[Basketball offers no one single pathway to stardom. There are many, some traditional and others circuitous and seemingly zany. Take the mind-bending rise of Michael Olowokandi? In the mid-1990s, the seven-foot Olowokandi was a 20-year-old basketball neophyte in the United Kingdom who cold-called America and, as it happened, one Tony Marcopulos, assistant basketball coach atContinue reading “Michael Olowokandi: The Kandi Man Can, 1999”
Tag Archives: Los Angeles Clippers
Rodney Rogers: Mr. Rogers’ New Neighborhood, 1999
Actually, the 6-feet-7, 255-pound former Wake Forest star didn’t need much urging to be prepared. The chance to prove himself on a winning team was incentive enough.
Eddie Johnson: Steady Eddie in the Zone, 1988
And it’s a game I’ll never forget. When I look back on my career, this was my outstanding game.
Michael Brooks: Tough Franchise, Tough Luck, 1982, 1988
“I’m still young,” Brooks said. “I’m not going to give up until I look myself in the mirror and say I can’t play anymore. I love the game so much.”
World B. Free: The Artist Formerly Known as Lloyd, 1983
There is a maturity about Free that had been missing before, partly because his Gus Williams-style balding pate, gives him a look beyond his years. But that maturity largely is due to his growth as an athlete, as a leader.
Danny Ferry: Will His Ship Come In? 1994
Take a guy with a bum knee and bad defensive habits and put him at small forward—well, it just didn’t work.
Danny Manning: The New Best Thing in L.A., 1993
“Manning is the closest thing to Earvin Johnson in this league,” said Knicks coach Pat Riley, who won four championships with Magic in L.A. “Danny has that level of skill.”
From Way Downtown 