A Quote by Marcus Smart
I always leave everything on the court, every game. Tell me how many other players can say that.
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You see, in sports you have so many things that aren't expected. There's so much uncertainty. So when players find themselves in a situation where management has a great deal of integrity and they can depend on my word or anybody else's word in the organization, they feel secure. And if the players feel secure, they don't want to leave here. And if they don't want to leave here, they're going to do everything they can on the court to stay here.
The thing that's really kept me on my toes is how my mom would always tell me - it's not the best thing for a mother to tell you - but she'd never tell me after I'd lose a soccer game, 'You'll do better next time.' She'd always say, 'There's always somebody better.'
The way I've approached my career, I've always tried to be pretty good at everything. I think if you ask players about my game, they would say I'm pretty good at everything, but I don't think they'd say I'm the best at certain things. Maybe that's my strength, not having a serious weakness or many weaknesses. I just try and be solid.
I always speak with all the players during the week before every game we play, because it's important for them to know what I think and for me to see how they are before the game.
Many players are of the same standard; it all depends on how your strokes land on the other side of court.
For the players to put their minds and vigour into the game is not enough for victory. They must also put in their souls. The team that gives up to the game all its strengths and puts into it its mind and soul cannot leave the court defeated.
It always helps to play every game at the back with the same players. You get a good understanding of each other and how one of you works, and what positions to take up.
If you ask any referee before the game - they ask me if I have anything to say, I tell them 'I'm going straight up.' Every time. Every game. And they know that and they say I'm one of the best at it.
I love the game. But I love my wife and kids more. I can't tell you how many sacrifices I make throughout the season. I leave the house at 4:15 A.M. and get home at 7 P.M. and see my kids an hour every night. It's been sacrificing for nine years. It's not just about what's best for me. It's about what's best for me and my family.
The players, when we get in the locker room, we talk about what's going on. And the players always see how the management or how ownership treat other players, treat other players around.
The dollar that's being paid the players has hurt the game. The players take advantage of coaches. The players' attitude is, "I make more than you, so don't tell me what to do."
I'm friends with a lot of writers and so many of them say how much they hate signings and how they leave after a certain period of time. But what is so hard about sitting there while people tell you how much they love you? And if you don't like it, well, learn to like it. I try to take one person at a time. I never look down the line to see how many more people are left. And I always try to make people talk about something besides whatever they planned to say.
I really did not think a thing about playing five black players to start the game; they were our best players and deserved to start. But if I knew all the misery it was going to cause me in the weeks following the game, I'd have thought long and hard about it. The players from Kentucky were gracious about it, but many of their fans and people from other parts of the country did not want to see it.
Basketball was always a game to me. One of the greatest things in life for me was to be able to play what I loved dearly and get paid for it. So it was always a game to me and that's how I perceived everything.
Who can tell truth from falsehood any more? I say it, and you feel it in your hearts: no man or woman on this big small earth. How should our sages miss the mark of life, and our most skillful players lose the game? your hearts will tell you, as my heart has told me: because all know, and no one understands.
On a basketball court, five players were in the middle of an intense game. They wore assortment of jerseys from different American teams, and they all seemed keen to win—grunting and snarling at each other, stealing the ball and pushing. Oh…and the players were all baboons.
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