If Bayless keeps this work ethic up, and along with his demeanor/ mental mindset; with some more experience I think he'd be a great natural leader for this team. . . . maybe even more so than Brandon is. Brandon is a lot more passive (and about himself this year it seems). Bayless just wants to win, no matter what, and just watching Martell respond to him, he already has a 'leader by example' type presence on court. Either way, between Roy and Bayless, we have two excellent 4th quarter warriors.
From an average watch 'em on the TV fan's perspective, we can only speculating on how a player attains greatness, but my guess is that it's much more decided by the genes more then a matter of who works out the most. Of course some reasonable level of professional dedication is required, but to my eyes greatness is usually a matter of is or isn't rather then could be. I can come up with examples of HOF players who were actually portrayed as poor practice players with lousy diets... like Clyde. And having just referenced the coverage, it goes without saying that Kobe's image is a corporate creation... like say Tiger Woods image is. I take anything being fed to me about guys like that with a few shakes of salt... especially so w/KB as he seems very image conscious/two-faced. To the OP, if Jerryd can knock down the sideline 3 at a 40%ish clip, he'll be starting by next season. He's got great form and can get separation on his own plus the size, quickness and strength to reasonably guard both 1s & 2s... on paper he should be able to achieve this. How frequently he'll be able to put it together on the skills end will determine his career path. He should get plenty of PT this season to help answer that question. I like the chances of Bayless Rudy Roy and Batum blending together and developing into something special. STOMP
From the amount of sources that have talked about it, I don't take it with a grain of salt at all. I have seen is on everything from NBATV to interviews with other players who went and worked out with Kobe during the summer to see how he approached it. Most of the players come back wide eyed and illuminated about what they are up against.
if we were NBA players who worked out together all summer, and I dunked on you at will every day you'd probably be wide eyed about what you were up against as well. If I'm able to do that, I probably can also perform other physical feats that leave you bugging out. All of these guys work out for hours a day, some are just more blessed with physical gifts then others. As a kid I'd go with my buddy Joel to the Jewish Community Center to shoot hoops. On separate occasions I got to see Paxson and Petro going through drills and then hour long shooting workouts with ball boys. Both guys would get it going to the point they'd go a minute plus without missing from deep making 40 50 and even 100+ shots in a row from deep (Petro put on an unbelievable show). They had set routines that both they and their assistant knew by heart as if they'd done them a million times. How much practice does it take to go a minute plus without missing from 3s? I've seen portrayals of unbelievably grueling daily workouts done by scrub players in many sports doing everything possible to get a minimum contract. It takes a whole lot more then that to be great. Shaq would be a prime example of this. Dude has been fat for most of his career and yet will be in top 10 all time discussions. Greatness is. STOMP
I recall a Bayless interview where he claimed to be such a work out nut that he spends 20-30 minutes in the ice tub a day to keep the inflammation in his joints and muscles down after he's done... this has been the same since high school. Certainly he seems to be training and focused on getting the most out of what he has... and for all I really know his workouts put Kobe's to shame. STOMP
Sergio was mentioned many times by players for always spending extra time lifting weights, which surprised me. Apparently only Greg lifted more often.
Yes, of course. And when he wasn't lifting weights with his spare time he was volunteering for The United Way, Meals on Wheals, & various Animal Shelters. And let's not forget how instrumental he's been in the search for a cure for cancer. Let's face it. There has never been a better basketball player, or a better man to ever come through these parts.
