SB Nation - Jerry Stackhouse

The Strange Fantasies of Rick Barnes Fans

T.H. — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:06:32 -0000

More photos » by Erich Schlegel - AP

about 1 month ago: Texas coach Rick Barnes sings "The Eyes of Texas" after Texas beat Western Carolina 73-41 in an NCAA college basketball game in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Texas won 73-41. (AP Photo/Erich Schlegel)

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The Duke Basketball Report had an aside in their coverage of Roy Williams' Crowd Management that might strike people not familiar with the ACC as odd:

A stray thought: UNC’s next game is at Texas (well in Texas anyway) against old nemesis Rick Barnes. Do you suppose there’s any chance he could yank UNC’s chain over this?

Normal people would be perplexed by this. Rick Barnes is a basketball coach. Basketball coaches speak entirely in, well, coachspeak. They'll mouth platitudes about their opponents, mumble some concerns, and then end the press conference. I can guarantee you Rick Barnes isn't going to discuss Roy Williams' actions in a game against Presbyterian. So Texas fans might be asking themselves, why would Duke bloggers think otherwise?

Well, fifteen years ago Rick Barnes got mad at Dean Smith.

The full story is here, but I can give you a quick rundown. It was the 1995 ACC Tournament and Jerry Stackhouse had just been fouled by Iker Iturbe. Smith yelled at Iturbe, Barnes yelled at Smith, and the two spent a timeout face-to-face having a spirited discussion on the finer points of the game. Both coaches were fined, and for the rest of Barnes' tenure the pregame coaches' handshake was covered with more cameras than your average presidential photo-op. Barnes was a hero to every ACC school outside of Chapel Hill, a love affair that continues to this day.

Said love affair leads to some strange behavior, most notably the abject lust for the man held by State Fans. The Wolfpackers always looked down on Herb Sendek, who had a poor record against UNC, preferring Barnes, who was a mighty 1-9 against the Heels. He said mean things about UNC, so naturally he's the best fit for a job leading fans that also hate UNC. Similarly, there's the Duke fan response linked above, with the faulty logic that since Barnes didn't like Dean Smith, and Duke fans don't like Dean Smith, they agree on everything. Ignore the fact that Barnes and Williams coached for a half a decade in the same conference without incident (Barnes was 1-4 against Williams, for the record) means nothing. They want to cut Williams down to size, so Barnes will want to cut Williams down to size.

The UNC-Texas game will almost certainly pass without incident. One team will win, the other will lose, and the folks who hate Carolina will be thrilled or disappointed based on which team has the most points at the buzzer. But Rick Barnes is never going to be the disgruntled fan you want him to be. He has a job and a team to manage; he'll be focused on that.

The Rockets' roster seems to be set, doesn't it?

grungedave — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:10:46 -0000

For the moment I shall ignore all rumors about Jerry Stackhouse but after last night it seems the Rockets may have already settled on the 15 players... okay the 13 "active" players that will be on the roster for Opening Day. Yao and Tracy obviously being inactive as of Halloween, but due to quirky NBA rules, Morey and the gang have to keep them on the 15 man roster. So lame. I much preferred being able to stash guys on the inactive list with fake injuries.

The one really big piece of bad news is that Joey Dorsey has most likely sulked and half-assed his way off the team. Leaving me with about 50% less material to write about this upcoming season. As if I weren't already facing an uphill climb without Yao to praise and T-Mac to belittle?!?!

That aside, here's what (as of today) looks to be the 2009/10 roster:

60% of our salary cap
C - Yao Ming (essentially deceased for 2010 purposes)
SF - Tracy McGrady (only mostly dead)
---
starting lineup (probable)
SG/SF - Trevor Ariza
PF/C - Luis Scola
SG/SF - Shane Battier
PG/midget in traveling circus - Aaron Brooks
PF/C - Chuck Hayes
---
scrubs/bench
PF/C/SF - Carl Landry
PG/resident bulldog - Kyle Lowry
SF/PF/token white guy shooter - Chase Budinger
SG/rookie beyotch - Jermaine Taylor ("sing it again!")
PG/practice dummy - Will Conroy
PF/C - David Andersen (he's here to keep Luis happy)
PF/C/blog killer - Pops Mensah-Bonsu
worthless waste of cap space - Brian Cook

This leaves no room for Joey. It also leaves no room for Jerry Stackhouse... unless the Rockets plan on cutting Budinger, Taylor or Pops. Or can somehow find a sucker to take Brian Cook's contract off our hands. Brent Barry is also still on the roster, but he will be traded or bought out or forced into early retirement soon enough.

Quick shots

Stop-n-Pop — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:49:27 -0000

(Oleisky Pecherov after the game.)

Since last night's Wolves/Bulls tilt was broadcast on FSN somewhere in the neighborhood of 12:30 AM, and since I would never dream of telling people to watch pirated game streams...cough...today's wrap-up post will be less wrap-up and more general thoughts about the Wolves at this point in the preseason.

FTAs so far: 50, 45, and 49. Here's to the replacement refs.
Jonny Flynn is 7-19 from the floor and 27-32 from the line. I will pee my pants if he can maintain a 6 FGA/10 FTA average for the season. Of course, this isn't very likely to happen. In fact, no one has really even gotten close. Whether or not it has anything to do with the new refs (and it probably does), Flynn's ability to get to the line has been pretty impressive. Averaging 10 or more FTA/game as a guard puts you in some pretty elite company: Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Tiny Archibald, Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and World B. Free are the only players in the top-20. We're only talking about 3 preseason games with replacement refs, but I just want to point out how impressive it is for a guard to be getting to the line as much as Flynn is. Only 5 guards have accomplished the 10+ FTA/game mark in the past 10 years: Kobe, A.I., D-Wade, Jerry Stackhouse, and Gilbert Arenas. Again, pretty good company and I will pee my pants if Flynn can even come close to those FTA/game marks.
Corey Brewer is 6-25 from the floor and 18-23 from the line. He needs to take a page from the Jonny Flynn playbook and cut down on his FGAs.
Al Jefferson has only 6 FTAs. The guy definitely has finesse on the inside.
The Bulls announcers are right: Pecherov really does look like Stewie Griffin:

Stewie can probably defend better than Pecherov.
Mike Miller actually shot the ball for the Wiz last night. Maybe it's the new hair dye. It also looks like 4th Quarter Foye made a small appearance. I don't really have anything other to say than: Prepare yourselves Wiz fans...prepare yourselves. I won't say what for, but you'll know it when you see it. (Hint: it has something to do with Magic Mike and kamikaze drives down the right side of hte lane.)
It will be really interesting to see Corey Brewer's on/off OE/DE numbers this season. Last year the Wolves were significantly better on defense while he was on the court compared to when he was off. The (relative) positive here was that while this was happening, the team's OE stayed remarkably constant. In other words, Brewer's offensive ineptitude didn't hurt the team more than his defensive impact helped it. (Keep in mind we're still talking about a crappy team here.) Is Brewer a plus defender? Mark this one down as one of the big questions of the year. Is he as good as we think he can be or is it a bunch of smoke and mirrors?
Kevin Love got rid of his Color Me Bad beard.
With Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions on the roster, and with Ricky Rubio overseas, does anyone have any nostalgia for the Kirk Hinrich trade that never happened?
I will never, ever approve of black athletic socks.

Well that about does it. The cuts should start in the next few days or so. Who will stay and who will go from the bottom half of the roster?

What say you?

So Michael Jordan is going to the Hall of Fame...

Mike Prada — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:56:59 -0000

More photos » by PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS - AP

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...and if you're a Wizards fan, you're probably asking yourself, "How should I feel about this?"

How do I feel about this? Jordan the player was absolutely the best that ever lived. He was the most electrifying player and the most competitive player this game has ever seen (or will see). Friends tease me at how much I watch old Jordan games when he was in Chicago in my spare time. He was absolutely stunning.

But I also can't help but feel bitter about his time in DC, a tenure dominated by Jordan often putting his own interests above the good of the team. Maybe he meant well, maybe he didn't, but it's tough to deny that Jordan did not elevate the Wizards to a level that anyone should be proud of. Two straight 37-win seasons are a failure, even for the Wizards.

During Jordan's tenure as an executive and a player, he made the following wrong moves:

He drafted Kwame Brown.
He hired Leonard Hamilton.
He traded Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse.
He hired a coach proven to stink at handling young players (Doug Collins), even though he had a young team.
He forced the Wizards to play a half-court style that benefited him, but did not necessarily benefit guys like Rip Hamilton, Courtney Alexander, Kwame Brown and Tyronn Lue.
He balked at coming off the bench at the start of the 2002/03 season, instead forcing his way into the lineup and messing up his best free agent's confidence (Larry Hughes).
He didn't do a great job of sharing the spotlight with his co-star, whether it was Rip Hamilton or Jerry Stackhouse.

Those are just a few. He had some successes, but the bottom line is that he mostly failed. When you fail, you are not retained. It happens to everyone.

But apparently Michael Jordan still believes he deserved special treatment from the Wizards even if he didn't succeed.

"You could've done it differently," [Jordan's representative Curtis] Polk said. "No matter what you might have thought as the owner or owners of the organization in 2003, when this happened; no matter what you might have thought was best for the organization; no matter what you might have thought about Michael Jordan as a player, general manager, person -- it was Michael Jordan. You don't do what you did that publicly to that caliber person. Michael is a great person and you can't think about NBA basketball without thinking of Michael Jordan."

It's this type of arrogance that bothers me. How dare the Wizards fire Michael Jordan! You can't fire the great Michael Jordan! Nevermind that executives who work extremely hard and devote their entire life to the game get fired all the time for moves that may go beyond their control. Ernie Grunfeld's been fired twice, once in an ugly way when he lost a power struggle to Jeff Van Gundy in New York. Former greats like Elgin Baylor have been fired from organizations as dysfunctional as the Clippers, for Pete's sake!

As to Polk's gripe that you don't fire Jordan the way he was fired ... give me a break! Jordan gave up his right to choose his destiny when he went back and played again. Oral agreements between owners and employees are surely broken all the time -- if it's not in writing (which the Jordan camp has never been able to prove), then it's not shady to fire a guy. Even if it is in writing, guys get fired in the middle of their contracts all the time. Just ask Eddie Jordan, who was extended one summer and fired the next.

And while it sucks to go into a meeting thinking you're going to be retained, only to find that your owner is actually firing you, there are more brutal ways to be fired. Just ask Grunfeld. You know how he was fired by the Knicks? According to Mike Wise and Frank Isola's book Just Ballin': The Chaotic Rise of the New York Knicks, Grunfeld was fired at the end of a two-hour fancy dinner with Knicks president Dave Checketts in mid-April. They had a cordial dinner, engaging in light-hearted conversation, and suddenly Checketts told Ernie he was fired. Now that's brutal. I hope Michael Jordan learns about that story so he can gain some perspective.

That, my friends, is why I have trouble feeling warm and fuzzy about Michael Jordan being inducted into the Hall of Fame. It's been over six years since Pollin fired him, and Jordan still can't get over it. That type of competitiveness is endearing for an athlete, but it's pretty repulsive for someone whose playing career is finished.

72 reasons to be excited about the Atlanta Hawks: #60 buying your first jersey

hawksdawgs — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:07:45 -0000

There has been a lot of talk recently about jersey's. And rightfully so, they are a dream from heaven sowed together into awesomeness. I used to mock people who wore jersey's. Making lame jokes like "I can't believe it. Jerry Stackhouse is in the food court! When did he grown hair and turn white?" I hope your not laughing. Because there is nothing funny about it.

My first jersey was Stacey Augman red. Cost $9.99 on ebay. I remember putting it on and just feeling better about myself.

Some of you may already have a Hawks jersey. Don't fear. There is still reason to be excited, a very real chance exists that Joe Smith will have "Joe Smith" on his jersey. I already have a piggy bank saving up.

And for those of you that might buy your first, it is going to feel weird. Your not going to when you should where it. Whether to go tucked or untucked. Well, let me tell you. Stop worrying. Slip on your Zaza or your Joe or a Horford and let the troubles of this world leave you. And they will. You own a Hawks jersey.

So lets have it, what was/will be your first jersey?

John Wall reminds us Jerry Stackhouse is an aging veteran

SFBE.NF — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:32:02 -0000

This happened over the weekend at the S.J.G. Greater NC Pro-AM; "The Rucker of the South" as they say. Anyway, John Wall dropped a heavy one on Jerry Stackhouse, who is currently still looking for a home for the 2009-2010 season.

[h/t RushTheCourt.net.]

New York Welcomes Stackhouse, Giant Matzo Ball

Seth — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:10:47 -0000

First of all, the next available member of the NBA's 32+ club will meet with the Knicks today. Jerry Stackhouse is 34 and was recently traded to the Grizzlies only to be subsequently waived. Just as you'd expect, Donnie Walsh came calling. Marc Berman of the Post has the report:

Stackhouse, 34, played just 10 games last season with Dallas because of injuries. Coach Mike D'Antoni appears to have no use for Larry Hughes, and the starting shooting guard position is in the hands of Wilson Chandler.

The Knicks need backcourt depth, and they still seem to be looking for cheaper options beyond unsigned Nate Robinson, whom the Knicks consider a shooting guard.

Stackhouse, available for a one-year deal at the veteran's minimum, was once a glorious outside shooter, with a career average at 18.4 ppg. D'Antoni said he feels the Knicks need more size in the backcourt. They're also considering Von Wafer, the young Rockets' shooting guard.

I have no feeling about this. At some point I'll probably just write up a Mad-Lib called "The Knicks Work Out a Veteran Free Agent!", and just leave blanks for AGE, NAME OF 1990'S STAR, and EXPLETIVE. Anyway, I agree that the Knicks need backcourt depth, but I'd offer that Morris Almond and Joe Crawford are my two leading candidates to provide said depth. They're just as low risk, but have significantly higher ceilings. Picture a dollhouse sitting in the Sistine Chapel. Li'l ceiling visual for y'all. Anyway, on to bigger things.

What bigger things, you ask? How about 200 pounds of pure deliciousness!? From the same article:

To promote the Knicks-Maccabi Tel Aviv exhibition, a Guinness-record-setting 200-pound, 3-foot high matzoh ball will be wheeled to a Lower East Side deli this morning. The ball contains 1,000 eggs, 80 pounds of margarine and will be available for serving at 10 a.m. at Noah's Ark Deli on Grand Street.

Now THAT's news. Somebody who lives in the city should definitely get over there, snap some pictures, and grab some of that monolithic matzo ball. Email me a piece, too. Don't ask how. Just figure it out.

P.S. Anybody else suspect that Donnie Walsh engineered a plan to unveil the secretly-signed Ramon Sessions from inside the matzo ball? I picture Knicks fans digging in until Sessions finally jumps out wearing a Knicks jersey and holding a basketball. It's like one of those big stripper cakes, only for the Semitic Knick-fan crowd. I hope they cooked the matzo ball before they dropped Ramon in there.

Daily Links 7/14

FLCeltsFan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:11:07 -0000

Globe   Globe 10.0 - Sports video with Bob Ryan
Gortat staying in Orlando
LOY's Place   So..... Are You Getting Excited?
Perk is Still a Bargain
Antoine Has Fallen on Tough Times
Red's Army    Tracy McGrady's noble gesture
The Clippers are such teases

Celtics 17    Long Live the King: Putting An End to the Nonsense Surrounding LeBron James
Celtics Circuit    Pistons Clearing Cap Space; Still Interested in Davis
Celtics Hub    How much is Big Baby Worth to You?
Celtics Town    Sam Jones - The Sad Story Of An Overlooked Celtics Legend
Lex Nihil Novi     Celtics Losing Grip on Fundamentals (81-82)
Gabe v. Tyronn
"Ball Don't Lie"
Hoopsworld     NBA AM: Iverson To The Clippers?
Magic match offer from Mavs to retain Gortat
Green Street    Role reversal for Gomes
NBA.com    Bench may be biggest hurdle in Iverson-to-Clips deal
BULLS: Sam Smith: NBA deck reshuffled after offseason moves BULLS: Sam Smith: NBA deck reshuffled after offseason moves
Dime Mag    Blake Griffin goes off in his Vegas debut, and Allen Iverson to L.A.
Shox Rivers, Bird succeeded as NBA coaches with no expe
Las Vegas Sun   Casinos say former NBA star owes $822,500 in gambling debts
Sports Central    NBA Free Agency Tweets
With Malice     Celtics view: What is the RIGHT thing to do?
Daily Derelect    Another brilliant Joe Dumars move
Fan Sided    Top 5 Restricted Free Agents Left on the Market
NESN    Wallace best serves Celtics off the bench
FanHouse     Unlike LeBron, Kobe Will Not Be Dunked On at His Camp
Examiner     Magical summer? Or land of confusion?
Bleacher Report    Jerry Stackhouse: How the Boston Celtics Can Make It a Family Affair
2010 NBA Outlook: Cavs, Celtics Still The "Beasts" Of The East
Note to Celtics: With Rasheed, Proceed with Caution
Detroit Free Press     Transcript of today's chat with Pistons rookie Austin Daye
Pistons clear cap space, send Afflalo, Sharpe to Denver
ESPN    U.S. U-19 team captures gold in New Zealand
Yahoo     League to begin gearing up for labor talks
No stars? No problem. USA's under-19 team wins world champs
Jess Pub     Cousy’s Thoughts On Kobe, LeBron & Doc
MLive     Detroit Piston cap space situation after Afflalo and Sharpe traded to Denver
SI.com     Lakers, Spurs have helped themselves in NBA offseason
Midwest Sports Fans   LeBron James, Jordan Crawford, and Dunktapegate
Slam Online    2009-’10: Mike Brown’s Toughest Season
Fox Sports    ISIAH MAKING WAVES ON RECRUITING TRAIL; SECURES TALENTED PG
News OK    Portland D-League team sells 1,000th season ticket
Chicago Tribune   Bulls re-sign Hunter
National Post    Lee, Odom among best NBA free agents remaining
CT News     The Unique Kevin Ollie Story (part one) - Celtics Central
Bread City    KNICKS VS. SUNS BRAWL, 1993

Daily Links 7/12

FLCeltsFan — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:06:32 -0000

Herald    Mavericks re-sign Jason Kidd to 3-year deal
Globe    It’s time to cut minutes
CelticsBlog   Looking At The Options At Small Forward
LOY's Place    Considering Moon
Celtics 17   OH BABY YOU, YOU GOT I WHAT NEEEDDD....
New England Sports 24/7   Utah Interested in Glen Davis?
Red's Army   Paul Pierce Needs His Rest
A shirt you're "Guaran-SHEED" to love

Celtics Circuit    Should We Be Interested in Jerry Stackhouse?
Celtics Hub    Jamario Moon and Sign-and-Trades
Final Summer League Musings
NESN    Is LeBron not as perfect as perceived?
Celtics Town   Boston Celtics' 18th Title Could Be On The Way
Lex Nihil Novi     Celtics Draft Kite, Ponder Trading McHale (83-84)
Giddens Interview (with highlights)
Bleacher Report    NBA: Which Big Man Should Pistons Target Next, Glen Davis Or David Lee?
Deseret News    Utah Jazz: Could Boston's 'Big Baby' be viable option?
Patriot Ledger    With Rasheed Wallace, perception is not reality
Wallace gives Celtics another option on offense and help on defense
Cleveland.com    An early look at the 2009-10 Cavs
Hoopsworld     5 Things We Learned In The NBA This Week
Sactown Royalty    It's Too Easy for Tyreke Evans
CT News    Celtics Over the Hill, Reaching for the Moon
Miami Herald    Basketball's best to get in the Groove
Ken Berger    Raptors signing Jarrett Jack to offer sheet
Press Herald     Red Claws have three finalists for first coach
Ohio.com     NBA salary cap means millions for LeBron
Examiner     How Sheed it is
Sculu    Pistons’ Arron Afflalo to Denver for Cap Space to Get Glen "Big Baby" Davis?
Sports of Boston    Leon Powe: 2008-2009 Celtics Review
My San Antonio   Three is not enough for NBA’s best

Looking At The Options At Small Forward

Roy_Hobbs — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:00:44 -0000

Marc Spears provides a fairly comprehensive list of the free agent small forwards who may or may not be willing to backup Paul Pierce this off-season:

There is a long list of small forwards available for the $1.9 biannual exception or even less, including Miami’s Jamario Moon (restricted), Phoenix’s Matt Barnes, Jerry Stackhouse (waived by Memphis Friday), Indiana’s Marquis Daniels and Stephen Graham, Atlanta’s Josh Childress (restricted), Dallas’s James Singleton (restricted) and Gerald Green, Detroit’s Walter Herrmann, Oklahoma City’s Desmond Mason, Golden State’s Rob Kurz, San Antonio’s Ime Udoka, and Minnesota’s Rodney Carney. While some may garner more money elsewhere, playing for the contending Celtics would be an added draw that could bring a discount.

Other names that Spears left out are Wally Szczerbiak, Joey Graham, and Keith Bogans.

I think some of the guys on the list are pretty unlikely to take the LLE, including Daniels, Moon, and Childress (and in the case of the latter two, their teams would almost surely match any LLE offer sheet signed). We all know the story with Gerald, and Kurz is a rookie with 40 games total of NBA experience. If you further limit the list to only include: 1) players 6'6" or taller; and 2) a three point percentage (career or last season) of over 33.3%, you're left with the six names: Carney, Herrman, Barnes, Singleton, Wally, and Udoka.

For the LLE, I'd be okay with any of those guys. Obviously, none of them are ideal, but that's what you get when you only have bargain contracts to offer. Of those players, I'd rank my wish list in the following order: Carney, Barnes, Udoka, Herrman, Wally, Singleton. Bruce Bowen also may get bought out, and if so, I'm sure he'd be considered, as well.

The small forward I really want, though, is Nocioni. If Sacramento has any desire to dump his salary, I hope Danny puts in a phone call, because he'd be a great fit here. Other potential trade targets for teams that are struggling finacially include Francisco Garcia, James Posey, Rasual Butler, Matt Harpring, Jared Jeffries, James Jones, Tim Thomas, and Ricky Davis (some are more likely than others).

Poll

Which free agent small forward should the Celtics sign?

Matt Barnes

1357 votes

Rodney Carney

363 votes

Walter Herrman

170 votes

James Singleton

28 votes

Jerry Stackhouse

639 votes

Wally Szczerbiak

295 votes

Ime Udoka

234 votes

None of the above

513 votes

3599 votes | Poll has closed