October 6, 2003

• Newcomers to the sport of basketball don't even know who Penny Hardaway is. But to a player like me, who understands basketball beyond yellow and purple stripes, and flashy-I-think-I-am-Jordan dunks, Penny Hardaway still holds great value to a team that wants to win.
  
  Below is an article written by Ric Bucher of the ESPN Magazine awhile back. Worth reading if you actually want to learn more about basketball beyond the last 4 seasons.
  
  
  
  
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  This old Penny still possesses plenty of value
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  By Ric Bucher
  ESPN The Magazine
  
  When LeBron James recently said he envisioned himself being the next Penny Hardaway, he made an important distinction -- the "early" Penny, he said.
  
  Distinction II: Late Penny isn't looking too bad, either. Credit rookie Amare Stoudemire as the reason the Suns are a playoff team again if you like, but the fact is Phoenix had a losing record with Amare and without Hardaway. Other than wins and losses it's hard to define what Hardaway means to the Suns with numbers. But if you understand the rhythms of basketball and you've seen Phoenix with and without him, you know how much easier he makes the game simple by knowing how to space the floor, spot up, shoot on the catch or attack the rim, get up on an opponent or play the passing lanes -- and doing it all with a limited number of touches and noticeably reduced athleticism.
  
  Penny Hardaway makes the game simpler for the Suns."Some guys just have a court presence and that's Penny," forward Jake Voskuhl said. "He's one of the smartest players I've ever known."
  
  I know, I know, it's practically a hoops faux pas to give Penny props at this stage of his career. Reminding everyone who Penny once was feels on par with exhuming bones from a grave and putting them on display in the town square. Long forgotten is the All-NBA first-teamer considered a lock-solid franchise cornerstone as a 6-foot-7 point guard with a tight handle, extraordinary court vision and a high basketball IQ who's fearless about taking the big shot but not hesitant to find an open teammate. His more memorable legacy among some hoop-a-holics is that he helped push Shaquille O'Neal out of Orlando, then wore out his own welcome with a series of suspicious knee injuries, signed a massive $86 million sign-and-trade contract and then never lived up to it and blew a chance to resurrect himself in Phoenix. Synopsis: Too expensive, too soft and too sensitive. In all, too much.
  
  At least credit Hardaway for knowing his rap and putting aside the desire to prove it wrong at the Suns' expense. He admittedly butted heads with Stephon Marbury last season over floor leadership and felt humiliated when coach Frank Johnson told him last summer that he'd have to compete for a starting job with Joe Johnson and Casey Jacobsen. He put all that aside, though, and, despite a midseason thumb injury that sidelined him for several weeks, he has found a way to provide a calming influence, smart decisions and key baskets even with Marbury directing the offense. Ask the Suns and they'll tell you Penny is still sensitive, but he shot a career high from 3-point range (35.6 percent) despite wearing a brace on that troublesome thumb since early March.
  
  "Injuries made people lose confidence in me," Hardaway says, "but I never lost confidence in myself. I can scream and yell that I can still play but unless I prove it, people will say, 'Yeah, Penny, whatever.' If I've learned anything, it's that you can't take anything for granted."
  
  The Suns can lop off the last two years of Hardaway's existing contract after next season. He'll be 33 by then and not likely to be worth the $14.625 million and $15.75 million he's scheduled to make. But don't be surprised, should he stay healthy, if he's a reasonably hot property on the free-agent market. His steady jump shot and court awareness are assets that will only sweeten with age.
  
  "He knows how to play," Shawn Marion said. "He knows the game. And he's been places."
  
  Not all places that he would care to visit again. But for all the questions about his commitment or desire, he's made it back to the floor and back to the playoffs. That's more than can be said for Grant Hill, Matt Geiger, Vince Carter, Terrell Brandon or Big Country Reeves. Some took the money and ran. Some haven't, or couldn't, overcome their injuries. I'm not knocking them, but would you have expected Penny to be the exception?
  
  "I've put my ego aside," Hardaway says. "I think I can still be a 25-point scorer. But it's not my team anymore and my goal is to win a championship. I can pass on a lot of information. I'm just never going to be the 21-year-old Penny Hardaway again."
  
  Sounds as if he doesn't have to be. LeBron is ready and willing.
  
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  ESPN ARTICLE LINK
  
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  Not since highschool have I played on a basketball team where more than one of my teammates is willingly sharing the basketball, or would they share the ball intelligently when they DO share.
  
  It feels like crap to play on a team that is filled with players who had never played a day of organized basketball prior to slapping a team together.
  
  Being part of an organized team is a humbling experience, and at the same time condifence-building. You learned to see how worthless your athleticism is when you don't execute the plays properly and timely. You see how big the court opens up when you and your teammates work together. You also learn value the importance of 6 hour practices, as they make the game seem so much more relaxing.
  
  Now most of the guys that wanted me to join their team in a league all think they can play the tournament games like a pick up game. When I insist on practicing, the ingenius captain made us run a play that he's so proud of coming up with, he completely neglected the fact that his play doesn't work against zone defense - which is what most teams play in a basketball league.
  
  The problem with these ballers is that all they ever remember about the game of basketball are highlights. They all wanna be the person who scores the points, or the person who gets the assists.
  
  One-pass offense. Like that's really gonna work against a team that knows its defense.
  
  The media covering the NBA games doesn't promote team games. This is why an extraordinary team player like Penny gets so much respect from me, because he actually truly understands that the game is bigger than just one person.

  • 3:56 pm
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