Metta World Peace - Street Baller
Metta recently made a statement that best capsulizes who he is after Andrew Bynum got ejected against the Houston Rockets on April 6, 2012 for taunting the Rockets bench. When asked about Bynum being ejected, Metta offered this line of reasoning, "You talk trash, that's the essence of basketball right there," "You score, you talk trash. That's fun. YOU GOT A BUNCH OF STREET BALLERS IN A CORPORATE LEAGUE." Line about "street ballers" is a classic and it reveals so much about who Metta is at his core. Note to Metta, Bynum will never be confused for being a street baller, but you, Metta, will go down as one of the all-time street ballers in NBA history. It's who you are and who you will always be. Queensbridge born, Queensbridge bred, and Queensbridge until you die!
FIRST IMPRESSIONS - 1998
I first saw Metta World Peace play, then known as Ron Artest, at Louisville on 1/6/98. Only saw a half of that
game, but he was a player who immediately caught my eye. Saw Ron a couple of weeks later
on 1/19/98 vs. UCONN and wrote my initial impressions -
Power small forward. Has started, but is now coming off the bench. Strong frame - big hands and butt. Strong through the shoulders. Good release, can shoot 3's with range. Aggressive offensively, but choices are not smart at this stage. Ball handling
ability. Driving the ball up the floor with left hand - makes the correct play/pass on the break. Good
2-footed jumping ability - claims defensive rebound. Don't view as an early out, but scout him in junior year.
Third time I saw him was another game against UCONN on 2/28/98. I was starting to hone in on his game: Sixth man - a leader - even from the bench - keeps himself into the game - chomping at the bit to get into the game. Giving instructions and directions to upper classmen. Forceful personality - wants to make things happen on the court. Has no fear - great confidence. Powerfully built - long arms. Warrior mentality - plays the game with passion. Understands the value of spacing the floor in attacking the press. Loves to attack the rim in the open floor. Handles well with either hand - face-up breakdown abilities. Can make plays for self and others off the dribble - breakdown/penetration abilities from the wing - can get his own shot - good vision and passing abilities off the dribble. Somewhat of a high risk game at this stage (leads team in turnovers (2.8), but I like his instincts and aggressiveness. Good change of pace/direction dribble, low handle with good control. Will force the action in the post - gets to the line. Free throw percentage is poor (52%), but his release is solid. A warrior on the defensive end - quick hands -gets strips. Good help defender - aware - shot blocking ability off the ball. Good individual defender - strong and quick - gets through screens - controlled close out - under control and has good balance.
THE ARTICLE
Read a New York Times article (2/21/98) on Ron Artest that I decided to include in my report. Thought the article gave one some insight into Artest's psyche, and I also wanted to read passages to him from the article and get his response if I ever got the chance to interview him, which I did. Think this passage about Artest will give readers of this post some insight into who Ron was as a young boy. In a lot of ways, he's not too much different than that 11 year old boy.
"Artie Cox
coached Artest when he was 11 years old and commented that even then Artest possessed a passion
to win, an unchanneled, unbridled intensity that frequently spilled over in confrontations with
teammates, fans, and opponents. He tried to defer to the upperclassmen and blend in - but they were
not seizing the moment." 'Sometimes you can't blend in because it will affect the way you play, so
you just have to be yourself.' "On a St. John's team that has been without a leader, the coaching staff
welcomes Artest's taking a leading role. But they wonder if he could be a bit more diplomatic when
he admonishes his teammates to play harder. "I don't know how to do it in a diplomatic way. I'm
trying, but it's hard. That's the way I've been playing all my life. That's the way I got here, that's
why he recruited me. Fraschilla, who is known as a screamer, asked Cox if he could coach him.
Fraschilla says that Artest needs a cause. He needs me yelling at him or he needs to know that the
team needs him."
THE COACH
Fran Fraschilla was Artest's coach in his freshman year at St. John's. Fraschilla was abruptly fired in May of 1998. I'm sure the school had their reasons, but for many, Fraschilla's firing was mysterious. Links to two articles on Franschilla and St. Johns's maybe be of interest to basketball fans - "St. Elsewhere" & "The Curious Case of ESPN Analyst Fran Fraschilla."
Mike Jarvis replaced Fraschilla at St. John's and coached Artest in his sophomore year. I don't think Jarvis and Artest meshed together as well as Fraschilla and Artest. They're kindred spirits. In interviewing Artest, I asked him about his relationship with Fraschilla:
"Feels he can play for any coach after playing
for Fraschilla. He pushed me to the limit - learned how to play through fatigue. Showed me a lot of
tricks of the trade - i.e., how to follow people off screens. Mentally - I have learned to think the
game better - I want to win the game so much."
Ron and psychologists/psychiatrists go way back. I knew this when we interviewed Artest before the draft. Ron said he saw a psychologist, practiced
visualization and worked on controlling his emotions. Found a great article that details Artest's mental health experiences, "Ron Artest: An unlikely advocate."
DRAFT YEAR - 1999
The final report that I wrote on Ron Artest was after seeing him play against Providence on 2/15/99:
Blowout game - I can't say that I learned a lot more about him than I already knew. Game did not test his mettle. I will now classify him as a 3/2 - has a great handle
and can initiate an offense and is comfortable playing on top of the
floor - guard skills. Big hips - strong frame. Physically developed - a
man's body. Above average wing span and a wide butt. Structurally strong
- great body. Has a lot of game. Down screen - catch and shoot -
excellent release - shoots an easy shot from distance. An improved free
throw shooter (62%) but should be so much better. Post-up abilities -
good patience in the post - spins and finishes over Thomas. Solid
dribbling skills in the open court. Ball handling abilities are super -
low - between the legs - good
change of pace - also has crossover dribble. Good post passer. Averaging a ton of assists for a
forward (4.7) Does he have a middle game? Very good lateral quickness. Solid post defender -
Contains with hands up - straight up block on Thomas. Has good defensive quickness but is
allowing Thomas to get easy looks from the wing - not containing but don't want to read too much
into it given the nature of this game. Continue to scout him - I think he has special qualities.
The Bulls picked Artest in the1999 draft with the 16th pick in the draft. I actually wanted the Bulls to pick James Posey
over Artest, but that's another story for another day, probably one that I'll never write. Both Posey and Artest were great middle round first round picks.
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