Jersey ceremony completes Alonzo Mourning's transformation

¹²³ · Mar 30, 2009

BY ISRAEL GUTIERREZ
igutierrez@MiamiHerald.com

Alonzo Mourning should cry when his jersey is raised to the rafters Monday.

He should cry because it will symbolize, more than anything else has yet, the end of a memorable playing career.

He should cry because his closest friends and family will be on hand watching, as will a once-distant relative who happened to save his life with a crucial donation.

He should cry because the Heat waited specifically for him before honoring anyone this way, making it that much more meaningful.

He should cry because he grew up with this franchise, and this franchise grew up because of him, and there's a symbiotic connection there that will forever be recognized after this once-in-a-lifetime, 24-minute celebration.

This is going to feel different than most of the jersey retirements you might have caught on television. And it's not just because Zo is our local hero, or because, outside of football, there are no other pro athletes here who have been honored this way.

It will carry additional weight because for the past 14 years, Mourning didn't just have a great basketball career with the Heat -- he has experienced a complete metamorphosis. And just thinking about that for more than a few minutes should be enough to make Mourning let it all out.

''I really expect it to be a very emotional moment for me,'' Mourning said. ``I'm truly, truly happy to have contributed to the franchise.''

Mourning usually isn't one to understate matters. Quite the opposite, actually. He specializes in over-the-top.

So to say that he has ''contributed to the franchise'' is easily among his most uncharacteristic comments.

He helped create a franchise. He gave it an identity when there was none. Tim Hardaway made most of the big shots and probably doesn't get as much credit for carrying the Heat in the late 1990s, but Mourning was the one who defined that era of Miami basketball.

All the while, he was forced to redefine himself.

The brawl with Larry Johnson was embarrassing enough to force some self-examination and make him realize he was misplacing his anger. His early relationship with the media, which wasn't much more pleasant than his relationship with Johnson, was enough to possibly cost him an MVP trophy in 1998 (at least that's one theory, and a pretty good one), and he changed his approach with them as well.

Just when it appeared he had it all figured out, coming home from Australia with a gold medal and to a new daughter, the next phase of Mourning's transformation stunned everyone.

A kidney disease changed him from an intimidator to an inspiration. And we watched it all up close, the fight, the passion, the unwillingness to listen to reason when everyone close to him told him how insignificant basketball was.

Because while he was going from angry punk with no perspective to perfect gentleman with endless wisdom, he was a part of the Heat. Even when he technically wasn't, he really was.

''Even when I left for [New Jersey in 2003], I was still coming back here working out in the [AmericanAirlines Arena practice] facility,'' Mourning said. ``The connection is always there, it's going to always be here.''

Anyone who watched the 2006 NBA Finals will probably say Mourning was the most effective center in the series -- at least in the four Heat wins of the series. The Heat wouldn't have won its first title without him.

It only made sense that once his personal growth was complete, the franchise would need him to complete itself.

''Even experiencing the pain and the embarrassment at times that I had to go through with the fight in New York and the injuries, the torn muscles and the broken bones, the operation,'' Mourning said. ``I'll go through all that again just to experience June 20, 2006, again.''

There's still a space with his nameplate above it in the Heat locker room.

And for the record, Mourning still thinks he can play. He could suit up Monday, if he had to. And he probably would convince himself he's the difference between the Heat being a tough playoff opponent to being the toughest opponent.

But this franchise is too protective of him. No one wants to see Mourning writhing in pain again the way he was when he tore his knee in December 2007, and owner Micky Arison told him as much. And the fact that Mourning is ignoring his competitive instincts and listening to those who truly care for him is proof that his transformation is complete anyway.

''The old saying goes, you don't know where you're going until you know where you've been,'' he said. ``I know where I've been.''

And after Monday, we know where he will be: in the rafters, forever the Heat's No. 33.
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¹²³ · Mar 31, 2009

Suicide lines: Heat retire Zo's No. 33, Big Z's missing game ball ...

[video=youtube;BDnF0wxFhfs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDnF0wxFhfs&feature=player_embedded[/video]

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