Donnie and the Little General
I'm not the type that gets "starstruck" by any stretch of the imagination. But I must admit, I was thrilled yesterday to interview two important figures in the Dallas Mavericks' organization - president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and coach Avery Johnson (Donnie and Avery are the two on the left, respectively).
Both were at the AAC yesterday to watch tryouts for the Mavs' summer league squad, a squad that could contain local ties including former Lincoln/SMU standout Bryan Hopkins and ex-Big 12 Player of the Year P.J. Tucker, formerly of the Texas Longhorns. The story ran this morning on 12C, I believe.
What amazed me is how much everyone I talked to seemed to love the game. I can't count the number of stories I've heard from journalists about people in sports "doing it for the money" and becoming jaded. Technically, the NBA's season hasn't ended yet (although anyone that isn't a Cleveland fan may disagree), but in talking to Avery and Donnie, you can tell they are just champing at the bit ready for next year. I think if they could have their guys here and a court open tonight, they wouldn't even think twice about tipping off.
As Avery said - "You can only stay home so long."