I want to go out my way,says Penny:Put me back in

看板Penny_1作者hardaway (一分錢)時間18年前 (2006/12/26 16:03)推噓7(7推 0噓 1→)

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http://0rz.tw/562cI 好像是需要登入的，我把原文全部轉來這裡。有點長，看完真的很感動，我相信， Penny 真的要回來了！ I want to go out my way, says Penny: Put me back in After injuries and ridicule, it's a pride thing now By Ronald Tillery December 25, 2006 He's experienced the calamity associated with injury. He's heard the commentary from critics doubting a comeback. Now Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway is eager to let his knee do the talking before the final chapter is written on his storied basketball career. The Memphis native and former NBA superstar is as healthy as he's been in five seasons. Hardaway, a 35-year-old free agent, has been shopping his services lately. All he has is an elite player's resume, a pair of NBA-caliber workouts that prove his wares and the love of the game. Retire? Don't count on it. Hardaway never lost confidence in his ability. The 13-year veteran now believes in his surgically repaired left knee. His hope is that a team will trust it, too. "I'm healthy by my standards because I can do a lot of the things I used to when I was in my prime," Hardaway said. "I feel like that makes me healthy because I haven't been able to do that in five years. The explosion, the first step is all back. I'm able to finish at the rim. It's something I lost but now I feel like I have the athletic ability again. "I'm not ready to quit. I don't want to go out like this. Now that I'm feeling better I want to help a team win. I love the game. That's why I haven't walked away. I want to go out having fun. If I retire without playing again, I will have gone out the way someone else wanted me to, not the way I want to go out." Hardaway works out with a trainer five days a week in Miami. That's a milestone for someone who has undergone five surgeries. His last surgery was a breakthrough procedure that happened in March. The doctor performed exploratory surgery because the cause of Hardaway's discomfort didn't show on an MRI exam. The physician found a bone spur lodged in the back of Hardaway's knee above the calf. In addition to his Miami training, Hardaway's worked out in Houston with former NBA player and coach John Lucas, who helped Grizzlies guard Damon Stoudamire rehabilitate from knee surgery. Hardaway's shock last summer was that his name didn't appear on a list of free agents for teams to consider. He wasn't invited to any team's training camp. Part of the reason is that Hardaway played in just 41 of a possible 164 games in his last two seasons. He also acknowledges battling the perception of lacking locker room leadership and displaying resistance to coaching. Hardaway vehemently denies that those issues are a part of his character. Charlotte considered signing Hardaway near the end of last November but turned to Derek Anderson instead. Meanwhile, Hardaway's performed in private workouts for Atlanta and Seattle. "I know I'm in this position now because I played the last four years at 30 percent. Teams saw that and that's the last visual they have of me. That's what they remember. You're only as good as your last game. But I can prove that I'm healthy. You can call the Atlanta Hawks. You can call the Seattle SuperSonics. I don't have anything to hide. I just want to play basketball." Seattle's coaching staff watched Hardaway go through drills in Memphis last week before its game against the Grizzlies. The Sonics are considering a deal. "He's obviously in much, much better condition than we thought he would be," Sonics coach Bob Hill told Seattle media. "He shot the ball extremely well. He's bigger and stronger. So it's going to boil down to the powers that be if they want to move forward or not. He wants to play badly. At this point in his life it's absolutely not about making more money." Hardaway realizes a team would only offer the veteran's minimum or roughly $1 million. He says the team that takes a chance on him would get a real bargain. "I feel like I have young legs. I have so much more to offer now," Hardaway said. "It doesn't matter what my age is. It matters that I can play. I've been in the league 13 years but I've only really played eight so I don't have the mileage. I just couldn't get over the hump to get well. "I know I can help every team in the NBA right now. I didn't lose my game. Injuries are a part of sports. But I could be watching ESPN and a guy gets hurt during a game, and the announcer would say, 'This guy gets hurt more than Penny Hardaway.' That happens so much. Why am I the brunt of everybody's joke? I've weathered the storm of being injured and being ridiculed; now I'm just ready to play basketball again." Hardaway's most productive years came in his days with the Orlando Magic as well as the early portion of his time with the Phoenix Suns. He often drew comparisons to former L.A. Lakers great Magic Johnson. Hardaway's career took an ugly turn early in the 1997-98 season when microfracture surgery forced him to miss the rest of that campaign. "My microfracture was handled like a routine arthroscopic surgery," Hardaway said. "They thought it was a 6-to-8 week deal. Now we know, from Amare Stoudemire to Kenyon Martin, that it's a longer deal." Phoenix eventually traded Hardaway to the New York Knicks and then he was traded back to Orlando for Steve Francis. But Orlando waived Hardaway immediately. He's been out of the league, working tirelessly to get back in ever since. "This is a country where if you quit, people call you weak. If you keep trying, you're a warrior," Hardaway said. "When they talk about (Orlando's) Grant Hill, that's what they say. They say he's a fighter. When it comes to me, they say I should quit. I go 'Wow. What's the difference?' I'm Grant Hill's biggest fan and I'm still fighting, too. I'm not going to quit. I still have the love for the game, and that's what motivates me." -- ╗ Ｐ ◢█▉█◣▉██▉██▉██▉█◣▉██▉██▉ Height: 6-7∮lassal ╭╬╗ Ｅ █▅▉█◥▉█▅ █▅ █▅▉█◥▉█▅ █▅ Weight: 220 lbs ║║ Ｎ ▉ ▉█ ▉▉ █▆▆█◥◣█ ▉█▆▆█▆▆ Position: G-F ╰╬╯ Ｎ 96 US Olympic team █ ▉◢█▉██▉██◣◢█▉█ ▉◢█▉█ ▉ ║ Ｙ 4-time NBA allstar █▇▉█▆▉█▆▉█ ▉█▆▉█◢◣▉█▆▉◥▆◤ │ #1 95,96 NBA 1st team █ ▉█ ▉█◥◣██◤█ ▉◥◤◥◤█ ▉◢◤ -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.113.139.124 ※ 編輯: hardaway 來自: 140.113.139.124 (12/26 16:27)