Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

Practice

Show up on time. Pay attention. Play like hell.

Those were the only three rules that John Madden, the long-time NFL TV analyst, had while coaching the Oakland Raiders.

Allen Iverson, the star-crossed point/shooting guard late of the Philadelphia 76ers, apparently got only part of that memo. Play like hell. No one, especially no one 6-0, 165 pounds (officially) has ever left more of himself on the basketball floor. As Bob Ryan writes in today’s Boston Globe: “He maxes out on sheer athleticism, for openers, and he outmaxes the maxing out in both competitiveness and toughness. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he has played more games that no one else could possibly have played than any player in the history of the game. Allen Iverson is Brett Favre’s alter ego.” In terms of statistics, Iverson is arguably the biggest small man of all time. He has won 4 NBA scoring titles. This season he is averaging 31.2 points and 7.3 assists per game.

For the rest of it, ESPN will never let us forget one of the all-time rants – “we talkin’ ‘bout practice” – when Iverson heard that one of his coaches, Larry Brown, had criticized his practice habits. The transcript cannot do justice to Iverson’s tone.

It’s easy to talk about, it’s easy to sum it up when you just talk about practice. We sittin’ in here, I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talkin’ about practice. I mean listen, we talkin bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game. We talkin bout practice. Not a game, not a, not a, not the game that I go out there and die for, and play every game like its my last. Not the game. We talkin’ bout practice, man. I mean how silly is that? We talkin’ bout practice. I know I’m supposed to be there, I know I’m supposed to lead by example. I know that, and I’m not shovin’ it aside, you know, like it don’t mean anything. I know its important, I do. I honestly do. But we talkin’ bout practice, man. What are we talkin’ bout? Practice? We talkin’ bout practice man. We talk... We talkin’ bout practice. We talkin’ bout practice. We ain’t talkin’ bout the game, we talkin’ bout practice, man. When you come into the arena, and you see me play, you see me play, don’t you? You see me give everything I got, right? But we talkin’ bout practice right now. We talkin’ bout practice. (crowd laughs) Man look, I hear you, its funny to me too. I mean, its strange, its strange to me too. But we talkin’ bout practice man. We not even talkin’ bout the game, the actual game, when it matters. We talkin’ bout practice.

Iverson showed up to practices and team functions when he felt like it. He listened to coaches when he felt like it. And, as Ryan delicately puts it, “there is also the matter of wondering about what Allen is doing in his free time (hint: he’s not attending ‘The Nutcracker’).”

Ryan takes a particular interest in Iverson today because the moody superstar has demanded a trade. After 11 years of his act, with a 5-15 record and going nowhere fast, Philadelphia is only too happy to accommodate him. Golden State, Minnesota and Boston are thought to be the leading contenders. Ryan clearly thinks Boston would be, how shall we say, insane to take him on. Iverson is an old 31, having lived life hard on and off the basketball floor. More to the point, Iverson never learned the lesson that Magic Johnson and Larry Bird knew from the cradle and Michael Jordan eventually learned:

When one can get off a shot anytime one wishes and when one can (or thinks he can) dribble through entire teams, and one can pretty much pull off any athletic feat one wishes during the course of a basketball game, one all too often arrives at the conclusion that one should, in fact, act on one’s impulses at any given point in time. Team dynamics be damned. What is the recurrent story of Allen Iverson’s NBA career? Simple. It’s the ongoing attempt of general managers and coaches to find players who might be compatible with him. . . . Ten-plus years into his career, there is little evidence to suggest that Iverson is coachable. Ah yes, coaches. I’d pay serious cash money to attend a meeting of the Allen Iverson Alumni Coaches Association. I’d like to hear them talk about how difficult it is to create a team atmosphere when the most gifted player is openly disdainful of practice.

Ryan gives full credit to Iverson for bringing the modestly-talented 76er team of 2000-2001 through to the NBA Finals. But that was six years ago, when Larry Brown (barely) was able to get through to Iverson for a brief shining moment, at a time when his game was at its peak. Iverson differs from many modern athletic superstars: when he does show up, he plays hard. But that was not good enough then. And it certainly isn’t good enough now. He is, as Jim Mora Sr. spoke the truth about Michael Vick, a coach killer. And some coach is about to get the bad news.

Discussions - 4 Comments

That’s a great statement. Even John Thompson couldn’t coach/mold Iverson. But imagine what he could have achieved in the context of the either the Celtics or the Lakers at their best as teams.

Allen Iverson would be a great fit with the Indiana Pacers. He, Jermaine O’Neal, and Stephen Jackson would make a terrific trio both offensively and defensively. O’Neal would give Iverson someone athletic enough to dish off to in the paint on the drive and Jackson could stay on the wings and be a constant threat for a kickout and slash. It would be a decent trade for the Sixers too. They could get Jamaal Tinsley to drop assists to Iguodala, Webber, and Rodney Carney, spreading the ball to their offensive weapons. The Pacers could throw in Jeff Foster for some cash from the ’Sixers to even it all out. That’s what I’d do.

Prof. Lawler,

I often wonder at what I could have achieved as coach of the Lakers or Celtics when they were at their best in the 80s. Or, for that matter, what my 3 month old niece could have done with them or the collective brain-force of the Ashbrook Scholars, or anyone on this Earth. I imagine it would have been pretty nice.

He is good, but he could be better ... with practice and the will to be part of a team.

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