Whether you loved them or despised them in previous years, the latest reincarnation of the Portland Trail Blazers is worth supporting.
Surprising, considering this sentiment comes from a diehard Los Angeles Lakers fan.
The differences with this Blazers squad, guided by new coach Nate McMillan, are commendable. He brings a commitment to team discipline and an idea to play “the right way.”
McMillan stresses it daily, rookie Jarrett Jack said in a pair of interviews with him and the Blazers coach. At the NBA level, you’re always the subject of attention and have to act responsibly, Jack said.
“You are always in the public eye,” Jack added. “You are not allowed in some ways to do what everyone else does.”
McMillan’s message is something basketball fans, team loyalties aside, can latch onto. Professional sports are riddled with rich, spoiled athletes complaining about the most minuscule and meaningless things. For years, the Blazers have made daily headlines with fighting, arrests and the temperamental play of Rasheed Wallace, Darius Miles and the promising Zach Randolph.
Enter Coach McMillan, exit a more lenient coach, Maurice Cheeks, and add players with strong character including Jack, and former University of Maryland teammates Steve Blake and Juan Dixon, and you have a recipe for a successful, well-behaved franchise. The additions of Martell Webster and Sebastian Telfair can make “successful” and “winners” common adjectives in the future.
It was hardly Cheeks’ fault, but professional athletes need a coach that won’t back down from athletes with large paychecks. At a recent practice, McMillan kicked Randolph out after he heard the fifth-year pro mutter something he didn’t like after a drill.
When’s the last time you heard a pro coach eject a player making more than $10 million? Not recently, not in this coaching era, where replacing coaches is easier than trading players with massive contracts.
“Every day, so many players with so much talent … feel they can control the game by themselves,” McMillan said. “It’s a team game, a team sport.”
And to think, there is hope in this hype-saturated sports-dominated society.
NBA commissioner David Stern recently adopted an NBA dress code, something Jack said the Blazers already had in place. Stern wants to improve league image and get “the game back to where it’s supposed to be.”
So don’t shy away today, go to the Portland Trail Blazers game against the Utah Jazz at McArthur Court tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com or by calling 503-797-9600.
Students shouldn’t miss an opportunity to see former college stars again within a college atmosphere.
Jack is a smooth guard from Georgia Tech. Two years ago he guided a stacked Yellow Jackets team to the national championship game of the NCAA Tournament. When you think of Jack, think calm, level-headed point guard that can distribute the basketball and score.
Blake has his first opportunity to start after playing behind Gilbert Arenas in Washington. Matched up with Dixon again, the pair has a second opportunity to translate their NCAA title success at Maryland to the NBA level.
Jack faced Blake in college and now on the same team, the pair are competing again – this time for minutes.
“Everybody is going at each other hard,” Jack said. “I think it’ll help us in the long run.”
In a way, Jack, as point guard, is a coach on the court and is expected to lead when he plays.
“You have to make sure everything is under control,” he said.
Even though he is old by rookie standards, with two high school players, Telfair and Webster, on the roster, the 6-foot-3 guard approaches this season knowing he’ll have to earn his minutes.
McMillan, in his first stint coaching in Seattle, worked with Luke Ridnour, the three-year Oregon point guard who flourished in his second season with the SuperSonics. Ridnour, along with Nick Collison and Rashard Lewis, made McMillan’s decision to leave Seattle extremely difficult, the new Blazers coach said.
“(Luke’s) going to be a great player at this level because he works at his game,” McMillan said.
Last season, Ridnour averaged 10 points, six assists and a steal a game, nearly double the averages of his rookie season. He gained his first playoff experience with the Sonics making the second round against San Antonio. Ridnour’s growth into an elite point guard came under McMillan, who now works with a new set of guards in Portland.
“His desire, his will to become the best of the position is his motivation to work hard at it,” McMillan said.
The emphasis on hard work, something McMillan preaches daily, is commendable. Far too often, fans read of player misbehavior, whether it’s disobeying a coach or the law. To see the current Blazers team with McMillan as coach should bring back fans disgusted by the actions of former players.
The Blazers aren’t championship material, at least not yet, but they do have quality players and a revitalized franchise worthy of support.

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