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Ostertag abandons NBA Comeback

sirkickyass

sirkickyass

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https://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/stor...-jazz-big-man-greg-ostertag-abandons-comeback

After knee troubles limited him to less than 30 minutes in the Texas Legends' last three games, Greg Ostertag informed the team Thursday that he is ending his comeback in the D-League.


Ostertag had his best game for the Frisco-based Legends last week at the D-League Showcase in Reno in front of scouts from numerous NBA teams, but the 38-year-old told ESPN.com on Thursday that the pain in his knees since then had become unbearable.


"They've been bugging me since I came back (in late December), but I could barely move (after Reno)," Ostertag said. "I felt good there and I played good. I get out there and sometimes I do get loose, but usually the 'don'ts' are longer than the 'dos.' It sucks, but I knew going into this what could happen."

Ostertag had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in just 21 minutes last Wednesday against the Sioux Falls Skyforce. The performance prompted Rio Grande Valley Vipers coach Nick Nurse, watching courtside, to say: "He knocks people down. He's hard to deal with. Every time I've seen him, he matters in the game."


Yet Ostertag, after a five-season layoff, leaves the Del Harris-coached Legends with modest averages of 4.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game in his 10-game stint in the NBA's developmental league.


Fed up with the NBA grind, Ostertag left the sport at 33 after the 2005-06 season.


"I regret quitting when I did," Ostertag said. "At that time, it wasn't so much playing. I was tired of everything that goes along with it, like the travel, not being able to fall asleep before 4 or 5 in the morning. I was tired of all that, but I should have kept going for a couple more years.


"I hope people understand that this was not a publicity stunt. I genuinely wanted to play basketball. The first couple weeks, I thought I was playing decent, but I just wasn't in shape. I was starting to get in shape -- as far as conditioning I felt as good as I've felt (Wednesday night against Tulsa) -- but I just can't move the way I need to. These guys are young and fast. Some of them were just getting out of diapers when I came into the league."


Ostertag said he made the decision in the early hours of Thursday morning after going to a movie following the Tulsa game.


"My mind was going a million miles an hour," Ostertag said. "I just realized it was time to hang 'em up for good."


The former Duncanville High star spent 10 of his 11 seasons in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, averaging 4.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 756 games. He went to the NBA Finals with the Jazz in 1997 and 1998 in his second and third seasons out of Kansas.
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No word yet on if he's retiring his purple kings shorts.
 
Once a loser, always a loser. Kudos to him for giving his sister a kidney. Other than that, he was pretty much paid to eat Hostess treats his entire career. Another argument for non-guaranteed contracts.
 
I think most of us understand what happens to your body when you even take a couple of weeks off from working out. Add in poor eating habits and it's even worse. He needed to start working out, eating better, and dealing with the kinks in his body for a year before even attempting his under 40 last shot. He still could give it a better shot if he was serious about it.
 
Duck Rodgers said:
I think most of us understand what happens to your body when you even take a couple of weeks off from working out. Add in poor eating habits and it's even worse. He needed to start working out, eating better, and dealing with the kinks in his body for a year before even attempting his under 40 last shot. He still could give it a better shot if he was serious about it.
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I don't think so. Once your knees go to **** you are pretty much done.
 
I read this title and thought of the time he played for a G League team (the Toros?).
 
Hmm, one of the other bad guys is named Kesler... Very limited resemblance.
 
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