I'm Tim Thomas Pt.2

I can think of more than a few reasons they might have given me on why I wasn't invited back to the team, if they hadn't already dealt with this the Japanese way (let's just ignore him and sweep this whole Jeff thing under the rug and pretend he never existed):

1) You're not the dead-eye shooter we're looking for.
Can't argue with that. Bacchus already has a couple of dependable shooters from 17-18 ft, what they really could use is a 3-point shooter to spread the floor and wait in the corners for kick-outs. I have been working hard on my 3-point shot, and in shootarounds I can make them at a good 30-40 clip (GO CLIPS!) in rhythm, with feet set and no defenders--but at game speed my shooting is erratic at best.

2) We need a lock-down defender.
In a way, last season's team Bacchus kind of reminds me of the Stanford basketball team: they both have a history of being burned by athletic swingman. A lock-down defender in the mold of Raja Bell or Quinton Ross could really make a difference for this team(if you call flopping, shirt-tugging, undercutting, and constant bitching defense, I guess you can throw Bowen in that sentence too). Well, Pippen I ain't, but in defense of my Defense: a)I rarely get beaten "cleanly" off the dribble even by the fastest guards, b)I almost always successfully force my man to go in one direction, c)no shots are ever taken without my hand somewhere in the vicinity, and d)if my guy isn't a threat to score, I am always in the right spot for help defense or rebounds. It's not a coincidence most defensive possession that involves me have lots of loose balls. I know it isn't pretty, but if Bacchus need defense, there's no excuse to leave me off the team.

3) You cannot play point guard full-time.
Pass.

4) You cannot create shots off the dribble.
I disagree strongly. I struggle to finish my drives at the rim. This is true, as my quickness and strength is not what it had been in the past and my confidence is affected by a sleuth of nagging injuries. I sometimes force the issue and cause turnovers. These are partly my fault, and I have worked hard on my handle and patience.

But when both of your bigs are constantly clogging both high posts, there isn't a whole lot of space to penetrate. And while I can't always finish my drives for scores, I haven't had problems getting into the lane (if only I had a mid-range pull-up jumper...). Although drive-and-kick is probably the strongest aspect of my game, it has no place on this team. Despite having one Jr. high basketball coach and one high school coach, apparently no one on the team knows what a pick-and-roll is. If I get a penny for everytime I slip off a screen, get into the lane, and bounce a pass off of my screening teammate's face, I would be able to buy 2 big macs by now.

5) You are too small, and we already have a ton of guards who we like
Can't argue with that either. At 172cm, my natural position on this team is SG. Bacchus last season had 15 players on their roster, all but maybe 5 of them are under 180cm and have to play in the backcourt. While I am, and I say this in a complete straight face, more athletic and more skilled than most of these middle-aged guards, I just don't think the team is ready to take playing time away from guys whom they've played with for years. Basketball-wise, it makes no sense, but politics rarely does.

6) You are not committed.
That's bullshit. There are 15 players on the roster, but maybe only 7 show up for practices consistently. So, I practice with the same 5 guys and familarize myself with their game for weeks, and then you leave me on the bench during league games in favor of someone whose face I haven't seen in a month? You tell me how that builds chemistry.

7) You're gaijin (foreigner), but you look Japanese.
Like Japanese major league baseball teams, perhaps there's a two-gaijin per team limit? Wouldn't you want to get a "real" gaijin rather than another Asian? And you know what? I must be going crazy when I am blaming things on reverse discrimination.

8) You have bad attitude.
As you can probably tell by now, I feel that I have been given the cold shoulder not for the right basketball reasons, but for personal ones. On the court, I have little patience and short temper, because I feel the need to make my limited playing time count. I too often yell in frustration (but I never direct my frustration at anyone in particular). I've never gotten a technical, but I might have behaved inappropriately to referees because I prefer shaking over bowing my head when a call is blown. However, my emotion goes both ways, negative and positive, and I am proud of the fact that everyone I've ever played with value my competitiveness and intensity. But my ex-teammates know even less about high fives than they do about pick-and-rolls.

9) You are no fun to be around.
Off the court, they probably think I'm sour and surly, which is partly due to me feeling slighted and indignant, and partly because I can't carry on a full conversation in Japanese. So I mostly stay to myself. This soon becomes a downward spiral of despair: the more I get frustrated, the worse my attitude becomes, the less the team plays me, and I get frustrated even more.

Yeah. Hate to admit it, but I'd hate to play on the same team with myself too.