A Letter to Allen Iverson by Casey Jacobsen

This topic contains 27 replies, has 11 voices, and was last updated by cabbycab 15 years, 7 months ago.

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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:29am #23921

McDunkin
http://www.slamonline.com/online/other-ballers/international/2010/12/a-letter-to-allen-iverson/
Dear Allen Iverson,
I hope this letter finds you well. You don’t know me, but we used to compete against each other a few times a year during the 2002-2005 NBA seasons. Well… we didn’t actually guard each other (I’m not exactly a “defensive stopper”), but you know what I’m saying.
Anyway, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you to the world of European basketball. I know you’ve been out here for over a month now, but I didn’t want to bother you until you got settled. Now, I want to make sure I send this out before it’s too late. I heard a rumor a couple days ago that you might be cutting your European season short and heading back to the US soon. I don’t know how much truth there is to this rumor, but if it is…don’t go. Stick it out. I know I’m not your agent, manager, or even an acquaintance, but hear me out.
Honestly, I haven’t always been your biggest fan (not that you care what I think of you), but I have been rooting for you ever since you came to play for Besiktas Cola Turka. I know that you would rather be playing in the NBA right now, but I believe coming to play in Europe is a good move for you at this point in time. Basketball in Turkey (and Europe) is still growing. Having a star of your magnitude is great for that country. Leaving the luxuries of the NBA will prove to others that you are humble and ready just to play the game. Coming home early would be a huge step backwards.
You are a much better player than I am, but I think there is a fact of life that all American players face when they first travel over the Atlantic: Your first months in Europe will be a HUGE adjustment — both on and off the court — and you will struggle a bit. This fact is especially true for a player who has joined his team mid-season, like you did. The chemistry of any team is first established in training camp and you missed out on that. Now, your teammates have to adjust to your game as well as the massive attention you demand because of your celebrity status. It’s unrealistic to think that you would just hop a plane to Istanbul, Turkey and immediately lead your team to victories…even a player as gifted as you.
My first European season came in 2006 in Spain, after three years in the NBA. It took me several months to finally feel like I was a valued part of my team. My second year in Europe was so much easier for me to handle and I was much more successful. I believe it will be the same with you, but it will require you to stick around that long.
Your “Per Game” averages (as of December 9, 2010) after seven contests:
Minutes: 25
Points: 10.3
Assists: 3.3
FG%: 38.4
Team Record (since your arrival): 3-4
Your fans in America might expect you to dominate offensively because the talent in Turkey isn’t at the same level as the NBA. What those people don’t realize is that scoring a ton of points in Europe is very difficult to do. You aren’t going to shoot 20 times per game…in fact, I’ll be shocked if you average more than 12-13 attempts per game and average more than 13-15 points. You aren’t going to lead the league in minutes played like you did routinely in Philadelphia. But who cares?
Don’t worry about the stats! Just stay humble and keep working at it. The European game is so different than what you have been accustomed to in the NBA, but it’s still just basketball. You will eventually find your old form, but it will take longer than a month or even two. The only stat that really matters to any real fan is wins. Amongst all the differences, that’s something that NBA and Europe have in common.
Good luck with the rest of your season.
Sincerely,
Casey Jacobsen
Casey Jacobsen is a former SLAM High School First Team All-American and NCAA First Team All-American. He currently plays for Brose Baskets in Bamberg, Germany.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:39am #455488

JoeWolf1
Tough Love from Casey Jacobsen, lol. That dude was a great college ball player and had one hell of a long range shot in his prime. So bizarre he’d write AI a letter, but hey I also think it’d benefit AI to stick it out overseas, he’s not going to be playing in the NBA anytime soon and bailing on his Euroleague team wouldn’t do anything to turn around his image, Antoine Walker is making like 30,000 in the D-League. It is in his best intrest to stay, for the money and competition level.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:39am #455489

JoeWolf1
Tough Love from Casey Jacobsen, lol. That dude was a great college ball player and had one hell of a long range shot in his prime. So bizarre he’d write AI a letter, but hey I also think it’d benefit AI to stick it out overseas, he’s not going to be playing in the NBA anytime soon and bailing on his Euroleague team wouldn’t do anything to turn around his image, Antoine Walker is making like 30,000 in the D-League. It is in his best intrest to stay, for the money and competition level.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:39am #455505

JoeWolf1
Tough Love from Casey Jacobsen, lol. That dude was a great college ball player and had one hell of a long range shot in his prime. So bizarre he’d write AI a letter, but hey I also think it’d benefit AI to stick it out overseas, he’s not going to be playing in the NBA anytime soon and bailing on his Euroleague team wouldn’t do anything to turn around his image, Antoine Walker is making like 30,000 in the D-League. It is in his best intrest to stay, for the money and competition level.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:45am #455492

RUDEBOY_
Participant
I thought Jacobsen would have a solid 10 nba career as a backup..He was an outstanding shooter in college..
But i guess guys like Jacobsen, Acie Law and Luke Jackson lose their confidence….
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:45am #455509

RUDEBOY_
Participant
I thought Jacobsen would have a solid 10 nba career as a backup..He was an outstanding shooter in college..
But i guess guys like Jacobsen, Acie Law and Luke Jackson lose their confidence….
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:47am #455494

llperez
casey jacobsen used to shoot a good 5 feet behind the 3 point line on the regular like he didnt care where he was on the court.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:47am #455511

llperez
casey jacobsen used to shoot a good 5 feet behind the 3 point line on the regular like he didnt care where he was on the court.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 6:09am #455500

IndianaBasketball
Participant
I was a big fan of Casey Jacobsen while he was at Stanford lol. He was one of my favorite players.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 6:09am #455517

IndianaBasketball
Participant
I was a big fan of Casey Jacobsen while he was at Stanford lol. He was one of my favorite players.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 6:37am #455516

sammybuckeye13
Participant
And players losing confidence…Gordon Hayward is really starting to worry me. The 2 points and 1.3 rebounds he’s averaging actually paint too positive a picture of him right now. He’s not necessarily playing badly, he just has ZERO confidence. Last night he started, inexplicably, and took 1 shot (a miss) in 18 minutes. It was practically a trillion: 18 minutes, 0-1 from the field, 0-0 from the line, 2 rebounds, 4 fouls. One analyst pointed out that right now he’s playing like someone who’s just happy to be on an NBA team, and that those players tend not to remain on NBA teams very long. There were times at Butler when he was not only confident but seemed to have no conscience…right now he’s being overwhelmed by his conscience.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 6:37am #455533

sammybuckeye13
Participant
And players losing confidence…Gordon Hayward is really starting to worry me. The 2 points and 1.3 rebounds he’s averaging actually paint too positive a picture of him right now. He’s not necessarily playing badly, he just has ZERO confidence. Last night he started, inexplicably, and took 1 shot (a miss) in 18 minutes. It was practically a trillion: 18 minutes, 0-1 from the field, 0-0 from the line, 2 rebounds, 4 fouls. One analyst pointed out that right now he’s playing like someone who’s just happy to be on an NBA team, and that those players tend not to remain on NBA teams very long. There were times at Butler when he was not only confident but seemed to have no conscience…right now he’s being overwhelmed by his conscience.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 6:49am #455520

IndianaBasketball
Participant
Hayward’s confidence has been dead since 10/28/2010… The game Deron Williams threw the ball at his head. He hasn’t looked the same since then lol.
Seriously though… He’s just not ready to be a contributor. It’s simple. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was sent down to the D-League to get consistent playing time, because before last night he’d played 25 minutes in the last 12 games.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 6:49am #455537

IndianaBasketball
Participant
Hayward’s confidence has been dead since 10/28/2010… The game Deron Williams threw the ball at his head. He hasn’t looked the same since then lol.
Seriously though… He’s just not ready to be a contributor. It’s simple. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was sent down to the D-League to get consistent playing time, because before last night he’d played 25 minutes in the last 12 games.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 6:55am #455526

JNixon
Participant
Jacobsen played for Stanford when I was real young, it’s wild that there have been a bunch of posts about guys I remember watching when I really first started watching basketball lol. He was a phenomenal shooter, and I thought him and the Collins twins would win the title that one year when they only lost like 1 or 2 games. They were a tough team.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 6:55am #455543

JNixon
Participant
Jacobsen played for Stanford when I was real young, it’s wild that there have been a bunch of posts about guys I remember watching when I really first started watching basketball lol. He was a phenomenal shooter, and I thought him and the Collins twins would win the title that one year when they only lost like 1 or 2 games. They were a tough team.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 7:00am #455530

RUDEBOY_
Participant
Speaking of the Collins Twins..They’ve been in the league 10 years and i bet they havent scored 100 points combined….lol
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 7:00am #455547

RUDEBOY_
Participant
Speaking of the Collins Twins..They’ve been in the league 10 years and i bet they havent scored 100 points combined….lol
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 7:25am #455548

sheltwon3
Participant
I though Jacombson would be a good bk up too but the NBA kind of changed and some player fall through the cracks. Also I never though Hayward would be this bad but I knew he was not lottery. Landry Fields should have taken his spot but I am glad Knicks got him.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 7:25am #455565

sheltwon3
Participant
I though Jacombson would be a good bk up too but the NBA kind of changed and some player fall through the cracks. Also I never though Hayward would be this bad but I knew he was not lottery. Landry Fields should have taken his spot but I am glad Knicks got him.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 9:15am #455596

Mr. 19134
Participant
Landry Fields probably would be killing it in the Utah system wouldn’t he?
But Gordon Hayward will eventually be the better player…
Jason Kapono is still in the league with a 7 mill contract, has Kapono ever been better the Casey.
I always liked Casey too he had a great year for the Suns….I imagine if he wanted too he could find a spot on an NBA roster like the Heat could of used him when Miller went down, and even now I think he would fit on the Knicks.
But some plays just like Europe better, because they either get payed more, or are just a bigger name there so I can’t know that…
I got a kick out of Casey saying I’m you’re favorite fan…haha…he wrongs because i am Iverson biggest fan!
Iversons stats aren’t that bad going into a team halfway thru the season and out of shape missing training camp. His numbers are actually better then Josh Childress numbers.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 9:15am #455613

Mr. 19134
Participant
Landry Fields probably would be killing it in the Utah system wouldn’t he?
But Gordon Hayward will eventually be the better player…
Jason Kapono is still in the league with a 7 mill contract, has Kapono ever been better the Casey.
I always liked Casey too he had a great year for the Suns….I imagine if he wanted too he could find a spot on an NBA roster like the Heat could of used him when Miller went down, and even now I think he would fit on the Knicks.
But some plays just like Europe better, because they either get payed more, or are just a bigger name there so I can’t know that…
I got a kick out of Casey saying I’m you’re favorite fan…haha…he wrongs because i am Iverson biggest fan!
Iversons stats aren’t that bad going into a team halfway thru the season and out of shape missing training camp. His numbers are actually better then Josh Childress numbers.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 11:13am #455682

sheltwon3
Participant
I disagree and I think there is no way Hayward is even close to Fields level unless Fields gets hurt.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 11:13am #455699

sheltwon3
Participant
I disagree and I think there is no way Hayward is even close to Fields level unless Fields gets hurt.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 11:18am #455686

Chrischi
Participant
I watched Casey Jacobsen a lot when he played for my hometown team in Germany and he sucked big time. He was so inconsistent got worse as the season went on. I was so happy that we got rid of him I really didn’t like him. He actually plays pretty solid for Bamberg (our archrival) now and he earned some respect back with this letter. Respect.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 11:18am #455703

Chrischi
Participant
I watched Casey Jacobsen a lot when he played for my hometown team in Germany and he sucked big time. He was so inconsistent got worse as the season went on. I was so happy that we got rid of him I really didn’t like him. He actually plays pretty solid for Bamberg (our archrival) now and he earned some respect back with this letter. Respect.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:19pm #455872

cabbycab
Participant
He was a great high school player. Very good college player. He was not a great shooter that everyone thinks he was… he was a good shooter, but not a great shooter. As Mr. 19134 pointed out, I always link him with Jason Kapono because they played in college around the same time. I always considered Jacobson a poor mans version of Kapono.
That was a really cool letter though……
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Posted on: Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:19pm #455889

cabbycab
Participant
He was a great high school player. Very good college player. He was not a great shooter that everyone thinks he was… he was a good shooter, but not a great shooter. As Mr. 19134 pointed out, I always link him with Jason Kapono because they played in college around the same time. I always considered Jacobson a poor mans version of Kapono.
That was a really cool letter though……
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