Rocco
Watching you.
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 11,974
- Like
- 26,081
Excerpt from an ESPN article:
"Waiters has a message for all 30 GMs in the league.
"I'm not a bad kid. And I can play defense," he says with a smile after completing an hour workout with Abunassar.
Waiters obviously has his ear to the ground and bristles at the characterization that he's a troublemaker.
The concerns spawn from an awkward situation last summer when Waiters and head coach Jim Boeheim questioned whether they could coexist anymore.
Waiters came to Syracuse ranked as a top-15 prospect by ESPN and expected to contribute right away. However, he showed up to school in less-than-ideal conditioning. Boeheim became frustrated with his lack of intensity on the defensive end. The media picked up on some poor body language. By the end of the season, Waiters and Boeheim were at odds.
"He had nothing to be frustrated about because he was 100 percent wrong," Boeheim told The New York Times. "He played no defense last year. Not some. None."
Waiters, however, stuck it out. "I called my mom after almost every game crying," he told me on Tuesday. "But she just told me to keep going. To not give up. I'm glad I listened to her. I matured this year."
"I came to Syracuse a boy," Waiters added. "I left as a man."
Waiters came back in the best shape of his career. He embraced his role as the team's sixth man. He showed off point guard skills that scouts didn't know he had. He was Syracuse's best player. Coach Boeheim praised him all year. However, the questions persist.
"A lot of people judge me, but they don't know me," Waiters said. "I'm a good kid. I've never been in trouble. I've never been arrested. I don't hang around bad people. I was immature when I came to school. I was overwhelmed. But I put in the work to get better. Coach and I didn't bump heads all season. I'm very coachable. I just needed a little room to grow."
Waiters grew up in a tough situation in Philly. He left his family at the age of 15 to attend prep school. The move was traumatic for him. In the last year, he told me, he lost three cousins and a best friend. So if he looks too serious, it's because life, both on and off the court, is serious business for him.
Waiters also says that people misread his body language on the court. "You don't see Kobe smiling on the court. When I'm out there, it's all business. I want to win. I want to destroy my opponent. That's my focus. Smiling is for after the game, not during it."
On the court, in Vegas, Waiters is all business. He's in terrific shape, showed off an improved jump shot in workouts and can be explosive with the ball. But the real highlight show began later that afternoon when the five-on-five play began.
Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs and Florida State's Michael Snaer both took turns trying to guard him, and they didn't have much luck. On Wednesday, he again dominated in three-on-three play."
Wishing all the best for that kid.
"Waiters has a message for all 30 GMs in the league.
"I'm not a bad kid. And I can play defense," he says with a smile after completing an hour workout with Abunassar.
Waiters obviously has his ear to the ground and bristles at the characterization that he's a troublemaker.
The concerns spawn from an awkward situation last summer when Waiters and head coach Jim Boeheim questioned whether they could coexist anymore.
Waiters came to Syracuse ranked as a top-15 prospect by ESPN and expected to contribute right away. However, he showed up to school in less-than-ideal conditioning. Boeheim became frustrated with his lack of intensity on the defensive end. The media picked up on some poor body language. By the end of the season, Waiters and Boeheim were at odds.
"He had nothing to be frustrated about because he was 100 percent wrong," Boeheim told The New York Times. "He played no defense last year. Not some. None."
Waiters, however, stuck it out. "I called my mom after almost every game crying," he told me on Tuesday. "But she just told me to keep going. To not give up. I'm glad I listened to her. I matured this year."
"I came to Syracuse a boy," Waiters added. "I left as a man."
Waiters came back in the best shape of his career. He embraced his role as the team's sixth man. He showed off point guard skills that scouts didn't know he had. He was Syracuse's best player. Coach Boeheim praised him all year. However, the questions persist.
"A lot of people judge me, but they don't know me," Waiters said. "I'm a good kid. I've never been in trouble. I've never been arrested. I don't hang around bad people. I was immature when I came to school. I was overwhelmed. But I put in the work to get better. Coach and I didn't bump heads all season. I'm very coachable. I just needed a little room to grow."
Waiters grew up in a tough situation in Philly. He left his family at the age of 15 to attend prep school. The move was traumatic for him. In the last year, he told me, he lost three cousins and a best friend. So if he looks too serious, it's because life, both on and off the court, is serious business for him.
Waiters also says that people misread his body language on the court. "You don't see Kobe smiling on the court. When I'm out there, it's all business. I want to win. I want to destroy my opponent. That's my focus. Smiling is for after the game, not during it."
On the court, in Vegas, Waiters is all business. He's in terrific shape, showed off an improved jump shot in workouts and can be explosive with the ball. But the real highlight show began later that afternoon when the five-on-five play began.
Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs and Florida State's Michael Snaer both took turns trying to guard him, and they didn't have much luck. On Wednesday, he again dominated in three-on-three play."
Wishing all the best for that kid.
