THABEET GOES ON January 8, 2013 in by James Herbert http://ppt.cc/58S~ Hasheem Thabeet doesn’t like talking about the past. You can’t blame him. To call the first few phases of his NBA career underwhelming would be a polite understatement. Before signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 7’ 3 center averaged 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game. This year, the numbers aren’t noticeably better — the difference is in the absence of DNP’s and disappointment. The No. 2 pick in the 2009 draft started 13 games in his first season with the Memphis Grizzlies, none in his second. He fell out of favor in Memphis, was forgotten in Houston and scarcely saw meaningful minutes in Portland. “He hasn’t had a lot of success for probably many reasons,” said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. “He was on teams that didn’t really need his services or need his skills at that particular point and he probably wasn’t ready to give them the type of minutes they needed.” When poor play is coupled with extreme expectations, the result is relentless criticism. It can’t be easy to stay grounded through that. It can’t be easy to keep going. But the only way for Thabeet to be a regular in a rotation was to be strong enough to sacrifice and believe in himself. You can get a glimpse into his positive thinking if you follow his Twitter feed full of caps-locked affirmations and motivational phrases. “EVEN THE DARKEST NIGHT WILL END… AND THE SUN WILL RISE.” According to David Thorpe, Thabeet’s head coaches in Memphis and Houston never gave him much of a chance. As a Rocket, he played 27 minutes from February of 2011 to March of 2012. “He was young,” said Kevin Martin, who starred for the Rockets while Thabeet didn’t exactly blossom on their bench. “It takes a right group of coaches to get young players going and maybe he just really wasn’t feeling his whole Houston era, but it’s totally different here. Just like he doesn’t really probably want to talk about Houston, I think everybody moved past that. He’s just been so positive here. ” In the summer of 2011, Thabeet spent time at Thorpe’s Pro Training Center in Clearwater, Florida. Martin, Thorpe’s client, who is now playing for Oklahoma City, called Thorpe in November and told him the Thunder version of Thabeet was reminiscent of what he was like back then. What was similar about that Thabeet and this Thabeet? “Just actually liking to play the game of basketball,” Martin said. “He came in every day happy, wanting to work hard and that’s kind of what he has done here. That’s a credit to the coaches and his teammates here, getting him in a mindframe to want to continue his basketball career on a high note.” If you’re trying to rejuvenate your career, knowing you connect with your coach and have a chance to contribute can’t hurt your cause. Brooks and Thabeet talked about his troubled times shortly after he signed in July. “ Sometimes you gotta explain to people so they get to know you before they even get to spend time with you,” said Thabeet. “That’s what I did, I had a few minutes to talk to him and he understood my situation and he just said he’d work with me. Since then, we’ve just been good like that.” “We have him at a good time,” Brooks said. “He’s been in the league for four years now. He works hard. He has great enthusiasm for the game and I enjoy being around him. I enjoy pushing him and challenging him and figuring out ways for him to get better.” Thabeet started working out with Oklahoma City’s assistant coaches at their practice facility immediately after signing in July and he hasn’t stopped. “ He’s working hard after practice every day and coming in even when we have days off and getting work in,” said Martin. “He’s just a different guy right now.” Part of the reason the proverbial sun has risen for Thabeet is that he’s getting along with the group. “Great guys, man,” he says of the team’s leaders — Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Perkins — who have welcomed him on and off the floor. “They just compete, motivate, they just want to win. When you have a great group of guys, young guys that compete every night, you just gotta work hard for them. If they trust you, you gotta do something with that.” “NEVER MAKE YOURSELF MISERABLE TRYING TO SATISFY OTHERS” Thabeet called the team a “big family of big kids”. This family earned a remarkable reputation and record by grooming superstars who stay steady in the spotlight and surrounding them with responsible role players. Thabeet is asked only to be the latter. “They don’t expect me to come in and give them 20 every night. [They just ask] me to be a part of the team and do what I do, which is rebound and just be the force in the middle on defense. That’s what I do.” “The best thing he does is he’s active, he rebounds, he blocks shots,” said Thunder forward Nick Collison. “But his skillset is not to be a back-to-the-basket scorer and I think when you’re taken at that pick, people expect that all of a sudden. If that’s not who you are, and you have those expectations, you’re not going to be able to live up to them. I just think people have to look at players for who they are regardless of where they get picked. And as an individual player you can’t get caught up in that, either. You have to do what you do and that’s who you are in the league.” Martin agrees with Collison’s assessment. “As a player you just have to, especially in his case, you just have to worry about the task at hand and not the story somebody’s trying to write or frame on you,” he said. “The story lasts for one day, but developing into a player, that’s 365 days a year, so you gotta just focus on that.” On a roster where even the most tremendously talented players are totally team-first, it’s no accident Thabeet is finding his way. “I think what we like to try to do is take everybody in and everybody does the work,” said Collison. “That’s what we focus on is doing the work. I think instead of him trying to live up to some sort of expectation, because you know he’s a high pick, we’ve taken that away and just said, ‘Do your job every day. That ’s all you’ve got to focus on is doing your job every day and you can help us. That’s what we want you to do.’ And I think that kind of shift in his mindset has helped to where every time he makes a mistake he’s not thinking he’s letting everyone down. It’s just a mistake, that’s all it is. Everyone makes them.” Oklahoma City is 26-8 on the season and will send two or three players to the All-Star game. Relieving Perkins off the bench, when Thabeet makes a mistake it hardly makes a mark. This isn’t what anyone anticipated when he was drafted, but now it’s easy to envision him swatting shots in the Finals. After three trying seasons, two trips to the D-League, three teams and four coaches, Thabeet has finally found a home. “This is just a different opportunity,” said Thabeet. “I’m happy to be a part of it now and that’s what my focus is on.” Thabeet不喜欢谈及自己的过去，而你不应该在这件事上责备他。用“令人失望”来形容 他在NBA前几个赛季的表现甚至都很礼貌了。在和雷霆签约之前，这位7尺3寸（221cm）的 中锋场均只能出场10.5分钟并贡献2.2分和2.7板。 本赛季里虽然这些数据没有本质上的提高，但是Thabeet被教练DNP和让大家失望的次数却 明显减少了。这位09年的榜眼秀仅仅在自己的新秀赛季里首发过13场，而在自己的第二个 赛季里这个次数为零。 在孟菲斯，他不受欢迎。在休斯敦，他被人遗忘。而在波特兰，他也没捞着几分钟有意义 的上场时间。 “有很多原因让他没有取得多少成功。”Brooks说。“他之前所在的球队并不怎麽需要他 所能提供的表现。而球队需要的东西他当时又给不了。” 当糟糕的表现和过高的期望混合在一起，无穷无尽的批评是唯一的结果。在这样的情况下 ，要面对现实并且坚持下去绝不是一件容易的事。 但是，唯一能让Thabeet进入常规轮换阵容的方法就是变的足够强大，强大到能够牺牲和 相信自己。通过他那些充满着大写字母和鼓励性短语的twiiter，我们不难看出他正努力 给自己灌输正能量。 “即使是最黑暗的夜晚也会过去，而太阳会随後升起。” 根据训练师Thorpe的说法，Thabeet在孟菲斯和休斯敦的教练根本就没给他多少机会。在 火箭，他从11年2月至12年3月一共加起来打了27分钟。 “他很年轻。”当时还身为火箭球星的K-Mart说道，而那时Thabeet根本无法从板凳上站 出来提供什麽贡献。“需要有合适的教练才能让年轻球员打出来。他在休斯敦显然没得到 这些，但是现在完全不同了。 他也许根本不想谈起在休斯敦的经历，我相信每个人都把这些放在脑後了。而现在在俄城 ，他表现得很积极向上。“ 11年夏天，Thabeet在Thorpe的位於佛罗里达州的专业训练中心训练过。K-Mart也曾是 Thorpe的客户。他在11月曾经打电话给索普谈及Thabeet，说他现在在雷霆的表现让自己 想起了他当初在那儿训练的样子。 现在和那时的Thabeet有什麽相似之处呢？“只是单纯的喜欢打篮球而已。”K-Mart如此 评价道。“他每天都开开心心地来，想要努力练习，这就是他现在做的。这得归功於他现 在的教练和队友，他们让他想要成功地继续自己的篮球生涯。” 如果你想重新激活你的职业生涯的话，了解自己和教练的联系并且能为球队贡献一份力量 是绝对有好处的。Brooks在球队和Thabeet签约後没多久就和他交谈过。“有些时候，在 别人花时间和你相处之前，你需要跟他解释一些事情。”Thabeet说。“那就是我做的。 我花了些时间和教练谈话。他了解了我的情况然後告诉我他会和我合作努力。在那之後， 我们一直相处的很好。” “我们在合适的时间得到了他。”Brooks说。“他已经在联盟里度过了4年。他很努力。 他对比赛有着无比的热情，我也很享受和他待在一起。我喜欢去督促他和挑战他，我喜欢 去想办法让他变得更好。” Thabeet在和雷霆签约後立刻就和助教们开始训练了，而且他一直坚持到了现在。“他在 球队训练後都会留下来自己加练。甚至我们放假的时候他也会来练习。”K-Mart说。“他 现在简直就是变了一个人。” 寓言里的太阳（指上文里最黑暗的夜晚之後）之所以为Thabeet升起，很大程度上是因为 他现在所处的团队。“他们棒极了。”Thabeet在谈及球队领袖——KD，Russ和Perkeins时 说道。 “他们去竞争，去督促，他们就是想要赢球。当你有一群棒极了的伙伴，就像他们这样的 年轻并且每晚拼搏的伙伴，你会为他们而努力。如果他们信任你，那你就必须去做点 什麽（来回报这样的信任）。” “不要为了取悦别人让自己郁闷。” Thabeet把雷霆队称为一个“由大男孩儿组成的大家庭”。这个家庭已经赢得了伟大的声 誉的战绩，而这是通过站在聚光灯下不断成长的超级巨星和他们身边负责任的角色球员一 起达成的。Thabeet只是被要求成为後面那一类人中的一位。“他们不需要我站出来每晚 得个20分。他们只需要我成为球队中的一员并且提供篮板和防守。这正是我擅长做的。” “他最好的地方在於他的活力，他能抢板，也能火锅。” Collison说。“他的技能条里 并不包括得分。可是当你被人用那麽高的顺位选中时，人们会期待你立刻做到这一点。如 果你不是那样的球员，而人们又都期待你达到那样的水准时，你肯定没法满足他们。 我只是认为人们应该抛开顺位的因素，去更多地关注球员本身。而作为一名球员，你也要 学会去抛开那些（人们的期望）。你只是需要去做自己能做的，那才是你在这个联盟里的 定位。” K-Mart也同意 Collison的说法。“作为一个球员，尤其是Thabeet的情况下，你只需要担 心手头的任务，而不是去别人为你生搬硬套的故事。那个故事只持续了一天，可是对於球 员来说，那也许就是一年365天环绕着你，让你只专注於它上面。” 在一只即使是最有天赋的球员也打着团队篮球的球队里，Thabeet很自然地找到了自己的 办法。”我觉得我们喜欢做的是让大家每个人都参与进来，做出自己的贡献。” Collison说。“我们专注於完成每一件事。与其让他去满足那些别人的期待（因为他的顺 位），我们把那些都甩到一边然後告诉他：'每天去做你该做的事。你专注於做你自己该 做的事，这就能够帮助我们了。我们就需要你这麽做。'我认为这帮助改变了他的思维方 式。当他犯错时，他不会再觉得自己让所有人失望了。这只是个错误，没啥大不了的，谁 都会犯错。” 雷霆现在坐拥26胜8负的战绩并且会有2-3名球员出现在全明星赛里。从替补席上站出来代 替Perkins的位置，Thabeet就算犯了错也不会有啥影响。这并不是他被选到时大家所期望 的，但是这样让人更容易看脑海中浮现出他在总决赛上送出火锅的一幕。在3个失败的赛 季，2次被下放到发展联盟，3支球队和4个教练後，Thabeet终於找到了自己的家。 “这是个完全不同的机会。”Thabeet说，“我很高兴现在自己成为了其中的一员，而帮 助球队胜利正是我现在最关注的。” 翻译:http://bbs.hupu.com/4933804.html --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 114.36.89.173 ※ 编辑: loserkobe 来自: 114.36.89.173 (01/17 14:15)