T Park
03-03-2005, 01:36 AM
Buck Harvey: Mohammed's journey: This is no test
Web Posted: 03/03/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Tony Parker went behind his back with a ball-fake midway through the third quarter, then scored. A few minutes later Gregg Popovich tried to be as clever.
Want to see the new Spur? From behind Popovich's back, supported by a 21-point lead, came Nazr Mohammed.
Popovich had basketball reasons to wait more than a half to launch the home debut of the Man Who Replaced Malik Rose. But Popovich had emotional reasons, too. The Spurs want to put Mohammed in positions to succeed, and Wednesday fit into that.
But this is mostly about the Spurs avoiding unnecessary tension for themselves. Mohammed doesn't need much protection. He's already endured the New York market, as well as three years at high-pressure Kentucky, and he's been through much more in recent years.
Murder. Loss. Shock.
Given Mohammed's life, would a few boos really hurt him?
As it was, Mohammed heard none Wednesday. Anyone with any sense understands Mohammed didn't trade himself here, and, besides, anyone who watched him against Toronto had no reason to voice displeasure. Mohammed, in his few minutes, blocked a shot, gave a tough foul and threw in a smooth, turnaround jumper.
It doesn't mean he will impact the season, but he has yet to show he won't. In Cleveland on Monday, when Popovich didn't mind playing Mohammed in front of strangers, Mohammed showed some life.
An example: He managed to shoot four free throws, and Rasho Nesterovic didn't shoot as many in all of February.
These are small steps, but Mohammed understands them. Part of fitting in is recognizing where your teammates are coming from, and that's why his only question to Popovich when he arrived was about Tim Duncan. Mohammed wanted to know how Duncan took losing a friend such as Rose.
As for Mohammed taking the place of a popular player: "I feel more for Malik than for myself. I wasn't the one leaving a place where I had been a long time."
This is the outlook of someone who has seen the other side, and Mohammed did years ago. He grew up in Chicago with 10 brothers and sisters, but with his mother on another continent. Through it all he had his father, Tahiru, originally from Ghana, determined to carve out a living for his family.
"My father used to say he was the jack of all trades," Mohammed said, smiling, "and the master of none."
Tahiru started with a gas station. Opened an African-cuisine restaurant. Drove a cab, then added cabs until he owned a fleet of 11. "My father was a strong man with a strong will," Mohammed said. "I thought he would outlive me."
Tahiru saw Nazr grow into a Kentucky recruit, and grow and grow. Mohammed weighed 315 pounds when he left high school. "Just a big kid," he said, "who did the things all teenagers do. Yeah, I ate a lot of McDonald's."
Rick Pitino told Mohammed to get down to 250 if he wanted to play. When school started that next fall, Mohammed weighed exactly that.
He went on to help win two national championships at Kentucky, the second in San Antonio in 1998, and became a first-round draft pick. With that came first-round money, and Nazr asked Tahiru what he could do for him.
His father said: "Nothing. Help me by helping your brothers and sisters."
Tahiru instead ventured out again on his own. He was preparing to open an auto parts store in July 2000 when a man killed him with a baseball bat.
Nazr went to the trial, and he was there the day when the accused was found guilty. The sentence was 42 years in prison for the murder charge and an additional 10 years for an armed robbery conviction.
Mohammed struggled. He couldn't bring himself to erase his father's number from his cell phone, because it felt as if his father might call one day.
He said he grew that summer, and he leaned on the advice of a rugged immigrant to get through. "My father would always say that when you think things are tough," Mohammed said, "something tougher comes along."
And that brings Mohammed to San Antonio and the supposed anxiety that comes with an emotional trade.
Something tougher?
To Mohammed, playing basketball for the team with the league's best record can't be
Web Posted: 03/03/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Tony Parker went behind his back with a ball-fake midway through the third quarter, then scored. A few minutes later Gregg Popovich tried to be as clever.
Want to see the new Spur? From behind Popovich's back, supported by a 21-point lead, came Nazr Mohammed.
Popovich had basketball reasons to wait more than a half to launch the home debut of the Man Who Replaced Malik Rose. But Popovich had emotional reasons, too. The Spurs want to put Mohammed in positions to succeed, and Wednesday fit into that.
But this is mostly about the Spurs avoiding unnecessary tension for themselves. Mohammed doesn't need much protection. He's already endured the New York market, as well as three years at high-pressure Kentucky, and he's been through much more in recent years.
Murder. Loss. Shock.
Given Mohammed's life, would a few boos really hurt him?
As it was, Mohammed heard none Wednesday. Anyone with any sense understands Mohammed didn't trade himself here, and, besides, anyone who watched him against Toronto had no reason to voice displeasure. Mohammed, in his few minutes, blocked a shot, gave a tough foul and threw in a smooth, turnaround jumper.
It doesn't mean he will impact the season, but he has yet to show he won't. In Cleveland on Monday, when Popovich didn't mind playing Mohammed in front of strangers, Mohammed showed some life.
An example: He managed to shoot four free throws, and Rasho Nesterovic didn't shoot as many in all of February.
These are small steps, but Mohammed understands them. Part of fitting in is recognizing where your teammates are coming from, and that's why his only question to Popovich when he arrived was about Tim Duncan. Mohammed wanted to know how Duncan took losing a friend such as Rose.
As for Mohammed taking the place of a popular player: "I feel more for Malik than for myself. I wasn't the one leaving a place where I had been a long time."
This is the outlook of someone who has seen the other side, and Mohammed did years ago. He grew up in Chicago with 10 brothers and sisters, but with his mother on another continent. Through it all he had his father, Tahiru, originally from Ghana, determined to carve out a living for his family.
"My father used to say he was the jack of all trades," Mohammed said, smiling, "and the master of none."
Tahiru started with a gas station. Opened an African-cuisine restaurant. Drove a cab, then added cabs until he owned a fleet of 11. "My father was a strong man with a strong will," Mohammed said. "I thought he would outlive me."
Tahiru saw Nazr grow into a Kentucky recruit, and grow and grow. Mohammed weighed 315 pounds when he left high school. "Just a big kid," he said, "who did the things all teenagers do. Yeah, I ate a lot of McDonald's."
Rick Pitino told Mohammed to get down to 250 if he wanted to play. When school started that next fall, Mohammed weighed exactly that.
He went on to help win two national championships at Kentucky, the second in San Antonio in 1998, and became a first-round draft pick. With that came first-round money, and Nazr asked Tahiru what he could do for him.
His father said: "Nothing. Help me by helping your brothers and sisters."
Tahiru instead ventured out again on his own. He was preparing to open an auto parts store in July 2000 when a man killed him with a baseball bat.
Nazr went to the trial, and he was there the day when the accused was found guilty. The sentence was 42 years in prison for the murder charge and an additional 10 years for an armed robbery conviction.
Mohammed struggled. He couldn't bring himself to erase his father's number from his cell phone, because it felt as if his father might call one day.
He said he grew that summer, and he leaned on the advice of a rugged immigrant to get through. "My father would always say that when you think things are tough," Mohammed said, "something tougher comes along."
And that brings Mohammed to San Antonio and the supposed anxiety that comes with an emotional trade.
Something tougher?
To Mohammed, playing basketball for the team with the league's best record can't be