<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In this summer of professional sports gone tilt, the accountable often get overlooked. But they are out there, doing it the right way. For the second consecutive summer, Jameer Nelson invited all his Orlando Magic teammates to Philadelphia for a weeklong bonding session - at his expense. And every member of the team, except those involved with the Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas took Nelson up on his offer. The players arrived Sunday. Every day, they congregated at Summit Sports in Bryn Mawr for morning training under the direction of Jim Ferris. In the afternoon, they went to Haverford College for a 2-hour basketball run. At night, they went out to dinner as a team. Last night, the final evening together, they headed for Atlantic City. "This improves the relationship that you have with your guys," Nelson said. His Magic teammates in town included Rashard Lewis, Orlando's big free agent prize from Seattle. Nelson especially wanted Lewis there. "It's important for Rashard to come in hitting the ground running," Nelson said. "He's our superstar. It's good that he's here with the guys. Obviously, I am doing this to help us win." Lewis had heard about what Nelson and the Magic did last year. "When he called me and told me they were going to be doing it again this year, there was no hesitation on my part," Lewis said. "I figured it was a chance to get to know all these guys on a personal level before we go to training camp." Ferris is in charge of Summit's summer program. The Magic players got a dose of the boxing, yoga and running that are staples of the program. In addition to the training, the hoops, the dinners and the fun, the players also got a 40-minute lecture Wednesday morning from Dr. James B. Maas, a longtime professor of psychology at Cornell, the man who coined the term "power nap" and author of "Power Sleep". Maas explained that the vast majority of us are sleep deprived. He also explained that athletes who get the proper amount of sleep get a significant edge. His suggestions were all common sense that most of us never even consider. Go to sleep at the same time and get up at the same time. No alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime. No distractions when about to sleep. NBA players, of course, have some issues with late night flights and crazy schedules. But the point was still the point. A rested athlete is a better athlete. And, yes, they did play hoops. Wednesday afternoon, several Sixers, including Lou Williams, Jason Smith and Derrick Byars, joined the Magic players at Haverford. When word gets out about a run, the secret does not last long. Villanova's Kyle Lowry and Malik Allen were there. Yah Davis and Dwayne Jones from St. Joe's were there too. There was no scoreboard, clock or officials - just a bunch of guys running up and down the court, as a team from Florida got to know each better in Philadelphia because a player from Chester High and St. Joe's just wants to do it all right.</div> Source
Mad respect to Jameer for doing this. He's got his head in the right place. A team is only as good as the guy leading it, and he's our point guard. Where talent fails, chemistry prevails.
A leader on and off the court. Nelon is really proving his worth as an up and coming young star, and cornerstone of the Magic for years to come. I love the bonding and the "team" atmosphere away from the court. Well done Jameer.
<div class="quote_poster">MainMan Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Jameer is all around a cool dude. I just feel sorry for him cuz he wasted his money on pat garrity</div>
Did he invite STV? Probably not. But to see a player do this, is one of the classiest things you can do. He is showing his players that he wants to win and lead no matter what the cost. I bet all the Magic teammates are holding high regard to Nelson right now.
<div class="quote_poster">Master Shake Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Did he invite STV? Probably not. But to see a player do this, is one of the classiest things you can do. He is showing his players that he wants to win and lead no matter what the cost. I bet all the Magic teammates are holding high regard to Nelson right now.</div> Yeah and I've always thought Jameer Nelson of being a good guy. He's an experienced leader(4 years at Saint Joes.) and he just seems liek a real good team guy. I'm really glad to hear Rashard Lewis will attend too. They need to get him involved in as many Orlando extracurricular activities as possible, to make him feel at home.
<div class="quote_poster">The Walrus Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah and I've always thought Jameer Nelson of being a good guy. He's an experienced leader(4 years at Saint Joes.) and he just seems liek a real good team guy. I'm really glad to hear Rashard Lewis will attend too. They need to get him involved in as many Orlando extracurricular activities as possible, to make him feel at home.</div> They all should see SuperBad together and share popcorn. Nothing like teambonding. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting MainMan:</div><div class="quote_post">Jameer is all around a cool dude. I just feel sorry for him cuz he wasted his money on pat garrity</div> I think he invited the players who actually <font size=""7"">PLAY</font>. At least I hope he did.
All of the Magic players are there except Dwight and Redick who are doing Team USA events. I think it's great that Jameer did this all out of his own pocket. He did this last year too but less guys showed up. He took the team paintballing and stuff last season and then they all worked out. He knows that the closer a team is, the better their chemistry is. He's a great guy to have on our team.
<div class="quote_poster">Swish Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">He's a great guy to have on our team.</div> Exactly. Idk why Otis hasn't signed him to an extension...unless I missed it. I'm serious guys if we don't re-sign him, my prediction Philly's gonna go at him hard. And I'm sure he wouldn't think to much about returning home.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">They all should see SuperBad together and share popcorn. Nothing like team bonding.</div> Lmao, this isn't a father-son bonding trip here. Can you imagine, in Philly, all of the Orlando Magic in a theater. Everyone would have to sign autographs, except for Pat Garitty, all the fans would be like, how did that guy get to chill with you? I cab beat him 1-on-1.
Pat Garitty would be the guy who went and got popcorn and drinks, held the door open for others and even collected tickets and stood outside the door. He is the "go to guy". People got to him and he goes and gets the real players autographs!!!
