Post by FLCeltsFan on Apr 3, 2006 9:32:16 GMT -5
Good article on Delonte in Boston Sports Review.
www.bostonsportsreview.com/200604_story_celtics.asp
Wild, Wild, West
The second-year Celtic won't soon forget his long, difficult journey from troubled child to NBA starter
By Lenny Megliola
It could have gone bad for Delonte West. Close call. He looked around the hard-scrabble D.C. 'hood and all but got swallowed up. "We lived in an apartment complex," he says, with its rough edges, in the nation's capital. "Our family was struggling."
What was there less of, money or hope? Young Delonte knew dough was short, that it was hard for his mother, Delphina Addison ("Sweet Dell" to Delonte), to make the rent. "We moved a lot, because of our financial situation," West says. "We were evicted three times."
Sometimes, the next move meant the four of them, Delphina, Delonte, his older brother and younger sister, had to sleep in the same bed.
What kind of life was this? Delonte West wanted more. But how could that be? How does a kid find out how to escape? An anger swelled inside the skinny kid. Burned him. "I was an angry young man," he says. And it would stay with him for a long, long time.
There was a basketball court. Of course. There always is, among the mean streets in places like where West grew up. For the boy, the court becomes an oasis, a freedom from all the chains that kept him from a better life, whatever that was. West gravitated there. There were plenty of other kids. West didn't join in. "I'd play by myself, pretending to be Michael Jordan. The court became an outlet."
Through the hard times, Delphina worked some magic. "She was a loving, caring woman," West says. "We were a tight unit, the four of us." Four in a bed. Tight. Delphina wouldn't let go. And perhaps some day ...
Last year, his rookie season with the Celtics, West's brother — "my best friend" — moved to Boston to be with his kid brother (by a year). Growing up, they didn't dance around a sibling rivalry, although "he was never as talented as me" in hoops, West declares. "I was competitive in everything. Like, who gets to play the video game today, who'll wear the blue jeans." There wasn't a full closet of clothes to go around. If Delonte was competitive, his brother was "aggressive. He got in a lot of fights." Some pair, these two.
Once he got into the games, West developed a way of playing, a bloody way, throwing caution to the wind, too often getting pounded to the hot-top court, landing on his elbows and knees. The 23-year-old can still point out scars from those long-ago days when he didn't have a clue where the game would take him.
This he knew. Basketball was starting to mean an awful lot. "If we'd lose, I'd cry." He had a knack for the game. You could see. "Everybody around me knew I was the best player out there."
Still, there were issues. For one thing, the family kept moving. "I went to three different middle schools." At each stop, his academic standing was substandard. When he became a ninth-grader, they sent him to live with his father in Virginia. Bad move. "I was a city kid," says West. "Being in Virginia made me more depressed. It was just a bad situation. I got into a lot of trouble. I got out of the city to stay out of trouble. In Virginia I got in more trouble. I quit the freshman team."
He was searching. "I wanted the perfect family, the perfect life. I realized it wasn't realistic."
He went back to the old Washington neighborhood, looking for another high school. A friend told him he should go to Eleanor Roosevelt High in Greenbelt, Md. Lots of nice-looking girls there. Gotta go. He went. Still, "My academics weren't up to par." He started playing AAU ball. Then Roosevelt coach Glenn Farello took an interest in West. Clearly, the kid could play. But he also had baggage. Farrello wasn't fazed. "He made me believe I could do this," says West. "I was an angry young man with a lot of frustration built from seventh grade on up. He was the perfect coach for me."
West had to show he could stay eligible, balance the books and the game. He didn't play until his sophomore year was about halfway through. From then on until the end of his senior season, West became all-everything in the D.C.-Maryland area. "I was prom king, too. That was big."
It wasn't the perfect life, but there were signs it was getting better.
College recruiters didn't exactly storm West's door. "Before my senior year, only two low Division 1 schools recruited me." He believed he could do better. Manhattan showed interest. "I'd never heard of it," West admits. He appreciated the attention, though, especially when they told him he was going to be a pro some day.
St. Joseph's suddenly popped up, in the oddest way. West was skimming the team's media guide, saw the schedule. "They had two games that were going to be on ESPN," says West. "That's why I went there. I was leaning toward Manhattan."
In Phil Martinelli, West found another coach, like Farrello, who understood the entire package. West liked him from the beginning. No BS with Martinelli. "He had the Italian swagger, the Philly lingo," says West. "He spoke from the heart."
And West gave Martinelli everything he had. "I always thought someone would show me the way ... the map how to be a basketball player. I'd been hoping for that since eighth grade," West says. West would take "bits and pieces" from the style of players that caught his eye, including teammate Jameer Nelson. The Hawks went 30-2 in West's senior year, 27-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He put up 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He tossed a perfect game against Xavier: 12-for-12 from the field, 3-for-3 on treys, 6-for-6 from the foul line. His 37 straight free throws is a St. Joe's record.
The Celtics drafted West with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2004 draft. He averaged 13 minutes per game as a rookie. When he played 38 minutes at Utah, West had 16 points and seven rebounds. His high was 19 points at Phoenix. He started three of the seven playoff games against the Pacers and made all of his five shots (three treys) in Game 4.
This season, he became an every-game starter. And it scares him to recall how close he came to taken the dangerous road. "I was living on a cliff, close to falling off," he says. "With everything going on in my life, I was on that cliff for a long, long time. It was a lot of immaturity on my part. I had nothing. I felt I was owed something, that I was shortchanged."
No more. "I'm amazed at what's happened," he says. "I count my blessings every day. There's joy in my life. I don't know that's necessarily good."
Will success spoil Delonte West, reduce the hunger a bit? Not likely. He is in a good place. He knows that. No more eviction notices. No more algebra to learn or history to memorize. No more sleeping four to a bed.
Life's good at last. He was able to reward his mother, buying her a car and a four-bedroom house in Maryland after signing his three-year, $2.5 million rookie contract.
By the way, basketball's not his only gift. When he was in the fourth grade, there was "the prettiest girl I'd ever seen," says West. She seemed smitten with this other boy because he could draw. I can do that, too, West thought. So he took it up. He still draws. The Celtics media guide refers to him as "a talented artist." He draws because it helps drown the anger within. "It's an outlet."
And there is this, too: "I like to think I have a secret. I have so much to offer. I feel there's nothing I can't learn. That's a broad statement. But it's a confident one."
www.bostonsportsreview.com/200604_story_celtics.asp
Wild, Wild, West
The second-year Celtic won't soon forget his long, difficult journey from troubled child to NBA starter
By Lenny Megliola
It could have gone bad for Delonte West. Close call. He looked around the hard-scrabble D.C. 'hood and all but got swallowed up. "We lived in an apartment complex," he says, with its rough edges, in the nation's capital. "Our family was struggling."
What was there less of, money or hope? Young Delonte knew dough was short, that it was hard for his mother, Delphina Addison ("Sweet Dell" to Delonte), to make the rent. "We moved a lot, because of our financial situation," West says. "We were evicted three times."
Sometimes, the next move meant the four of them, Delphina, Delonte, his older brother and younger sister, had to sleep in the same bed.
What kind of life was this? Delonte West wanted more. But how could that be? How does a kid find out how to escape? An anger swelled inside the skinny kid. Burned him. "I was an angry young man," he says. And it would stay with him for a long, long time.
There was a basketball court. Of course. There always is, among the mean streets in places like where West grew up. For the boy, the court becomes an oasis, a freedom from all the chains that kept him from a better life, whatever that was. West gravitated there. There were plenty of other kids. West didn't join in. "I'd play by myself, pretending to be Michael Jordan. The court became an outlet."
Through the hard times, Delphina worked some magic. "She was a loving, caring woman," West says. "We were a tight unit, the four of us." Four in a bed. Tight. Delphina wouldn't let go. And perhaps some day ...
Last year, his rookie season with the Celtics, West's brother — "my best friend" — moved to Boston to be with his kid brother (by a year). Growing up, they didn't dance around a sibling rivalry, although "he was never as talented as me" in hoops, West declares. "I was competitive in everything. Like, who gets to play the video game today, who'll wear the blue jeans." There wasn't a full closet of clothes to go around. If Delonte was competitive, his brother was "aggressive. He got in a lot of fights." Some pair, these two.
Once he got into the games, West developed a way of playing, a bloody way, throwing caution to the wind, too often getting pounded to the hot-top court, landing on his elbows and knees. The 23-year-old can still point out scars from those long-ago days when he didn't have a clue where the game would take him.
This he knew. Basketball was starting to mean an awful lot. "If we'd lose, I'd cry." He had a knack for the game. You could see. "Everybody around me knew I was the best player out there."
Still, there were issues. For one thing, the family kept moving. "I went to three different middle schools." At each stop, his academic standing was substandard. When he became a ninth-grader, they sent him to live with his father in Virginia. Bad move. "I was a city kid," says West. "Being in Virginia made me more depressed. It was just a bad situation. I got into a lot of trouble. I got out of the city to stay out of trouble. In Virginia I got in more trouble. I quit the freshman team."
He was searching. "I wanted the perfect family, the perfect life. I realized it wasn't realistic."
He went back to the old Washington neighborhood, looking for another high school. A friend told him he should go to Eleanor Roosevelt High in Greenbelt, Md. Lots of nice-looking girls there. Gotta go. He went. Still, "My academics weren't up to par." He started playing AAU ball. Then Roosevelt coach Glenn Farello took an interest in West. Clearly, the kid could play. But he also had baggage. Farrello wasn't fazed. "He made me believe I could do this," says West. "I was an angry young man with a lot of frustration built from seventh grade on up. He was the perfect coach for me."
West had to show he could stay eligible, balance the books and the game. He didn't play until his sophomore year was about halfway through. From then on until the end of his senior season, West became all-everything in the D.C.-Maryland area. "I was prom king, too. That was big."
It wasn't the perfect life, but there were signs it was getting better.
College recruiters didn't exactly storm West's door. "Before my senior year, only two low Division 1 schools recruited me." He believed he could do better. Manhattan showed interest. "I'd never heard of it," West admits. He appreciated the attention, though, especially when they told him he was going to be a pro some day.
St. Joseph's suddenly popped up, in the oddest way. West was skimming the team's media guide, saw the schedule. "They had two games that were going to be on ESPN," says West. "That's why I went there. I was leaning toward Manhattan."
In Phil Martinelli, West found another coach, like Farrello, who understood the entire package. West liked him from the beginning. No BS with Martinelli. "He had the Italian swagger, the Philly lingo," says West. "He spoke from the heart."
And West gave Martinelli everything he had. "I always thought someone would show me the way ... the map how to be a basketball player. I'd been hoping for that since eighth grade," West says. West would take "bits and pieces" from the style of players that caught his eye, including teammate Jameer Nelson. The Hawks went 30-2 in West's senior year, 27-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He put up 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He tossed a perfect game against Xavier: 12-for-12 from the field, 3-for-3 on treys, 6-for-6 from the foul line. His 37 straight free throws is a St. Joe's record.
The Celtics drafted West with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2004 draft. He averaged 13 minutes per game as a rookie. When he played 38 minutes at Utah, West had 16 points and seven rebounds. His high was 19 points at Phoenix. He started three of the seven playoff games against the Pacers and made all of his five shots (three treys) in Game 4.
This season, he became an every-game starter. And it scares him to recall how close he came to taken the dangerous road. "I was living on a cliff, close to falling off," he says. "With everything going on in my life, I was on that cliff for a long, long time. It was a lot of immaturity on my part. I had nothing. I felt I was owed something, that I was shortchanged."
No more. "I'm amazed at what's happened," he says. "I count my blessings every day. There's joy in my life. I don't know that's necessarily good."
Will success spoil Delonte West, reduce the hunger a bit? Not likely. He is in a good place. He knows that. No more eviction notices. No more algebra to learn or history to memorize. No more sleeping four to a bed.
Life's good at last. He was able to reward his mother, buying her a car and a four-bedroom house in Maryland after signing his three-year, $2.5 million rookie contract.
By the way, basketball's not his only gift. When he was in the fourth grade, there was "the prettiest girl I'd ever seen," says West. She seemed smitten with this other boy because he could draw. I can do that, too, West thought. So he took it up. He still draws. The Celtics media guide refers to him as "a talented artist." He draws because it helps drown the anger within. "It's an outlet."
And there is this, too: "I like to think I have a secret. I have so much to offer. I feel there's nothing I can't learn. That's a broad statement. But it's a confident one."