Zach Lowe does a fabulous job here.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...r-know?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...r-know?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true
You’re gonna love this story about Bam!
- Thread starter YouKay
- Start date
Wow, what a genuine and good kid. Let the fire burn Bam, let the fire burn.
Great, great, great read. Still some good journalism out there occasionally! The bit about not doubling Towns and holding him to 13 w/ 11 turns was really inspiring. Opposite of Quitney.
Great read!
It’s a dang shame he was cheated out of a Final Four by a scumbag ref!!
It’s a dang shame he was cheated out of a Final Four by a scumbag ref!!
Still shaking my head that the committee put UK in the same region with UNC that year. That should have been the national championship game. That team deserved to be in the Final Four. Maybe UNC was a little better, and I could have swallowed the loss if it had been in the championship. I will never forget the scene of Bam and Fox crying in the locker room after. Those guys are pure winners!
Yeah, I can't stress enough how much everyone needs to read that.
A few thoughts about the peripheral stuff:
1. Zach Lowe is a really good writer. We forget sometimes because we see these guys on TV or on podcasts that most of them got famous by being really, really good basketball writers.
2. The entire Heat organization is as good as any in sports. From Riley to Spo to the training staff, just top notch all the way around. I was so happy when Bam and Herro both ended up there. That's exactly the environment they both needed.
3. Bam's mom and support staff deserve a ton of praise and credit and I'm glad they're getting to enjoy the benefits of their effort so soon. That woman is an absolute hero, and a mom like that might be the greatest gift any kid could have.
4. Hearing and reading so many of these stories reminds you what it's really about. I know our fans scoff at "players first," but Bam was here because of it. Most of our guys have been here because of it. And you see here that Cal balances it so that players first doesn't mean that players do whatever they want. By putting the players first, the team as a whole is better.
5. Bam is incredible. His surprise commitment is one of the happiest recruiting moments I've ever had, and watching that kid grow and compete all year was awesome from a fan and basketball junkie perspective.
While fans here lamented his "low" rebounding totals, scouts and people who mattered saw that it was because he was switching everything on the perimeter, playing help D for the other four guys on the floor, and disrupting the opposing offense.
He had the handle and passing to be a lottery pick, but many thought he should come back just because he focused on doing the things it took to help us win games.
I still can't believe 13 teams saw a 6'10, 260 pound 19 year old with shoulders like those, length like that, feet and balance and quickness and explosiveness like that, and passed on him.
It worked out perfectly for Bam and the Heat though. He'll more than get whatever money he may have lost in just a little while longer.
A few thoughts about the peripheral stuff:
1. Zach Lowe is a really good writer. We forget sometimes because we see these guys on TV or on podcasts that most of them got famous by being really, really good basketball writers.
2. The entire Heat organization is as good as any in sports. From Riley to Spo to the training staff, just top notch all the way around. I was so happy when Bam and Herro both ended up there. That's exactly the environment they both needed.
3. Bam's mom and support staff deserve a ton of praise and credit and I'm glad they're getting to enjoy the benefits of their effort so soon. That woman is an absolute hero, and a mom like that might be the greatest gift any kid could have.
4. Hearing and reading so many of these stories reminds you what it's really about. I know our fans scoff at "players first," but Bam was here because of it. Most of our guys have been here because of it. And you see here that Cal balances it so that players first doesn't mean that players do whatever they want. By putting the players first, the team as a whole is better.
5. Bam is incredible. His surprise commitment is one of the happiest recruiting moments I've ever had, and watching that kid grow and compete all year was awesome from a fan and basketball junkie perspective.
While fans here lamented his "low" rebounding totals, scouts and people who mattered saw that it was because he was switching everything on the perimeter, playing help D for the other four guys on the floor, and disrupting the opposing offense.
He had the handle and passing to be a lottery pick, but many thought he should come back just because he focused on doing the things it took to help us win games.
I still can't believe 13 teams saw a 6'10, 260 pound 19 year old with shoulders like those, length like that, feet and balance and quickness and explosiveness like that, and passed on him.
It worked out perfectly for Bam and the Heat though. He'll more than get whatever money he may have lost in just a little while longer.
And no mention of the coffee table....
Well written article
Well written article
These lenses are the ones I'm trying hard to view this team through. These kids are transitioning and I'm lucky enough to spectate. Well reasoned post, Gonzo. Thank you.
That was awesome. A must read.
Fantastic observations! Lowe is an exceptional writer. I would put Kyle Tucker in that category too. These long form stories still have great value, or they should to anyone who really cares about the game.
I also am very glad that Bam and Tyler landed in Miami. Wish Kevin Knox had too, he is being wasted in New York as Bam would have been if the Knicks had drafted him. It irritates me when people say Knox and even Julius Randle are “failures.” It all depends on the organization that you go into. The Knicks organization does not know how to develop young players.
Absolutely incredible. Bam is not only an exceptional basketball player, but a great human. Thanks for sharing.
It's a hard lens to look through, because the thing we want the most in sports is for our team to win every game comfortably so we can enjoy ourselves.
I'm a teacher, and I know that the kids I meet in August are not the same kids who come back from Christmas break. They aren't even the same from day to day. And these aren't kids who have moved away from home for the first time with millions of people watching and millions of dollars on the line. I try to keep that in mind.
"I said to myself, 'We gotta make this work because this woman deserves it,'" Calipari remembers.
Coach is awesome. That is all.
Coach is awesome. That is all.
Kevin Knox is what he is. He will struggle to get that second contract. It is what it is. Julius Randle is a hound who has a non stop motor. It does suck that he's been in New York.
Some of our UK guys have it and some don't. I think Knox falls in the don't category like MKG. Vanderbilt will be in the don't category as well.
Yea and you could bet a story like that wouldn’t come from a ass hat like Forde it Thamel or Dana what ever her name is unless is was a benefit to the Rat Faced Bastard at Dook !
i loved his responses to the team usa snubs. hardly anyone on that roster will be safe when he plays them.
The whole time I read this one major thought went through my head.
Wenyen left Uk dissing cal for making him play a certain way. This kid left knowing Cal did everything for him and his future.
Wenyen left Uk dissing cal for making him play a certain way. This kid left knowing Cal did everything for him and his future.
What cracks me up is that Wenyen plays the same exact role for Portland, except it's much smaller/reduced.
Cal knew what his future in the league was and tried to make him the best version of that. No one on earth is going to have Wenyen Gabriel facilitating their offense.
Getting mad at Cal won't change that, but I also didn't really take much issue with what he told McDaniels because it's true. You better be ready to play or else the plays are going to the guys who are ready and who are good. Cal tells recruits that himself, they just don't think it applies to them.
He dunked all over Gobert last night, find that highlight if you missed it.
I was at that game last night. That dunk was absolutely filthy. Gobert got behind Bam on the next play and got a dunk and jawed at Bam earning a Technical. Watching Bam play is fascinating. He was clearly bothered by Gobert's length and missed a bunch of shots at close range. But even with the off shooting night it is amazing watching how under control he was, how high his Basketball IQ is.
I was always bugged during Bam's time at UK because of how he was treated by the Refs. He was bigger and stronger than his opponent. He would routinely outjump a player who had position, and just grab the rebound (cleanly) at a higher point. The refs, being idiots, would call these fouls. Bam rarely played more than 10 minutes in the first half of games because of foul trouble.
How can you expect NBA execs to pass on Josh Jackson, Dennis Smith, Zach Collins, and Luke Kennard?
That 2017 draft class has 3 All-Stars in just their 3rd year. That is nuts.
I bought the DSJ hype and thought that even coming off the injury, somewhere in that 8-12 range would be good risk and value for him. The other guys had zero reason to be taken ahead of Bam. The Suns were trying to be awful on purpose. No other explanation.
Damn, it's been a long time since I cried after reading a piece of journalism, but it's misty in here..... 
I love me some Bam. He often worked out at the YMCA I attend here in Greensboro, and I had a chance to talk with him after he committed to UK. What a really great kid (man!).
Excellent article. Thanks for posting.
I love me some Bam. He often worked out at the YMCA I attend here in Greensboro, and I had a chance to talk with him after he committed to UK. What a really great kid (man!).
Excellent article. Thanks for posting.
Gonzo said it basically but having guys like this and helping them reach their dreams is why "players first " matters and in them reaching their dreams UK succeeds on and off the court as well.
We got robbed of a title with Bam, Fox, and Monk..
Thanks for posting. Great read. Splurged on a T-shirt folder.
Scott Van Pelt said last night about this:
"If you can dunk like that on the NBA's reigning Defensive Player Of The Year, you are President of Everything!"
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