[外電] Catching Up With Dan Roundfield
Catching Up With Dan Roundfield
by Micah Hart
Dan Roundfield was a three-time NBA All-Star in six seasons
with the Hawks in the late 1970’s and early ‘80s. Known for
his defensive prowess, Roundfield was named to the NBA’s
All-Defensive teams five times (three times on the first team,
twice on the second) during his 11-year career.
A very successful Hawk during his tenure in Atlanta, Roundfield
was part of five playoff teams in six years, including coming
within a game of the Eastern Conference finals in 1978-79, when
the Hawks lost to the Washington Bullets in seven games.
We recently had a chance to catch up with Roundfield, who still
maintains residence in the city of Atlanta.
Hawks.com: What have you been up to lately?
Dan Roundfield: I am the business development manager for Earth
Tech, a division of Tyco, doing environmental engineering. We
also do transportation design and we have a federal project side
that we work with. I’ve been doing this off and on since I
retired. I got a degree in marketing, so this is what I do!
Hawks.com: Looking back on your career, what would you say are
your most cherished memories?
DR: I would say I have two. One, we made the playoffs when I
first came here. We played Washington in a seven-game series
in the second round, and probably should have beat them, so that
was great.
My second favorite memory was playing with Dominique Wilkins
for two seasons. They didn’t call him the Human Highlight Film
for nothing.
Hawks.com: You were known for your defensive presence on the
court (Roundfield was an NBA All-Defensive Team selection on
multiple occasions). What do you think of the current defensive
rules in the NBA that allows teams to play zones?
DR: It changes the dynamics of the game, but then again, the
dynamics have changed with everything. It wouldn’t have been
a problem for me to play zone, I would have been a wing guy
just like I was when I played. It’s not a bad thing, it’s a
good thing – it gives a change of pace to what teams are doing.
Hawks.com: What do you think has changed the most since you
stopped playing?
DR: I think the thing that is most different now is that you
have guys 6’10” shooting threes (laughing). People wonder
why rebounding is down, its cause all the big men are out on
the perimeter now!
Hawks.com: Seeing as how the roles have changed for some
positions like you say, do you think you’d play a different
role today?
DR: Well, I’d have to learn to shoot the three-pointer –
so I would need to get my eyesight fixed. Also, I wouldn’t
have to worry about defending the post, because no one really
plays down there anymore. The power forward position has changed
because you don’t have as many people posting up and the offenses
are a lot different. There is a lot more cuttingthrough. My
position now would probably be hanging out somewherenear the
three-point line, waiting for someone to drive in and kick.
Hawks.com: You played for the Pistons for part of your career –
do you buy into the hype comparing the current Pistons’ squad
to some of the great teams (the Celtics and Lakers) from your
era?
DR: This Pistons team is definitely a throwback type team. They
are a veteran team, they play great defense. And, this year, you
are seeing them show-off their offensive capabilities as well.
But as far as comparing them to some of the great teams of the
late 70’s and early 80’s…there is still no comparison. Those
teams were strong across the board with no weaknesses. Even the
Bulls that won six titles, they would have struggled against
those squads.
Hawks.com: What do you attribute that to?
DR: Well it’s simple. There were less teams then. There were
only 20, 21 teams. There was a compaction of talent – that is,
more talented players on each team all the way down the roster.
You don’t see frontlines any more like Parish, McHale, and Bird.
Today’s dominant teams just aren’t as dominant. You look at
even a team like San Antonio who won the title last year – they
have some weak spots in their lineup, especially on the offensive
side. So the talent has thinned out across 30 teams now. I’m not
saying there aren’t good teams – just not as talented across
the board as the teams 20-30 years ago.
Hawks.com: You played one season in the ABA. What was that
experience like?
DR: The ABA was more of a run-and-gun game. Take the Denver
Nuggets. Their game plan was to outscore you. Denver had that
game plan, San Antonio had that game plan; most teams would
run-and-gun. They also used the 3-point shot as a weapon, not
just as a last resort. You had guys like Louis Dampier, Billy
Keller, who would come down and shoot a three in transition,
and that was the way the play was designed. The whole league
was that way.
When we came over to the NBA, it was much different. It was
walk-it-up, run through your play, if you don’t have anything
pull it back out, and oh-by-the-way, if you have a 3-point shot,
you might shoot it.
When we merged, nobody thought the ABA guys could play, but
they found out soon enough that we could.
A lot of people used to say the ABA guys didn’t play any
defense. Well, we played defense, but when you take a shot
within 12 seconds, you only have to guard somebody for 12
seconds. It was just a different style of play. Teams shot
the ball faster, so there were more attempts, and therefore
higher scores.
Hawks.com: Which players in today’s game remind you of
yourself?
DR: Well, I’d like to say Amare Stoudamire, but I wasn’t
that good (laughing). I’d probably say someone like Ben Wallace.
Hawks.com: What do you think of the Hawks so far this season?
DR: They are showing improvement. They need to keep showing
improvement of course, but you have to remember, they brought
in Joe Johnson, drafted Marvin Williams, and added a couple more
guys. You have to incorporate all those guys into what you are
trying to do, and remember – this is the youngest team in the
league. So you are constantly having to teach them.
From watching them, I think their biggest thing is they haven’t
quite figured out how to win a game at the end. I attribute that
to their youth. It takes years of experience to learn what to do,
night in and night out, to win those close games. They are
getting better at it, and I think when all five guys figure out, “
Oh, this is what we need to do” at the end of the games, they
will start winning more of them.
Hawks.com: You recently did some traveling abroad. What were
those experiences like?
DR: I went on two trips in the last year. One was to Kuwait,
to visit the troops on a USO trip, and I just got back from
Korea, doing a basketball camp for the soldiers’ kids. The
two trips were at complete extremes.
When I went to Kuwait it was about 130 degrees, which I didn’t
mind - I like hot weather. I was probably the only one who wasn’t
sweating (laughs). We got the chance to go to six bases and meet
a lot of great folks.
When I went to Korea, two of the six days I was there the
temperature didn’t get above two degrees. When I went there,
I was by myself, and I put on a clinic for kids aged 4-14. I
got a chance to spend four days with some young people and meet
their parents; it was great. We got to talk about a lot of stuff;
what’s going on the world, the war, it was very interesting.
Roundfield currently resides in Atlanta with his with Bernie
and has two sons, Corey and Christopher, both of whom he is
proud to say are college graduates.
資料來源
http://www.nba.com/hawks/news/Catching_Up_With_Dan_Roundfield_012606.html
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