<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Talking Points 4/5

The Columbian
Published: April 5, 2011, 12:00am

What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:

1

Before he dressed in drag.

Before he dated Madonna.

Before he was “as bad as I want to be,” Dennis Rodman was indisputably this: an amazing basketball player.

At 6-foot-8, he led the NBA in rebounds per game in seven consecutive seasons, averaging at least 16 boards a contest four times.

He was twice named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, and won five championships — two with the Pistons and three with the Bulls.

Additionally, he won at least two rebounding titles with three different teams.

Monday, it was announced that his efforts were rewarded in the most prestigious way possible — election to basketball’s Hall of Fame. It’s a well-deserved honor. You can say Rodman’s a lot of things. You can’t say he’s not a great athlete.

2

Virginia Commonwealth men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart decided he will stay in Richmond through most of the decade, signing an eight-year extension that will pay him roughly $1.2 million a year.

After taking the Rams to the Final Four as an 11-seed, Smart may have had the option of going on to “bigger and better things” had he pursued it, but decided he was happy where he was.

Perhaps something to learn from.

The pressure from the big stage can often do more harm than good for coaches who were more content than they realized at previous jobs.

So while Butler coach Brad Stevens will likely draw attention from a host of schools from major conferences, he might consider choosing happiness over fame.

Loading...