The discovery of one of the greatest players of all time turned out to have originated as a joke.
In the summer of 1992, Wake Forest Graduate Chris King took some NBA rookies on a tour of the Virgin Islands. When he returned to the school in Winston-Salem and came to the basketball varsity office, head coach Dave Odom asked about the trip. Odom asked, "Have you found young people we would be interested in?" King said he had a tall, thin, tall, 6-foot-9-inch tall, about 190 pounds, wide palms, and steady lower limbs. But Kim didn't know the other person's name. Odom asked the coaching staff if anyone knew anyone from the Virgin Islands. Assistant coach Larry Davis said yes and soon asked for a jersey number and name: Tim Duncan.
On Saturday, the teenager from St. Croix was about to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and was unanimously named to the All-American Team, College Basketball Player of the Year, five NBA champions, two Most Valuable Players, and 15 NBA All-Star Teams.
This stemmed from Odom's personal trip to the Virgin Islands to verify that Kim had found a hidden treasure in the area.
DAVE Odom (Head Coach): On Sunday, it was as if the whole island had gathered in the arena. He came out and made a lay shot, and I kept watching him. Suddenly, there was the sound of a trumpet, like the foggy horn of a ship, humming—one after another. He was sitting next to me and I asked him, "What's that sound?" "That's Hershey Oil, and they honk every Sunday at three o'clock in the afternoon." We don't start playing until then. "A lot of the kids who come here are actually close to adulthood and they're probably some of the best players in the area. They couldn't wait to come here, and they all heard that there was a coach to investigate.
They started warming up, but then Tim came over and sat down next to me. I said "Tim, what are you doing?" Do you know that I ran so far to see you play? "Coach, if I play now, they're going to put me in the weakest team and we probably won't be able to win." If we lose, I'll have to sit here for at least an hour. If I wait until they decide the winner, then I can pick a much stronger team to join, and then my chances of winning are better. You'll have more opportunities to watch me play. "That's what really happened at the time, nothing wrong.
He was only 16 years old at the time. For me, this incident showed his understanding of the people and things around him. As a bystander, there are a lot of young kids here, including kids in New York, Washington, and Philadelphia, who rush right into the field. Can't wait to express yourself. Now I don't see anything, but he shows his perception of the goal.
RANDOLPH CHARLES (DEFENDER): I got a call in town one morning saying that the team had just recruited a new player to have breakfast with that player. I asked which player it was, and they replied that it was a young man from the Virgin Islands. I said at the time, no one in the Virgin Islands can play basketball, that kid certainly can't play, change someone else.
Jerry Wayne Wright (Assistant Coach): When he came to visit, I asked him, "What do you think?" He said, "Well, you know, I think I'd like to come here and play." ”
Chaldris: In Tim's presidency, you'll always hear the names of Ricky Peral and Maktar Ndiaye. Marktal had previously played on the nation's no. 1 high school basketball team, and he was teammate at Oak High School with Jerry Starkhouse and Jeff McGinnis, so he was supposed to be the best rookie player. I remember when they said , "Tim wasn't ready, it would take a lot of time for him to get ready to play." ”
Ricky Stokes (Assistant Coach): Thiem was just a trivial role at the time.
Wayne Wright: Our initial idea was to have him wait a year in sequoia.
Tony Ratland (Defender): When I officially visited Wake Forest University, they took me to see the freshman dormitory. He was alone in his dorm room, holding a gallon of ice cream and a small spoon, and he ate almost a full gallon of ice cream. They said, "Yes, he has to gain weight." ”
Marktal Ndiaye (centre forward): We've been playing in the small arena at Wake Forest University. One day Randolph came and said, "I'm going to take the freshmen on a team," so I formed a team with Randolph Chardris, Ricardo Peral, Tim, and one of them, Barry Canty or Stasi Castell. No one can beat us, never, I mean really. That day we ruled the whole arena. Since then, I have begun to feel that this child still has some strength.
Lynn Heflin (Assistant Coach): One day Randolph Charles came up to us and said, "You should reconsider your decision to let him wear sequoia." ”
Wayne Wright: Randolph never appreciates a player unless he's a professional.
Mark Brucas (defender): In the first year he improved like a rocket.
Jerry Starkhouse (University of North Carolina guard): Well, you know, it's really amazing to see someone like that on the court constantly blocking, interfering with the offense, grabbing countless rebounds. I think that was the first time we'd seen someone block Rashid Wallace's shot in an official game, and he did a terrible job. Don't get me wrong, Rashid also has a highlight, he once clipped Duncan once. But at the time, Duncan's performance was truly amazing.
Ernie Nestor (Assistant Coach): Ted Turner co-hosted an event called the Friendly Games, which is somewhat similar to the Mini Olympics, and also formed a basketball team to represent the United States, with George Laffering as head coach. One day in June, George called and said, "I know you have a rookie interior player, can you get him to come to us for a week or so and train with our players?" We are short of insiders right now. Tim was still in the Virgin Islands, and he said he wanted to, so he took a flight to go to the training camp. About two days later, we got another call from each other saying, "Would you mind letting him go to Russia with us to compete?" He's amazing." So he went to Russia and competed in the Friendly Games.
After they returned home, they played two more open exhibition matches against Dream II, which meant he had to play against Shaquille O'Neal. Dave and I flew to Oakland to watch these big guys play. We were sitting in the bottom line of the court and saw the 205-pound Tim come on the court and block Shaq's shot twice! I remember after he covered Shaq's shot, Shaq looked around confusedly, trying to figure out who had covered him, and the ball had already flown in the other direction.
(Morry Gash / Associated Press)
Hermann-Earl (Professor of Biology): He's particularly funny.
Chaldris: He would be sarcastic and would always make clever and witty comments.
Deborah Best (Professor of Psychology): He could be that satirical talk show actor.
Brucas: It should be like Robert de Niro in "Meet your Father-in-Law," or a character in "Good Guys" in comedy. The unexpected contrast made him more humorous.
Tracy Connor (Buddy/Wake Forest University women's basketball player): Coach Odom used to say let the three of them pair up, and Thiem would come up with a "that's impossible."
Brucas: He took me to snorkeling (on St. Croix) and he was like a fish in the water. I grew up in an industrial town in Pennsylvania, in the west of the United States. But I'm an experienced diver in the spirit of "college athletes can do anything" and consider myself an experienced diver. However, in the sea, I was well educated, and everyone took pleasure in it. I stepped on a sea urchin and the soles of my feet hurt. He said to me , "Hey, you know what? At this time you should pee on your feet. I said, "Haha, humorous island boy, even though I didn't grow up by the sea, you can't fool me into peeing on my feet." He said, "No, I'm serious, acid in the urine relieves pain, just like painkillers." I didn't lie to you, do not do whatever you want. I said, "Okay, but I don't feel like I'm going to pee." Then he laughed and said, "I have."
Mark Scott (substitute guard): One summer he took a pantomime class. That's right, literal pantomime. At the end of the semester everyone had to prepare a show or something like that, and his final assignment was to put a bag on his head, draw a face on it, and then he would just stand in front of everyone and sit down. Others said "Tim, did you miss something?" Can I do it again? He said no problem, and then did it again!
Connor: I was always with Mark Brucas, Randolph, and him. Everyone is always telling jokes and never stops. He said he kept working out despite his knee injury because he didn't want the paparazzi to take a picture of him one day and then come out and say, "This is the guy who swallowed Tim Duncan." ”
Brucas: I once auditioned for a movie, and it was a particularly elegant female film called Austin Book Club. I played emily blunt's husband, emily playing a French teacher who had never been to France before, and at one point she finally got a chance. Well, I admit that I read the script before I went to the audition, and there is a passage about the Spurs reaching the NBA Finals. One of my characters has a line about him canceling his trip to Paris despite his wife's never going to France, just to give himself a chance to go to the NBA Finals. But he said, "Don't worry, because unless Tim Duncan gets hit by lightning, the Spurs are going to win the championship in four or five games, and we still have time to travel." ”
That's right, Tim is my best friend. So I called him and said, "You'll never believe what's written in my script." I'm going to audition tomorrow. Tim, I'll read your name in the audition room, it's true. If that allows me to get this job as an actor, I'll need you. ”
I did get the job and said to the crew, "Tim is my friend, let's make this role a Spurs fan." So Tim signed a jersey "to Dean," which was the name of my character in the show, and we hung it in his office scene from his movie. Tim also helped us contact the NBA League to get permission so that we had almost no restrictions on filmmaking, which really helped us a lot. One day when we were shooting, I said to the writer and director, "Hey, if you can, can you make a clip about Tim, just to trick him." They all said, "No problem, that's a must." I didn't tell Emily Blunt that I would do it, so I said to her, "Unless Tim Duncan gets hit by lightning..." and then went on to say it out loud for about 30 seconds, presumably "Or he completely abandoned his hook technique, he felt like he was 6 feet 11 inches tall, he wanted to play at the back, he wanted a graceful jump shot and a windy dribble, and I couldn't jump at all, and I had to stop the other party by deliberate fouls." I'm just describing him as if he couldn't play at all. Emily also noticed something unusual, she was such a smart and astute woman. She turned to me and asked, "Is there any holiday between you and Tim Duncan?" ”
A month later, Tim Duncan came to us. They've finished editing the movie footage, and when Tim arrives, we're watching the supplemental video about him. His expression became distorted, and he looked down at me and said, "You bastard," and everyone was happy. Then he leaned over to me and said one of the most classic words I'd ever heard, "I'm rich and patient, I'm going to make you change your mind, I'm going to do it, I have a lot of time." But for now, you're so right! ”
Best: When my son was about 10 years old, Tim used to come to our house to play. They would build fort defenses in every corner of my bedroom, play war games with stuffed animal toys, and throw them around.
Scott: He was born to enjoy life and frolic around like a fool. If you take him out, he can't stay idle at all.
Matt Simpson (substitute guard): He loves video games. We used to play "College Basketball K Coach" together because there was a Wake Forest University team, and we would all pick the Wake Forest University team and play against each other.
Rasty Laru (Defender): "King of Fighting" is one of his favorite games.
Rutland: He knows every set of combos.
Wayne Wright: Nobody can beat him, he's very good at playing table tennis. This guy is 6 feet 10 inches tall and can do two consecutive tumblings. As long as you're going to score points, he's going to want to win.
Rutland: In his senior year, he collected many swords. Once I went to his room, I thought those were blunt swords. Yet it was the sharpest sword I had ever seen, and I had just put it on his bed and found cracks everywhere that had been cut. I couldn't help but say, "Oh my God, I might have scratched you just now." "You don't need to doubt that this is Tim himself, and what he likes.
Brucas: When he was an assistant coach, I once shot a movie in Atlanta and they happened to be here to play. I said to him "Tim, I know you have a game at night, but I have a very good friend who works on the 'Suicide Squad 2' crew, would you like to go and see it?" He said excitedly, "Okay! When are you coming to pick me up? Be sure to come. "I have accompanied Tim through the triumphs and defeats of the Finals, the disappointment and grief of my personal life. I thought I had seen all of Tim's emotional expressions, and I never knew he would be in such a state of oblivion.
Connor: He's like a big kid, pranks, video games, his home now is like a playground, you know? He has a moped, a quad, a regular motorcycle, and a basketball court. He will make you can't help but start playing like a child.
Joseph Amonette (defender): He's the best player we've ever met, at any level. What's more, he's the best teammate you've ever worked with.
Simpson: From day one, he treated me like a friend and never made me feel cold.
Ken Herbst (substitute guard): As soon as Coach Odom informed me of my selection for the varsity team, I went to the team's locker room, and the only person sitting in the locker room was Duncan. He was there casually rummaging through his cabinets, saw me in, and immediately introduced himself , "Hello, I'm Tim Duncan."
It sounds like the president of the United States introducing himself, using his full name. Everyone in the school knew who Tim Duncan was. He either doesn't realize how famous he is, or more likely, he doesn't care about this at all. Whether it's meeting Bob Smith or introducing himself to a roommate in his dorm room, he doesn't think the interaction or concerns should be any different.
Wayne Wright: His body language says it all. People always say that body language is the path to thought. That's why I think his body language with his teammates during the game is simply incredible. He will put his broad palm on your shoulder. I can't remember how many times he'd said that to me during the game, and he'd stand next to me, put his hand on my shoulder and say, "Coach, rest assured, we're fine." I'm 40 years older than him, but I'll still look up at him and say, 'You're right, no problem.'"
Rutland: He doesn't want anyone to be disappointed.
Odom: When we played against the University of Massachusetts, the head coach was Calipali and we had Marcus Canby in the interior. The race is very important for us. Both Canby and Duncan took the game very seriously. However, the opponent narrowly defeated us after a fierce battle. I was worried after the game because it was the first game in which the national media gathered to cover Duncan, and I don't know if he can accept such a result.
After the game, he politely replied to the interviews of various media outlets one by one, without any abnormality. I finally left with him, and for a while neither of us spoke, and the amount of time I spent in the car in silence felt like 15 minutes, but it was only about 30 seconds or 1 minute. I didn't say anything, just sat there and waited for him to speak first, because I knew he felt bad. He looked up, looked me in the eye and said, "Do you still love me?" I replied to him, "Tim, it's just a game, it's just a game." You really don't play well enough, but it's just a game, not a whole career. ”
Brucas: He feels like he's part of the team, he has to do his duty every game, and everyone in the team has their own role. When I don't do my job well, I feel like I'm disappointing everyone. That's Tim's responsibility. By the way, it feels like a role player's belief, doesn't it? And not the superstar's belief. He takes responsibility for his failures for the sake of his friends and family, and he doesn't want to disappoint others, just train harder to improve himself.
Amonette: He always has insight into all the dynamics of the team. When I was a sophomore, I planned to propose to my current wife over the Christmas holidays, and Tim knew about it. But the coach planned to let us travel to Spain for a game during the holidays and couldn't go home. This would disrupt my schedule to some extent.
I remember the coach coming up to me later and saying, "You know, I learned from some of your teammates that you're planning to propose for the Christmas holidays." I said yes, and he said, "Well, we were going to Spain, but we're going to cancel the trip now, so that you can all go home in peace." "I don't know who the coach got to, but I can be sure it has something to do with Tim.
Brucas: One night we played against Clemson University, and center Sharon Wright was 7 feet tall and weighed 270 pounds, and once he knocked me to the ground and had a concussion-like symptom, like a Russian meeting Loki. I immediately got up and continued to play. On the bus back, Tim said to me, "Bro, why don't you take a little more rest?" Even if it's pretending to tie your shoelaces. You should lie down for a while and wait until your consciousness is fully awake before you get up." I said, "I'm the shortest on the pitch and I can't make the opposing players feel like they can overwhelm me with their physical advantage." I think everyone has fallen, and only you are still the champion. I had to fight on the pitch with that spirit. ”
I graduated that year and went overseas to play professional leagues. He started his sophomore year when he was already a star in college basketball. Then I came back for Christmas. He contacted me and said, "Hey, I've got a Christmas present for you." I said, "Wow, but I didn't have anything for you." At the time, there was a company called "No Fear," which was a bit like "And One," and liked to print inspirational words like proverbs on its products. He handed me a T-shirt with the words I said on the back of the dress, "Everybody has fallen, and only you are still the champion," knowing that the game was a year and a half ago. Every time I think about this story, I still feel my hair stand up.
Amonette: In my freshman year, the team uniforms were sponsored by the "Champion" card. When I was a sophomore, Duncan also decided to go back to school to finish my senior year, and Nike signed with us. The whole school seemed to be Nike's billboards, and all of our equipment and equipment were Nike's, which was a great thing from 1996 to 1997. At that time, Nike would send Tim brand new sneakers that he hadn't even sold publicly for him to wear. And I usually like to talk sarcastically and jokingly. I would walk up to coach Russell Turner and say to him, "What do you think of these shoes?" Here's Tim's new sneaker. That looks really good. But we won't have it, they'll just give It to Tim."
About two days later, we walked into the dressing room and found that everyone had been given a new pair of sneakers. I asked Coach Turner, "What's going on?" He said, "That big man did it for you." "Throughout the year, Nike kept sending us sports gear. Duncan never wore a pair of sneakers that his teammates didn't have. I mean, he's really a part of our team, a great teammate and he's going to make everybody happy and satisfied.
Herbst: I have a fear of flying. Once our flight was affected by airflow, he came up and sat next to me and started chatting with me to distract me, and we both talked to his mother. I said, "Aren't you worried about the plane shaking like this, this kind of airflow?" He said, "No. When my mother died as a child, the anxiety and fear I had ever experienced was the worst I had ever experienced in my life. So things are relative, and compared to losing my mother, other things are difficult to cause my anxiety and fear. ”
Charles: We played away from home to Florida State University basketball in our senior year, when Tony Rutland's mother died of cancer, and we knew she had been in pain. Tony had been my roommate when he was on the road that year. His father called me and said, "His mother is dead and I hope to finish this game." ”
At that time, people did not have mobile phones and could only use the telephones of hotels. Rutland had been worried, he wanted to call to inquire about the situation, so I had to hide the hotel phone and hang around with me, even when I went into the bathroom. I tried everything I could to make him unable to find the phone. When we got to the stadium, he finally found a pay phone to contact the family and learned the news of his mother's death. His cries were audible and understandable outside the dressing room. We went to the last game together and lost to each other, and when we came back to the dressing room after the game, we saw Tim with his arms around him because Tim had died a long time ago. We all sat there together, all crying. Tim told him he understood what he felt in his heart now, that he had been through it all.
Connor: I'm telling you, he's different from everybody else. He really likes to go to class, he likes to get an education, so to speak, he doesn't waste his schoolwork at all.
Best: When he went to play for the Spurs, he emailed me and said, "What was the first thing I wrote on the Spurs' official website?" It was "majoring in psychology," and he wanted me to know all of it.
Herbst: He was really a thoughtful, cognitively competent person, probably because he majored in psychology. Because I think he really likes to think about analyzing human behavior and why it happens.
Mark Leary (Professor of Psychology): Every week I ask them to get out of the classroom and do some social surveys related to the research ideas we come up with, because the research is really starting from scratch. Tim would be present for the first few weeks of two or three meetings and would be actively involved, but he was noticeably less talkative than the other students.
One day, he began to become more positive and immersed in the conversation. When we concluded, he said, "Oh my God, that's funny, isn't it?" "I know all students go through moments like this, but he certainly doesn't think it's going to be fun to be involved in this kind of teaching research or reading research at first. However, he was really involved in it and was very interested in the academic challenges in the project. It's really gratifying that he's become particularly active. So we summarized everything, edited it and published it.
Best: So when the book is published, every author involved in the compilation of the chapters receives it. A copy. The publisher was going to send Tim a copy, and I called the NCAA league auditor in charge of Wake Forest University, who knew the other side and said, "Oh, I'm not sure about that, you can't give him anything."
Leary: Okay, I see why there are these rules. But this shouldn't apply to your situation as an academic book author.
Best: So she contacted the NCAA league again, and a day later they called me again and said, "They're not sure either, no one has ever asked a question like that." I told the publisher to send me the book, and then I told Tim that he could come to me and read the book. But I couldn't give him the book before he graduated. So it wasn't until after he graduated that he came to my house to take the book.
Leary: I heard that he had just reported to the Spurs, so he reprinted the cover of the book, framed it, and hung it at his residence in San Antonio.
HEFLIN: Don't be misled by Tim's always calm expression that he doesn't care about winning or losing. In fact, he especially cared.
Wayne Wright: He looks like a big boy next door, but he's going to do whatever it takes to win.
Turner: Dave had Christmas parties every year, and we would give each other mischievous gifts and laugh at each other for fun. One year when we were playing against the University of Massachusetts, Thiem didn't do well against Marcus Camby. We arranged for a gift to be given to him at the Christmas party with a federal express mail, indicating that it was sent by Marcus Camby, which I remember driving Tim crazy.
Odom: I remember his sophomore year, we were playing in the NCAA Tournament. The opponent at the time was Oklahoma State University, and the team had "Big Country" Bryant Reeves. In order to scout my opponents, I deliberately watched Reeves's game and found that every time he started attacking from a low post, he would turn to his left shoulder and throw the ball with a jump hook. The guy was 7 feet tall and very burly. I'm also watching the players defending the Big Country, who are always trying to interfere with his shots with their right hands. You imagine using your right hand across the big country's left shoulder to interfere with his shots, which will inevitably leave a lot of space for him to shoot. So at the team-wide video analysis session, I pointed that out to Tim. I said, "You have to use your left hand, it must be a little awkward for you." But for the next two days, you're going to practice using your left hand to interfere with the opponent's shots. ”
It's really incredible to see him put on all this, and I mean he's done it completely, both in training and in competition. He always remembered that "what the coach said is what I want to do". (Duncan scored eight blocks in the game, while Reeves shot just 4 of 15.)
Brucas: He's able to bring out the best in himself and his teammates, in the most positive way.
Amonette: We played together for a total of two years and I just remember him firing at me once. It was against Clemson University, the third seed, and it was a phenomenal game, and the two sides were evenly matched. There was a player named Tom Wildman, and scouting reports showed that his free throw shooting percentage was terrible. In the final moments of the second half, the point difference was always between 4 and 6 points, and Wilderman burst into the inside line, and I was under the impression that he had a shot. That's not Tim defending, he's moving from the weak side to assist. I fouled Wildman while shooting in order to get him on the free throw line. I remember when Tim grabbed me and said, "Bro, I can get him, I'm going to cover his shots, don't do it again!" All I can say is "Okay, you're right. "Now it looks like with the best player in college basketball, the all-time cap king of ACC league history, behind me, it doesn't seem like I was the smartest choice. He was always able to see everything on the field ahead of others.
Brucas: He promised his mother that he would finish college. But everyone around me, including me, would say to him, "Tim, go back online and finish your studies later, you know, you're a sure NBA roster now." Go, go now, the opportunity has come. "But he held fast to his responsibilities and commitments, and he was such a person, unwavering.
Odom: That's when scouts would come to the game and meet the players after the game with the permission of the coach. I'm always tired of dealing with countless phone calls and personal meetings, some of which are some of the most powerful scouting agents in the country. Every time someone came to visit or asked to meet, even if he only said hello to Tim after the game, he would say, "Coach, I don't want to do that."
Amonette: It was really a very emotional time. Tim never talked about whether he would return to campus or the NBA. I mean, he talks like a normal college boy on a daily basis.
Odom: At the end of his junior year, I was tired of getting calls all day and asking him, "Is he going to be in the draft?" I called him and said, "Listen up, Tim. The draft announcement deadline is approaching, and I won't be in town that day. But I'll ask John Justus, our sports coach, to prepare two pieces of paper, one that says 'I'll go to the NBA' and the other that says 'I'm not going to the NBA.' I'll put the two pieces of paper in an envelope and put them on my desk. On Friday at 2 p.m., I'll make an office call, and you'll have to sit there and answer my phone. By then, you're sitting at your desk and you've seen the contents of two sheets of paper. You have to tell me what you're going to do, and we'll just put it down. No matter how you choose, I agree. Obviously, if you choose to go, you will definitely become a champion show. But if you choose to stay on campus for another year, I'll be very happy, we'll have the whole team. ”
Best: He always chooses the path he wants to take. Tim has his own way of doing things.
Odom: At 2 o'clock at the agreed time, I called and he answered. He said "Coach, is that you?" I said yes, and he said, "I'm not going anywhere." I said," great, so did I. I'm going to have to go to an AAU league game and have a great weekend! See you on Monday. ”
Nestor: In his senior year, we competed against the University of Virginia and we won. Coaches came in to do post-match analysis and one of the managers said, "Coach, there's a guy out there named Peyton Manning who wants to meet Tim Duncan."
PAYTON MANNING (UNIVERSITY OF Tennessee quarterback): Ashley (my current wife) and I have been dating, so every weekend, if we don't need to get involved in any rugby activities, I drive to Charlottesville. I went to the game that day, but after the game, I can't remember exactly how it was arranged, but I remember that I wanted to talk to Tim because he had just chosen to stay in school.
John Justus (Sports Information Director): I remember them standing in the aisle talking for a while. I wish I had taken a picture of them at the time. That's a real bonus.
Manning: I probably just asked him, "Hey Tim, what was the main reason you decided to stay at school?" "What I remember is that he said more than one point. His exact words were probably "I think I'm going to be better after my senior year and be better prepared for the NBA." But he also said he liked college life and experience, he liked his coaches, his teammates, he liked Wake Forest, and he didn't want to leave so soon. Brother, those words really inspired me a lot, and it made me understand that choosing to stay in school is not a bad thing, right?
Amonette: I think so, if Payton Manning hadn't come to talk to Tim Duncan, he wouldn't have chosen to stay on campus for another season.
Manning: The ethos was that people were leaving school very quickly... I remember talking to people about it, a lot of quarterbacks do that, like Drew Bledsoe left school, so I can see why he did it. Michael Jordan, believe it or not, I've talked to him about the fact that he eventually left school in his junior year. Many of the people I talked to at that time chose to leave the school, and I felt that such an opinion would be a bit one-sided. I felt like I wanted to stay in school, but I wanted to find someone who chose to do it and didn't regret it, and Tim Duncan was the right person.
Amonette: Let me tell you how influential his senior year was. At that time, the game was over, and a jersey retirement ceremony was being held for him to bid him farewell. We beat Georgia Tech and Matt Haplin was the junior on that team. Haplin was also hesitant to stay in school for another year, and he did not return to the dressing room after the game, so he sneaked outside to watch the whole ceremony. As we walked to the locker room, the assistant coach of the Georgia Tech team approached two of our team's teaching assistants and said, "We think Haplin will decide to go back to school after watching that ceremony." ”
Odom: I'm right, Tim is a guy who doesn't talk much, and I'm always surprised when he says what he really thinks. I looked at his father, and I didn't want to say that his father had snatched the microphone from me, but I could tell that his father was very eager to speak. I gave him the microphone, and he put his arm around Tim's neck.
Turner: When Tim wrapped his arms around his father, it was the long arms that hugged him so hard that everyone was touched by the situation of that moment when they saw it, as he usually did. But if you keep watching his game, you will find that he will always press the basketball in the same way before jumping the ball, and the way he holds the ball seems to convey his respect and belief in the game, as well as what the game brings him and the changes that his life brings.
Odom: I'll never forget what his father said (some advice he gave before Tim started his basketball career at Wake Forest). He said in his Chloe accent, "I told him, Timmy, go to Wake Forest, try your best, and let go of your worries at the right time."
As he said, try your best to do your best and let go of your worries at the right time. I think Tim interprets that perfectly.