Jim Rome-Feature Articles

Sac Town's C-Webb should be like Mike

Article written by:
Steven Schindler

When the Sacramento Kings were unceremoniously booted from of the NBA playoffs, we turned our undivided attention to just what Chris Webber was going to do with the rest of his life. Would he stay or would he go?

Would he stay in Sacramento grounded by the wholesome, family based values espoused by the generous and loving Maloof brothers or would he flee to the fast life of a big city NBA team that promised a glittering nightlife, the glare of the national media and the riches of fat endorsement deals?

Before he reaches for that brass ring I hope C-Webb considers that going for the gold now is not necessarily the best or most honorable thing to do. There is a better way to do things in the NBA. A way that would make life better for NBA players, teams and fans the whole country over. A way becoming more and more foreign to today's players.

This would, of course, necessitate the reversal of a current trend in professional sports. It would mean the lowering of player expectations in what has come to be a "me first" generation. It would mean the altering of an attitude that has taken a turn for the worst in the business of professional sports. It would mean doing things the MJ way.

Michael Jordan was perhaps the greatest basketball talent we may ever see. He won five NBA Championships and then won one for the other hand just for good measure. In his final seasons he made $30 mil a year and that didn't include his worldwide endorsements.

MJ became the most recognized sports figure in the world. His power in sports was perhaps unequaled by any other player of any sport at any time. But he didn't gain this lofty stature overnight. He didn't gain it by taking the money and running to the next team that might get him another rung up the ladder of success.

Michael did it the old fashioned way. He hung in there. He sucked it up. He took the responsibility on his shoulders and he helped management and his coach mold his Bulls into a championship team.

Many considered MJ one of the pound-for-pound most underpaid players for most of his NBA career. Signing his first contract fresh out of Chapel Hill for $800K a year, Michael and the Bulls started down one of the most successful and profitable roads ever walked in sports history. And MJ never whined that he wasn't being respected. He just played ball. And he balled at an All-Star level for most of that career.

Sure, Phil Jackson was a great coach in his Chicago years. But he was only as good as his field general. It was MJ that directed the flow of the action. It was MJ demanding the ball for the dramatic game-winning shot one night, then drawing the defense in with a slashing penetration only to kick it out to the likes of Steve Kerr to bang home the winning "3" the next.

When Rodman got in one of his funks, Jordan reined him in. The Bull's locker room was Michael's room and when you screwed up you answered to MJ himself. That's the old fashioned way to ball. That was the MJ way.

Chris Webber has the same opportunity to make the same impression and walk that golden road to glory and prosperity that MJ and the Bulls blazed. His situation in Sacramento is close to perfect, if he can only have the vision to see the trophies for the sweeps.

The Maloof brothers and Sacramento's general manager Geoff Petrie have built a foundation that has turned the pitiful Kings of just three years ago into one of the highest scoring and entertaining products in today's NBA.

When Petrie stole Webber from Washington for Mitch Richmond he started one of the most amazing turnarounds in league history. The year before C-Webb arrived the "dead-on-arrival" Kings went 27-55. This season these new Kings completed a dramatic 360 reversal going 55-27 and battling their way to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Starting again in Washington in '99 let C-Webb leave behind the stain of tangles with the law and growing doubts about his basketball future. "My biggest thing when I came here was to get back to the level where I was respected on the court by my peers," Webber said after the King's recent sweep by the Lakers. "I feel good about myself. I'm no fool as to what God did when he let me come here."

In his three years in Sac Town Webber has led the team in scoring and rebounding, helping coach Rick Adelman mold and shape the sharp passing, unselfish, high-scoring Kings' offense that has put the rest of the league on its heels.

This west coast juggernaut has been lovingly molded into a force that held court in the Arco Arena claiming a share of the best home record at 33-8, matched only by San Antonio. They staked out the fourth best record in the league and only lost the Pacific Division by one game to the Lakers.

As inglorious as their sweep from the playoffs was, there is plenty of gold at the end of the Sac Town rainbow, and C-Webb holds the key to the treasure chest. The expected riches and peer respect will come C-Webb's way tenfold if he hangs in to make his future in this town that loves him and will do almost anything to keep him.

There are upsides busting out all over his team. With Peja Stojakovic having a breakout season and rookie Hedo Turkoglu having a break out game late in the playoffs, the Kings lay claim to two of the NBA's brightest young European talents. C-Webb played no small part in Hedo's development, taking him under his wing since the draft, helping to build the fearlessness and shooting touch that drew rave reviews in his team's final game against LA.

Throw in Doug Christie, who has become the team's best defensive stopper and consistent scorer, and Jason Williams, who may or may not be eventually molded into a solid NBA citizen that exhibits more consistency as he matures, and you have the makings for a long successful run for this team even as it stands right now.

Sacramento's loss to the Lakers was painful for sure. But I hope C-Webb is mature enough to know that he can't win championships by himself. The pieces are being slowly assembled around him in Sac Town and he needs the patience of MJ to let them all fall into place.

There will come a time when Stojakovic's shooting touch will be right on; Jason Williams' passes will find more of his own teammates hands, and Webber will lead his team to those elusive clutch high stakes wins. C-Webb has the opportunity make a home for himself here, play a kid's game with friends he will have for life, and help make the Sacramento Kings all that they can be.

He walked away from a perfect setup for a national championship when he bolted Michigan's "Fab Five" for the pros, leaving behind a lot of unfinished business then. Lets hope he's matured enough to hang in with his adoring fans, his best buds, and an ownership that is sensitive to his team's needs and finish what he has started now. It's best that C-Webb be like Mike and stay put, so he can win his championships the old fashioned way, his way.

Article provided courtesy of http://www.esportsmediagroup.com/

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