When I saw that the Eagle would publish any editorial this week regardless of length, I thought about all the things that I felt I needed to say something about. The media, the bureaucratic waste of the school, dysfunctional student government, the way that the National Cathedral is under-appreciated by the AU student body, George W. Bush... well, you get the picture. I could write something nasty about people, without pulling punches, and there are plenty out there that deserve it. But I'm not in the mood for that garbage. This editorial will instead be a tribute to a man that has inspired since the days of Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994.
The magical beginning of championship year number one in the Houston Rockets repeat championship performance featured a team that was built to play basketball flawlessly. The starting lineup included Hakeem Olajuwon at center, Otis Thorpe at power forward, the unbelievably clutch Robert Horry, Vernon Maxwell, and a platoon of Kenny Smith and a new little skinny rookie by the name of Sam Cassell.
Cassell was a first round pick, so expectations for him were certainly rather high. However, he was still considered not to be a sure bet, as Cassell came 24th overall out of Florida State. Some even questioned Rudy Tomjanovich's decision to choose the spunky "Sam I Am" over other picks in the draft.
Rudy T's critics were quickly silenced. Cassell came out of the box strong, catapulting himself to the position of Sixth Man in the rotation. He averaged 17 minutes, 6.7 points and 2.9 assists a game that year, stepping his scoring average up nearly 3 points in the playoffs. Sam the Man tallies 22 points and seven assists in coming up big to win the last game of a brutal semi-final battle vs. the Charles Barkley-led Suns. In game 3 of the NBA finals that year, Sam scored the last seven points in a pivotal Game 3 win over the Knicks on the road, including a sweet swishing shot from behind the arc to give them the win in the last minute.
Sam only got better as his career progressed. During the second Rocket victory (which allowed Clyde the Glide Drexler to grab himself a ring) Sam gunned himself 31 points on 8 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc in a gutsy Game 2 NBA Finals performance against the Orlando Magic. They were promptly swept 2 games later. Now the baldheaded menacing trash-talker is at it again. After continuing to play for the Mavericks, the Nets, the Suns and the Bucks, Sam has finally settled into the Minnesota TimberWolves rotation alongside the monstrous Kevin Garnett, role player Wally Sczerbiak and bad boy/terrible human being Latrell Sprewell. He is now 34, but it is the best season of his career so far, as he earned himself an All Star game roster spot in putting up nearly 20 points a game, 7 assists and 3 rebounds.
Many say that the T-Wolves lack of experience in the playoffs and the fact that they always drop in the first round proves that they are a squad that can not win the NBA finals. I say to them, Sam Cassell has enough experience to go around. But don't ask me. Ask Patrick Ewing, or Carmelo Anthony, or Shquille O'Neal. Ask anyone who has watched helplessly as Sam nails 40 points with cuts and screens, or seen him slam the dagger in the heart of a team's playoff chances as the clock ticks down, or shimmy past a bigger guard with head fakes, double pump so well that the other team triples him up, then spit the ball outside to a wide-open Matt Bullard for a three.
It's about time the little man got some respect. Ring number three could be on the way, and a magical season could be born from the playoff touch of one Baltimore, Maryland native.
