We were talking NBA teams and he was just explaining that it will be hard, for the first time in his life, to be likely playing for a team that will not be competing for a championship. I asked if he could choose a team, which would he play for ... he said he didn't really have a favorite NBA team (used to like the Knicks as a little kid, but not so much anymore). I then just asked him if he would like to play on a team that had plenty of talent, was slightly under-performing, and desperately needed a locker room glue-guy .. a guy that could set the tone for the team .. a guy that could come in as a youngster and have an opportunity (like he did at UK) to help establish a team identity.
He laughed and said, "You just described me, man .. what team is that?" For the first time ever, I told him I was a Jazz fan (taboo to talk much NBA prior to a player declaring). I told him about the roster, the coaching, the fans, etc. He asked why I knew so much and I told him about my partners being Jazz fans and about this board. He was totally shocked when I told him how many posts I have here and that I have a total of 3 posts on other team's boards. I told him about this thread and he seemed blown away by the interest Jazz fans took in watching UK players this year (I may have exaggerated? ---- If you read this, Michael, sorry bro, lol).
Anyway, he called me several hours later and told me he checked out the board and the thread and that he got a real kick out of the analysis, humor, and 'terrible takes.' I found the terrible takes part hilarious. He seemed genuinely appreciative of what we've talked about here for the last 6 months. I jokingly asked him if he read the whole thread .. he said, "naw, man, I'm done with book reports for a while."
I wouldn't call him a fan, for sure .. but I would say he knows as much about our teams and fans as much as he does any other team .. and will follow a little more closely.
I am trying to get him to sign up on this board, but he said he's not permitted to do that .. but that he may drop by and check things out from time to time.
Oh yeah, he also said, 'does coach (Cal) know you post this stuff here?' I said, NO. He laughed and said, that's good.
