Holiday Bloggin’

Before the holiday we had a long four-game road trip. We started out in Portland, where we’ve played the Blazers before and played them close, but again a few plays here and there and we could have won, but we lost. I also did some holiday shopping. I got my friends and family some gifts and also myself! In Portland, they also have a casual shoe store for guys with big shoe sizes like me. So for all the people out there with big feet, go out there and get yourself some kicks.

Following our game against the Blazers, we headed to Houston. It was one of those times where we stayed in a city for more than two days, so we had an off day and my teammates and I went to the ‘Lil Wayne concert at Toyota Center. T Pain and Keisha Coles also performed. Donté, Bobby Brown, Bobby Jackson, Francisco and (Manager of Player Services) Hakeem and I had a good time there. It’s just another example of how we chill off the court, which helps us keep a good team bond.

The thing I remember most from the game against the Rockets is what happened when I checked in. Right after I got in the game, I went up strong to the basket and ended up getting hit and landing real hard. It was a little bit like déjà vu because a similar thing happened to me my sophomore year in college. I went up for a dunk and got low-bridged and was knocked out and unconscious for about five minutes, so it was kind of like a flashback. It was one of those times where you go up and you feel the contact, but the rest is a blur. I thought while I was still in the air that I had already hit the ground. I was thinking I was good! Then I hit the ground and I was like, ‘Wow! I was in the air for a really long time!’ But it was good that I was alright. The fall kind of affected me throughout the road trip a little bit, but it also helped me out because I try to play through adversity and play through pain, not to the point where I’m going to hurt the team, though.

Following that game we played a tough game at New Orleans. A couple plays could have gone the other way and we could have had the W, but they’re a tough veteran team. We had beaten them before so they came in with a lot of confidence and were eager to get us back from our earlier win on their home court.

We ended the road trip in San Antonio. The last time I was out there was for the Final Four. I was out there because I had been elected to the Senior All-Star Game. So it was a little bit different compared to how many people were out there for the Final Four and the cold weather didn’t help either. For some reason, I don’t know if it’s just people on the East Coast, but they always think Texas is hot. But it wasn’t on Monday. It was freezing! It felt like we were out in Jersey. It was freezing in the arena too. We weren’t prepared for that. It felt like we were playing outside! As far as the game, they have a lot of veteran guys and we didn’t have our best game. So we just have to pick things up and learn from what we’ve been doing and hopefully this three-game home stand will be good.

I had my first Christmas away from home but I enjoyed myself. I had some people come out to Sacramento. I went over to Donté’s on Christmas Eve and then went to Bobby Brown’s on Christmas. We just hung out with our families and stuff. It was a good time.

I haven’t gotten all my gifts from my family, some of them are waiting for me at home for when I go to Jersey on January 4, 2009, which is also when I’m getting my jersey retired at Rider University! My favorite gift so far is a framed drawing of my rookie card my parents had done by an artist. It’s real nice! Just to have my first card was a great feeling and then for them to have it sketched out like they did is real tight. My aunt sent me my Bachelor’s degree framed, so that was interesting to get as a gift. But to finally see it was good, and it showed all the hard work I put in in college paid off.

Speaking of Rider, to answer Sean’s question from my last post, my favorite Bronc diner meal depended on what I was hungry for, but the cheese steaks were good out there. I got the chicken fingers and fries sometimes, but I would have to say the cheese steak with extra American cheese was bangin’!

I hope everybody had a good Holiday. Merry Christmas! For people that don’t celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays! Have a good New Year, too! Be safe. I know a lot of people want to party and stuff like that, but this is the most important time to be around your families and celebrate.

Keep supporting us. I know it’s hard times out there right now, but the true fans keep supporting their team even when they’re not winning a lot. For all of the Sacramento area people reading this, keep coming to ARCO because we play our best when ARCO is rockin’!

My Guest Appearance and Turkey Day

JT here, back at it.

Last Friday we played the Blazers at home. We had a great crowd. We got off to a good start but the Blazers shot the lights out as a team. We came up short and we didn’t have one of our better games. I tried to spark the team a little bit throughout the game. I ended up with a career-high in points and rebounds with 19 and 12. I guess that was a positive, but you always wish to come out with a ‘W’ rather than the stats.

Then we went to L.A. and played a tough Lakers team that’s been on a roll. We played them real tough during the last two minutes of the game. They had a couple things go their way, like a couple offensive rebounds so they came out with the win, but we played with a lot of energy. I think the young guys and I, the “Young Gunnas,” came out throughout the second and third quarters and really sparked the team. We definitely had a couple chances to win. I know in the past the Lakers and Kings have had a rivalry. And as much as we keep emerging and improving as a team, hopefully the rivalry will get better and better as the years go.

I finally played against Kobe in a game that counts. I had a little taste of him and their team in Las Vegas. It was kind of a similar game even though we played them tough throughout. But it’s great to play against him. He’s a great player and he had a great game. Great players are going to have good games and I think as a team, we played tough. But we just have to finish.

On Monday we played Portland again. But this time their young team didn’t shoot the ball as well. We really locked down defensively and it came down to the last second. We had a chance to win it but the shot didn’t fall for us. It was great to see us bounce back from our home loss Friday and come back strong into a high-energy environment like Portland and almost get the ‘W.’

On my off day, I helped out my fellow rookie teammate, Donté Greene, on his show. I did some things I didn’t think I would be doing! We paddled on a boat about three miles into the middle of the lake. We did a little storytelling on the boat. We spit a few rhymes…a couple remixes on “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and Tina Turner’s “Rolling on the River!” It was a good time, just chilling with a friend and helping him out on his successful show. I’m serious on the court, but I try to have fun and mingle with guys on and off the court.

Besides kicking it with Donté, I also got a massage and rested my body a little bit. I also took some shots in the gym to stay focused. It’s always good to have an off day.

To close things out I want to give a shout out to Rider basketball. We’re 2-1 right now. We had a couple close games that we won at the end. My brother and the team are playing well. And Happy Thanksgiving to my family even though I’m not going to see you! Hopefully you’ll have fun but not too much fun without me! And everybody out there, have fun and be safe.

Happy Holidays and Happy Thanksgiving! Don’t eat too much turkey!

 

First Home Stand

‘Sup Kings fans?

We just finished playing our first three games in Sac after a tough road trip. We knew we had to take care of business at home. And we started off strong against Memphis, which is a young team like ourselves that had been playing well. We played them in the Home Opener and did what we had to do. We had some ups and downs throughout that game, but we pretty much controlled all four quarters. It all came down to defense and we kept them to a low percentage to pick up the win.

Next on the home stand, we played the Timberwolves, which was a rematch of our tough loss in the Season Opener. That was the first game of my career and I played well, but it wasn’t the same without the win. We watched plenty of film and had a lot of motivation going into the game. We wanted to win badly because of how they beat us in the first match-up. We came out with a lot of energy and played well defensively. Our shots were falling and we had around 20 assists, so we played well together to get the job done.

Of course, going against the Wolves had me matched up against fellow rookie big, Kevin Love. We said ‘what’s up’ to each other before both games and we respect each other’s abilities. Even though we play slightly different styles, we’re still cool and hopefully we’ll see each other in Phoenix at the All-Star Break. I played well against him in Minnesota, so I knew a little bit more about his strengths and tendencies getting ready to play him at ARCO. Kevin actually had it going more than Al Jefferson in the second meeting here at ARCO. It was just great to play against two great young post players, which will help me improve in my post defense throughout my career.

And two days ago, we had the “Backyard Brawl” against the Golden State Warriors. It was a good crowd at ARCO. The Warriors had some fans but we had ours supporting us since we were on a two-game winning streak. We knew how Golden State likes to play with a four guard, one big lineup. We came out with more energy than them. We knew they like to get out in transition so we did the same thing. We made some stops, tried to frustrate Stephen Jackson and just tried to play harder than them. By the fourth quarter, we built a 20-point lead, which led to a win. Now we’re getting ready to go against a tough Detroit team.

Right now the Pistons are trying to find themselves. They made the big trade of Chauncey for AI. Iverson is a former Sixer and Rip and Sheed are from the Philly area. I wouldn’t say we’re “boys” but I’m pretty cool with them because we’ve all lived around the same area. I’ve been to some of their games, so it’s going to be a good experience with them coming to Sacramento. We know we have to protect our home court. When we play great defense and rebound, we’re a tough team to guard because those aspects allow us to get on the break and go to work.

Other than these past couple games, I’ve been enjoying my rookie experience so far. My mentality is to come early and leave late. And I know that my teammates want to do the same and not just leave after it’s over. When guys stay after practice, we joke around and have fun. We’re not just teammates on the court. We’re teammates off the court as well. We get along with each other and it’s important to have that chemistry. We have a good balance of having fun and being serious when the ball tips-off for gametime.

I’m enjoying my time off the court as well. My parents and aunt were in town and they gave an “Extreme Makeover” to my house. My mother and my aunt helped make my place look great. They added their motherly touch! They bought some rugs, random paintings and other things that you’d think would serve some purpose, but are really only for decoration! My house is looking real exotic and comfortable. But, now I’m excited to come home more than any other time before. Maybe now I can be on one of those shows that feature celebrity houses!

It was great to spend some time with my family. They’ve been at all seven games I’ve played in so far. They may not be here for every game but they’ll be here in spirit. They have NBA League Pass so they’ll be watching on TV, too. It’s just great to have their support.

One quick side note — I want to wish a lot of luck to my former team, the Rider Broncs with their season coming up!

Overall, these first couple weeks have been great. I’m enjoying how the fans are supporting me. When I come to ARCO, I receive a good amount of cheers. It shows the fans like how I’ve been playing. I know coming out of Rider, you guys didn’t know what to expect. There have been some doubters but hopefully I prove people wrong by improving every day. I’m trying to set my goals real high. I have high ambitions to be All-Rookie First Team and play in the Rookie Challenge at the All-Star Game, but I’m trying to help the team out as well. Most importantly, I just want to win.

I hope you guys keep reading my blog. I love doing this because it’s always fun for me to interact with you guys. Remember, I’m not just an NBA player. I’ve been a regular guy trying to make it, too.

First-Year Journey

What’s good Kings fans?

The start of the season is finally here!

It’s exciting! It’s kind of crazy for the first game to come. The first four are going to be on the road. The last one against the 76ers is going to be pretty big for me. It’s going to be a hometown thriller so I have a little pressure. I have a couple sections saved for a lot of people that game — college, high school, middle school, family, friends and the neighborhood. I’m just real excited about that and the opportunity to finally play in the NBA.

Getting to the Season Opener has been a trip, though. It’s been an adjustment from college up to this point. But I gave you a little taste of it when we did the “Day in the Life” for Kings.com during Summer League. It was a great experience just to play with some of the guys and against some of the talent that I’ll be seeing today and throughout the season. I also worked out in Vegas with a couple stars in the game. Coming out here to Sacramento before training camp, learning the offense, playing with my new teammates and just becoming comfortable in a bigger court against stronger players has helped me in this transition, too.

I will say that training camp was way different than college with all the bumps and bruises and two-a-days. In college preseason, we might have two weeks and only one practice for only three hours. In the NBA, we’re practicing for maybe six or seven hours. It’s a little different when it’s your job and you’re getting paid to do it. In college, you have class and other distractions you have to worry about.

I guess going into training camp, you expect the worst when you’re coming into a different situation. You have to work your behind off as hard as possible and remind yourself that this is something you’ve always wanted to do as a little kid. As much as I’ve done to get here, I know I have to keep that same attitude and mentality that brought me to this point if I want to be in the League for awhile. Even though I’m getting paid to do what I love, that doesn’t mean I’ve accomplished what I want. I still have to get better.

I have goals for myself – to come off the bench and get minutes and hopefully become a starter as the season progresses. I’d like to be in the running for Rookie of the Year, too. In terms of team goals, I want to do whatever it takes to help my team make the Playoffs. I’ve always set goals for myself throughout high school and college. That’s the type of player I’ve always been.

Another big part of this transition has been getting used to having a game every night. I might have a great game against one team, but I have to forget about it after the horn sounds. I can enjoy it for a little bit but as a professional, you have to move on to the next team and scouting report. And the same thing goes for a loss. If we had a loss in college, we’d have three or four days to recuperate. But here, I have to learn to move on quickly and not dwell on defeats.

Some people say that when you get to this level, you become a big-timer. Or maybe you don’t express love for the fans. Even though I’ve made it to the NBA, I’m still the same person I’ve always been. I love meeting new people and I love doing what I’m doing. I hope when people read this blog, they understand that I keep it real. I’ll let people know whatever they want to know… as long as it’s appropriate.

To close things off, I just want to give a shout-out to a couple special people in my life – my mother and father. Also to my brother and Coach Dempsey – good luck this year at Rider University! They should have a good young team.

And I just want to throw a final shout-out to the fans — all the people that have supported me and are excited to see how I produce. I’m out to show that going to a small school has nothing to do with how successful I can be. I’ve been proving that to myself all my life.

I’m not here to stop. I’m here to continue getting better and hopefully be a franchise player in the next couple years!

Until next time, Kings fans.