Linkage - Feb 13
The first Canadian to be a head coach in an NBA game took it just as the stereotype would suggest: Nothing to get too excited about, it’s not about me, one game in 82.
In essence, Jay Triano, who will stand in for head coach Sam Mitchell when the Raptors take on the New Jersey Nets tonight, was embarrassed by the attention his nationality was bringing him.
“I don’t think a whole lot of people think it’s that big a deal,” Triano said yesterday after practice. “It’s one game in our season and this is Sam’s team.”
The opportunity came about in less than ideal circumstances: Mitchell had to leave the team for Atlanta on Monday after his father-in-law died.
Just this past summer, Triano was invited to work with Team USA, which wanted to draw on his expertise in preparing for teams such as Argentina, Brazil and Puerto Rico. The hot-shooting kid from Niagara Falls, Ont., had the full attention of Kobe Bryant, who looked at him not as a Canadian, but as a basketball expert who could help him and his superstar teammates prepare for an important competition.
Which, ultimately, is why tonight’s game is so meaningful for Triano and the small but intrepid Canadian coaching fraternity, who through him and his success can at least validate their own technical know-how and basketball dedication.
Not because Triano is the first Canadian to have the chance to be an NBA head coach, even if it is in the briefest of cameos.
But because he has earned the right to be called coach first and Canadian second.
Worth mentioning is that there is an effort underway to set up a scholarship in the names of Codey and his teammates as a way to remember them, which seems like the right thing to do. The trust fund is in the memory of the Boys in Red. The information for those wanting to donate is as follows:
CIBC
270 Douglas Ave
Bathurst, NB E2A 1M9
Phone:506-548-8838
Financial Institution: 010
Branch Number: 00074
Account Number: 22-20032
Account Name: Boys in Red.
You can send a cheque or make an electronic transfer. Similarly you can walk into any CIBC branch in Canada and contribute that way.
And one other note: it’s kind of routine to bash Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. and who knows, they might even deserve it sometimes. But there are some pretty special people working there. Some members of the Raptors community relations staff met the Branch family before the game last night and brought them courtside where they met some members of the team and Chuck and Leo and the rest, which was a nice touch. And then there’s Kevin DiPietro, the Raptors long-time equipment manager and, if truth be told, the brains behind the whole basketball operation. He learned that Patrick – Codey’s 6-foot-8 inch, 15-year-old brother – was having a hard time finding basketball shoes at home. In about 30 seconds Kevin had whipped up a bag with Raptors practice gear etc. and not only a pair of size 16 Nikes for now, but a pair of size 17s, which Patrick will likely grow into some time next month, at the rate he’s going. Basketball shoes flow like water around an NBA team, but it takes a thoughtful person to dip their cup into the river and offer a thirsty kid a drink.
"Sam has to deal with [general manager] Bryan [Colangelo], and different things and trade talks, and has to deal with the media every day," Triano said. "As an assistant, I wake up in the morning thinking about how to win basketball games, and you go to bed at night thinking about the same thing. It’s pretty pure and simple as far as loving the sport and what you’re doing."
Still, tonight’s opportunity is something of a validation for Triano.
As for the next frontier - a Canadian becoming a permanent head coach of an NBA team - Triano said there just needs to be a pioneer, not unlike Steve Nash re-creating the mold for Canadians.
If it counts for anything, Chris Bosh believes it is an inevitability.
"History will be made some day. Canadians just got to keep the hope alive."
So can Jamario come up with something new? Can Moon reach the stars?
"Yep. At least one dunk, nobody’s ever seen it before," promises teammate Joey Graham, a fine dunker himself. "Ever. I know one of his dunks defies the laws of gravity, and all that kind of good stuff. It’s ridiculous. If he can pull it off, I mean - I don’t know too many people that could pull it off. Because of the way he’s built, so light, and so long, and his athleticism, he could do it."
The 6-foot-8, 205-pound Moon has six dunks prepared - "I think we only need four, but I got six, just in case," he says - but only Graham and Maceo Baston have seen all of them. They are the two guys in the clever YouTube video produced by NBA Entertainment, in which Moon flushes a routine alley-oop windmill, and a simple alley-oop 360, before the camera is moved down.
Then comes the dynamite. Then, all you see is Moon’s takeoff point, two feet or so behind the free-throw line, before hearing the rattle and thump of the rim, and the whoops and squeals of Graham and Baston.
For comparison’s sake, that is about two feet further back than Michael Jordan or Dr. J dunked from in the big show. For comparison’s sake, that is the dunk contest equivalent of going to Mars. And Moon is not just going to run up and cram it - he’s going to run the court, take off from the next state, catch a bounce pass from Kapono and pound it in off the back rim. It’s the only one of his six planned slams that we know, maybe, to expect.
"All I got to say is if you’re going to be in New Orleans, you might get to see it," Moon says. "If I have to pull that dunk, that’s going to be the dunk that’s going to do it."
"I don’t think a whole lot of people know,” he began yesterday as a cadre of microphones and lights greeted Triano following the team’s practice. "I don’t think a whole lot of people think it’s that big a deal.
"To be honest, it’s one game in our season. This is Sam’s team. The philosophy we’re going in with is the same one he has."
As the basketball fates would have it, the Nets are Triano’s scout team, just like the San Antonio Spurs were the scout team assigned to fellow assistant Mike Evans, who served in Mitchell’s absence in Monday’s 93-88 loss.
"It just so happens that it’s my turn in the rotation,” Triano said. "There’s nothing different. I’m not changing in terms of preparation or personality.
Conspicuous by his absence at yesterday’s practice was point guard T.J. Ford, who sprained his right wrist (shooting hand) in Monday’s 93-88 loss to the visiting San Antonio Spurs.
Ford played fewer than nine minutes against the defending NBA champions and was not successful on any of his four shots from the field.
When asked about Mitchell’s spirits, Evans said: "As well as can be expected. He’s there (in Georgia) supporting his wife and her family.
"He’s doing what husbands and fathers do."
"I’m just trying to brand myself off the court," said Bosh. "I think right now when you think of me, you think of more of a basketball player and that’s it. My life is a lot more than that. I’m just trying to show depth, I guess, or show people that I have different parts of me that they’ve never seen."
It’s an interesting sideline for Bosh, who has produced all his video work in what he calls "a little mini Hollywood" – a.k.a. his waterfront condo.
Bosh has done a few ads, most recently an ESPN spot that coincided with the season’s outset. But this is something different, a little indie cinema from the multi-millionaire athlete.
"This is going to be what I want to do in the future … that character (Harrington), he’s a vehicle to get that across," he said. "People are asking me, do I want to be an actor? So I guess I’m doing a decent job."
Said T.J. Ford, Bosh’s locker room neighbour: "(The car salesman act) was different, surprising, pretty hilarious, I guess. I haven’t seen the new one. I’ll have to YouTube it when I get to the locker room."
That’s exactly the reaction Bosh, who never acted in a high school play or took a drama class, is hoping for. (Jose Calderon, the Raptors point guard, admitted that he only voted for Bosh for the all-star starting lineup after he saw Bosh’s video shtick).
Yesterday, the view counter on the Blane Harrington video passed the 52,000 mark. Bosh hopes to attract a few hundred thousand hits before he releases the second instalment, which he figures will be good enough to lure one million sets of eyeballs.
"I’m just trying to put myself out there and market myself, because I think people really like that," said Bosh.
"You can be an eight-time all-star and nobody knows it or nobody likes you. I want to be likeable. I want people to know I’m a good guy.
"And I want to have success on the court, too."
Or take Raptors big man Chris Bosh, who used the All-Star voting process to build his brand up and overcome a similar problem of under-exposure — the Raptors have three NBA-TV games this second half but, like the Hornets, won’t appear on the major networks. Bosh campaigned for himself with a goofy, lo-fi video in which he played a Texan used car salesman. In a follow-up, the low-key Raptor played Blane Harrington, a nerdy, Oxford-educated reporter dispatched to cover Bosh. If Bosh had waited until the playoffs to unveil this side of his personality, he might’ve been accused of lacking focus.
Ask him about it, and he will tell you he has more characters in mind. He knows one imitation that will not become a Youtube sensation, however.
"I don’t have a Sam Mitchell," Bosh said at practice on Tuesday.
Really?
"I do, but I can’t say it."
Bosh and fellow teammate and impersonation specialist Anthony Parker are scared of their coach.
"It’s not that we’re scared," Bosh said, before pausing. "Yeah, yeah. I guess I am."
But Bosh has no desire to become the "voice" that Arenas has. Arenas criticized Jose Calderon’s all-star credentials - the Raptors guard was not named to the East team - in a Tuesday post on his nba.com blog. Earlier in the year, he hammered Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala, Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor and Chicago’s Ben Gordon and Luol Deng for turning down big-money contract extensions.
"I want to put stuff out there where there can’t be a negative side to it," Bosh said. "I’m not talking bad about anyone else. I’m staying positive. I want to make it where people can’t talk about it in a negative way. Because if you do that, it’s like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Just lighten up.’"
In Bosh’s mind, there is a happy medium between the hyper-opinionated personality of a guy such as Arenas, and the stereotypical, cliché-spewing athlete.
Given the choice between the two, Bosh still leans toward the latter. At least on the court.
"You won’t see those [characters] at the game or anything," Bosh said. "But I have some ideas that I think are pretty fresh."
As someone who had been following Jamario Moon’s career the past few years, we figured he’s be the perfect person to chat with about Moon and his development from CBA to NBA. Frankie graciously agreed and the following is Part I of our chat:
The best keep secret in the NBA. Moon was undrafted and is an unheard-of 27-year-old rookie. His last name gives justice to how high he can jump. He is rumoured to have over a 50 inch vertical. He previewed hi dunks on YouTube and one showed him jumping 2 feet behind the foul line. 2 feet! That’s something out of a video game. He gives Raptors fans wet dreams. He is also helping fans forgot about a little someone who decided he wanted out of Toronto and took with him his dunking ability (Vince Carter.)
Chew on this: Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish brand is teaming up with the NBA to promote youth fitness and healthful eating through the league’s Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA and NBA FIT program. Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh are serving as the program’s ambassadors.
The partnership rolls out this week in New Orleans at NBA All-Star 2008 with clinics and activities on Friday and Saturday.
Anyway, Jim and Tom were chatting, and Tom mentioned Chris Bosh’s side "business" of CBTV, where he produces YouTube videos for those willing to search for Chris Bosh. Tom said some of the stuff was quite funny. Jim expressed interest in looking them up. Apparently, they may be quite the thing in Toronto. I’ll give Bosh credit for doing these, and for apparently not getting much outside help, and for being willing to appear to be just a really tall web-nerd. Otherwise, I am not sure what to say.
- I Dislike Your Favorite Team
Toronto: Chris Bosh is scoring (22.4 RPG) and rebounding (9.2). Jose Calderon is playing like an All-Star (no matter what Gilbert Arenas says). Jason Kapono is sniping away (51 percent from three-point range). And Jamario Moon is a rookie sensation. But the Raptors haven’t really improved at all. They’re currently 27-23. This time last season, they were…27-23. What gives?
Hardwood Paroxysm says: The regular season version of your mom’s meatloaf. It’s pretty good, but it’s nothing special if you’re having guests over.
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