NEU » .One of the things that shell perhaps pat me

DAngelo Russell had to say something. After all, his favorite player was right there, standing a few feet away, on the same court -- someone he had studied for years, devouring countless hours of footage, then rewinding and playing it again before trying to mimic it on the court.For years, Russells friends and family couldnt quite understand his adoration. The player he had long admired wasnt one of the NBAs biggest stars. He didnt play for a major-market team. He didnt even start.To Russell, none of that mattered, and when the games action paused for a pair of free throws during one of their matchups last season, the Los Angeles Lakers point guard, then a rookie, made his move and approached his idol the same way a fan might.Man, Russell told Spurs guard Manu Ginobili.?Its a pleasure to be out here with you.Russell cant remember what Ginobili said in return, but for Russell, the moment was cool enough.I was like, Damn, he said, because he was one of my favorite players growing up.Growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, Antonio Russell Jr., like many his age, pledged allegiance to Kobe Bryant, but when it came time to pick sides, his younger brother went in a different direction.He used to tell me that his favorite player was Manu Ginobili, Antonio Jr. said. He always used to be like, Manu Ginobili, Manu Ginobili, Manu Ginobili.Antonio Jr.s response: Whoa.For years, Antonio Russell Sr. considered his 6-foot-5 son to be a blend of Jalen Rose and Lamar Odom, two left-handers with size who could handle the ball and do a bit of everything. He soon noticed that DAngelo just wasnt as interested in those players -- or anyone else -- as he was in Ginobili, an acrobatic lefty with court vision and, above all, a fearless nature.As time went on, I saw him pattern his game [after him] and doing the things that Ginobili does, Antonio Sr. said.DAngelo Russell studied film of Ginobili, trying to learn whatever he could.Yeah, basically everything Ginobili did, said Jamie Johnson, a childhood friend. He tried to watch how Ginobili moved off the ball -- just everything, as far as IQ-wise too, because Ginobili, of course, isnt the fastest guy. [DAngelo] understood that he wasnt fast either, so he tried to find players that were similar to him.Thats perhaps the largest reason Russell came to admire Ginobili so much: He believed Ginobilis style was one that he could emulate because their bodies, athleticism and skill sets seemed similar.See, its different when you ask who your favorite player was. You can say those American guys who made their name, like Kobe and Allen Iverson and Shaq and all those types of guys, he said. But I really look at it and say, if I could model my game after somebody [it would be Ginobili].Russell explained further by saying that if a player wanted to emulate, say, Dwyane Wade, he might focus more on pump-faking and midrange jumpers. If that player liked Bryant, precision footwork would be a priority. It depends what suited that specific player.You try to go to what youre accustomed to, he said. And Manu was never as athletic, but he could really pass the ball. He could score the ball, and he was just so unpredictable, and he was a lefty, so he was a player that I really prided myself on being.Throughout Russells youth, it seemed the Spurs were always in the NBA Finals, and Ginobili always seemed to be making a huge impact as a spark off the bench, helping San Antonio win four championships after he joined the team in 2002. For years, Russell followed the wily Argentinian, wondering how Ginobili remained so comfortable as a backup and seemed so ready coming into games, so bursting with energy.When he gets in the game, its like, the whole persona of the game just changes, he said. I was like, man, if I can pride myself into being like that, just being a guy thats so unpredictable that even at the age hes at now [39], hes so hard to guard.More than that, Russell said Ginobili was one of the first players to popularize the Eurostep dribble.Ever since then, everybody really started doing it, he said.As a rookie, Lakers staffers showed Russell footage of Ginobili, particularly how the Spurs ran plays to get him the ball -- a film assignment that didnt take much coaxing.He was just, like, so fiery, and he makes winning plays, and hes so unpredictable, so its hard for teams to scout him, he said.Russell hopes to develop all those traits, but theres one, above all, that he wants from his idol.Just the energy he has, he said. When he gets in the gym, I dont know, hes always ready. Its hard to come off the bench and be ready all the time. Hes always ready, and thats a skill. Threadborne Shoes Online . 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"I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. An American accountant and a New Zealander walked into a Wollongong pizzeria.Four years later, Gwen Jorgensens decision to seek out Jamie Turner as a coach was rewarded with the first US Olympic triathlon gold medal.Australias record Olympic medal streak in the sport ended on Saturday at Fort Copacabana, but there was still a strong down under influence as Jorgensen beat Swiss Nicola Spirig.Jorgensen spends five months of the year training with Turners famed Wollongong Wizards squad.Spirigs coach is Australian Brett Sutton, a maverick figure in the sport.After finishing 38th at the London Olympics, Jorgensen sought out Turner, a New Zealander who has coached swimming and triathlon in Wollongong since 1995.Turner conducted what he calls LSD - look, search and discover - to see if he and Jorgensen could work together.Id be more interested in an athlete who had the discipline to make their bed every morning, rather than someone whos run X-time for three kilometres, said Turner.The accountant and the Kiwi soon decided they liked the cut of each others cloth.Jorgensen lives for five months each year in a converted North Wollongong garage with the Allen family.She said her gold would not have happened without the Wizards.Im a better athlete, for sure, 100 per cent, because of them, Jorgensen said.Im 30, Im definitely grandma in the group - Patrick (her husband) and I are called grandma and grandpa because we always go to bed early.I feel younger because of them.Jorgensen calls Turner the best triathlon coach in thee world and eight of his squad competed in Rio, including Australian top-10 pair Aaron Royle and Ryan Bailie.ddddddddddddut never suggest to Jorgensen or Turner that the American has made sacrifices.We dont make sacrifices - athletes make investments, Turner said.One of the things that shell perhaps pat me on the back for is for teaching her that these things are not sacrifices.The accountants investing reaped massive dividends.Between 2014 and earlier this year Jorgensen had a record 13-race winning streak, dubbed Gwensanity, that made her the woman to beat in Rio.Jorgensen thrived under the pressure and had a storming race.Spirig, the London Olympics gold medallist, also impressed after crashing in March and needing hand surgery.There were mind games as they shared the lead on the run, with each telling the other to take a turn into a headwind.Spirig told Jorgensen the American should do the work, given she already had an Olympic medal.Fair enough - she now has two and I still only have one, Jorgensen said.She pulled clear to beat Spirig by 40 seconds, with Vicky Holland from Great Britain taking the bronze five seconds later.Beijing bronze medallist Emma Moffatt led the Australians with sixth, while London bronze medallist Erin Densham overcame a difficult four years to take 12th.Ashleigh Gentle lost touch with the front group in the swim and finished 26th in her Olympic debut. 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