
God bless this man. He's truly a gold mine. Anyhow, he's on the cover of the next ESPN Magazine as they did an interview with him.
LINK
A couple of snippets.
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ARE YOU CRAZY? (K: I love how that's the very first question)
What's crazy? You need to decide. On Twitter you could say I'm pretty crazy, or you could say I just have a weird sense of humor. Off the court you could say I'm pretty crazy, or you could say I'm just ghetto. On the court you could say I'm pretty crazy, or you could say I just play really hard. To each person, I could be a different person. So you need to decide. Of course, there have been times when I've done crazy things. But I don't think I'm crazy. I just grew up in a crazy world.
WHAT DO THE DOCTORS SAY?
Well, there is a history of mental illness in my family. My auntie is in the hospital right now. She's had her ups and downs. I've had mine too. I first saw a doctor when I was 13, when I was getting in a lot of trouble. If I felt I, or someone else, was being disrespected, I would pick a fight.
WHAT LED TO YOU HAVING THOSE FEELINGS?
I think a lot of it came from what happened to me as a kid. Some of it was my parents' divorce. A lot of it was getting teased for having ugly clothes and nappy hair. I got bullied so much at 11 and 12 that I became the bully. I didn't want to get bullied no more. And that just carried on through my life.
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WHEN DID IT BECOME ABOUT WINNING FOR YOU?
In Sacramento. When I got there, we were in last place in the West. Coach Rick Adelman said, "Ron, the team will go as far as you take us." Well, we went to the playoffs. But this is the important part: Outside of Mike Bibby, I was the go-to guy there. Every play was going through me. But we had Bonzi Wells, too, and he was playing well. So I said, "Coach, we should play through Bonzi." And what did Bonzi do in the playoffs? Averaged 23 and 12. Right there, I realized I cared a lot about winning. I also learned I'd be a good coach someday.
WAIT, YOU WANT TO BE A COACH?
I want to be a coach, bad. I'd love to coach the Knicks or St. John's, but I'd go anywhere. I want to coach immediately after I retire. I'd be good for a bunch of reasons. I know the little things, like how important spacing is. I also understand how to deal with players, so I'm able to coach a player like me now. I know when the problem is emotional versus selfishness. I've hurt teams with my selfishness, and I've hurt teams with my emotion. I know the difference. If a player doesn't listen to me, I know how to respond. And, of course, I know defense. It's not just physical; it's more than that. How do I get through a playoff game with only one foul, as physical as I am? It's about knowledge. I know every player's moves and tendencies. I know exactly where all 10 guys on the court are supposed to be, and when. I'm 100% sure this coaching thing will work. All I need is a good staff, and to watch more tape. One thing I don't do is watch tape. I gotta start if I want to coach.
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More at the link.
-- the preceding post was brought to you by the letter K and the number 22.