web analytics
<
Tag Archive - Lakerzzzz

Going Ham

October 22, 2011 in by with 3 Comments

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYh59ahMgEw w=480 h=360]

 

You know Darvin Ham because he used to dunk very hard. You might not know that he’s an up-and-coming coach. After spending last season as the head coach of the D-League’s New Mexico Thunderbirds (now the Canton Charge), he has interviewed for a position on Mike Brown’s coaching staff and, although no deal has been finalized, he’s on a short list for the job. I’ve used this as an excuse to share everything I can find about the guy I fondly remember for his powerful dunking ability:

  • His Sports Illustrated cover is legendary. On that backboard-shattering dunk in the NCAA tournament, he had this to say: “I just wanted to run around the court and do backflips.”
  • He had a near-death experience at age 14, being shot by a stray bullet in his hometown of Saginaw, MI.
  • His mother, Wilmer Jones Ham McZee, was Saginaw’s first female mayor.
  • He was a late bloomer in basketball – he grew up playing football, didn’t start at Saginaw High, and went from Otero Junior College to Texas Tech. He went undrafted in 1996 but caught on with the Denver Nuggets in training camp.
  • He had a very underrated dunk in the 1997 dunk contest. Also, it’s a damn shame there isn’t more good quality Darvin Ham footage on YouTube. If you don’t remember how incredible a dunker he was, watch this mix and bear with the quality.
  • He and Lindsey Hunter were important “VETERAN LEADERSHIP!” types on Detroit’s 2004 championship-winning team. One of his favorite memories from his NBA career is Larry Brown saying, “every team needs a Darvin Ham” after winning the title.
  • I will not call him “Darvin Ham Slamwich,” but while he was with the Pistons, George Blaha did just that.
  • As mentioned in Rafe Bartholomew’s Pacific Rims, he made a very brief stop in the Philippines in January 2006. Bartholomew explains that Ham joined the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals in the middle of the playoffs, where he was expected to dominate the competition while quadruple-teamed and picked on by officials. Talk ‘N Text lost in the quarterfinals, then he was killed in the press. He met Bartholomew for cocktails on his way out of the country, where he compared the press coverage to “the kind of propaganda one might see on a ‘bin Laden tape.’”
  • According to Bartholomew, Ham drinks vodka pineapples and likes ultimate fighting.
  • His last NBA training camp was with the Mavericks in 2007. There, he talked to Avery Johnson about coaching and, after being waived, became a player-assistant coach for the Thunderbirds. At the end of the season Ham would become a full-time assistant and, when Coffino stepped down, he took over as head coach.
  • When he became the head coach, the Thunderbirds printed possibly the best promotional t-shirts ever. Yes, indeed, Ham does make us stronger.
  • He had former teammate Rasheed Wallace help out at a Thunderbirds try-out. You should watch the video in that link.
  • He and Ryan Bowen helped the Nuggets with their predraft workouts in June. I’d kind of hoped he’d end up an assistant with Denver because he and Kenneth Faried might be kindred spirits.
  • He’s been an analyst on NBA TV and Fox Sports Southwest.
  • He has a foundation called Urban Youth Development.
  • His son, Darvin Ham Jr., was a star at Bridgeport High and now plays for Northwood University. Darvin coached his AAU team.

Mike Brown Won’t Be The Problem

October 22, 2011 in by with 1 Comment

Photo by emayoh on Flickr

 

I’m starting to come around on Mike Brown coaching the Lakers. Sure, the enormous pressure makes it a tough task, but he doesn’t sound intimidated:

“Maybe there will be a day where I’ll look back and say, ‘What did I do?’, or, ‘That was a lot harder than I thought,’ ” Brown said. “But I was excited about the Lakers and the opportunity. I know and understand how it can be daunting to people because of the comments that people have made to me during the course of it.

“I’m looking forward to this challenge. I think this is a very good team. I think this team is extremely hungry because of the way it ended for them last year in their minds and their hearts. They feel like they’re better than that. The motivation is there. They have a history of knowing how to win.”

Via Lakers’ Brown Not Afraid To Follow Jackson, 10/21/11

Brown’s right. The Lakers are should be much better than the team that embarrassed themselves against Dallas. My initial reaction — “Mike Brown, Lakers, WHAAA?!” — was mostly to do with the way it happened and a bit of doubt that the players, specifically Kobe Bryant, would buy into his system. If they weren’t listening to Phil Jackson, why would they listen to Brown?

Thinking about it, though, it would be insane if they didn’t buy in. It’d be more surprising and more disappointing than the playoff collapse. Kobe must hate that they aren’t the favorites coming into this season. Pau’s got to prove last year’s poor playoff performance was an anomaly. After that sweep, this team shouldn’t need Brown, or anyone, to rally them.

We all know the other question about Brown: his offense. Even if the Lakers routinely abandoned the triangle, it was unstoppable when run properly. When L.A. began its coaching search I hoped it’d turn to Rick Adelman or stick with the triangle under Brian Shaw. Brown’s offense was definitely underrated in Cleveland, but it’s fair to wonder what exactly this team’s playbook is going to look like. It’s encouraging, however, that he’s been saying for a while that feeding Gasol and Bynum in the post will be a priority. Also encouraging is that he’s been preparing for this job for 15 months:

“I was intrigued with this job,” noted Brown. “And you know, I’m not one to talk about [or] look at jobs that are already filled and so it was common knowledge that Phil was going to step down. Early on. Even if a job is filled, you may watch teams and say, ‘I would do this, I would do that.’

“But this one in particular, because you knew Phil was going to walk away at the end of the year. I really watched it and studied it and you’re excited about the team because of the different players and so on and so forth… I knew I wanted to coach this year and if I had an opportunity, which I felt that I would have during the year, that I was going to take what I felt was the best opportunity.”

Via Mike Brown Has Been Ready To Coach The Lakers Since 2010, 10/20/11

Apparently Brown and his assistants have completed their offensive playbook. You already know he’s obsessive about watching film and he’s going to take care of the defensive side of the ball. If I was a Lakers fan, I’d be worried about depth, the PG spot, and Kobe staying healthy far more than I’d be worried about coaching. If they’re going to redeem themselves for last year’s exit, buying in is just the start.