power forwards playing and a guy who willingly plays on the second team while he could be putting up all-star numbers on any other team. I just don’t see Kobe winning again as Phil is gone, and they’ll need to move too much to get a real point guard, and still will not be able to fill out their bench.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
He would be tied with Jordan
but he’d still be one behind Robert Horry. Just sayin’
We're havin' too much fun today. We ain't thinkin' 'bout tomorrow.
by Steve Bruin on Jun 16, 2011 11:03 AM PDT up reply actions
I'm not sure I'd say LeBron's career has barely begun
He’s an 8 year veteran, and at that point in Jordan’s career, he had 2 titles. Kobe had 3. That’s not to say that LeBron can’t win one as early as next year and get the ball rolling or to say that titles are all that matters in one’s legacy, but the point is that he can’t hide behind the youth thing as much as he seems to want to. Referencing the great players and coaches around Jordan and Kobe is a legitimate point, and something that needs to be taken into consideration, but also consider that had the Heat won this year, it would then be equally appropriate to say that James wouldn’t have been able to win without Wade and Bosh.
Ultimately, what puts LeBron below Jordan and Kobe for now is his mentality and lack of killer instinct. I don’t think there are many that would argue that Kobe is better than or even equal to Jordan, but I also doubt there are many who say that his competitiveness, motivation, and desire to win are second to MJ. I don’t see that from LeBron. I didn’t see it in Cleveland, in Beijing (in direct contrast to Kobe and Wade no less, who were superstars against Spain), or in the finals. Time is on LeBron’s side, and he can turn it around, but that turnaround has to start upstairs.
You're absolutely right
and I was waiting for someone to bring up these points. To address the age issue, you’re right, he’s not getting any younger and 8 years is not exactly young anymore. However, he is sort of an athletic freak of nature. I can only imagine how long his body will last, as we’ve seen the other freak of nature (Kobe) last for quite some time. LeBron is running up against that wall where if he doesn’t start winning championships, he’ll never get there. I know he wants to, just like every player does, but I don’t think he’ll care if he doesn’t. He doesn’t have the killer instinct, like Kobe and Jordan.
As for the Wade and Bosh issue, that’s my biggest problem with the whole decision. Not only will people say, he couldn’t have won it without thtem, people will always wonder if he was even the best player on his team, something that Jordan and Kobe will never have to deal with. I always thought he should have joined the Bulls. Can you imagine that squad? Rose, a sg, LeBron, Gibson, Noah? Then you factor in any acquisitions… amazing.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
P.S. Jerry Stackhouse wants in on this list as well.
by Alanamaslama on Jun 15, 2011 5:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Jon Barry and Magic said the same thing
Both said LeBron could have benefitted from going to college, where he could have learned some discipline. Magic also pointed out that LeBron is in many ways more interested in his brand than in improving his skills, and his goal is to become a billionaire. The championships are merely objectives along the way. With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder he collapses under pressure.
He should have put in a year at Ohio State. It would have been a no-brainer. He couldn’t have played for CBH because CBH would have made him retool his game to learn basic skills.
BTW, how does Mark Eaton get into that list of all-time Bruins? Good pro, nothing in college. I’ll take Lucius Allen, Mike Warren, Lynn Shackelford—and if you want a guy who only played a few minutes in college, Swen Nater.
He would have gone to Ohio St.
for one year, would have coasted (coasting for him is sprinting for everyone else), put up all-american numbers, won a NC, and not changed a thing. College for 1 and done guys is not the same anymore, unless you’re playing for Ben, it seems.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
on Jordan
On paper, Jordan will be incredibly difficult to duplicate: 6 championships, 6 NBA Finals MVPs, no NBA Finals Game 7s, two separate three-peats, and I won’t bore you with the statistical minutiae. There’s more to Jordan than the hardware though. Something Jordan didn’t have to deal with that every superstar has had to since him is the 24-hour news cycle and sports figures becoming entertainment gossip fodder. Jordan didn’t have to deal with the sports blogosphere. There’s a retroactive conspiracy theory that Jordan’s sabbatical in 1994 to play baseball was a really an NBA suspension for his excessive gambling habits. Can you imagine if that happened in 2004 instead of 1994, and how much traction a story like that would’ve gotten in today’s media climate?
Superstars today get torn down just quickly as they’re propped up. Jordan was the league’s golden boy, the NBA’s version of Babe Ruth, who transcended the game and brought it to new heights. Lebron could very well win more championships than Jordan, and he could also score more career points, and win more MVPs, but I don’t think there will be another superstar who’ll reach Jordan’s stature as an unassailable representation of what is great about the NBA game. From his rise from being cut from his high school basketball team to his game-winning shot as a freshman at UNC to receiving the metaphorical torch from Magic and Larry, Jordan is in a different stratosphere. Case in point, all the me-first superstars we deride today all looked up to Jordan, emulated the moves they watched on those “Fly With Me” videos, and drank Gatorade to “be like Mike”, but Jordan doesn’t get blamed for it.
I have a hard time believing
that if LeBron won more championships and more MVPs, and beat Jordan’s averages and a few totals, that he would not be considered greater than Jordan. I know exactly how big Jordan’s stature is… I grew up in the afterglow of his masterful career, and watched every single player that’s entered the NBA since be scrutinized and found wanting. I think the stars will align at some point, and someone will do it better. We’ll always have that ancestor veneration and some people will never think anyone will ever be better. Are they any more/less crazy than the people that think Kobe is already better? Who knows. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bruins Nation
Related FanShots on Bruins Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
