| I will forever be indebted to Donnie Nelson for the
moment he took to share his wisdom with my grandson, Ethan
Anderson. It was back in the old days when the Mavericks
were still playing at Reunion Arena and Donnie's dad was the head
coach. Even though things weren't always great for the Mavericks,
as far as winning games was concerned, it was a great time for
fans. A lot of players would take time to visit with fans, sign
autographs, let their pictures be taken, etc. after home games. We
were there when Dirk became a member of the team and he would always
stop. You had to be there and see the look on the faces of the
kids when 7' 6" Shawn Bradley stepped out of his car to talk to
them. Just think about what he looked like through the eyes of a
4' 8" kid who dreamed of playing in the NBA! Shawn always
made a special effort to visit with them and we really appreciated
it. Almost all of the other Maverick players also went out of
their way to show their appreciation.
We were hanging around after one game when Donnie Nelson, now the
head of basketball operations, came over and said hello. He said,
"Would like the autograph of an assistant coach?" While
he was signing Ethan's book he asked him what he wanted to do in
life. As you can probably guess, Ethan's answer was -- "Play
in the NBA!" Donnie told him that was a great goal and he
really hoped he made it, but he wanted to tell him something that was
very important. He said, "Do you know the seats where the
Mavericks sit during the game? There are fifteen of them.
The first five are for the starters. That leaves ten chairs.
The next four or five are for the rotation players. That leaves
about five chairs. The next four are for reserve players, who
hardly ever get to play in a game, but are there in case someone gets
injured or sick. That leaves one chair. Every team in the
NBA has a chair like that one. That last chair is the one
that every college player in the nation hopes to sit in.
Ethan, I really hope you can sit in it someday, but always remember how
many other players want the same thing. The most important thing
is for you to get your college education first. If your basketball
playing can get you a scholarship that would be even better. Even
if you get that 15th chair, the time will come when your basketball
playing days will be over -- and that is when your education will be
needed the most. Get your college degree first!"
Ethan is now a senior in high school and he has worked very hard to
become a great basketball player. His next goal is to earn a
scholarship and get his degree. I don't know if he remembers
Donnie Nelson's words as clear as his Grandpa does, but I repeat them to
him on a regular basis. I have also shared it with many others
over the years. We have fond memories of those days down at
Reunion and the great times the Dallas Mavericks created for the kids
and fans.
Jim Myers
Owner - Select
Basketball |
