[外電] Emeka Okafor has been a steady perfo …

看板Pelicans (新奧爾良鵜鶘)作者succ062 (錦)時間15年前 (2010/11/11 16:38)推噓11(11推 0噓 1→)

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Emeka Okafor has been a steady performer for the New Orleans Hornets Published: Tuesday, November 09, 2010, 1:08 PM Updated: Tuesday, November 09, 2010, 3:30 PM 原文連結：http://ppt.cc/AMg@ When the unbeaten New Orleans Hornets tip off tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers at the New Orleans Arena, Emeka Okafor will be playing his 264th consecutive NBA game. 未嘗敗績的黃蜂隊今晚將迎戰快艇隊，而這也是Okafor第264場連續初出賽。 How about that, Brett Favre? 來，Brett Favre 哩工跨賣ㄟ And what does Okafor say? 我們先來聽聽Okafor怎麼說好了。 "I'm still learning, '' he said. Okafor說：我仍然在學習中。 This from perhaps the only 6-foot-10, 255-pounder who had a choice coming out of college to become a lottery pick in the David Stern draft or a Rhodes Scholar overseas at Oxford University. 這句話來自於高6呎10吋、體重255磅的老兄嘴裡，他曾經面臨要投入NBA選秀還是拿獎學金去牛津大學讀書的抉擇中。 New Orleans General Manager Dell Demps was happy about Okafor's decision. He calls someone, who spent five seasons with the Charlotte Bobcats and one with the Hornets: "An inside big who is tough, who can defend, who has a presence, and can score.'' GM Demps則是非常高興他選擇加入NBA。然後他在山貓隊打了五年之後轉到黃蜂隊打了一年。他擁有強壯的體格、強硬的防守、也有不錯的跑位意識、還可以參與進攻。 Those sentiments were echoed by Coach Monty Williams. 總教練Monty則看到他細膩的一面。 "I think Emeka has been misunderstood, '' he said. "He's not the kind who'll raise a fist and pump it at the end of a play when something good happens. Everyone's not cut from the same template. You can see there's a fire inside. He's a special piece of this team; he's all ears. He wants to contribute any way he can.'' Monty說：我覺得大家都誤會Okafor了。他不是那種在一次漂亮的play後會激動揮拳慶祝的那種球員。當然不是所有球員都是同一個模子刻出來的。你可以看到他在內線充滿鬥志，他是球隊中很重要的支柱，他總是專注於比賽，並渴望著拿出全力在場上做出貢獻。 In the Hornets' opener, Okafor experienced which was, for him, an NBA milestone: He didn't have a field-goal attempt. 在今年的開幕戰中，Okafor則創下了他職業生涯的特殊紀錄：全場沒有半次投籃。 A few days later, against the visiting Miami Heat, Okafor was 12-for-13 from the field -- a Hornets' record for field-goal percentage. 不久以後，對上熱火Okafor投13中12的成績，則是黃蜂隊史的投籃紀錄。 At the moment, Emeka is 28-for-39 from the field, a percentage of .718 -- tops in the NBA. 到目前為止，Okafor投39中28，命中綠.718是目前NBA中的命中率王。 And what does he say? 他是怎麼看待這些成績？ "Still learning, '' said Okafor, the 2004 Final Four MVP who led Connecticut to an NCAA championship. "For me, the three biggest adjustments were the number of games, the speed of the game and the three-second rule in the lane. '' Okafor說：仍然在學習。這位04年率領Connecticut拿到NCAA冠軍並拿到Final Four MVP的老兄這樣說著：對我而言在NBA打球我較難適應的有三點：比賽的總場次、比賽的節奏、各種油漆區的規則。 Okafor now finds himself "dealing with defensive sets, offensive sets, in improving my free-throw shooting.'' Okafor現在則是致力於進一步處理好進攻和防守的佔位，以及罰球命中率。 He's loving it. 他熱愛這些。 "I'm playing for a coach who's organized, who's deliberate, who's all business, '' he said. "I feel like I'm at school, learning something different every day -- all the little things that can make you a better player.'' Okafor說：我在為一個組織紀律嚴明，充滿智慧，盡職盡責的教練打球。這種感覺就像是回到學校一樣，這些東西會幫助你成為一個更優秀的球員。 In college, Okafor remembered making use of every moment during the summer to mix classes with working on his jump shot, to reducing the body fat on a 250-pound frame to 5.2 percent. 在大學時期，Okafor利用夏天暑假的所有空餘時間到球場練習跳投，將自己255磅的身體脂肪含量下降到5.2% It's an amazing story. 還有一個更神的故事。 His father, Pius, grew up in Nigeria at a time the country was being ripped apart by a civil war that took one million lives. 他老爹-Pius，出生於奈及利亞那個內戰頻傳死傷百萬人的年代。 Pius found his way to Houston, where he pumped gas and found time to earn a degree at Texas Southern. Pius後來終於找到機會到休斯頓，做一個抽運氣體工人（？），他用業餘時間勤奮研讀，最後拿到了Texas Southern大學的學位證。 By the time Emeka and a sister arrived, Pius was picking up one degree after another, in accounting, in pharmacy. His wife was a registered nurse. 當Okafor和他妹妹出時，Pius已經拿到了數個會計、藥理學位證書，而他老婆則是一位正職護士。 It was a family that saw college degrees passed onto the children. 這是一個把學位證書看得比孩子還重的家庭。 During that 2004 Final Four, Huskies Coach Jim Calhoun spoke of Okafor in reverent terms, an All-America who graduated from college in three years with a degree in finance. 在2004年的Final Four比賽期間，教練Jim Calhoun很推崇Okafor，這位土生土長的美國人用了三年時間拿到獎學金畢業。 "He's the most focused human being I've ever been around, '' Calhoun said. "I had no idea I was recruiting someone whose blocked-shot average would slightly exceed his 3.8 grade-point average.'' Calhoun說：他是我見過對比賽最專注的人。我對這很疑惑，手裡有這樣一個傢伙，他的平均每場火鍋數可以輕鬆超過他高達3.8分的GPA平均積分點。 Well, Okafor still is blocking shots. 當然，Okafor仍然用火鍋阻擋對手的投籃。 "It's a lot tougher than it was at UConn, '' he said. "So is the challenge.'' He was christened Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor. His first name means "God has done well.'' Okafor說：這裡的比賽對抗程度比Uconn時期還要激烈，那也就是我面臨的新挑戰。 Demps and Williams agree. Demps 和 Williams 深表認同。 . . . . . . . Peter Finney can be reached at pfinney@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3802. -- 大概翻一下，有錯勿怪。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 114.42.0.181 ※ 編輯: succ062 來自: 114.42.0.181 (11/11 16:42)