Kendrick Perkins discussing the three best leaders he played with in the NBA:

Nick Collison — “Best teammate I ever had.

When you talk about losing yourself in the team, he was the true definition of that. The best thing about Nick was that he never switched up.

A lot of guys would change throughout the course of the season. When the team was doing well but you weren’t doing well individually, you caught a lot of guys, including myself, with an attitude. That was never Nick. Whether he was getting 20 minutes or zero minutes, he never changed.

Always positive. Always hardworking. Always looking out for the betterment of the team.

And when he did hold you accountable, it wasn’t in an aggressive manner. It was just like: “Hey, man, we need you, but you’ve got to do better here. I’ve got your back 1,000 percent.”

“My bad, Nick, I’ve got you. I apologize.”

“No, no, no. No need to be sorry. We’re in this together.”

He would run through a wall for you. After I got traded to Oklahoma City in 2011, we matched up against the Lakers in the playoffs in 2012.

My points weren’t there in game five, but I think I had 13 or 14 rebounds. I remember after the game Nick said: “You won that damn game for us. Those rebounds didn’t go unnoticed. You played your f—ing ass off, boy. Proud of you.”

I was somewhat the leader of that squad with Nick, but right then he didn’t even know what that did for me. I was like: Dang, Nick just gave me props. That felt good coming from Nick.”

Looks like Jeff finally bulked up a bit. Added some muscle. Looks good.

I need 2020s parenting hacks for children of the 60s/70s. Ugh.

@ROCKCHALK2025 so sorry to hear about your wife and inconsistent prognoses. That is brutal. I’ve had a total knee replacement. I can’t imagine dealing with rehab, pain, etc on top of everything else you have on your plate. My heart goes out to you.

@stoptheflop
Yes, that’s a good point. I forget they are still kids.

Also, if he wasn’t using creatine in HS, given the success he had there why start in college? Especially with doses high enough to lead to full body cramps. He already had all of the athletic edge he needed. Athleticism and recovery were not his limiting factors. And presumable any trainer would test pre-existing/natural creatine levels before dosing.

Or, for those of us who are suspicious, what was so bad that to hide it they had to invent a story that makes everyone involved look like a complete moron?

Question for those who know more about this: did Louisville just recruit over Flory? They landed Ekezie a 7-foot rim runner, albeit a young one. I like Flory a lot and wish we still had him (though not at 5M), but I’m not above enjoying the idea that his playing time just decreased.

@wissox83
Ah! That tracks. Reminded me of the view from a spot on the shore in Hyde Park, but it wasn’t quite right — the relationship of the Sears Tower to JH was off.

@wissox83
South side of Chicago?

He hasn’t won a Championship, but he’s won an mvp and just won a series against the hated (by Philly) Celtics. They’ve built a good team around him. Now his body has to hold up. Which I doubt it will, but we’ll see. I watched a good part of the 3-3, next game decides series game against the Celtics. I figured they ought to be playing hard to win that one. I wasn’t disappointed. Great game. And Embiid played well.

@RockChalkinTexas-0 great picture. I remember cicada killers growing up in Topeka. I always wondered what it would feel like to get stung by one. Never did find out.

Nice use of frisky. Don’t see that word enough.

I’m happy we got him. However the season turns out next year, it will be interesting and entertaining, possibly maddening as well. If you want to feel a bit better about our situation check out Rupp Rafters

@kjayhawks2.0 sure. Lots of them. Some are even employed.

Thanks for getting this together.

@nuleafjhawk yup. Exactly. Or teachers and journalists (real ones)

@approxinfinity I love both of those posts. Every time we discuss NIL dollars, I think “what about art, scholarship, ….?” The things that really do matter. (And yet I’ve watched 99% of our games from start to finish for many years.)

@Kcmatt7 how about Diggy? Odd example I think, but he killed it at UMD. Not at the level of KU, but impressive.

@approxinfinity baseball and volleyball are not obscure. But Ultimate Frisbee!

@RockChalkinTexas-0 Ha! Is that supposed to make us mad? If the 0.03577% chance of KU v KY in the finals comes to pass, we are definitely going to beat them.