06 March 2011
Quote of the Day: John Walters
From The Same River Twice:
After practice Geno pulls Sue [Bird] aside. The two of them sit in the bleachers, talking for five minutes. Today the Herde [the press], which is often allowed to watch the last hour of practice, must wait outside in the hallway. He takes advantage of a few private moments with his point guard.
Geno knows that they will ask Sue questions about her sub-par play in the first three games [of the season]. The Huskies are 3-0 and three of their key players -- All-Americans Shea [Ralph] and Sveta [Abrosimova] plus Tamika [Williams] -- are each shooting better than 70% from the field. Sue is the closest thing to a weak link that the stat sheet evinces. She has shot 33%, though nearly half of her shots have been three-pointers. But the Herde must be fed. Today's special is Bird.
Geno knows this, as does Sue. As he sends her off to answer their questions, he watches her walk across the court. Like a disproportionately high number of the Huskies, Sue exudes and enchanting quality that transcends her basketball skills. She is an avatar of UConn basketball, a hybrid of Geno's street-smart hoops savvy and Chris Dailey's feminine grace.
"She's the best," Geno says to no one in particular, loud enough to be heard clear across the court. "I always say, 'Sue Bird is the best. They don't come any better that.'"
Outside in the hallway, the writers surround her. The Herde genuinely like the players. Even the tough questions are laced with concern. "Does it bother you when you miss?" Sue is asked.
"Does it bother me?" she repeats. "Well of course I want to make my shots."
No more than ten feet away, Geno leans against the painted cinderblock wall and, as usual, speaks candidly about his floor leader. "Yeah, there's the leaky faucet," he says looking across at her. "Her freshman year we also started three-and-oh and Sue was shooting eighteen percent but nobody know what she could do then."
After practice Geno pulls Sue [Bird] aside. The two of them sit in the bleachers, talking for five minutes. Today the Herde [the press], which is often allowed to watch the last hour of practice, must wait outside in the hallway. He takes advantage of a few private moments with his point guard.
Geno knows that they will ask Sue questions about her sub-par play in the first three games [of the season]. The Huskies are 3-0 and three of their key players -- All-Americans Shea [Ralph] and Sveta [Abrosimova] plus Tamika [Williams] -- are each shooting better than 70% from the field. Sue is the closest thing to a weak link that the stat sheet evinces. She has shot 33%, though nearly half of her shots have been three-pointers. But the Herde must be fed. Today's special is Bird.
Geno knows this, as does Sue. As he sends her off to answer their questions, he watches her walk across the court. Like a disproportionately high number of the Huskies, Sue exudes and enchanting quality that transcends her basketball skills. She is an avatar of UConn basketball, a hybrid of Geno's street-smart hoops savvy and Chris Dailey's feminine grace.
"She's the best," Geno says to no one in particular, loud enough to be heard clear across the court. "I always say, 'Sue Bird is the best. They don't come any better that.'"
Outside in the hallway, the writers surround her. The Herde genuinely like the players. Even the tough questions are laced with concern. "Does it bother you when you miss?" Sue is asked.
"Does it bother me?" she repeats. "Well of course I want to make my shots."
No more than ten feet away, Geno leans against the painted cinderblock wall and, as usual, speaks candidly about his floor leader. "Yeah, there's the leaky faucet," he says looking across at her. "Her freshman year we also started three-and-oh and Sue was shooting eighteen percent but nobody know what she could do then."
Labels: Seattle Storm, UConn basketball
# posted by mamurd @ 10:59 PM 
