Author Topic: Ramblings of hope, expectation and reality when it comes to the youth.  (Read 1189 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Csfan1984

  • Don Nelson
  • ********
  • Posts: 8825
  • Tommy Points: 289
Was just thinking how work is much more important than talent when it comes to being great at something. With that work any player can meet their highest potential. Our young Celtics don't have the limits we set for them but the limits they set for themselves.

Players need to sacrifice and work hard to be great. It's not a easy thing to do with the distractions of wealth and life or the anxieties of pressure to perform. Yet they can do it because other players before them have. Did people really believe Jordan would be a lock for top 4 player ever when he came out? Did they expect Kobe would be one of the greatest scorers? Did they see Bird being an assassin on the court breaking another team's will nightly? Did people who watched Pierce play a fool in a post game press conference after a Pacers playoff game (you know the jaw wrapped one) think he would be a NBA champion and finals MVP?  Brown can be better than Butler or Leonard. Tatum can be to KD what KD is to LeBron. Williams doesn't need to accept Capela as his ceiling he can strive for being better than Anthony Davis. It can be done right. Its not just big hopes...

But then again I had big hopes for Smart and his short comings were tough to swallow. I expected so much more from a guy who played so hard. I didnt know how Smart's shot can be so bad given that effort so I tempered my expectations for Brown. Brown was okay his first year which made me think it takes time to be even good, hopefully Tatum might be as decent as Brown was year one as it's about small steps. Then Brown lifted his game this past year and Tatum was a stud. The green kool-aid is now once again spiked and flowing!

It's a great feeling to see the young guys do special things and succeed. Though ultimately it is in fact veterans that win rings and game 7 was a smack across the face as a reminder. So I won't ask the young guys to do it all instantly become all-stars even in the next two years. I will be patiently watching and rooting them on as Celtics no matter if they are instant studs like Tatum, long time projects like Rozier, or specialist like Smart that cause roller coaster out burst of praise and curses. I wish these young Celtics luck and will let their efforts show me what they are.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2018, 07:24:08 AM by Csfan1984 »

Offline hwangjini_1

  • Kevin Garnett
  • *****************
  • Posts: 17835
  • Tommy Points: 2661
  • bammokja

Was just thinking how work is much more important than talent when it comes to being great at something. With that work any player can meet their highest potential.

Our young Celtics don't have the limits we set for them but the limits they set for themselves. Players need to sacrifice and work hard to get there. It's not a easy thing to do with the distractions of wealth and life or the anxieties of pressure to perform. Yet they can do it because other players before them have.

Did people really believe Jordan would be a lock for top 4 player ever when he came out? Did they expect Kobe would be one of the greatest scorers? Did they see Bird being an assain on the court breaking another team's will nightly? Did people who watched Pierce play a fool in a post game press conference after a Pacers playoff game (you know the jaw wrapped one) think he would be a NBA champion and finals MVP? 

Brown can be better than Butler or Leonard. Tatum can be to KD what KD is to LeBron. Williams doesn't need to accept Capela as his ceiling he can strive for being better than Anthony Davis. It can be done right. Its not just big hopes...

But then again I had big hopes for Smart and his short comings were tough to swallow. I expected so much more from a guy who played so hard. I didnt know how Smart's shot can be so bad given that effort so I tempered my expectations for Brown. Brown was okay his first year which made me think it takes time to be even good, hopefully Tatum might be as decent as Brown was year one as it's about small steps. Then Brown lifted his game this past year and Tatum was a stud.

The green kool-aid is now once again spiked and flowing! It's a great feeling to see the young guys do special things and succeed. Though ultimately it is in fact veterans that win rings and game 7 was a smack across the face as a reminder.

So I won't ask the young guys to do it all instantly become all-stars even in the next two years. I will be patiently watching and rooting them on as Celtics no matter if they are instant studs like Tatum, long time projects like Rozier, or specialist like Smart that cause roller coaster out burst of praise and curses.

I wish these young Celtics luck and will let their efforts show me what they are.

______

Csfan1984, i just thought using paragraphs might make this a bit easier to read for folks.
I believe Gandhi is the only person who knew about real democracy — not democracy as the right to go and buy what you want, but democracy as the responsibility to be accountable to everyone around you. Democracy begins with freedom from hunger, freedom from unemployment, freedom from fear, and freedom from hatred.
- Vandana Shiva

Offline Csfan1984

  • Don Nelson
  • ********
  • Posts: 8825
  • Tommy Points: 289
Np I skipped the paragraphs purposely to resemble actual rambling.

Offline Boston Garden Leprechaun

  • Dennis Johnson
  • ******************
  • Posts: 18464
  • Tommy Points: 1550
no paragraphs didnt read!
LET'S GO CELTICS!

Offline bellerephon

  • Jaylen Brown
  • Posts: 665
  • Tommy Points: 52
I don’t really agree with this basic premise. I’m not suggesting that hard work isn’t important, but no amount of hard work will make someone a star if they don’t have star level natural ability. People tend to bring up players that exceeded expectations through hard work but fail to realize that even the worst NBA player is a hugely talented athlete.

Hard work will help you reach your ceiling, but it won’t allow a player without talent to become a star. One of the biggest lies we tell our young people is that they can do anything they want. Rubbish. I think with hard work people can do much more than they think and can exceed expectations, but NBA stars are born more than made. To be truly great you need great talent and hard work, but without the natural talent it won’t happen.

Offline chilidawg

  • Bailey Howell
  • **
  • Posts: 2009
  • Tommy Points: 261
But then there are countless examples of guys who have far exceeded their "potential", at least as the popular consensus has them pegged.  Don't hold them down to their 'talent", which is an arbitrary and often false ceiling.

Offline Csfan1984

  • Don Nelson
  • ********
  • Posts: 8825
  • Tommy Points: 289
no paragraphs didnt read!
I caved and added paragraphs.

Offline Csfan1984

  • Don Nelson
  • ********
  • Posts: 8825
  • Tommy Points: 289
I don’t really agree with this basic premise. I’m not suggesting that hard work isn’t important, but no amount of hard work will make someone a star if they don’t have star level natural ability. People tend to bring up players that exceeded expectations through hard work but fail to realize that even the worst NBA player is a hugely talented athlete.

Hard work will help you reach your ceiling, but it won’t allow a player without talent to become a star. One of the biggest lies we tell our young people is that they can do anything they want. Rubbish. I think with hard work people can do much more than they think and can exceed expectations, but NBA stars are born more than made. To be truly great you need great talent and hard work, but without the natural talent it won’t happen.
The section about tempered expections is kind of this. It addresses how despite believing a guy works hard some times its not enough.

Offline Celtics4ever

  • NCE
  • Johnny Most
  • ********************
  • Posts: 20000
  • Tommy Points: 1323
Quote
Did people really believe Jordan would be a lock for top 4 player ever when he came out?

He was a high pick who hit a championship shot so yes.

Quote
Did they expect Kobe would be one of the greatest scorers?

Again, there was a ton of hype on him.

Quote
Did they see Bird being an assain on the court breaking another team's will nightly?

Bird was a dominant college player.   There were concerns about his athletic ability even Bird had them himself.   Red thought enough of him to draft him using an arcane rules a year early.  I think you were assassin, right?

The great thing about the NBA is that you can beat hype.   The league always picks a few guys to market each draft, sometimes they are wrong.  Brown is going to be a guy who beats the hype.   Tatum got the hype.   At 27, no one expect Williams to be a world beater but if he can play it would be a real nice coup.

Offline Csfan1984

  • Don Nelson
  • ********
  • Posts: 8825
  • Tommy Points: 289
Quote
Did people really believe Jordan would be a lock for top 4 player ever when he came out?

He was a high pick who hit a championship shot so yes.

Quote
Did they expect Kobe would be one of the greatest scorers?

Again, there was a ton of hype on him.

Quote
Did they see Bird being an assain on the court breaking another team's will nightly?

Bird was a dominant college player.   There were concerns about his athletic ability even Bird had them himself.   Red thought enough of him to draft him using an arcane rules a year early.  I think you were assassin, right?

The great thing about the NBA is that you can beat hype.   The league always picks a few guys to market each draft, sometimes they are wrong.  Brown is going to be a guy who beats the hype.   Tatum got the hype.   At 27, no one expect Williams to be a world beater but if he can play it would be a real nice coup.
Big men still ruled the league as far as greatest players when Jordan came in. People didnt think he would be top 4 all time I'm pretty sure of that.

Kobe was pretty much a gamble some people were high on him but his competition was suspect. 7 gms doubted him at the least.

You nailed it on the head about the faults of Bird. So there were doubts there is all I'm saying.

Basically we don't know the fate of these guys. Just take LeBron he has had epic chokes and failures to show his great ability. Other times he has show why he is the best player on this decade and reigned King. It's all a ride watching these guys succeed or fail.

Offline bellerephon

  • Jaylen Brown
  • Posts: 665
  • Tommy Points: 52
But then there are countless examples of guys who have far exceeded their "potential", at least as the popular consensus has them pegged.  Don't hold them down to their 'talent", which is an arbitrary and often false ceiling.

I hear this response quite a bit, and it’s understandable, but it totally misses the point. Many people can do more than they think. I’m not suggesting that we hold people down with expectations, however. I never said that people should be held to someone else’s ideas of what their ceiling is. By all means people should challenge themselves and set high goals. I’m pointing out that hard work alone will not take you all the way to greatness in anything. You need ability. Most people will never be NBA athletes no matter how hard they work. Heck, most D1 basketball players will never make the NBA no matter how hard they work. They perhaps can do great things in another endeavor.