Anthony Mason died Saturday morning, almost two decades after he last played for the Knicks. But as the organization mourns the late Mason's life, they also can learn from him.
The Knicks had a moment of silence for the rugged Queens native before Saturday's game against Toronto at the Garden, and paid video tribute to the fan favorite who died from congestive heart failure. As coach Derek Fisher said the team's thoughts are with his family, he also said their thoughts also should be on emulating his toughness.
"He'll be with us as we go on this season. He embodied a lot of what we're continuing to try and do here,'' Fisher said. "[He was] just gritty and very determined to get the outcome that he sought. Whatever it took to help his team win is what he was willing to do. That's a skill and a talent in itself.
"As you try and talk to players about how to play the game and how to have a role and be selfless within the team, he's one of the guys that quickly come to mind and that you … will always be able to use as an example of how you can be extremely impactful on a team without necessarily scoring 20 points a game."
"Many guys were barely born when he was excelling as a player. A lot of times we don't appreciate who a person was and what they stood for until they're gone. Maybe some of our players who are playing now will get a chance to appreciate and embrace more of what Anthony Mason stood for and how much of that we need to still be carrying with us going forward as we try to turn this organization around.''
Mason's came up from Springfield Gardens through the USBL to helping the Knicks to the NBA Finals. Lance Thomas, who was born in Brooklyn and played at St. Benedict's in Newark, watched Mason as a kid and appreciated his game and path to the NBA.
"Just a tenacious player," Thomas said. "That's something I looked up to. That's how my game is, just tenacity, getting after it. The fact that he's not here anymore is heartbreaking. You see how intense he was. Those guys were getting after it, the city was in a buzz. You see the panorama of the fans and everybody is going crazy. Hopefully we can get the franchise back to that."
"If you were a guy that was going against him, that probably was one of the guys you didn't want to go up against. Just for how physical he was and the toughness he brought to this team. He was perfect for that team. … You saw how hard he worked. He worked really hard and New York fans definitely appreciate a guy who does that. He became a fan favorite just off how hard he played.''
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Derek Fisher: Knicks can learn from Mason’s on-court toughness
Dengan url
https://susuvirus.blogspot.com/2015/03/derek-fisher-knicks-can-learn-from.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Derek Fisher: Knicks can learn from Mason’s on-court toughness
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Derek Fisher: Knicks can learn from Mason’s on-court toughness
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar