Freeman Article: Aldridge guarded nature has deep roots

[Boise Blazer]

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...tml?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The moments seem like snapshots today, fading memories of a forgotten time and a foreign person. But the ones he allows himself to remember, the ones he simply can’t forget, still surface from time to time. And they still sting.

The jealous and misguided high school teammates who cost him a chance at a state championship. The scandalous AAU coach who tried to sabotage the end of his high school career and jeopardize his future. The talking heads who questioned why a franchise would risk its future by drafting him No. 2 overall. The critics who called him soft.

Just when LaMarcus Aldridge seems ready to take down his guard, the walls shoot up. Just when he seems ready to let you in, he pulls away. Just when he seems ready to move on, the memories materialize. Some things, he can’t forget.

There was the time Aldridge was in eighth grade and Allen invited him over to Seagoville High School for a game of one-on-one against one of Seagoville’s seniors. Allen, who coached Seagoville, had been bragging about Aldridge’s talent and was looking to humble one of his more cocky players. Aldridge showed up for the game ill-prepared, wearing jeans, and ended up losing by three or four points. Afterward, the senior was relentless, taunting Aldridge with a barrage of trash talk. Aldridge told him he’d see him next time.

“LaMarcus came back with his shorts the next day and beat the living daylights out of him.,” Allen said. “I mean he whooped him. Everybody was saying, ‘Ooooo, you lost to an eighth grader.’”

By his senior season, after some legendary head-to-head matchups against Chris Bosh — a fellow Dallas native and future NBA All-Star — Aldridge had blossomed into one of the best players in the United States. But it hadn’t always been easy. Seagoville is situated in an impoverished and crime-ridden neighborhood in Dallas. According to 2010 census data, 71.4 percent of the student body is economically disadvantaged and 70.9 percent are at academic risk.

One teacher, Ms. Williams, ran a daycare attached to Seagoville, and she grew to worship Aldridge, who worked at the daycare supervising pre-kindergarten kids as part of an elective class. As Aldridge garnered more attention and recognition, Williams gloated like a proud aunt. She gathered every newspaper article and photo she could find and hung them on the walls of her classroom at the daycare. “They were everywhere,” Allen said. “It was like a shrine.”

One morning Williams walked into her class and her jaw dropped. The articles and pictures had been slashed up and vandalized. The class had video cameras, and when Allen and Williams reviewed the footage, they were stunned. Some of the vandals were Aldridge’s teammates.

It would not be the last time teammates caused Aldridge pain.

Later that year, with the Texas-bound Aldridge averaging 28.9 points and 13.4 rebounds per game, Seagoville reached the Class 4A Region II final. A win would advance the Dragons to the state tournament. The game, against Lincoln — and Bosh’s younger brother, Joel — was an epic back-and-forth tussle that went into overtime. Aldridge had one purpose that season — to lead Seagoville to the state championship game in Austin — and he looked like a man possessed that night. Despite playing with two stress fractures in his back, Aldridge made 16 of 18 shots and finished with 39 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

But in crunch time, when Aldridge was most hungry, a perplexing thing happened — he never touched the ball. Over the final three-plus minutes, Allen kept calling clear-outs and post-ups for his star, but Aldridge’s teammates refused to pass him the ball. With four seconds left, Bosh snatched a rebound under the hoop and made a layup, lifting Lincoln to a 69-68 victory at Moody Coliseum on the campus of SMU.

His Blazers teammates say they’ve seen a different side of Aldridge this season. He’s more apt to strike up a conversation, rather than merely participate in one. He’s more likely to hang around the practice facility with the team to eat lunch and talk. Aldridge, who has always been eager to tell a joke and crack a smile, was never a bad teammate. But he’s more engaged this season. More determined to lead. More willing to trust.

Why open up now?

Perhaps it’s because he’s finally comfortable with his status as a franchise cornerstone. When you go to your general manger and ask for a defensive-minded starting center and a deeper bench, as Aldridge did last summer, and he gives it to you, it has to fuel your confidence. Perhaps it’s just this group of guys and this coaching staff, whose closeness and chemistry has created a unique trust and togetherness. Perhaps it’s learning to let go of some old memories.

 

[ponderguy]

great article. I never knew any of that

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Good read! Thanks for posting it.

 

[cmeese47]

Boo hoo they froze me out come on son grow a pair. LA has been tougher this year which is good but he has been pretty soft in his career so the criticism is worthwhile.

 

[Rhal]

Boo hoo they froze me out come on son grow a pair. LA has been tougher this year which is good but he has been pretty soft in his career so the criticism is worthwhile.

Seriously what the hell is this part of the post? the article talks about him getting pissed at a freeze out where his teammates purposely didn't give him the ball, anyone would be pissed at the same thing especially when that person was the best player on the team and it was basically the playoffs. The article wasn't about LA not being soft and shouldn't' be criticized it was talking about his past and what may have changed this year with regarding his off the court relationships with teammates and people not talking about his game and if he is "soft" or not.
I just don't understand the need to call out that part of the article in such a way.

 

[blue32]

Woopity doooo. I suppose it's an interesting article.... I guess. I mean really the timing of this is just perfect.

 

[Rhal]

I'm not going to edit my first post again but after a few minutes and reading it again, man Bill Simmions is right, Blazer fans are a bunch of Soccor Moms.

 

[Eastoff]

I'm not going to edit my first post again but after a few minutes and reading it again, man Bill Simmions is right, Blazer fans are a bunch of Soccor Moms.

Yeah. But knowing we're soccer moms doesn't really change our fandom.

 

[maxiep]

The question that article begs is why Aldridge's teammates hated him so much? He seems like a pretty cool dude.

 

[RoyToy]

Boo hoo they froze me out come on son grow a pair. LA has been tougher this year which is good but he has been pretty soft in his career so the criticism is worthwhile.

I had the same thought. So you have shitheads for teammates. Life isn't always fair.

Also reminds me of this

Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving. This led to a so-called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass him the ball throughout the game. The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted Rookie of the Year.

I think Aldridge is just a sensitive person in general.

 

[cmeese47]

The question that article begs is why Aldridge's teammates hated him so much? He seems like a pretty cool dude.

The article said they were jealous but I have to believe that in a broke ass school and broke ass part of Texas that there was a little more going on than jealousy. Pretty sure you do not just blow a title because your mad or jealous you do it cause some seedy bookie knows where your mama lives and has a lot riding on the game.

 

[MickZagger]

I feel like I've read this same article 5 times in the past.

 

[cmeese47]

I also feel like I read this article or one very similar to it

 

[jlprk]

2 thoughts:

1. I'd like to hear the other side of the story from his high school teammates.

2. Freeman writes in an identical, nonjournalistic style as Quick and Canzano. Maybe there's a common cause--their boss Editor does a rewrite on every article.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

The question that article begs is why Aldridge's teammates hated him so much? He seems like a pretty cool dude.

Maybe this is why. His character. Perhaps he wasn't like the rest of the dawgs. If he kept his nose clean, didn't get into trouble and didn't involve themselves in their activities. This could be a cause.

 

[rasheedfan2005]

I love la but welcome to life. How many of us get the shaft at work when we carry the team from other people's slack ass attitudes? The difference is you are now making millions and I'm lucky to clear 25k a year working 50+ hours a week.

 

[MARIS61]

I've read this same story every year since we drafted him, by different reporters.

Arrogance and an over-sized sense of entitlement is my impression. Glad he's finally growing up.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Arrogance and an over-sized sense of entitlement is my impression. Glad he's finally growing up.

I've never, ever noticed this from LA. I can see the soft part of him that many of you say he 'was' but not sure where this other crap er stuff is coming from.