11-01-2004, 10:26 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Kwisatz Haderach
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Coatesville, PA
Age: 25
Posts: 24,103
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Aaron McKie not worried about minutes..
Quote:
In one of the surprising developments of the preseason, Jim O'Brien, the 76ers' new coach, last week named Aaron McKie as a starter at shooting guard.
Surprising to most, but not to McKie.
"You should never be surprised as a pro athlete," he said. "It doesn't matter who starts, because the guys coming in behind me may play more minutes."
McKie, 32, had been expected to come off the bench behind second-year pro Willie Green, who struggled for consistency early in the preseason. But O'Brien announced that his starting backcourt for Wednesday's regular-season opener in Boston would be Allen Iverson at the point with McKie alongside him.
During his 11-year career, McKie has been effective both as a starter and a reserve. He has started 352 games and come off the bench for 349. Last season, he started 41 of the 75 games he played, averaging 9.2 points per game.
Even in the 2000-2001 season, the one in which McKie won the NBA's Sixth Man Award, he started 33 games. He averaged 11.6 points, 5.0 assists and 1.39 steals that season.
So McKie maintains that whether he starts or comes off the bench is no big deal. He simply is more interested in winning. He insists that there is no difference in his preparation or attitude.
"I am a basketball player," he said. "I just want to get out there on the floor and help the team as much as I can."
McKie's team-first attitude seems almost too good to be true. But those who know him say it has always been the most definitive part of his makeup. And perhaps nobody knows him better than John Chaney, who coached him at Temple.
Chaney said the two used to clash on just one major issue during McKie's days with the Owls, that he showed an occasional reluctance to shoot.
The coach recalled a game against Drexel. The Owls led by 16 points at halftime, but McKie hadn't scored a basket, so Chaney let him have it during intermission.
"All my battles were - I would get so angry with him because he was our focal player, along with Eddie Jones - [because] he wouldn't always shoot," Chaney said, laughing. "That game against Drexel, I told him that he wasn't on the court to watch everybody else score.
"He never cared about his numbers then and doesn't now," Chaney said. "If Aaron plays 15 or 20 minutes a game, he will give the same effort, because he isn't worried about minutes."
No, he isn't. Asked how many minutes he would like to play, McKie gave the impression that it was something he had never thought of.
"It's not my decision," he said. "I let the coaching staff decide that."
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Henry Rollins
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Aaron McKie not worried about minutes..
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