At 2: Oakley Wants Back In
By: Bill Ingram Last Updated: 11/12/09 12:28 PM ET | 1392 times read
Adjust font size:Not so long ago one of the NBA's most feared enforcers was New York Knicks forward Charles Oakley. Anyone who committed a hard foul on Patrick Ewing, John Starks or any of Oakley's teammates would find themselves the victim of a hard back screen, or just a devastating hack on the way to the basket shortly thereafter. Oakley was part player, part bodyguard in a much tougher NBA, and spent time with the Chicago Bulls, Knicks, Toronto Raptors Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets during a career that spanned 19 years. Now he wants to impart some of his knowledge to the big men of today's NBA.
"I'm going to try and get into coaching, so I've been going to games and trying to get a feel for the flow and the vibe because I think there's a lot to be taught," Oakley tells HOOPSWORLD. "I'm going to send a package to all the different teams around the league and try to set up two or three big man camps over the summer. I'd like to help today's fours and fives understand the game better."
No one ever accused Oakley of not giving 110% every minute of every game he played in, and that's the primary value he hopes to instill in young players today.
"The most important thing is, they have to be willing to buy in. In anything you do, you have to be able to buy in to get better, no matter who you are or what you're trying to do in life. It might be small business, investments, or anything you want to do - in basketball, I think if some of these guys worked on their game even a little bit they could be much better. I don't see guys working as hard to realize their potential like we used to do. A lot of guys just don't put the effort into it, and if you don't put effort into it you're not going to get better."
It seems today's guards and small forwards are more easily adapting to the pro game than bigger players. Oakley offers up his explanation of why that is.
"Guys are coming out earlier, number one, and I think the guard position is easier to learn. It starts with dribbling the ball, and anyone who learns to play basketball learns to dribble the ball first. Once you start getting taller, you lose some of those skills. The skills a big man needs have to do with battling, working hard to establish position, running the court, lateral movement - if you're a guard, you're familiar with all of that and it doesn't change much at the pro level. When you're a big man, there's a bigger learning curve because the players in the NBA are so much bigger and stronger. It's a challenge, and you've really just got to be willing to learn."
Even Dwight Howard, arguably the best center in the NBA, has plenty of room to improve in Oakley's eyes.
"Dwight's a dunker - I think last year he took offense when people criticized his inside game. He's not like Kareem or Hakeem, legends in the post who knew how the post game should be played. People aren't trying to embarrass Dwight, they're trying to tell him to get better. Don't settle just because you're athletic and can dunk the ball."
As much as anything, Oakley wants to pass on the understanding that being a big man in the NBA is more than just scoring. There's a lot of dirty work to be done, and those who are willing to do it can have long, lucrative careers.
"I think when I'm sharing something with someone they need to feel what made me who I am. You have to stand your ground whether they catch on or not. The main thing that me and the guys who will run the big man camp is, we want to make them understand it's all about work - intensity and work ethic. When I played, I wasn't a guy who got a lot of shots. I had to work and do other things to get shots, get loose balls, get second-chance points, and I want to help guys understand they can get better without taking 20 shots a game. Getting loose balls, taking charges, and second-chance shots are even more important than the first shot sometimes."
Oakley was very influential in the development of Detroit Pistons forward Ben Wallace, fellow Virginia Union alum and one of the hardest-working big men in the league during his prime.
"The league is really short on big guys," says Oakley. "Ben Wallace played hard when he was at Virginia Union, got recruited out of college, and his career has been really great for just being someone who rebounds and blocks shots. He got deep into the playoffs for a few years, and when I was playing you couldn't dominate a game unless you were a scorer. It's just different now. The power forwards can't shoot any more. When I played, if you couldn't make a jump shot you weren't going to play. Rebounds and defense were nice, but you had to make the teams respect your jumper. Now we see a lot of guys just standing around and the offense doesn't click."
Anyone who's watched the NBA for more than the past eight years or so can attest to the fact that the league is sadly lacking in quality big man. Once upon a time you had to have a dominant center (or Michael Jordan) to compete for a championship. Now you can count the number of dominant centers on, well, two fingers. Perhaps Charles Oakley can help the modern big man evolve into the more dominant players, like those who ruled the paint not so long ago. Plenty of teams are bound to let him have a crack at it.
11/12/2009 4:36 PM
