A long, hard road: Giddens has had interesting life

[yupitsme]

more so the same info, just thought i'd post it anyway...

When J.R. Giddens left John Marshall High School for the University of Kansas, the high-

Giddens was a McDonald's High School All-American. He could seemingly jump from Oklahoma City to Lawrence. And Scout.com, which ranks prep basketball players, named Giddens the 13th best high school player in the country in 2003, behind current NBA stars like LeBron James, Chris Paul, Luol Deng and Charlie Villanueva.

So is being drafted 30th overall by the Boston Celtics at the NBA Draft a disappointment?

With the road Giddens has traveled, not likely.

"But not me, I'm not disappointed,” Giddens said. "I feel truly blessed. I feel honored. Going 30th in the NBA Draft is a privilege. I get to play professional basketball for a living — that's a privilege. I'm on Cloud Nine.”

Which is better than where he has been.

After arriving at Kansas, Giddens earned Big 12 All-Freshmen honors and helped the Jayhawks reach the Elite Eight in his first season. But in May 2005, he was involved in a bar fight during which he was stabbed with a knife in the right calf. The wound required 30 stitches. His reputation suffered even more damage.

"If you had to peg a Kansas basketball player most likely to get involved in an ugly brawl, it would be Giddens,” an article in the Kansas City Star said. The negative environment weighed on Giddens. He left KU and decided to transfer to the University of New Mexico.

"Worst time in my life,” he said. "I was a young kid, immature. I made a bad decision.”

Giddens chose the Lobos based on head coach Ritchie McKay's success. The previous year, McKay's team was 26-7 and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.

But Giddens' demons followed him out west. Although he posted career highs in points, rebounds and assists his junior year, New Mexico's struggles frustrated him. He grew upset. He lashed out at coaches and teammates and McKay eventually suspended him indefinitely for his attitude.

"I had a bit of an attitude at that time and I really needed to work on being a better teammate,” Giddens said. "The coaches taught me that real players play everyday, they don't take plays off or have breakdown practices.”

The former high school All-American made a conscious decision to improve as both a person and player. His senior season, he earned Co-Mountain West Conference Player of the Year honors, leading the league in points (16.3 per game) and rebounds (8.8 per game).

And not only did he stay out of trouble, he developed into a true leader.

"I couldn't be more happy for J.R.,” said New Mexico head coach Steve Alford, who coached Giddens his senior season. "It has been a long road, but it has also been a great story. He has done an awful lot of work to get to this point. He has been a model player to coach and a model teammate.”

Giddens' transformation has now led him to the Celtics, who recently won their 17th NBA championship.

And although most NBA pundits will highlight that Giddens' talents should have made him a lottery pick if not for his behavioral issues, Giddens believes everything happens for a reason.

"I feel so blessed,” he said. "God has a plan for everything. Now I'm with a great organization, I'm going to play professional basketball – I'm truly, truly lucky.”

So Giddens' fairy tale has ended the way most everyone thought it would

Sure the middle chapters more closely resembled a Brothers Grimm story than a Disney flick, but all good fairy tales end the same way.

"It's a dream come true,” Giddens said.

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[Emperor Young]

this was on today's daily links..