#12, John Stockton. Greatest point guard ever. Respect the game. Recognize the player. Honor the man.
*NOW PLAYING:*
Song: Bring Me Down
Artist: Pillar
Album: Where Do We Go From Here?
Quote: "You can't bring me down! Can you hear what I'm trying to say?
You can't bring me down! I'll never turn the other way!"
* * *
Whoa... haven't blogged in a looong time. School's been keeping me busy... This weekend was devoted to getting these group projects/presentations done. This is gonna be one rough week... presentations and assignments galore plus gotta start studying for finals. :P
Friday night, had a band practise with the EACO youth CoffeeHouse team... loooooong night since the Pastor left early and I was the only one left with a key. :P blah. We're going to try to pull of Lifehouse's Everything and Mercy Me's popular I Can Only Imagine. They're also going to try to pull off a fun rendition of Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Hope it goes well on Fri's coffeehouse... time's been tight.
Saturday, got the chance to finally see some OU friends... seems like I never see 'em any more. Met up with Andrew and Shannon at Zavidas for some studying then off to Lone Star for some yummy nachos. Visited Karen afterwards at her place to end the evening. Was nice to see the bunch again, I miss hanging out with 'em.
Sunday morning, led worship at church. We tried a somewhat different version of familiar songs... with a riff that I tried out. Didn't work out all that well, it turns out, but I thought it sounded kinda cool. Tried to introduce Chris Tomlin's How Great Is Our God but I dunno if that worked over well either. *sigh* Had another coffeehouse practise after lunch (mmmmm Shawarma....so hooked...), which went well I guess. I've gotta sub in for the pianist for I Can Only Imagine... and I'm also doing electric guitar for Everything. Hope it goes well.
Oh yeah, and I received my Creative Zen Touch in the mail during the week. My MiniDisc player's been acting up on my as of late so a replacement was in order. I figured that for the price of an equivalent MD player, I might as well go hard-drive mp3 player. Everyone's been knocking it for not being the popular iPOD, but I really like the Zen Touch and I paid a LOT less for it than what I would've had to spend on an iPOD. It's very satisfying and convenient to have my entire music collection on a device (20 gigs capacity) that sounds great and is quite portable. The thing also runs circles around the any other HD-mp3 player out there in the battery life department with 24 hours of battery life. Very happy with this new device... hope it lasts.
Ah yes, which brings me to the title....
Tonight, #12 John Stockton's jersey will be retired in Utah. As a big basketball fan, I was a huge fan of John Stockton and wanted to emulate him as a b-ball player. Stockton played the game of basketball so purely and with such heart. He defined the point guard position and embodied selflessness both on and off the court. As famous as he was for his passing, defense, and hard-nosed play on the court, he was just as famous for avoiding the spotlight and being a devoted family man. Stockton was happy to do his job, help his coach and teammates, then slip quietly into the shadows. In a league of "me-first" players, Stockton was the odd one out, and for that alone, you have to respect the guy. Stockton was also one of the most competitive players ever...winning was everything. Stockton did not play for money or fame... he played for the love of the game.
His personal accolades are as impressive as they are unmatched:
- voted one of NBA's 50 Greatest Players
- 2 olympic gold medals ('92,'96)
- 2x All-NBA first team
- 6x All-NBA second team
- 3x All-NBA third team
- 5x All-defensive second team
- 9x All-star (co-MVP in '93)
- NBA record 15,806 assists
- NBA record 3,265 steals
- NBA record: highest single season per game assist average: 14.5 ('90-'91)
- NBA record: led league in assists 9 seasons consecutively
- Played 1,504 of a possible 1,526 career games over 19 seasons (playing every game for 17 seasons)
...etc.
Known for his one-handed laser-accurate passes, rock-solid picks, sick court vision, and ironman durability, Stockton was as tough as they came, standing only 6-1, 175 lb. yet setting picks on guys a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier. His role in the famous Stockton/Malone pick&roll brought him to the NBA Finals twice, where the Utah Jazz lost both times to the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. I still remember watching the '97 Western Conference Finals with Utah vs. Houston and Stockton hit the 3-pt buzzer-beater to send the Jazz to the Finals... perhaps his most glorious and emotional moment in the game of basketball. I also remember watching Stockton throw that amazing full-court one-handed pass ahead to Malone over Jordan's outstretched hands for the game-tying layup in the NBA Finals vs. the Bulls.
Although never mentioned in the breath as Jordan, Magic, Bird, Wilt, Russell, or Isaiah, Stockton was one of the great players and was the definitive pass-first point guard of his time. Stockton retired at 41, still averaging 10 pts, 7.7 assists, and 25 minutes per game while still leading his team as an effective point guard. Stockton lived his life as a point guard and may go down in history as the greatest and purest point guard ever. Here's to you, #12...be recognized.
