Take it to the Hoop

Remember this look?

Remember how we marvelled? How we admired his determination and tenacity?

Remember how we smiled when Michael Jordan confided that he was cut from the team in high school?

I still admire him. He led from inside. He inspired. Always encouraging, always “can-do” even in the face of adversity. I remember the way he played the game after his father’s tragic death. Coach Phil Jackson has written some noteworthy things about him and he’s known as someone worth emulating.

Michael Jordan will be long-remembered for being willing to feed his teammates assists and rebound fearlessly when the Bulls were hot. I remember a win with less than 1 second on the clock. Everyone, including their opponents, expected Jordan to take the last shot but he fed it to Scottie Pippen who put it up and through. Jordan was fine with an assist; they won at the buzzer. Conversely, (can I say that even though he flew Nike’s?) when it seemed they just couldn’t buy a basket, he’d do his best to start something. He fixed his eyes on that orange hoop with the net hanging from it, let his tongue do whatever it wanted — and drove in. You have to admit, it’s hard to miss from this close. “Just do it? I’ll do it. ”

I especially like this portion of his bio:

Entered the 2002-03 season ranked as the all-time NBA Playoffs leader in field-goals attempted (4,497), free-throws made (1,463) and attempted (1,766), second in steals (376) and field-goals made (2,188), fifth in assists (1,022), seventh in three-point attempts (446) and ninth in three-pointers made (148)

A guy just doesn’t rack up stats like that standing at the top of the key wishing things were different, ya’ know? (How’s that for an understatement?)

We talked about Abraham Sunday morning and one of the points Chip made was that Abraham was quick to say “I’ll do it” when the Lord said ‘go’.

There are a couple areas in my life right now where it’s up to me. Just me. If I don’t do it, ain’t nobody gonna. I can hear my Coach (I say that respectfully) calling from the sidelines “put it up!”

I’m gone. Tongue and all. (Just don’t take my picture, OK? I’m not ripped like Jordan is – far from it.)