Premium Member Peoriabird Posted September 15, 2007 Premium Member Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Q. You've been the hardest player of all to get in touch with this summer. Where have you been? A. Well, I've been in Atlanta the past month. I was in Tucson before that for summer school. And I also went to Jamaica, to Negril, just to be away from everything and get my mind clear and to be around some true positivity. Q. Did not having to worry about what type of work environment you'd be returning to allow you to attack your offseason training with more vigor and just focus on that task for a change? A. That's never been a problem for me. I hope people realize that there's not a guy on this team that isn't a total gym rat. We spend more time than people ever know working on our games. Me, I just go in and do whatever is necessary to improve, whatever I feel in my heart that day is most important. This summer, it really wasn't just about basketball for me. It was about myself, some time to do some introspection, look at myself as a whole and doing some things to rediscover my passion for what life has to offer, as well as basketball. Q. It's almost like a summer theme now for you and your teammates, this idea that you needed to mature beyond just the game. Some fans, as you might expect, get nervous when they hear guys aren't locked in a gym somewhere shooting 5,000 jumpers a day. Can you understand those concerns? A. Of course. But we've spent the past two years working like crazy. Things don't go the way you want them to just because you're working like that. There's obviously more to all this than just working hard. Every team in the league works hard. You always hear veterans talk about being prepared mentally and the more time you spend in the league the more sense that makes. I was preparing mentally all summer. I just wanted to get myself in a good space mentally and emotionally to tackle the challenge we all have in front of us if we're going to realize our collective goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shug94 Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 This is from the Salim Q&A on AJC right? I hope he didn't partake in any extra curricular activities while he was in Jamaica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncthompson11 Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: This is from the Salim Q&A on AJC right? I hope he didn't partake in any extra curricular activities while he was in Jamaica. lol we all know what he was really doing down there haha probably not hopefully he was working with youngsters and trying to improve the community down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gangstur Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 I'm sure that he did, and sometimes I wish he could head into the locker room and engage in some activities during the game. Something to chill him out a bit, so he'd come back in and drain some open 3's, rather than run around in the lane and clonk runners off the back of the rim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lascar78 Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 I was thinking the exact same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Peoriabird Posted September 15, 2007 Author Premium Member Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Wow! notice no criticism of Salim eventhough he not only went to summer school but also went on vacation and got away from Basketball altogether until now! I guess those dual standards are alive and well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtLaS Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: Wow! notice no criticism of Salim eventhough he not only went to summer school but also went on vacation and got away from Basketball altogether until now! I guess those dual standards are alive and well! Salim wasn't even a first round pick, let alone a #2 pick. He was a 2nd rounder which most people consider a crapshoot anyway. Marvin deservingly would take alot more criticism for comments like that, especially since we passed on 2 star PG's to take a project at an unneeded position. When you are drafted THAT high to be a project, you damn well better be in the gym. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Peoriabird Posted September 15, 2007 Author Premium Member Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: Salim wasn't even a first round pick, let alone a #2 pick. He was a 2nd rounder which most people consider a crapshoot anyway. Marvin deservingly would take alot more criticism for comments like that, especially since we passed on 2 star PG's to take a project at an unneeded position. When you are drafted THAT high to be a project, you damn well better be in the gym. So the rule is if you are not a first round pick or the #2 pick in the draft or if you are not picked before 2 preferred players, you don't have to work on your game in the summertime! I hope guys like G. Arenas, Ginobili, R. lewis, or Carlos Boozer didn't waste their precious summer time working on their respective basket games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimp Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Marvin, is the highest draft pick in Atl Hawks history. So of course he's goning to have more pressure of him than anyone else.10X more than a 2nd rounder,who is our 3rd string sg. Look at the other sf's drafted in the top 3 , in the last 5 years.For me , these guys are Marvin's peers. Lebron James - straight out of high school Carmelo Anthony- left after freshmen year Kevin Durant - left after freshmen year Mike Dunleavy- left as a junior Adam Morrison- left as a junior. Lebron, Carmelo, and Durant all entered the nba at about the same age as Marvin , who also left after his freshmen year.. So is it wrong to use these guys as a measuring stick for Marvin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Peoriabird Posted September 15, 2007 Author Premium Member Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: So is it wrong to use these guys as a measuring stick for Marvin? Don't know were you are going with this but the thread is designed to highlight the double standard that exist on this message board not comparing Marvin to the best player in the league. The statement was made that 2nd round draft pick should not be expected to work as hard as 1st round draft picks and I beg to differ. throuhout history, less talented players have always had to work harder that more talented players. In other words, Atlas statement really illistrates how far would posters would go to serve their own agenda. Even if it means making ridiculous statement like 2nd round players don't have to work as hard as 1st round players! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swatguy Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: I was thinking the exact same thing. You guys are nuts!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swatguy Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: Wow! notice no criticism of Salim eventhough he not only went to summer school but also went on vacation and got away from Basketball altogether until now! I guess those dual standards are alive and well! Salim does not have intensity issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Peoriabird Posted September 15, 2007 Author Premium Member Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: Salim does not have intensity issues. I may be wrong about this but I assume that you go to a gym to work on your basketball skills not your intensity. If that is the case then Salim has many reasons to visit a gym in the off season. But don't tell Atlas that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swatguy Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: Quote: Salim does not have intensity issues. I may be wrong about this but I assume that you go to a gym to work on your basketball skills not your intensity. If that is the case then Salim has many reasons to visit a gym in the off season. But don't tell Atlas that! If you are timid, if your are not aggresive, if you are often in the WRONG position. You need to tune it up. Your intensity is lacking. Salim admits to working on his game. That is appropo. Salim is a Bulldog. The other guy is not, so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Peoriabird Posted September 15, 2007 Author Premium Member Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: Salim is a Bulldog. The other guy is not, so far. I think you mean that Salim is a dog. A severely limited player who has one skill and doesn't even do that well. But that is not the discussion. The discussion is about how being a gym rat does or doesn't translate to improvement on the court. The statement was made by Salim himself that the 1st 2 years they tried the gym rat approch and it didn't work. This year they all took some time off and thought that it would benefit everyone in the long run. Which is contrary to how posters about Marvin taking time off. The irony is that the same posters don't care if other players on the same team take time off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zone034life Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 One has much higher expectations than the other. Salim isn't even gauranteed that he will be in the playing rotation this season. The franchise and fans have much more invested in Marvin than Salim. Those second round picks made it because they worked hard to prove there selves. But there franchises weren't expecting them to be stars like the Hawks are with Marvin. I'm sure Arenas, boozer and Ginoboli's teams were happy they turned out good but i'm sure they didn't count on them to help turn there franchise around when they were drafted. That was Marvins burden he was given when he was drafted. Why can't you understand that with great expectations comes great accountability? How can you compare a player with a gauranteed multi million dollar contract to a guy who wasn't even guaranteed a roster spot when he got drafted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Peoriabird Posted September 15, 2007 Author Premium Member Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: How can you compare a player with a gauranteed multi million dollar contract to a guy who wasn't even guaranteed a roster spot when he got drafted? Because money has nothing to do with anything. The statement made was the you and other are dead wrong when you assume that working on your basketball skills year round made you a better basketball player. Salim clearly stated that his mental break from basketball has helped him. Now, Why can't you understand that!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zone034life Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 In what walk of life does money not matter. So you are saying that Salim should be held to the same standard as Marvin. Thats crazy. If you are on a job and you get paid three times more than me then you will be expected to have more skills and produce far more than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimp Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 It's less about money and more about where they were drafted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Peoriabird Posted September 15, 2007 Author Premium Member Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Quote: So you are saying that Salim should be held to the same standard as Marvin. 1st of all to answer your question, yes he should be held to the same standard as any professional basketball player. It really doesn't matter where you were drafted, you should work as hard as you can to become the best player possible. Secondly, my point of the whole thread is to mock the so called board experts that think somehow that Marvin's development would be hurt by attending summer school. So either you so called experts know more than a current professional basketball player or you think Salim was lying when he said that a break from basketball during the off season is good thing!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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