Are the Pacers too white?
I Don't Think They Are Two White .......why aren't other teams "To" Black ......Or "To" European??........This Is When people Want To Make An Article Just To Make It Big.......everone Of those White Guys Are Pretty Good....Except Mcroberts, but still they are in the league and abuse " Black" and "European " players.......Troy Murphy actually had more then 12 rbg ....he is great, and im liking the draft choice of tyler hansbrough ....
Who remebers the when the texas western college had 5 starting black players......people said they were too black and were not happy about it......now 40 years later were hearing is a team too white....it seems like when we make progress towards being better people.the same Stupid mistake comes back and haunts us
like Guru said all these white guys can play, ive heard similar accusations thrown at Coach K about to much white players, but all these whites are 5-star McDonalds all-americans and future 1st rounders, why shouldnt he recruit them, everyone would rather have a good white guy over a mediocre black player, and vice versa
Also consider that Indiana is very white, and to appeal to the fan base, the Pacers need players who can relate to the fans mostly blue-collar people which explains taking Hansborough over better players with the no.13 pick, look at Utah there the whitest state and i think there second behind the Pacers in terms of number of white players
if those dudes can ball, then what color should'nt matter. Last I checked Bird drafted Hibbert and Rush last year, made a trade to get Marquis Daniels and TJ Ford. Basketball transcends race because it has a great mixture of both players, coaches, gm's, refs, announcers, fans...etc.
if people were gonna accuse bird of being racist after some of his first moves included getting rid of Isiah thomas as coach for Carlisle and then trading Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson for Dunleavy and Murphy. But he should'nt be. The moves he makes speak for themselves and the Pacers have just been struck with injuries.
S. Nash
P. Maravich
M. Doleac
N. Collison
B. Griffin?
S. Vujacic
A. Morrison
C. Quinn
M. Ginobili
M. Bonner
L. Bird
K. Hinrich
B. Miller
M. Bibby
R. Anderson
C. Anderson
A. Bogut
D. Nowitzki
R. Fernandez
S. Blake
J. Pryzbilla
M. Miller
O. Pecherov
Yao
J.-B.-R. Barrys
A. Bargnani
These are some great notable white players. Well not all are great, but white's like me can ball too.
I am not white, but I see your list as an insult to all the good white players. I am sure you didn't mean to. The first problem is that Yao is not white. You also need to take out the international players. Blake Griffin and Mike Bibby are mixed. The rest of the list leaves me with 3 actual great white players in Maravich, Bird, and Rick Barry from the U.S. I refuse to throw in Nash because he is actually African (born in South Africa), grew up in Canada, whatever. What about guys like Mikan, Cousy, Stockton, The Logo, Chris Mullin, McHale, Havilchek? To me notable white players would be guys like Lambier and Mark Price.
Murphy just had his best year. Dunleavy was darn near an all-star two years ago before he got injured. Hansbrough was a very legit pick at 13. I don't think Bird believes he can win with "white" players, I think he believes he can win with "good' players.
Eh, Bird is way too competitive to care about race. He wants to win. This is who he is. I think after the "Melee" his biggest concern was shipping off guys that were a big part of that culture. It seemed like one incident after another and with the same guys. Even if it meant the other team giving up better talent in Jackson and Harrington for Murphy and Dunleavy. That's why they didn't want Tinsley around their team.
Honestly, I like a lot of guys that the Pacers have on their roster, just not together. My biggest problem is that they have absolutely no athletes of any color or nationality or really any really physical guys, which is why I like the pickup of Hansborough. Also, they have a lot of guys that are overpaid (i.e., Dunleavy, Tinsley, Rasho, Murphy, Foster). They were really competitive early in the year, but injuries killed them towards the end. They are probably a solid number 2 guy to complement Granger from doing some serious damage.
This is honestly a legit topic. I live in Indianapolis and am a huge Pacers fan. I can tell you that a lot of people around here, especially in my neighborhood (ALL races) are talking about this. Obviously I can't speak on the feelings of everybody in Indiana, but based on what I hear at work, the gym, barbershop, grocery store, etc... The opinion is that Bird is building a team full of slow white guys. I was actually in the barbershop getting my haircut when we drafted Hansbrough and EVERYBODY just looked at each other after the pick. I mean it was literally silent for like 10 seconds. Soon everybody just started laughing and the jokes started coming. One guy said Bird was going to find a way to pay Hansbrough more money than Blake Griffin. One guy said Bird would've drafted Hansbrough over Blake Griffin. It wasn't a racist thing... It's that he seems to be reaching a little bit and overpaying for average white players. I think it all stems from this interview in 2004:
Jim Gray asks Bird: "Does the NBA lack enough white superstars in your opinion?"
"Well, I think so," Bird replies, according to an ESPN transcript. "You know when I played, you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base because as we all know the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. But it is a black man's game, and it will be forever. I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American."
What knicksboy34 said is what a lot of people really feel around here and this was before we drafted Hansbrough.
Is their actually discussion of this? Wow, I mean, really. Larry Bird thinks black basketball players are not as good as white ones? I mean, come on. I think Larry Bird is trying to build a winning basketball team. He said he sees some Dave Cowens in Tyler Hansbrough, not that he saw Bob Cousy in Travis Deiner. Knicksboy, where do you come up with this
sh!t? You never back anything up, and honestly, I think it is a big possiblity that you are indeed racist, lol. I am kidding about the racist part, but dude, I think that judging a basketball player by their race rather than what they bring to the table is behind us. If Larry Bird were really into white players, he might try and trade Danny Granger for Dirk Nowitzki. But he hasn't, so no, Larry Bird is not trying to build a team of neo-nazi white supremicists.
You're probably the one who gave me a negative point. I'm from Indianapolis & yes it is a discussion around here. You may not like that, but it is... Not w/ just black people either... Everybody is talking about it. Nobody thinks Bird is a racist. Obviously he drafted Brandon Rush and Hibbert last draft... He drafted A.J. Price in this draft. People feel that he's reaching for average white players. Can you blame people for thinking that after what he said in 2004? Knicksboy34 was on point because a lot of people believe that he sees a lot of the old players in some of these guys. You can give me negative points all you want... I'm just saying what people talk about around here.
Mikey...youy did not see Around the Horn? or PTI today?
U need to relax idiot....i said the 1st sentence....i saw this on ESPN.
and if you dont believe me...watch the tape for yourself
taking hansboroh at 13 doesnt show how weak this draft is..no matter what people say you dont know how weak a draft is untill years later not just because they dont like how the players play in the draft..its pretty much a crap shoot with the players..personally i think it will end up being a daft will alot of soild players..maybe not stars maybe with stars but pretty soild...i also dont think plarry bird is racist..i recall him telling people he felt disrespected when the others team coach put a white player on him in games
Man this was a good topic to post. Being from Indianapolis I can tell you that this a big topic around here everywhere you go. I mean, at the gym, on the radio, on Indystar.com... It's not just black or white people either. I mean, everybody talks about it. Nobody is saying they think Bird is a racist though.
If you are quoting topics from Around the Horn and PTI and ESPN, than I would not be the guy who should be referred to as an idiot. ESPN thinks of horrible topics that draw in viewers as they create controversy. If they had a topic about any race other than white, it would be deemed offensive. His team is slow, and boring, and not in the best position to win, but honestly, this team is more competitive than they were just a little while ago. It is just a straight up bad team that had to rebuild. If he could trade white players to get better players, he would do that. He traded S-Jax and Harrington for Murphy and Dunleavy, because at the time it seemed like a very viable move. S-Jax punched dudes in the face and has numerous issues, and Harrington badly wanted out. Getting Troy Murphy is not bad for consistencies sake, and Hansbrough was even being talked about going as high as 9-12. Yes, he is white, but he was not drafted on the basis of being white. The team starts four black players (Danny Granger, TJ Ford/Jarrett Jack, Roy Hibbert, Brandon Rush). If he could get something better for Foster, he would, as goes with Diener. Would you rather have Mikki Moore and Moochie Norris? I mean, look at the players, and the role they play on the team. Also, look at where this team hopes to go in the future. All I am saying is, I think saying that Larry Bird drafts white guys because he thinks they are better basketball players is STUPID. End of story.
mikeyvthedon I have a couple problems with your post.
A) No, Espn actually has some interesting topics...Who do they get it from? They probably go it from the Indy Star...so it's not like they pull it outta nowhere.
B) I understand about the Trade but Murphy at the time was somewhat average at Best. Mike D was the player they wanted.
C) Hansbrough going as high as 9-12....would take him 9-12? He is a role player at best...and Larry Bird compared this man to Dave Cowens....
D) I dont think Larry is a racist or he perfer the White player over the Black but it looks as if he wants to win and add more white players who remind him of someone he played with or saw who was white.
I am not saying you are stupid either. I just think you never back up any of your posts or claims with evidence or insight. Also, that ESPN is stupid for having this discussion. Are the Clippers awful because of their executive decision making? Yes. Are the Grizzlies bad because they have an awful group of role players? Absolutely. Is Indiana bad because they are full of white guys? No, because they are slow and unathletic at every position other than PG and Danny Granger. Being slow also goes with drafting Roy Hibbert and also goes with the fact that they have not been an elite team for about 7-8 years. They have constantly been over the cap, signed guys to a lot of money and suffered the consequences. Not to mention, when is the last time a big name free agent came to Indiana and the only guy they have had through the draft that is vital to the team is Danny Granger. At least they are a better team than numerous other teams with fewer white players, be happy with that.
"Bird said the only player he's seen who could match Hansbrough's intensity is his former Boston teammate, Hall-of-Fame centre Dave Cowens. Hansbrough was flattered that someone with Bird's reputation respected him so much."
Matching intensity is not saying he thinks he is Dave Cowens. You are lucky to get a solid role player at 13, not everyone turns into Kobe Bryant, more often than not you are lucky to get a role player at 13, especially in this draft. Larry Bird obviously saw something he liked in Hansbrough, and it probably went beyond skin pigmentation. If I say that Kwame Brown uses the same cologne as Bill Russell, it is not a comparison to him as a basketball player.
I do believe this is a weak draft and thus Hansbrough went higher then he would in other years. However, when you consider he was'nt drafted in 2008, he was drafted in 2009, 13 sounds about right. So to imply that race was in any way a factor is kinda ridiculous.
His stock was all over the place. I think winning a title his senior year actually helped his stock. Not all players that stay in college 4 years fall in the draft because of it. I can tell you one thing, he would not have gone 13 and he would not have gone to Indiana.
Did i ever say because he's white he should have gone 13? no.
I said at 13...Hansbrough is not a legit lottery pick. I see him as more of a 19-25 guy.
My Boy D-Lee is what people are comparing him too and he went 30th....
I said Hansbrough at 13 shows this is a weak draft....
I saw this on ESPN....Are they too white? I think it's due to Larry Legend. He sees the old "stars" in these white players...
I remember reading that he saw Dave Cowens......in Tyler Hansbrough
Travis Diener
Mike Dunleavy
Jeff Foster
Tyler Hansbrough
Josh McRoberts
Troy Murphy