Orlando Magic: Humbled J.J. Redick Is Ready To Contribute To 2010-11 Season
You can run faster than him but he will go further. You may jump higher but you will have to come down to his level at some point? J.J. Redick is a machine. He knows his limitations but he keeps coming at you like Rocky. He is a testament that hard work does actually pay off.
"J.J. has continued to get better," Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He works very hard at his game and his conditioning. He's one of the best-conditioned guys in the league. He gets everything he can out of his ability.
“He's always been smart and tough, now he's learned the NBA game better. He's not going to make many mistakes; he's ahead of the play. He's just a good solid player, and obviously he can put the ball in the basket."
Great praise for a player whom many predicted would be out of the NBA in two years after being drafted 11th in 2006 by the Orlando Magic. At this point it is clear he will never be the next Michael Jordan, but that does not mean he cannot help a team win the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Recently the Magic matched an offer of just over $6 million for three years, by the Chicago Bulls, to keep Reddick in town. Clearly Redick is a significant part of their future plans.
After all the hate and ridicule, Tupac’s ‘Picture me Rollin’ comes to mind but this is not Reddicks’s style.
“Always stay humble. Any athlete—or person for that matter—who is overconfident or cocky will always have a moment of humility. You have to be prepared for that,” he said prior to being drafted.
Another example of Redick’s humility is that even though Draftexpress.com reported that he was measured at 6’4” without shoes, he continues to have himself listed at that height whereas others would have given themselves an ego boost by adding up to two more inches to account for the shoes.
His goal for the first year was not to win rookie of the year, but to become significant in the Magic’s rotation and to continue to improve as a player.
Four years later, he is featured in a column on NBA.com called “Rising stars to watch of 2010/11 season.” Here is what they had to say about him.
“It's only a matter of time before he replaces Vince Carter, or at least gets more minutes in the rotation. That was assured when Redick outplayed Carter in the playoffs (especially against the Celtics in the conference finals) and when the Magic matched the three-year, $19 million offer sheet he received from the Bulls.”
Replace Vince Carter! Vinsanity! That may be a tad overzealous not too far-fetched. It has not been an easy road for Redick. He was buried on the bench his rookie season by former coach Brian Hill.
"I struggled a good part of the season. It was really frustrating, really draining to tell you the truth," Redick said. "It was a test in patience. But a lot of rookies have gone through that and really my case isn't that unique.
“A lot of guys have gone through what I did and turned out to have really good careers. I'm hoping to do the same thing."
To be fair not many rookies left college with as many accolades as Redick did which heaped more expectations on him:
Naismith Player of the Year
ACC Player of the Year
John R Wooden Award
Oscar Robertson Trophy
Adolph Rupp Trophy.
Redick was expected to carry on, piling up the individual awards even though the NBA is a different game to the college game, where he was mainly a shooter.
A few injuries (a herniated disc in his back and most of training camp with torn tissue in his foot) did slow down Redick’s pro career and might have helped in him being relegated to the bench in the first year.
Fast forward to 2010, and Reddick is rejuvenated under Coach Van Gundy. The Magic won 59 games, and finished second in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. Redick averaged nine points, two rebounds, and two assists during the regular season.
"He's aggressive,” Carter said. "He's always been labelled as a shooter. Now he's getting to the basket, rebounding, doing a lot of things. We push each other. We're constantly talking to each other and just helping each other through our rough moments throughout the game and the season. He's a Duke guy, but whatever."
This aggression made Redick one of the few bright spots for Orlando, in the last Eastern Conference Finals, where he averaged 11 points, but the Magic succumbed in six games to the Boston Celtics.
Going into next season, Matt Barnes has left which, means Mickael Pietrus will start at small forward, leaving Redick as the first back up to the often-injured Carter.
“My biggest source of motivation right now is all the naysayers who think I won’t be successful in the NBA—I love to prove people wrong. But God is always my inspiration." Reddick said. "My goal in life is to be worthy of being called one of His children. I live my life accordingly.”
Let’s just hope that the Duke graduate stays humble and continue to prove all his doubters wrong, because he is a shining example to the fact that if you work hard enough and put the time in you can hang with the Kobe Bryants and the Lebron James’ of this world no matter what your limitations are.
Please find below one of JJ Redick’s works which defines him.
It’s mind over matter,
the power of my brain
He thinks I’ll give in if my
muscles start to strain
He believes I’ll submit to
the evil of society’s frame
And benefit from
notoriety’s gain
He says I don’t have to
properly train and
that he’ll give me all the
fame and everyone will know
my name
But I think he’s insane
’Cause I know the truth—
to gain is to give
To have pain is to live
Quotes taken from Stack magazine 2006 and NBA.com
