martes, 17 de abril de 2012

Paul Milsap: The Bellboy



I love this guy.
Nobody gave him anything for free.  ”Yes, he is a good rebounder, has some records in the NCAA for it….but….. too small for professional basketball”,  ”Yes he’s very skilled….. but…. “, “Yes, we can try him out, but….”.  But, but…..
But… the truth is he is playing in the NBA now, is a starter for the Utah Jazz and he’s worth seven million a season, eight in the next.  Few sportsman can boast that record.
His story is that of a bellboy who climbs the ranks at his job, year by year.  Draft season 2006, one of the worst in a few years, the bellboy who rebounded all the shots for his university, Louisiana Tech, goes down the list to pick number 47.  46 players there were above the bellboy.  Today I can only remember the names of a dozen of them.
The bellboy began to work waiting for his customers, always with a smile on his face, never gave a sign that would make you think anything other than he was a happy player, doing the right things like a good employee.  And one day, the karma, the justice or whatever you want to call it (never fortune) gives him his reward:  recognition.  He is one of the hotel’s directors.  Now he’s at almost 16 points, 9 rebounds, and more than 2 assists per game.  And they call him The Fire Man.  For me, the most elegant player in the NBA.