On the road with Morris Almond
We're going to have a story in the paper Tuesday that I had a lot of fun reporting and writing. For two days last month, Tribune photographer Chris Detrick and I tagged along with Jazz guard Morris Almond and Nate Martinez, the Jazz's youth programs coordinator, as they put on six Jr. Jazz basketball clinics in some of the most remote parts of the state.
It's been an annual tradition for nearly 25 years with the Jazz. Every summer, they have one of their youngest players travel around the region for these clinics. We traveled with Almond and Martinez through Duchesne, Carbon and Emery counties. They spent another two days on the road - - stopping in Green River, Monticello and Salina - - after we went home for the draft.
Our first stop was in Tabiona, a 155-person town in Duchesne. There's not much there other than an LDS ward house, a post office and a K through 12 school. It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense for the Jazz to spend time and energy visiting Tabiona - - it's not like they're in danger of losing the market to the Nuggets - - but they say the annual turnout justifies it.
They had more than 50 kids in the gym for Almond, who was doing everything he could not to call the town "Tapioca" or "Timpanoga." The highlight for me was when one boy squeaked out a question asking Almond if he was Mormon. Almond thought the kid was asking if he was a "poor man," then almost doubled over laughing once he was corrected.
One of my favorite moments came in Duchesne. Almond had a little down time before his next stop in Price and asked if he could shoot in the high school gym. They pretty much closed down the gym except for the four of us. Chris and I went and fooled around on a side basket while Almond started launching jumpers with Martinez rebounding for him.
There was an invitation to play two-on-two - - Tribune vs. Jazz - - that Chris and I wisely declined. After spending all year covering the NBA, sometimes you wonder just what would happen if you played these guys. You start thinking about how maybe you could pick up a basket here or there and put up a respectable fight in losing 11-3.
Then you watch Almond go to work in a tiny gym in Duchesne and realize that it would be 11-0 if you played to 11. If you played to 100, Almond would win either 100-0 or 99-1. These guys are in the NBA for a reason, and watching Almond knock down jumper after jumper that barely touched the rim only confirmed it for me.
We heard a lot of interesting stories from Almond in the two days we spent on the road. He played against LeBron James as an eighth-grader in a national AAU tournament and remembered hearing people claim even then that James someday would be the next Michael Jordan.
On draft night, Almond was sure he was heading to San Antonio. He worked out twice for the Spurs and went out to dinner with coach Gregg Popovich only to be selected by the Jazz. Every time he was asked, Almond said the same thing to the Jr. Jazz kids: You want to play for the team that wants you.
It's also easy to see why Almond is so polished. His mother encouraged him to go to Rice for its academics (not just basketball) and recently asked him what he was reading during his rookie year in the NBA. When Almond asked if magazines counted, she told him he needed to get a library card.
I've gotten a fair amount of Almond questions this summer from readers. I can't imagine how frustrating it was for him to be a first-round draft pick yet get so little opportunity to play as a rookie. Even after he scored 50 (twice) in the NBA Development League, Almond still couldn't get a ticket back to the Jazz.
With so few injuries on the team last season, Almond played in only nine games with the Jazz. He's been working out in Houston this summer and will be back for the Rocky Mountain Revue in a couple of weeks. The way he shoots the ball, you have to think Almond has a place somewhere in the NBA.
In the meantime, I was wondering if any readers had memories of Jazz players coming to their towns growing up. The Jazz dug up a couple of pictures that must be from the summer of 1985, with John Stockton and Fred Roberts posing by Strawberry Reservoir and also those Vernal dinosaurs. The red minivan they rode around in was priceless.
The Jazz are still finalizing things for the second and third weeks of their summer tour. It most likely will be the last week of July/first week of August or the first and second weeks of August. When they have a schedule, I'll pass it along. They never advertise which player will be visiting, but they do promise there will be one.
--Ross Siler
It's been an annual tradition for nearly 25 years with the Jazz. Every summer, they have one of their youngest players travel around the region for these clinics. We traveled with Almond and Martinez through Duchesne, Carbon and Emery counties. They spent another two days on the road - - stopping in Green River, Monticello and Salina - - after we went home for the draft.
Our first stop was in Tabiona, a 155-person town in Duchesne. There's not much there other than an LDS ward house, a post office and a K through 12 school. It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense for the Jazz to spend time and energy visiting Tabiona - - it's not like they're in danger of losing the market to the Nuggets - - but they say the annual turnout justifies it.
They had more than 50 kids in the gym for Almond, who was doing everything he could not to call the town "Tapioca" or "Timpanoga." The highlight for me was when one boy squeaked out a question asking Almond if he was Mormon. Almond thought the kid was asking if he was a "poor man," then almost doubled over laughing once he was corrected.
One of my favorite moments came in Duchesne. Almond had a little down time before his next stop in Price and asked if he could shoot in the high school gym. They pretty much closed down the gym except for the four of us. Chris and I went and fooled around on a side basket while Almond started launching jumpers with Martinez rebounding for him.
There was an invitation to play two-on-two - - Tribune vs. Jazz - - that Chris and I wisely declined. After spending all year covering the NBA, sometimes you wonder just what would happen if you played these guys. You start thinking about how maybe you could pick up a basket here or there and put up a respectable fight in losing 11-3.
Then you watch Almond go to work in a tiny gym in Duchesne and realize that it would be 11-0 if you played to 11. If you played to 100, Almond would win either 100-0 or 99-1. These guys are in the NBA for a reason, and watching Almond knock down jumper after jumper that barely touched the rim only confirmed it for me.
We heard a lot of interesting stories from Almond in the two days we spent on the road. He played against LeBron James as an eighth-grader in a national AAU tournament and remembered hearing people claim even then that James someday would be the next Michael Jordan.
On draft night, Almond was sure he was heading to San Antonio. He worked out twice for the Spurs and went out to dinner with coach Gregg Popovich only to be selected by the Jazz. Every time he was asked, Almond said the same thing to the Jr. Jazz kids: You want to play for the team that wants you.
It's also easy to see why Almond is so polished. His mother encouraged him to go to Rice for its academics (not just basketball) and recently asked him what he was reading during his rookie year in the NBA. When Almond asked if magazines counted, she told him he needed to get a library card.
I've gotten a fair amount of Almond questions this summer from readers. I can't imagine how frustrating it was for him to be a first-round draft pick yet get so little opportunity to play as a rookie. Even after he scored 50 (twice) in the NBA Development League, Almond still couldn't get a ticket back to the Jazz.
With so few injuries on the team last season, Almond played in only nine games with the Jazz. He's been working out in Houston this summer and will be back for the Rocky Mountain Revue in a couple of weeks. The way he shoots the ball, you have to think Almond has a place somewhere in the NBA.
In the meantime, I was wondering if any readers had memories of Jazz players coming to their towns growing up. The Jazz dug up a couple of pictures that must be from the summer of 1985, with John Stockton and Fred Roberts posing by Strawberry Reservoir and also those Vernal dinosaurs. The red minivan they rode around in was priceless.
The Jazz are still finalizing things for the second and third weeks of their summer tour. It most likely will be the last week of July/first week of August or the first and second weeks of August. When they have a schedule, I'll pass it along. They never advertise which player will be visiting, but they do promise there will be one.
--Ross Siler
5:01 PM
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6 Comments:
I remember Thurl Bailey coming to Salina when I was a kid. I am sure that it is a pain for the players to travel all over to these small towns, but to those of us who grew up there it meant a lot. I am glad to hear that the Jazz still continue this tradition.
I remember Karl Malone coming to Layton his rookie year. The sign welcoming him said "Carl Malone".Classic. To his credit he stuck around after nearly everyone had left and talked to a few of us kids. Stockton also came one year and he got asked the standard question of whether or not he could dunk. He claimed yes (although I don't believe it) but begged off demonstrating it because he was getting married the next weekend and didn't want to risk injury.
I signed up for a Jr. Jazz clinic in June of 1988, the summer after the Jazz took the Lakers to seven games. We were supposed to get John Stockton and Karl Malone, but instead got Bobby Hansen. I remember Hansen told me I needed to stop smoking (because I was so winded). He came with Hot Rod, who, I recall, had the shortest pair of white tennis shorts, as well as a pair of Forest Gump Nike Cortez shoes. It was a fun camp.
As a side note, earlier in the year, probably February, I attended a game at the Salt Palace. I believe it was against the Washington Bullets. Before the game they had a promotion where you could get your picture with a Jazz player. I stood in line with my fingers crossed, just hoping and praying I'd get Karl Malone or Big T. I was even cool with getting Ricky Green, the "fastest of them all."
But no. I got Marc Ivaroni. Not cool.
So I got back in line, again hoping for Karl, Thurl or Ricky.
But no. I got John Stockton. At the time, not cool.
Man, I wish I had saved that Polaroid.
Growing up in Farmington, I remember John Crotty, Delaney Rudd, Walter Bond, Thurl Bailey, Mike Brown all coming. The one year I blew it off thinking it would probably be a scrub it ended up being Karl Malone. Needless to say I was a bit bummed.
I remember, back in the mid-90s, Bryon Russell came to Washington Terrace.
The gym was packed and Russell was wearing a Long Beach State t-shirt. But that's about all I remember.
I think I was disappointed it wasn't Stockton or Malone, but in the end, I think I liked Russell the more for it.
I went to all of those events growing up in Salina. They were the highlight of the summer (keep it up Jazz). One year we got journeyman point guard Jim Les. My friend and I were talking in the back and not paying attention. He got mad at us and made us do push-ups in front of the group. Another year Karl Malone came to town. Our family still has the family picture we had taken with him at the gym.
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