Without Bias Is Really Good But It Leaves You With Mixed Emotions And More Questions

If you were a basketball fan in the mid-80s, you knew who Len Bias was. Len Bias had Michael Jordan's body type with James Worthy's aggressiveness and length. I'm really not overdoing the comparison. From everything we saw back then, those were the comparisons.

(If you don't believe that comparison, ESPN writer Bill Simmons, who has probably written more about Len Bias than anyone, gives the same comparison in his new book, The Book Of Basketball.

Here's what Simmons said:

You couldn't have drawn up a better young forward for that particular team (the Celtics), someone who played like a more physical Worthy, but with Jordan's athleticism, if that makes sense.

See, I'm not crazy.)

People loved to see him jump effortlessly above the rim, but he wasn't one dimensional. He had a great mid-range jump shot and since he could jump so high, no one was blocking his shot. He could play below the rim as well as he could play above it.

At Maryland he dominated the ACC and caught the eye of Boston Celtics' GM Red Auerbach. Because of a crazy trade involving the Seattle Supersonics and Gerald Henderson, the NBA Champion Boston Celtics, who won 67 games before beating the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals, held the rights to the number two pick of the 1986 draft.

The Cleveland Cavs held the first pick and took North Carolina center Brad Daughtery. That allowed Bias to fall into the Celtics' lap. Simmons thought it was the perfect fit. He would've come off the bench to spell both Bird and McHale at either forward spot and cut down both of their minutes. And Bird would've had a blast throwing him crazy alley-oops according to Simmons.

(By the way, that 1986 draft was just cursed. Daugherty would've probably been a Hall of Fame center, but only played eight years because of back injuries. Bias died. Chris Washburn was drafted third by the Warriors and he was burnt out on drugs by his second year in the league. William Bedford was picked sixth by the Suns and is still in jail today for drug related charges. Roy Tarpley was drafted seventh by the Mavericks and was kicked out of the NBA twice for drugs and alcohol. Even Scott Skiles had issues with drugs and alcohol. Cursed I tell you.)

Just two days after the biggest day of Bias' basketball career, he died from a heart attack brought upon by a cocaine binge. After watching Kirk Fraser's take on Bias in his ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Without Bias, I was left with mixed emotions. I was sad and angry, left wondering "what if", but also very happy that I watched it.

Len Bias died over 23 years ago. I was barely 10 years old. Yet, I remember nearly every detail about what happened. I remember that he died two days after the draft. I remember that he overdosed on cocaine. And I remember that he was supposed to be great. As much as I knew, Fraser's documentary provided me with many details that I didn't know.

I didn't know that Bias' parents had to go through nearly the same thing again four years later when his brother Jay was murdered. I didn't know that Larry Bird was so enamored with Bias that he was going to show up early to training camp with the rookies just because Bias was going to be there. I didn't know that Auerbach had his eye on Bias three years before they drafted him.

And yet, there are still things I would love to know more about.

Was Bias a drug addict or not? Head coach Lefty Driesell thought it was just a one time thing for Bias, while others mentioned in the documentary that the cocaine he and Brian Trimble scored was more pure than just "starter" coke.

Were Kevin McHale and Larry Bird truly ok with the Celtics drafting the next coming even though it meant their minutes would be cut and someone would eventually have to sit when Bias evolved? Someone (McHale) would've had to eventually be traded, or else accept a lesser role.

Did NBA experts think Bias had enough drive back then to be Michael Jordan's foil like we think today? Magic had Larry. Bill had Wilt. Who did MJ have? We know Bias had the talent, but was he as driven and focused enough as MJ?

Fraser interviews Bias' friends and family which gives a lot of credence into the story. It's one thing to have coaches and guys like Michael Wilbon, who covered the DC area at the time, but when you have Mr. and Mrs. Bias, his brother and sister, and teammates, you know the story is going to be as straight as possible.

One thing that amazed me was how stoic Mrs. Bias was. She felt that Len was going to be taken from her much earlier than he was. And she turned the losses of her two songs into positive work by becoming a spokesperson against drugs. I wonder how many lives she saved as a direct result of her losing two sons.

In no way could Fraser tell this entire story in just fifty five minutes. But he does a stellar job in getting as many interviews and stories into the documentary as possible. He tries to talk about the DC drug scene at the time, but doesn't have nearly enough time to do anything but dip his baby toe into it.

He also tries to discuss what happened to the Maryland program after the Bias ordeal, but again, there's not enough time. We know that Lefty Driesell was forced to quit by the program after Bias died. And though not discussed in the film, the program made the NCAA tournament in 1988 and didn't make the tournament again until 1994.

For the time given, Fraser's documentary gives you a great look at someone who had great promise and left the basketball world way too soon.

Len Bias photo added by Sarah - http://www.fanbase.com/member/sarah

Off-season For The 2009-2010 Warriors Was Definitely "Off"

After the end of last season, you would've thought that things couldn't get worse for the Golden State Warriors franchise. Think again.

Last season came on the heels of the 2007-2008 season in which the Warriors just missed the playoffs, being the first team who won at least 48 games in the regular season to not make the postseason. They would go on to lose Baron Davis, Mickael Pietrus, and Matt Barnes before the 2008-2009 season started. They'd then trade Al Harrington before the season was over. And let's not forget Monta Ellis and his moped accident which caused him to miss nearly the first half of the season.

In the mean time, decision maker Chris Mullin was stripped of his powers thanks to Don Nelson and team president Robert Rowell and Nelson's friend Larry Riley was given Mully's job. With Baron Davis gone, there were rumors that Mullin was trying to trade Stephen Jackson, thinking that without Davis, Jackson wasn't as valuable and not necessarily the one to step into Davis' leader role. But before Mullin could do anything, Rowell signed Jackson to a new contract, thus making Jackson nearly untradeable in a seller's market. This is soap opera level stuff right?

(I'm grouping a bunch of things I've read during the off-season and will link to the places I read at the bottom.)

All Don Nelson's children...

This year's off-season reads like a soap opera and if someone wants to make a movie about a dysfunctional basketball organization, this might be the team to follow.

According to some reports, Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis were told after last season that the Warriors would deliver them a big man in the off-season and that the team would make a rush towards the playoffs rather than become a rebuilding team. And on draft night, it looked like the Warriors had a chance to get that big man in Amar'e Stoudamire. Now I'm not sure he would've ever been happy coming here, but it seems that when Stephen Curry became available for the Warriors, any deal that would've made Phoenix happy for Stoudamire went out the window. Nellie didn't want to part with Curry.

Jackson supposedly became upset because the Warriors didn't get their big man like promised and that lead into a frustrating preseason where he gave up his team captaincy and was suspended for two games.

In preseason game against the Lakers, Jackson was guarding Kobe Bryant and Bryant was getting into his head. Bryant supposedly called him "Young Fella" which set Jackson off. Jackson had five fouls in the first half and was frustrated at both the replacement referees who were calling the game way too closely for his taste and at Nellie who left him in to accumulate the five fouls. After coming out of the game, Nellie tried to put his hand on Jackson's shoulder and Jackson pushed it off and told him not to touch him.

As the Warriors' world turns...

The Warriors did get a big man, just not the kind of big man who will lead them to the promise land. They signed veteran big man Mikki Moore. They also traded Jamal Crawford and in return landed former Warrior Speedy Claxton and Acie Law. No word on whether Mookie Blaylock, Vonteego Cummings, Bobby Sura, or Larry Hughes were available. Actually, I'm sure Hughes was available.

Marco Belinelli was traded in a multi-team trade for Devean George. And to top it off, young big man Brandan Wright was hurt again and will be out for a while.

They'll run out Jackson (until they can actually trade him), Ellis, Curry, Andris Biedrins, Corey "Bad Porn" (I'll let you look up why fans have been calling him that) Maggette, Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Morrow, and CJ Watson. There's definitely talent on this team, but like usual, too heavy in guys who can get up and down the floor and not heavy enough in guys who can play defense, be physical, and score in the flow of the game when they can't run.

I know that we won't see this because it's just not Nellie's style, but I'd love to see Curry, Ellis, Morrow, Randolph, and Biedrins get a lot of playing time together, though not necessarily all at the same time. It would give the Warriors an idea if these guys can play with each other. Anthony Randolph needs to be looked at as the future and they should build the team around him. Who plays better with him between Curry and Ellis? Is Morrow a better player at the shooting guard than Ellis, or does Ellis' penetration style work better with someone like Randolph? They have to use this season to answer those questions and figure out a way to get something in return for Jackson. Do you get rid of him early so that his stench doesn't ruin the team from the outset, or do you allow him to play himself into being traded?

This upcoming season has the looks of another wasted year and a mid lottery level draft pick for next year. Wait, that's what always happens.

Photo of Stephen Jackson by http://fanbase.com/member/rachna
Photo of Anthony Randolph by http://fanbase.com/member/prakash

Places I read to put together the points for my article:
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/expertsarchive;_ylt=Ag4p9AyKI4OA1llh7PyThdfTjdIF?author=Adrian+Wojnarowski
http://48minutes.net
http://www.warriorsworld.net/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/

Stephen Curry Is A Warrior For Now, And Other 2009 NBA Draft Thoughts

Earlier on draft day, there were a few rumors floating out there about what the Golden State Warriors were going to do. Were they going to stay put and simply draft whoever the best player standing was at number 7, or were they going to be involved in a big trade.

They were rumored to be involved in trades for both Vince Carter and Amar'e Stoudemire early in the day. Obviously, since Carter ended up in Orlando, that one was actually just a rumor. However, the Stoudemire rumor may have legs and a trade could still happen, even if it didn't happen on draft night.

The rumor consists of the Warriors trading Andres Biedrins, Brandon Wright, and Marco Belinelli, and some combination of another player and new Warrior, Stephen Curry. There are many theories about what was going on. The early rumor was that Phoenix would be interested in the trade as long as Stephen Curry was there for the Warriors to draft because that's who they wanted. After the Warriors drafted Curry at 7, most people who were following the situation figured that Curry was drafted for Phoenix.

Why would the Warriors draft a player for themselves whose weaknesses are very similar to the weaknesses of their current star guard Monta Ellis? Both guys are on the small and slim side, aren't noted defenders, and aren't really point guards. You'd think that if the Warriors were drafting for themselves, they would've taken someone who would compliment Ellis more.

But I actually like the pick, even if the Warriors keep him. What Curry gives them is another fantastic shooter to pair with Anthony Morrow. It gives them some instant offense off the bench. And with the way Don Nelson likes to go small, I could see them pairing Ellis and Curry for small bursts of time.


The trade for Stoudemire is expected to happen by many reporters (Ric Bucher says to wait until July 8), but Warriors General Manager Larry Riley stated that Curry was drafted to keep, not to trade. This could all be a big poker game between Suns GM Steve Kerr and Don Nelson. And if it is a big poker game, it won't help Riley's reputation as Nellie's puppet.

I'm not sure what I think about Stoudemire. He's obviously a great talent and the perfect big man for Nellie's system. But why he'd be ok with a deal to one of the most disfunctional franchises in the league makes me worried that he may not be completely healthy. Why wouldn't he want to play the season out and then basically choose whichever team he wants to play for after his contract is up? If he's willing to take a contract from the Warriors, the cynic in me thinks that he might not be confident that he's going to have a strong year leading into what would be his free agency year.

(If the trade goes down I'll update this post.)

Other thoughts on the draft...

- I have a hard time believing that Ricky Rubio fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves because of a lack of faith in his talent. I'm not sure if they were worried about the issues with his team in Spain, or simply didn't think he'd be able to play in the US this year. At least, I hope those were the fears. Because I don't buy Hasim Thabeet, James Hardin, or Tyreke Evans as players who will be game changing. They may be decent pros, and Thabeet could even become an outstanding defensive post player, but Rubio has the talent to become a game changer.

- I won't say that I've seen him a ton, but what I have seen of Johnny Flynn tells me that he may have a little bit of Tim Hardaway in him. Hardaway might've been a bit stronger (and bulkier), but they both have the quickness and the ability to score the ball. Why Minnesota took him when they just took Rubio is a bit odd, but maybe they have more moves to make.

- What I've heard about Terrence Williams' game is mostly on the positive tip. But what I've heard about him off the court isn't necesarily positive. He's going to be an interesting player in New Jersey where they're building around Brook Lopez and Devin Harris. With that young of a team, you'd hope the immaturity issues that you hear about him don't curtail his possible rise.

- I thought Jrue Holiday and Brandon Jennings could've been possible picks for the Warriors at 7. Holiday and his agent Dan Fagan kind of screwed themselves by not even working out with the Warriors because Fagan and the Warriors' brass don't get along. Holiday ended up slipping the most out of the top players as he went 17th to the Philadelphia 76ers.

In the early draft previews, Jennings was going in the top 5, and I even saw him in the top 3. Going 10th is still a solid spot for him, but he might've gone to one of the worst possible teams in Milwaukee. At least, if the Knicks or Warriors drafted him, he'd be in an uptempo offense that would probably suit him best.

My Golden State Warriors Top Five For 2008-2009

I originally wrote this for Fanbase.

My Warriors' top five list isn't a list of who the best five players on the team are. It's more a top five list of guys who fit their roles and made the Warriors better. Just remember that this was a 29 win team.

I'll get to my exclusion first. Stephen Jackson isn't on my list because as the Warriors number one player, in my opinion, he was one of the worst number one options in the league. As a number two option on a team, he's a pretty good player. As a number three option, he's fantastic. Thus, I left Stephen Jackson off my list because while he definitely played hard and tried to lead the team, he's just not that kind of player. If my list was about effort, he'd be on here. But my list is about guys who excelled in their roles given their opportunity (for the most part), and though Jackson filled up the stat sheet, there were just way too many times where he had the ball and didn't perform late in games.

It's probably a bit unfair to Jackson because he was called upon to be the guy and isn't that type of player. My apologies to Jackson fans, in advance.

1. Ronny Turiaf
Turiaf is never going to be a superstar in this league. He just doesn't have superstar talent. But what he lacks in the talent department, he makes up in tenacity and an understanding of how to use his big body. He's not terribly athletic, but he blocks a ton of shots per his alloted minutes, and he's developed a nice little go to jumper as well.

If the Warriors can supply him with another banger to play with, I can see his minutes be even more valuable to the Warriors. I didn't love him when they signed him, but I loved what I saw from him.

2. Kelenna Azubuike
He's undersized and wasn't even drafted out of college, but you have to like a guy who just puts his head down and plays hard. Maybe it's because he played a few seasons with Baron Davis, but I see a guy who truly has confidence in his game. He shot the three ball very well and earned a ton of minutes this season.

3. Anthony Randolph
What's there not to like about this kid? He's a dead ringer for Ronnie DeVoe from New Edition. His athleticism is off the charts. He thinks he's unstoppable. He'll block a shot and scream. He'll dribble the ball off his foot and look at the sidelines like a deer in headlights. I'm not sure what his ceiling is. But I'm going to enjoy watching him get there.

You can see some Randolph highlights here.

4. Monta Ellis
What a terrible year this was for Ellis. From the injury to the lying about the injury, to the questions about whether the Warriors would dissolve his contract, to his overall unhappiness, and eventually his inconsistent play, it was really a lost season for him. But he showed flashes of brilliance, which is enough to make Warriors fans happy going into the next season. What they truly need is to luck out and draft a bigger point guard so that Ellis can play his natural shooting guard position.

. Corey Maggette
How can I put Maggette here and not include Jackson? Well, I think Maggette can find ways to score in ways that doesn't hurt the team in doing so as much as Jackson does. However, with his contract, he should be better than what he is, but who thought he'd be better after watching him all those years in LA? The reason he's here for me is because he can get to the free throw line and make points them when you need them. On a 29 win team, that's not enough, but as a six man on a 45 win team, he could be valuable late in the game. Just as Nellie missused so many players, Maggette had to play a lot of his minutes at power forward and he was getting killed defensively.

It was tough to create a top five. It was kind of tough to create a top four. But that's my list for the 2008-2009 Golden State Warriors. It was a lost year and one that I would love to forget.

Photo of Stephen Jackson by Joe Gilmore and shared via creative commons (Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
Photo of Corey Maggette by iamgenious and shared via creative commons (Attribution 2.0 Generic)

When Is Enough, Enough?

This article was originally posted on Fanbase.

When I think of the 2009 season for the Warriors, it brings back terrible memories. It reminds me of the year 1994. Let me create the parallel for you.

In 1993, the Warriors traded the rights of their first round draft pick Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway (and some future draft picks) to the Orlando Magic for the rights to Chris Webber. For the Warriors, who were more "little engine that could" than truly good basketball team, this was a match made in heaven. Chris Webber gave the Warriors a post presence that they hadn't seen since the days of Nate Thurmond. But he was also athletic and could run, fitting into Don Nelson's uptempo style.

Even though those Warriors lost in the first round of the playoffs, 1994 looked bright. All-star point guard Tim Hardaway was coming back from injury and the team would be at full blast. But Webber and Nelson couldn't get along. Supposedly, Webber didn't like playing center. He didn't like Nelson's backhanded criticisms. And he didn't like the Bay Area because he feared earthquakes. For a guy who called himself "The Big Bad Wolf", he sure came off as a pansy. But that's what happens when you're completely catered to since you were in the 8th grade.

Nelson was the adult here. He could've changed up his style to accomodate his new meal ticket. But something just didn't vibe between the two guys. The Warriors even traded for center Rony Seikaly so that Webber wouldn't have to play the five spot. It's too bad they had to trade Billy Owens, one of Webber's best friends on the team, to get him. The miscommunication here was very transparent. Webber was traded to Washington and soon thereafter, Nelson was gone too. You've heard about the curse of the Bambino? Ok, I won't go that far.

It would take the Warriors thirteen years to get back to the playoffs after the Webber/Nellie debacle. Thanks to a shrewd move by Chris Mullin to steal Baron Davis away from the New Orleans Hornets, the Warriors were back in business. In 2007, the Warriors became the NBA's most fascinating team to watch and upset the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Mavs were the number one seed in all of the playoffs, but behind Davis, the Warriors were the story. Who was also apart of the Oakland revival? Well, none other than Don Nelson. Mullin's other shrewd move was to talk Nelson out of retirement to replace Mike Montgomery as head coach.

In 2008, the team won 48 games and just barely missed the playoffs. I believe 48 wins is the highest number of wins for a team to ever miss the playoffs. Though Jason Richardson was traded before the season for rookie power forward Brandan Wright, the rest of the group was still there. Monta Ellis came into his own and Andris Biedrins was continuing to improve. All they had to do was resign Davis, and the group would be ready to run again and they'd be able to add another young piece to the mix.

But the Warriors couldn't resign Davis. Though Chris Mullin was the man technically making the moves, the word on the street was that team president Robert Rowell was the man behind not resigning Davis. He thought that Davis was asking for too much money and for too many years. Nellie was also seemingly behind some of the personel moves and Chris Mullin was being pushed aside. There's your thanks for giving your old coach the keys to the car Mully. All of a sudden, everything that was so good was about to turn terribly bad.

Monta Ellis didn't help the matters by ruining his ankle playing pick up basketball and then lying about it. And all of a sudden, the Warriors were throwing money at broken down players when the one player they deemed broken down was the guy who lead them to their resurgence. Gilbert Arenas and Elton Brand said no. Plan F, Corey Maggette said yes.

How can a franchise who made all the right moves just two years prior become the laughing stock of basketball again? Well, they can do so by not learning from their own mistakes. They created the blueprint for all franchises to see how not to deal with your superstar athletes. They showed that when you give your head coach too much power, he can start tinkering with things based on who he likes personally and who he gets along with to make his job easier.

Nellie's had help in destroying their franchise twice now. Even if they have exciting young players like Ellis and Anthony Randolph, the management isn't right. The object should be to win as many games as possible, while also getting the younger guys to step in when you need replacements.

I've been here before. It wasn't fun the first time. And it's even more annoying going through it again. When is enough, enough?

Webber photo from Wikicommons
Nelson photo from miles5226

Who Is The Most Disappointing Bay Area Athlete Ever?

This was originally posted on Fanbase.

Ever since Barry Zito's recent failure of a start against the LA Dodgers, I started to think about Bay Area athletes who have brought the most disappointment.

With that horrid contract that pays him $18.5 million this year and one that ranks him 12th in all of baseball as far as total value, Barry Zito is a very disappointing player. In his two years as a Giants' pitcher, he has twenty one wins and thirty losses. The last time he had a sub 3.80 ERA was 2003.

I started to think about other disappointing Bay Area athletes.

I can think of three who played for the Golden State Warriors immediately.

Chris Webber was the golden child for one season, feuded with coach Don Nelson (does this sound familiar?), and then forced a trade. The golden child was gone. He was one of the most talented power forwards in the history of the NBA, had a very good career, but did it in another jersey.

Latrell Sprewell went from fan favorite to one of the most hated players in the history of Bay Area sports in all of six years. I guess that's what happens when you choke your coach. But at least Spree became an All-Pro with the team. He brought his lunch pail to work nearly every day, but it just didn't end very well.

Joe Smith was the number one draft pick in the same draft that also featured Kevin Garnett. Smith was actually a really good rookie, but by his second year, forgot what it was like to play defense, stopped rebounding and decided to become a jump shooter. By his third year, he was gone.

With the 49ers, one player immediately came to mind. Alex Smith was the first pick in the entire 2005 draft. It was a pick that Mike Nolan and the 49ers' brass couldn't whiff on. They didn't only swing and miss. They swung and missed so hard that they dug themselves into a hole. But Smith was a rookie. He hadn't played a down in the NFL and everything we expected about him was based on a college career and everything the 49ers were selling us about him.

I didn't think there was a player who I could despise as much on the field as much as I despised Chris Webber on the basketball court. He and Don Nelson were just as equally to blame for their selfishness, and they both destroyed what was an up and coming franchise.

Barry Zito hasn't done that. He was brought in because the Giants were trying to save face. They didn't want to be known as Barry Bonds' team anymore. They wanted to find a new identity. So a lot of this isn't even really Zito's fault. But what is his fault is that he's now one of the worst starting pitchers in the National League.

Who is most disappointing? Because of what it meant to me as a high school basketball fan, I'll still go with C-Webb. He was going to be one of the greatest athletes in the history of the Bay Area. Zito never had that responsibility. He just has to take the ball every five days and give the Giants a chance to win. But he didn't help destroy an entire franchise. That responsibility goes to Webber.

How I Almost Walked Into Jennifer Azzi (And More Important Facts About Her Great Career)

This was originally written at Fanbase.

One thing that I miss about reading newspapers and specifically, The San Jose Mercury News, is the local coverage of some college sports like women's basketball. Back in the mid to late 80s, I loved reading about the Stanford women's basketball team just as much as I loved reading about the men's team. For every Todd Lichti and Adam Keefe, there was a Val Whiting and Jennifer Azzi.

What I loved about Azzi is that she didn't need to score in order to help her team win. In fact, as the point guard, she directed her offense like a quarterback. What also stood out about Azzi is that she was such a great clutch player, due in part to the great condition she was in. She was able to play hard every minute.

In 1990, Azzi lead her team to the NCAA Championship. The Cardinal beat Auburn and during the same year, Azzi won the Naismith Award as the college player of the year.

In 1994, she was a part of the gold medal winning US women's basketball team at the Goodwill Games and also helped Team USA win the big one in 1996 at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

That win in 1996 helped jump start women's professional leagues in the US.

In 1996, she joined the San Jose Lasers which was in the ABL, a women's league that started the year before the WNBA. Behind Azzi, the Lasers would lose in the semifinals of the playoffs in the two years of the league's existence. The league started a third year but didn't complete it.

It was during Azzi's one of Azzi's seasons with the Lasers that I nearly walked into her on campus while I was attending San Jose State University.

I was a Radio/TV Journalism major at SJSU, with dreams of becoming a baseball and basketball play by play announcer. The Lasers not only played their games on campus at the San Jose Event Center, but they also practiced there.

I had a dream one night that I was doing the play by play of a Lasers' game and Azzi hit the game winning shot. The very next day while walking on campus, I nearly walked right into Azzi who had just finished practice. Was it a sign?

Well, no. Even though I worked at KNBR, which is one of California's top sports radio stations, my dreams died when I learned how radio worked and how little I enjoyed the business. The Lasers also wouldn't be in San Jose for much longer.

Azzi was drafted by the Detroit Shock in the first round (5th pick) of the 1999 WNBA draft and then was traded to the Utah Starzz. She retired from pro basketball in 2004.

If I have a favorite women's basketball player, it's Azzi. Even though I don't follow the Cardinal at all anymore, I'll always remember watching Azzi highlights and her championship season of 1990. And I'll also always remember the day when I nearly bumped into her on campus the day after I dreamed that I was calling her winning shot.

Photo from Jennifer Azzi's press kit

Tim Hardaway - The Golden Years

In 1986-1987, the Golden State Warriors made the playoffs and upset the Utah Jazz in the first round thanks to players like Sleepy Floyd, Purvis Short, and Joe Barry Caroll. But a year later, Don Nelson would replace George Karl as coach, and Floyd and Carroll would be traded for Ralph Sampson. They'd go from being a playoff team one year to only winning 20 games the next.

After drafting Mitch Richmond in 1988, the Warriors now had two-thirds of what would become Run TMC. Richmond joined sharp shooter Chris Mullin, making one of the more dependable offensive twosomes in all of the NBA. Richmond was the rock. Michael Jordan once called him one of the toughest match-ups of his career. Mullin was the veteran and someone who led by example, showing dedication and effort after nearly squandering the early part of his career with personal issues. In 1989, Nelson drafted someone who would fill out the remaining piece Run TMC. Tim Hardaway brought the free spirit and toughness of someone who spent his early days playing in the playgrounds in Chicago. And he also brought a wicked crossover.



When the Warriors drafted Hardaway out of the University of Texas at El Paso in 1989, one of his main roles was to stop Kevin Johnson. Actually, if I remember correctly, one of the first questions that Hardaway was asked after he was drafted was if he could stop KJ. I think his response was a simple, "Yeah." Johnson had destroyed the Warriors in the playoffs in the 1989-1990 season. Johnson was one of the quickest players in the league and was pretty much unstoppable facing the likes of Winston Garland. But it wasn't really Garland's fault. No one was stopping KJ in those days. It made sense for Don Nelson to draft Hardaway, who may have never stopped KJ, but sure made it hard for KJ to stop him.

Hardaway was easy to like. He played the game with a smile on his face, but with a chip on his shoulder. He was measured at 5'10, but would always claim to be six feet tall. If you tried to call him Timmy, he would remind you that his name was Tim. But you could call him by his nickname Tim-Bug, or just Bug and he'd be fine with that. He was one of the most competitive players in the league, but he allowed you to see the joy on his face when he was playing the game he loved.

Hardaway averaged nearly 15 points a game and dealt out nearly 9 assists a game in his rookie year. The only reason he didn't win the Rookie Of The Year award is because a man by the name of David Robinson was a rookie that year as well. Even though Hardaway energized the team, helping them lead the entire league in scoring, they didn't make the playoffs and finished with an under .500 record. You could argue that Hardaway's sophomore effort might've been the best of his career. He averaged nearly 23 points per game to go along with 9.7 assists per game and the Run TMC triumvirate together averaged nearly 73 points combined per game. The Warriors upset the San Antonio Spurs and David Robinson in the first round of the playoffs, but lost to the LA Lakers in five games in the second round.

Hardaway was quickly becoming one of the best and most exciting young players in the game. He was known for his great first step and also for his crossover dribble. It was originally called the "killer crossover" and somewhere along the lines, it was then dubbed the "UTEP 2 step", which I always thought was lame. The crossover was sick and he was getting to the hole at will. He had an awkward jump shot which came out of his hands like a knuckle ball, but he didn't need it very often early in his career. He was taking guys to the hole.

Before Hardaway's third campaign, Don Nelson broke up Run TMC. He traded Mitch Richmond to the Sacramento Kings for rookie Billy Owens right before the new season was about to start. With Owens, Nelson saw a versatile guy who could get up and down the court who had some size and could pull rebounds and then run the break himself. Even though the trade wasn't all that popular with the fans, you couldn't argue with the results. The Warriors won 55 games in 1991-1992 and Hardaway's third year was comparable to his second. He increased his scoring and assists, but he started to take more outside shots, hurting his shooting percentage along the way. But his his body was already starting to slowly break down. Even though the Warriors were one of the NBA's dandies, they would be upset by a hungry Seattle Supersonics team in the first round of the playoffs.

The following year was a bad one for the club as the injury bug bit them hard. Owens, Mullin, Hardaway, and Sarunas Marciulionis would all miss significant time with injuries. There was a bright spot to that 1992-1993 team. His name was Latrell Sprewell. With Sprewell, they finally had someone who matched Richmond's defensive intensity and he was athletic enough to be good on offense, even though he didn't have very many offensive moves. He just flew past and jumped over guys. Hardaway and Sprewell were going to be one of the best backcourts in the league.




The following year, the Warriors traded for the draft rights of Chris Webber. Webber would bring a certain dynamic that the Warriors hadn't had since the days of Nate Thurmond. He was going to be a dependable post scorer, a tough rebounder, and someone who put fear in the other team. As a power forward, he had the talents to be one of the all time best. But Nelson had him playing center because he was athletic enough to, but also because he didn't have anyone else. With Webber at center, Owens at power forward, Mullin at small forward, Sprewell at shooting guard, and Hardaway bringing up the rock, the team was going to run and not too many other teams would be able to stay with them.

But just as the basketball gods giveth, they also taketh away. Hardaway would miss the entire season after tearing his ACL in training camp. The Warriors would never get to see their dream fivesome on the court at the same time. With Avery Johnson as the point guard, the Warriors won 50 games and Sprewell came into his own. Webber didn't have dominating statistics but he was a game changer. It didn't matter in the playoffs though as they were swept by Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns. Webber and Nelson weren't geting along and Webber didn't want to play center. He also didn't want be on the West Coast. Nellie was able to trade for Rony Seikley so that Webber didn't have to play center, but that only made it worse because he traded one of Webber's best buddies in Owens to do so. Owner Chris Cohan backed Nelson and gave him the ok to trade Webber to the Washington Bullets for Tom Gugliotta and some draft picks. It would go down as the darkest day in franchise history.

Hardaway returned from injury the following season and he his stats were ok, but he wasn't himself. He wasn't driving to the basket as much and heaved up over 7 three-pointers a game, which was eye opening because his game was all about quickness and getting to the basktet. By shooting so many three-pointers, it showed a small dent in the armor of one of the most confident players in the league. He couldn't get to the basket as easily anymore. Even though Webber and Owens were gone, a lineup of Hardaway, Sprewell, Mullin, and Rony Seikley should've been good enough to compete for a playoff spot. But Hardaway wasn't 100%, Mullin only played one-fourth of the season, and Seikley was a disappointment. Nelson quit, leaving Warriors fans with neither Nelson or Webber, which was terribly frustrating since it was both of their egos that caused the problems in the first place. There was also some discontent between Hardaway and Sprewell. While Hardaway was away, Sprewell became the go to guy. There was a bit of an alpha dog struggle in the backcourt when Hardaway came back from injury.

I remember reading Slam magazine and Hardaway and Sprewell were the focus of the cover story. They acted like they were the unstoppable backcourt that they were expected to be. Hardaway even said that Sprewell was like Mike (Jordan) except he just had smaller hands. But they didn't get along or play all that well together and the Warriors only won 26 games. Hardaway was traded the following year to the Miami Heat.

Hardaway only played 5 1/2 seasons with the Warriors (he sat out one full year) and played 6 years with the Heat. And even though he was in the playoffs with the Heat consistently and even helped them get all way to the Eastern Conference finals in 1996-1997, he's far more famous for being one of Run TMC. It was because he helped ignite a suffering franchise and was a part of one of the most entertaining teams in the NBA in the 90s.

While his reputation suffered late in his Warriors career because he was the old dog and Sprewell was the new dog, I never felt that it was deserved. You only need to look at the 1992-1993 season when Hardaway stepped aside to allow Magic Johnson to start in his place in the All-Star game. Johnson was out of the league after contracting the HIV virus, but had won the popular vote. Hardaway was probably the best point guard in the league. It was Hardaway's year to shine, but he knew Johnson's accomplishment was bigger than the game. And when Magic thanked him, he looked like a kid in a candy store. That's how I remember his style too. He played basketball like he was a kid in a candy store.

Thanks to sportsecyclopedia for the timeline.

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/goldst/gswarriors.html

The Legend Of Sleepy Floyd

The Golden State Warriors were a great team in the decade of the 1970s. They had a winning season for eight out of the ten years in the 70s including winning the NBA Championship in 1974-1975 season. The following season, they won 59 games but the Phoenix Suns came back from a 3-2 deficit to beat them in the Western Conference finals. But in the 80s, what those Al Attles coached teams did in the 70s became overlooked because of the terrible teams that defined the decade for the Warriors. Also, the NBA was so much of a bigger league thanks to Magic, Michael, and Larry.

It wasn't until George Karl came in (and then later Don Nelson) that the franchise found its respectability again. Being that I started to watch basketball in the mid 80s, I grew up watching some bad Warriors basketball. But there's something about the underdog Warriors that I've always loved. Being on the same coast as the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors were always had low visibility and for good reason. The Lakers were the toast of the 80s with big stars and long postseason runs. I was happy if the Warriors stayed with them until the fourth quarter where I expected the Lakers to pull away. There was one player that I loved watching on my lovable losers and that player was Eric "Sleepy" Floyd.

If you took one look at Floyd's eyes, you'd understand why his nickname was "Sleepy". But his play was all but tired. Floyd had a great career at Georgetown. It is he and not Patrick Ewing or Alonzo Mourning who is the career scoring leader for the school. Floyd also has the second highest scoring per game average in school history. He was on the opposite end of one of the most famous NCAA championship games in NCAA hoops history. Floyd was on the Georgetown team that lost to a late Michael Jordan jumper that gave North Carolina the 1982 NCAA Championship. Floyd had 18 points (to Jordan's 16) and five assists in the losing effort and would've had a better end to his storied Georgetown career had they not given that game away on a silver platter.

He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets later that year but was soon traded to the Warriors along with Mickey Johnson for Micheal Ray Richardson. His career blossomed with the Warriors and in the 1986-1987 season, made the All-Star team, which was big time for me. The Warriors rarely had an All-Star representative in those days and I was very excited to watch him play with the NBA's biggest stars. Floyd scored 14 points in 19 minutes for the Western squad.

Floyd's NBA coming out party was in 1987 playoffs when the Warriors had to play the Lakers. The Lakers would go on to win the NBA championship that year. In the first round of the playoffs, the Warriors beat the Utah Jazz in five games while the Lakers swept the Denver Nuggets in three. The Lakers were expected to sweep the Warriors as well, except Sleepy Floyd didn't let it happen. In game four in Oakland, Floyd went crazy. Even in that game, the Lakers led most of the way until Floyd exploded for 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors to their lone victory in the series. That's how good the Lakers were that year. As a 10 year-old basketball fan, I was ecstatic. When everyone pretended to be Magic, Michael, and Larry when we played basketball, they now knew the guy I was pretending to be.

For some reason that I still don't necessarily understand over 20 years later, Floyd and Joe Barry Carroll were traded to the Houston Rockets for Steve Harris and Ralph Sampson the next season. It turned out to be a terrible trade for that season and the Warriors went back to being a league doormat winning only 20 games. Sampson couldn't stay healthy and we soon found out that without his twin tower brother Akeem Olajuwon, he was terribly overrated offensively. Even though Floyd was no longer the focal point offensively for his new team, he went to the playoffs with the Rockets during the next four seasons after only going once with the Warriors. He also played with San Antonio for a year and then finished his career in New Jersey, the team that originally drafted him.

Like many good NBA players, Floyd's circumstances prevented him from becoming the star he should've become. He wouldn't have been the type of player to sell basketball shoes like Jordan or carry a team on his back like Larry Bird, but he was just as good as some players who are very well known because of the teams they played on. Floyd spent the prime years of his career playing for the Warriors, who were a floundering franchise and had zero visibility. He was also a tweener guard at 6'3'' who played both guard positions, but showed that when necessary, he could run a team as evidenced by his 10.3 assist average in 1986-1987. That season, to me, Sleepy Floyd was Superman.