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Will his words finally count?
Allen Iverson has made promise after promise about being a leader. This time, he needs to follow through.
By Ashley McGeachy Fox
Inquirer Staff Writer
We've heard it all before from Allen Iverson. The promises of maturity. The pledge to practice. The assertions that he will be the leader, the example setter, the stellar teammate.
Take media day in 2000: "I think," Iverson said before his fifth season, "it will be important for me to send [a] message to my teammates off the top, just being the first guy to be there, and the last one to leave."
And in 2002: "If there are 100 things that I need to do, I don't want to do 99. I want to do the whole 100."
And in 2003: "It's going to be important for me to do the same things I did on the basketball court, but off the court, in practice, I think I've got to be more vocal than I have been in the past," Iverson said. "All of that starts with me."
Iverson's preseason promises are as predictable as an autumn frost.
The real question now is, what kind of storm will Iverson create when fall turns to winter? Will his promises ring hollow? Or this time, for once, will Iverson follow through?
Iverson's passion, effort and competitiveness on the court are indisputable hallmarks of his game. He is fearless. He plays hurt. He shoulders the offensive scoring load, and gambles on defense to try to make something happen.
Despite playing much of last season injured, Iverson averaged more minutes per game than any other player in the league. He ranked in the top 10 per 48 minutes played in field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, steals and points.
Before a knee injury ended his season, Iverson averaged 26.4 points and 6.8 assists in 48 games.
But what Iverson has never seemed to understand, or accept, is that being an individual superstar takes one kind of effort; being a superstar with a winning team requires other sacrifices he has been unwilling to make. He says the right things. He doesn't always do the right things.
Like it or not, Iverson needs to practice, if not for his own benefit then for that of his teammates. It has never been more important than this season, because with Eric Snow gone to Cleveland, Iverson will be the team's point guard. While Iverson needs to master the position, his teammates, especially Willie Green, need to learn Iverson's idiosyncrasies, his point-guard style and the speed of his passes.
Iverson will dispute this until the day he dies, but practicing also would help his game. Last season, he shot a career low 38.7 percent from the field, led the league with 4.35 turnovers per game, and had his lowest scoring average (26.4 points per game) since the 1997-98 season.
Iverson needs to respect Jim O'Brien, and support him publicly. What happened last year between Iverson and Chris Ford - the public posturing, the rebellion, the stubborn defiance - was counterproductive and ugly.
Yes, it was a tough season for everyone involved. For Randy Ayers, who made it for half a season as Larry Brown's replacement. For Ford. For Iverson.
But O'Brien has made it clear that Iverson is his guy, his point guard, his leader, and Iverson needs to show his teammates that he is on board with O'Brien. If Iverson listens to and respects the coach, Glenn Robinson, Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner will, too.
Finally, Iverson needs to build on the maturity he showed this summer playing for the U.S. Olympic team in Greece. At a time when every other top player except Tim Duncan reneged on his commitment to USA Basketball, Iverson followed through.
No, the team didn't win the gold medal; it took the bronze. But the U.S. team's problems - poor outside shooting, youth, lack of cohesiveness - were not Iverson's fault.
He showed up. He played. He tried.
At 29 years old, Iverson has a lot to gain this season. His career has begun its descent, and although Iverson has started in the All-Star Game five consecutive seasons and won three scoring titles, he has not won an NBA title.
His opportunities to win one - especially with Shaquille O'Neal now in the Eastern Conference - are dwindling.
All of this Iverson knows. And, perhaps most important, he knows that he must back up his preseason talk with in-season production.
"I'm at the point in my career when talking doesn't mean a whole lot," Iverson said at the Sixers' media day on Monday. "I can get up here and say all the right things, and say everything that people want to hear, but if I don't do it, it doesn't do our team any good."
Now those are words worth repeating.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/s...9853904.htm?1c