Tag: Gregg Popovich

Spurs draftee Joseph has a good attitude, eh?

After playing collegiately at Texas, a school with ties aplenty to the Spurs, there likely isn’t much the club doesn’t already know about point guard Cory Joseph, the player the Spurs made the 29th selection of the 2011 draft.

Nevertheless, about the Canadian national team Joseph joined recently must have brought smiles to the faces of Gregg Popovich and the rest of the Spurs coaches.

Levon Kendall, a veteran forward on the Canadian team, gushed about Joseph’s humility and team-first attitude after being added to the team a few weeks into its training regimen.

“I’ve been most impressed with his attitude, not having a sense of entitlement,” Kendall, the most veteran member of the Canadian team, told the Sun. “He understands guys have been here. He’s got to prove himself before he gets that respect. He has to earn it to a certain extent so that’s what I’ve been most surprised about. It’s nice to see that.”

If the NBA lockout ever ends and the Spurs have a training camp, that attitude will serve Joseph well there, too.

Joseph, who played only one season for the Longhorns, celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday, the final day of the Canadian team’s training camp. The team was to depart Sunday for Brazil to begin playing a series of warmup games before the FIBA Americas tournament opens in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on Aug. 30.

Don’t cry for me, Argentine puppy

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina — As fate would have it (or dumb luck in this case) the hotel I booked for the FIBA Americas pre-Olympic tournament turned  out to be the same hotel that houses the Argentine national team.

This has been a boon for a reporter unaccustomed to dealing with FIBA’s exgremely limited media access. I have bumped into Luis Scola and had a nice conversation with the player most Spurs fans refer as “the one who got away.” I met the team manager in the cafe for desayuno on Wednesday and was able to arrange some interviews for next week in the hotel.

Thursday night, however, a large convention of veterinarians moved into  the hotel for a two-day conference, some of them with animals in tow. So it was not a great surprise this morning when I was awakened around 5 a.m. by what sounded like a puppy, crying in a nearby room. The crying was intermittent, but it lasted for nearly an hour, and grew in intensity until the yelps sounded more like a coyoute’s howls.

Team Argentina has a big match tonight against Puerto Rico, and my first thought was how angry Argentine coach Julio Lamas must have been if he, too, was awakened by the distressed puppy that likely served as the wake-up call for the players, as well.

My next thought: WWPD? What Would Pop Do?

I’m not suggesting Spurs coach Gregg Popovich ever would kick a crying puppy. I’m sure he loves puppies and kittens and dogs and cats.

I am suggesting a hotel manager might have gotten the full referee treatment from a red-faced Coach Pop.

Takes from my blog brothers: How Dell Demps first met Pop

Gregg Popovich and Dell Demps go back a long way.

The guys at the New Orleans Hornets’ blog Hornets Blog 247.c0m had an interesting story that Demps recently told Hornets season-ticket holders .

During his career as a college player at the University of the Pacific, Demps told of a chance encounter with Popovich that shaped his professional career.

Demps told the fans that “luck equals opportunity plus preparation.” His story about meeting Popovich bears that out.

Between his sophomore and junior seasons at Pacific, Demps often took his father’s car to a nearby military installation to run and then play basketball before finally returning the car home so his dad could go to work.

One day, Demps was approached by what he termed a “near-frantic man” asking him if he played basketball and had his gear. When told he had both, Popovich quickly ushered Demps into the gymansium.

Inside were seven Golden State players, including Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin. Popovich was looking for an eighth player so his players could practice. Popovich was desperate and Demps was willing.

Even with his lack of experience, Demps eventually merited guarding after he found his shooting touch.

He was back again for the rest of the summer, eventually becoming a “test dummy” of sorts who would play 1-on-1 against potential draft selections or free-agent candidates. Demps got a tryout with the team, was cut, and then was invited back to the team after a year overseas.

Demps made the Warriors in 1993 and later played with the Spurs and Orlando in a three-season NBA career.

After his playing career ended, Demps eventually worked two years under Popovich as an unpaid intern and then spent two years coaching before returning to the Spurs. Eventually he worked as the Spurs’ executive vice president of basketball relations before accepting the Hornets’ job as general manager.

He maintains a close relationship with Popovich. It’s understandable why, considering how he got his start in basketball with him.

Here are some other Spurs-related stories from across the blogosphere to start the weekend.

  • Chris Tomasson of Hoops Hype.com from his list of 26 potential Hall of Famers who currently are active in the NBA.
  • Express-News Spurs beat writer Jeff McDonald had an interesting tweet about Tim Duncan, James Anderson and Danny Greenin this relentless Texas summer heat.
  • Trevor Zickgraf of Project Spurs.com pretends that he’s the Spurs’ general manager with a .
  • USA Today’s Fredreka Schouten and Christopher Schnaars relate how megabuck contributors like Spurs owner Peter Holt .
  • Robby Lim of Spurs World.com looks back at and ranks the Spurs’ top five draft-day steals since 1997. His first choice .
  • CBS Sports.com’s Eye on Basketball blog lists DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson as .
  • Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star lists Steve Kerr among his in Arizona’s 100 years as a state.  
  • Jesse Blanchard of 48 Minutes of Hell.com has the story about how And Blanchard and Andrew McNeill have a podcast where Jackson about his time with the Spurs.
  • Brandy Simms of Severn Patch.com writes that 7-foot former Bowie State center Travis Hyman thanks to his strong performance at Nike Pro City League in Baltimore. (Hat tip to Michael DeLeon of Project Spurs.com)  
  • Kawhi Leonard is ranked No. 14 among Andy Leonard of the Bleacher Report.com’s for the upcoming season.
  • The Toronto Star ranks Jefferson as having one of its .
  • Steve Weishampel of the Denver-based blog Westword.com looks at what Duncan would demand if he was.