Butterflies and Adrenaline -- My Rookie Experience so Far

Butterflies and Adrenaline -- My Rookie Experience so Far
Oct 18, 2007
Posted by: Morris Almond


I learn something new with every minute of PT.
D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE/Getty Images

The pre-season has been going pretty good. It’s a learning experience, I’ll say that much. That’s a good thing though. Even though they’re just exhibition games, they are invaluable to players like me who are adjusting to the NBA game. It gives us a chance to get out on the floor and get game experience—there’s really no substitute for that.

What’s the biggest thing I learned since the pre-season started? Relax! Before the first game, there were nerves; I think that’s natural for any player in my position, so I don’t mind admitting that. I’ve had my share of high points and low points throughout our five exhibition games, and the most important conclusion I came to when I go back and analyze everything is that I play best when I’m loose and having fun on the floor. When you realize that you’ve put in the time and training beforehand, all summer long, during training camp, and during team practices—the actual game should be the fun part. So even though it may sound elementary or cliché…it’s true! Play hard, play loose, and you’ll be all right.

I get this question sometimes: “How will you feel if you don’t get as many minutes as you got in college?” What can I say? In college, I was on both ends of the spectrum in terms of playing time. My first two years, I came off the bench in limited minutes. The latter two years I was logging heavy minutes and leading the country in scoring. One thing a lot of people don’t know about me: I didn’t even start a game at Rice until my junior year. That was definitely one of the toughest pills I ever had to swallow. I came in as a freshman expecting to be a contributor from Day One. But I learned that things don’t always go your way, to put it mildly. While it was definitely a slice of humble pie, I didn’t cry about it; I didn’t jump ship and transfer; and I didn’t take it personal. I put in the overtime and got better, and things worked themselves out.

Of course, that’s the simplified, made-for-the-NBA.com-blog version of the story. But you get my point. While there’s still a lot I haven’t experienced in this league, I am seasoned enough to understand and respect whatever role my coaches and teammates place me in. It’s not about the start—the finish is all that matters. I’m excited to see what the regular season is going to bring.

On a little lighter note: the pre-season has also brought its share of ‘rookie moments’ for me and my other first-year teammates. I’ll share a quick example: Let’s rewind things to about ten minutes before the first game of the pre-season. The team is huddled up in the tunnel, about to run out onto our home floor for the final round of warm-ups. Right before we fall in line and head out, some of the older players yell out for the “rookies to lead us out onto the floor.” Full of butterflies and adrenaline, I jog to the front of the line, along with the other two rookies on the team, Kyrylo Fesenko and Kevin Lyde. None of us are point guards (the smallest players usually lead the team out onto the floor) and none of us know the pre-game routine that team usually does before the game. But if the vets say go first--than we just go ahead and run out first. We all stride out onto the floor as the home crowd begins to cheer and head to our basket to start the lay-up line.

Then we hear the laughs—from the crowd, and even from a few members of the other team. We turn around. Nobody is behind us. So Kevin, "Fes,” and myself are all standing at mid-court, looking at each other. A few seconds later, Deron Williams, our point guard, leads the rest of the team out onto the floor.

Good one, guys. You got me with that one, I can’t even lie. Chalk it up as another “learning experience.” My father and my roommate Greg, who were in the stands, got a kick out of that one. Remind me to use that trick on next year’s rookies.

That’s about all I’ve got for this entry. I’m actually on the team plane now, headed to another road game. We played earlier tonight at home, and my coach just walked by and handed me a copy of the game, so I’m going to check that out. I’ll check back in soon enough.