I Wednesday, Ai cl 11,2010 O’Neal JIMMY GOLEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER WALTHAM. Mass. - When Shaquille O'Neal was much, much younger and a good deal smaller, too. he chose as a —,— role model one of the ir.o-! success ful hie men in NBA hisiorv hi it 11 1 came into the league. I ;'' l l it- compete with Bill -;-eii ini' titles." O'Neal said :-da\. with Russell's 11 champi .h;p banners hanging above him a 1 a news conference to mark igning with the Boston . That's not going to hap r, but I'd like to almost get half oi w hat lie got.' (Vllk-s. With iour lit Its and a Hall of !-' one career already on his resume, newly christened "Big shamrock" signed a two-year deal :k hr ('cities at veteran's mini mo hirgoing more lucrative '•i join the defending i ( onitrence champions i .mother championship A iT Nsover celebrity who has <ppe;i)vd in feature films and his :wn TV --how. O'Neal joked about ns new nickname, his fear that his no: ■■ -.-. iii develop a Boston accent nci Tying to beat new teammate hen "Bic; Baby" Davis in a chow ht eating contest. Bui ht was serious when he miked about his legacy. ■ i)<> I 1;..u the same hunger'? Vs i! ! birin t.! wouldn't be here." •aid. "1 don't like wasting Colt McCoy content to wait and learn in NFL By Tom Withers 'SS WRrER Ohio - As the ■.-'cmd Browns sweat through ;,i r sleamy training camp A a\ stands on f -. kdeime with :!‘ms folded, the A watching. waiting. This is all new for McCoy, the •mcr Texas star who won more n.k - than any other quarter ed-; in college football history ; - i 'iiird stringer now. buried .*!t t k ciiand s depth chart below ; after Jake Delhomme and baek m Seneca Wallace, it s hard." he said. i'V not going to get easier any one soon tor McCov. either. injuries, he's slated to ' lend the season in an under- k. learning how lo play Ls most demanding and iMniiengmg position as a third- o take some getting A -htit* K something I've ..ask on and I've got to -u.u dcCoy who slid to the mod in April s draft before m. -matched by the Browns. "It is d. especially over the last vear.' where you've taken e;y rep a,id every snap in every one I just got to get used to it • :,asr it A going to be the same a\ ail season and I've got to be nd\ to go and make some uting for his time to Mi-Coy has immersed him i e iii i Iweland's thick playbook. 'ninrimiately. it doesn't have a ;;!<']• dedicated to patience. McGrady to sign one-year otter with retooling Pistons By Larry Lage SPOAS WRITER DETROIT - Tracy McGrady is _r!.t\ng a chance to rejuvenate his career with a team hoping for a rebound of its ———- ,; '™- . , NBA MiaTiadv and idston.s have agreed to a 51.3 mil lion. one year contract, a person lamiliar with the negotiations told Tlte Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on the condition o! anonymity because the deal hasn't been announced. McGrady. a seven-time All-Star .md two-time scoring champion, has played just 65 games the past !wo seasons with Houston and New York because he had major surgeiy on his left knee in the mid dle of the 2008-09 season. The 6-foot-8 wing drew some interest from teams this summer, including the Chicago Bulls, before choosing to play for Detroit. Now. the Pistons might have a greater sense or urgency to trade Richard Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince to fix their logjam on the perimeter. The 31 -vear-old McGrady aver aged 8 2 points last season, his lowest-scoring season since 1997- 98 w hen he was a rookie with the Toronto Raptors after skipping college. Just two years ago, though, he averaged 21-plus points for the eighth time in his career. wants six titles my time. I don't like wasting any body's time. At the end of the day, when I close the book, it's all about winning." The news conference to intro duce O’Neal wasn't the usual type for a backup, 38-year-old center w'ho will be paid about $1.3 million a year. There were a dozen TV cameras, perhaps 50 reporters in all and a couple hundred beaming schoolchildren in the bleachers, taking a break from their basket ball camp next door. Also in the gym: Kevin Garnett, who promised O'Neal he would fly back from Hawaii to be there. "To me this is a very exclusive event." said O'Neal, who wore a gray pinstriped suit and a black bow tie. "It s my last (introducto ry) press conference. I just want ed to be very, very sharp. " The crowd was all there to see O'Neal the superstar, the former NBA MVP and four-time champi on who is certain to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame down the road in Springfield whenever he decides he's had enough. But the O'Neal the Celtics have •signed is a much different player than the one who accumulated those credentials. Now weighing in at 345 pounds - he was 294 at LSU O'Neal averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds tor the Cavaliers last season, when he was brought to Cleveland in the hopes that he would be the missing piece that would help Leßron James win his elusive NBA title. He also missed almost two months of the regular Colt McCoy (12) hands off during a practice session at training camp McCoy admits that isn't one of his virtues. Given an assignment, he would ing to be the best I can be in the prefer to knock it out and move on situation that I'm in and when it's to the next one. He doesn't have that luxury'any- McCoy, who threw for more more. McCoy is starting from than 13,000 yards and 112 touch scratch as a pro. downs with the Longhorns, would -I think it's universal for most like nothing more than to play rookies." he said after practice immediately. But he understands earlier this week. his current status and is tapping T-Mac facts Drafted 9th by Toronto in 1997 Third cousins with Orlando Magic guard Vince Carter Has played for the Raptors, Magic, Houston Rockets and New York Knicks 21.5 ppg for career Career-high 28.0 ppg in 03-04 Seven-time All-Star 2001 Most Improved Player Two-time NBA scoring champion Scored 62 points in one game with Orlando (Magic record) Shares NBA record with eight made 3-pointers in one half If McGrady accepts his role, likely as a reserve, he could prove to be a bargain playing for the vet eran's minimum even if he doesn’t approach his career scoring aver age of 21.5 points. ■‘l've made a lot of money over my career and I could retire right now' and I could be fine financial ly," McGrady said in February after he was traded by the Rockets to the Knicks while making $23 million in the last year of his con tract. "My kids can be fine when they get older. Money is not an issue for me." McGrady, who is from Bartow, Fla., was drafted No. 9 overall in the 1997 draft by Toronto. He went to Orlando in a sign-and-trade season after injuring his thumb against the Celtics. “I told him there won't be 30 minutes (for him) on this team; there will be 20-25," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “I asked him if that would be OK, because that's the only way it’s going to work." And it was OK with O'Neal, who hit the free agent market seeking a two-year deal worth a reported $8 million to $lO million a season. The Celtics expressed an interest though not at that price and general manager Danny Ainge moved on to pursue other options. As the summer wore on, though, O'Neal came around. Ainge said O'Neal's agent called and said, “Shaq would like to play there, and he's willing to come on your terms." "I think Shaq's a guy who can still make a difference." Ainge told reporters in a conference, call after the news conference. "When he was in his prime, he was con sidered one of the best who has ever played. Shaq coming to our team right now. our expectations won't be that. We expect him to contribute to our team and play a role off our bench." But that can be a major contri bution for a team that is without center Kendrick Perkins for at least half the season while he recovers from the knee injury he sustained during Game 6 of the NBA finals. Backup Rasheed Wallace has said he will retire, though there is a chance the Celtics could do something with his contract. appe' ar • "Some rookies step right in and play. Hats oil to them. I'm just try- time, it's time. Tracy McGrady (3) rises up for a jump shot as Andrea Bargnani (7) and Hedo Turkuglo attempt to defend deal in 2000 and was dealt four years later to Houston. His last healthy season was five years ago. He missed 34 games during the „„ jo-06 season with back problems, elbow and knee Shaquille O’Neal poses with his Celtics jersey at his intoductory press conference on Tuesday. O’Neal said his goal is to win six NBA titles before he retires. He currently has four over 20 NBA seasons. into Delhomme and Wallace's experience to make him a better player. Delhomme remembers what it's like to be a wide-eyed rookie, lost in the dizzying speed of a game moving at warp speed com pared to college ball. Delhomme has been impressed with McCoy’s eagerness to learn and passion to improve. He's willing to mentor and help the 23-year-old’s transi tion. “He's very intelligent, that’s one thing you can tell just being in meetings, and it's important to him," Delhomme said. "If it’s not important to somebody, then they're really not going to give you everything they have. He wants to be good. He's not getting a whole lot of reps right now, but he’s doing a really good job.” Delhomme never saw the field as a rookie in 1998 with New Orleans, and he didn’t make his first start until his sixth year when he was with Carolina. He knows what McCoy is going through. ‘lt’s hard,’' he said. "I did the same thing. I started all four years in high school and all four years in college. You get to the NFL, I was on a knee for 90 percent of the practice just watching. It’s a major adjustment. There's no other way around it." Amv Sancetta/AP McCoy's baptism began on Saturday in a scrimmage at Browns Stadium. Eager to show his stuff after getting a loud ovation from Cleveland fans, he threw two interceptions, one at the end of the first half and one that was returned by Brandon McDonald for a TD. McCoy didn’t dwell on injuries led to him missing 16 games two years later and microfracture surgery put his career in jeopardy about 112l 1 2 years ago. If he’s relatively healthy, happy / A » ji V . 1 «§E:| \i |. > 1 The Daily Collegian Greg M. Cooper/AP the mistakes. Instead, he prom ised not to make them again. “Those are lessons learned,” he said. “Those are things you can take away from that, get back in the locker room, write it down and understand that I’m not going to do that again. B-Mac’s a great player and made the play. It’s a great coaching tool. “I’ve still got a lot to learn.” Coach Eric Mangini was pleased to hear about McCoy’s self criticism, and has been pleased with the youngster’s progress in camp. “He is a really good student,” Mangini said. “What I like about Colt is that he embraces and really understands the importance of getting with Jake and Seneca. He will get one element of understanding from the coaching staff, but a guy like Jake who has so much game expe rience really can help a young guy like that. He has been like a sponge, which is what he should be at this point.” McCoy has much loftier goals. But this young Colt, still on wobbly legs, knows he must learn to walk before he can run. While Delhomme and Wallace took turns running the two minute drill at the end of practice on Tuesday, McCoy intently stud ied their every move. He counted the steps in their dropbacks, lis tened to their cadences and as they scanned the field for open receivers, his eyes darted around too. It’s not his time. Not yet. ‘T’ve got a long ways to go,’’ he said, “but I’m learning more and more every' day and I’m feeling more comfortable every day.’’ and effective for the Pistons, McGrady will provide a boost for a team that missed the playoffs this year for the first time since 2001 with its worst record since 1995.
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