wizmentor

Finally, a fair and balanced article about Rasheed:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3336339

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B_&_B

Good read. Rasheed has his own way of doing things, but it seems like he's grown up a lot since he left Portland.

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B_&_B

Jingle Bells (mentioned in the article)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKqFg7Tuocg

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e_blazer1

Nobody with any brains ever questioned Rasheed's talent or knowledge of the game. He's a gifted basketball player. I don't care too about Rasheed's off-court issues like the pot in the back of the hummer. What bothered me most about him were the intangibles of what his temper tantrums cost the Blazers in terms of a title in 2000 and the team's inability to replicate their success in following seasons. Leading the league in techs put a target on his back with the refs and made it easy for him to get tossed from that one WCF playoff game with LA. Had he played that game, the Blazers may well have won and not needed a Game 7 to advance to the finals. How many other games did he cost us by irritating the refs? How do you think Sabonis liked playing with the guy after the towel incident? How does a lack of team camaraderie impact the ability to succeed on the court?

From a personal standpoint, I'm sorry that Rasheed seems to go through life with a chip on his shoulder. From a basketball perspective, I just wish that he'd been mature enough to reach his full potential in a Blazer uniform. I'm ticked that he let his emotions get the better of him to the point that his trade value ultimately dropped to SAR and Ratliff instead of another dominant player. How much did that set this organization back? Bottom line, there was a time when I couldn't believe our good fortune in getting Rasheed. Imagine his talent combined with a team-first attitude like Brandon Roy's.

Coach Sheed? Yeah, that won't be happening.

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croco

That's a very good article.

wizmentor

I think the big problem with Sheed in Portland was that the team
wanted/needed him to be a star, and he wanted to be a role player.

I think LMA would be having quite a bit more problems his rookie year
without Roy to deflect attention from all of LMAs missed games.
Ditto for this year with Roy's play taking pressure off LMA. LMA
and Oden are lucky to have an all star to take ultimate responsibility
off their shoulders, Rasheed didn't have that luxury while he was
in Portland.

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Talkhard

Other famous "refusals":

Refused to lift weights with the rest of the Blazers
Refused to talk to the media after games
Refused to stop getting technical fouls
Refused to keep himself in Game 1 of the WCF in 2000
Refused to stop teasing Ron Harper about his stutter
Refused to be a leader on the court
Refused to treat any official with respect
Refused to stop smoking weed with Damon Stoudamire

I'm sure all those "refusals" were motivated by Wallace's modesty and unselfishness, though I can't exactly figure out how.

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mook

one of the best articles I've seen on Wallace.

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Hector

There's more to it than that. Sheed may be the most talented player in Blazer history. What Bill Walton was to the early 1970s (war, impeachment), Sheed was to the Disco late 1970s (subcultures, loose personal behavior).

crandc

Hell, I wrote a fair and balanced article ("Sweet and Sour Sheed") years ago, but the link has been taken down. I can still send by PM to any interested party.

ESPN copied a lot of my points.

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mediocre man

You forgot

Refused to stop throwing towels in Sabas' face
Refused to stop throwing balls at Ruben Boom Boom
Refused to give a little kid an autograph in Toys R Us one day, instead telling him to get his little white *** away from him.


Yeah, he's a peach. I really miss him.

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Former Blazer Alaa Abdelnaby on being a student athlete at Duke. "The only way I could get 5 A's at Duke was to spell my name"


I'm Mediocre Man, and I approve this message.

Masbee

Sue!

Talkhard

He and Rev. Wright would really hit it off together.

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"Damn the Blazers. Damn them to hell. They are working the rest of the league like a speed bag." --Jay, lifelong Pacers fan

Dan