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Notebook Arenas silences doubters one more timePosted: Saturday February 08, 2003 7:49 PMUpdated: Saturday February 08, 2003 11:59 PM
By John Hollinger, SI.com ATLANTA -- Rookie Challenge MVP Gilbert Arenas was bypassed by every team in the first round of the 2001 draft, not being selected until the Golden State Warriors took him with the 31st pick. He has worn it as a chip on his shoulder ever since. "I'm probably the only player in here who went in the second round," said Arenas, who actually was one of two second-round picks in the contest (Carlos Boozer was the other). "Winning MVP just shows that anybody in any draft, you gotta watch ... because there's talent all across the board." Yet even Arenas admits that he didn't give himself great odds at NBA stardom. "I would have never expected it," he said. "I'm confident, so I always say I'm going to do it, but I never expected it to happen, and it happened for me." Arenas won the Golden State Warriors' point guard job in the final month of last season. His 30-point effort in the Rookie Challenge highlighted his continued blossoming this year, as he's averaged 16 points and six assists a game. Part of the reason, of course, was playing time, and Arenas saw the silver lining in being picked by an up-and-coming team like Golden State. "I just see it as a blessing in disguise. I got picked No. 31 to a team that needed help, and got a chance to showcase what I can do." He also takes motivation from Brad Miller and Ben Wallace, two undrafted players who are representing the East in Sunday's All-Star Game. "It just shows that there's people here out there working hard to improve and to prove everybody wrong."
Dude, where's my man?Ashton Kutcher wanted to be nice. He didn't want to take advantage of his foot-plus height advantage on fellow TV star Frankie Muniz. But that was before Muniz stunned him by drilling an NBA-range 3-pointer."I really didn't think he was going to be able to hit that 3-pointer," Kutcher said. "I've seen him play before ... when he hit it I was like,' Wow, man, a little rough on me.'" But Kutcher still took the high road and wouldn't post up Muniz during his Los Angeles team's 23-19 victory in the Hoop-it-Up 3-on-3. "I wasn't going to play very hard at all because I felt kind of bad, and then he hit that three in my eye and I was like 'No, it isn't going to happen,'" he said. "And Magic Johnson kept waving me down to cut, and it's not like I'm going to tell Magic Johnson, 'No, I'm not going to cut in the lane,' when he asks me to. But I didn't want to post him up. I play fair." Unfortunately for his fans, however, Kutcher was mum on the subject of whether his character on "That '70's Show,"' Michael Kelso, would be getting back together with Jackie in the near future.
Tough crowd for 'ToineAntoine Walker's 3-point Shootout got off to a rough start and only got worse from there. Walker missed his first six attempts and rushed through the last rack when he realized he had only 10 seconds left to shoot the five balls. He ended up airballing three of them and was booed by the Atlanta crowd.Walker insisted he wasn't bothered by the crowd's reaction, but said it will be his last 3-point Shootout. "I don't care about [the booing]. It's all in fun," he said. "[But] I'm through with this. I'll take the game, play in the All-Star Game." Walker was surprised at the difference between the Shootout and real-game situations. "It's just a different event. It's a whole other thing out there," he said. "[To beat] these guys, you've gotta catch a rhythm."
Snowed inNew Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd missed Friday's media day thanks to an East Coast blizzard that dumped nearly 10 inches of snow, leaving him stuck in New Jersey. "Nothing like being on the East Coast!" joked Kidd, who grew up in the Bay Area and had previously played professionally in Dallas and Phoenix. "It was falling like it was raining, like I ain't ever seen it. I thought wasn't going to stop." Teammate Richard Jefferson beat the snow by taking a commercial flight earlier in the day and teased Kidd about his absence Friday. "Jason is a very, very rich individual, so that allows him to charter his own flights," said Jefferson. "For me, I get on the flight with 30 other people, where Jason has his own flight where he leaves when he wants to leave." Told of Jefferson's comments, Kidd said, "I guess that's what happens when you don't go commercial." Kidd was joking with fellow Skills Challenge participants Stephon Marbury and Gary Payton before the contest, teasing Marbury that the younger players had to go first. "Besides being traded for one another, we're still friends," he said. "I want to see Steph succeed and be the best player that he can be and him being here at All-Star Weekend is a perfect example of how good he is. It's nothing personal." Of course, the ultra-competitive Kidd had something else up his sleeve as well. The first contestant, Parker, misfired both passing and shooting, and the succeeding players were able to learn from his mistakes."Mind games," Kidd said. "I think its more or less we really thought the young guys had the advantage. [Gary Payton and I] were just trying to not embarrass oursrelves. One of us needed to show up [n the finals] to represent the older generation."
And he didn't doubt that his competitive fire got the best of him. "We're competitive in whatever we do. Playing dominoes or pool or this challenge, we want to win. " Cotton clubCotton Fitzsimmons enjoyed coaching the rookie team during the Rookie Challenge, but says a return to the business full-time is not in the cards. "I'm here, and my juices are flowing," Fitzsimmons allowed. "But I don't need it." Fitzsimmons said his duties as a commentator for the Phoenix Suns are keeping him attached to the game, much like current Memphis Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown had done as an analyst for TNT, and that he's happing with his current situation. He wouldn't absolutely rule out a return, however. "You never say never ... I came back when Brian [Colangelo] asked me," Fitszimmons noted, referring to his last stint as coach of the Suns and sounding eerily like Michael Jordan's infamous 99.9 percent proclamation. The difference, of course, is that Fitzsimmons is comfortable doing what he's doing, while Jordan was itching to get back on the court. As a result, one would think the only scenario that could entice him would be a situation much like Brown's, where he was bowled over by an offer out of the blue. This and that• Kidd on the league's ruling that veterans could take the first three days of training camp off next season: "They already do."
• Lisa Leslie on Dominque Wilkins' alleyoop dunk in the Hoop-it-Up 3-on-3: "I was really amazed. I couldn't believe he could still get up like that. That was incredible." • Michael Jordan on whether a long playoff run would cause him to rethink retirement: "No. We can win a championship and it wouldn't change my thinking. I've come to grips with that." • Mike Fratello on his assistant coach in the Rookie Challenge, fellow TNT announcer Marv Albert: "I asked him three questions and he got two of them wrong." • Based on how Charles Barkley looked on TNT Saturday, Kenny Smith must have thrown one hell of a party.
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