Preview:
Ice Cube wore a platinum pendant reading "Ice Cube," you know, in case you weren't sure. Fat Joe, too, strolled in, accessorized by a diamond chain that was thick and long enough to power a Huffy. A member of his entourage smiled, revealing a set of teeth encrusted with diamonds. Unfortunately, none of the TV reporters asked: "Sir, Aquafresh or Gleem?"
Thus began NBA All-Star weekend in Houston with the 8-Ball Challenge, a charity pool tournament with Alonzo Mourning and Magic Johnson as hosts. The crowd proved worthy of NBA excess -- upstairs, women in tight shorts danced on tables in a fluorescent-lit room while Shaquille O'Neal held court in one corner and celebrities of all manner (Terrell Owens, Ludacris, Queen Latifah) kept their baubles out of the way of their bank shots.
That's when I spotted Shawn Respert. Yeah, that Shawn Respert, former Big Ten Player of the Year, No. 8 pick in the 1995 NBA draft. He's now director of basketball operations at Rice and hopes to wind up in an NBA front office, but he's probably better known for his disappointing four-year career in the league -- he averaged just 5.0 points.
Respert leaves the disappointment for others, though. He's not bitter about what some see as a failed career. That's because, as a rookie, he felt pain in his stomach, told Bucks trainer Mark Pfeil and wound up at a Milwaukee hospital getting a stunning diagnosis: He had stomach cancer and a 50-50 chance of survival.
That was kept very quiet. Good read, in my opinion.
