In the land of giants

The NBA’s smallest player ever is in town and 5-3 Tyrone (Muggsy) Bogues is a living contradiction to the adage that height is might in basketball. Bogues, 48, played for Charlotte, Washington, Golden State and Toronto in a 14-year NBA career where he averaged 7.7 points and 7.6 assists in 889 games.

Gifted with a 44-inch vertical leap, Bogues was an extraordinary character during his NBA tenure. What he lacked in ceiling, Bogues more than made up in heart, guts and pure skills. Once, he blocked Pat Ewing’s shot and the former Georgetown center stood nearly two feet taller.

Bogues was clearly not in the mold of the traditional NBA player. He was just too short. But when he took to the floor, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do or at least tried to do. Bogues was tough as nails, muscle-bound, and he stood his ground defending the likes of Michael Jordan, Mark Jackson and Michael Cooper. At the 1986 FIBA World Championships in Madrid, Bogues played with the US squad under coach Lute Olsen and in a 69-60 win over Yugoslavia, held hotshot Drazen Petrovic scoreless in the first eight minutes. The US won the gold medal that year, its first since 1954 when the Philippines took third place. Among Bogues’ teammates were David Robinson, Steve Kerr, Sean Elliott, Brian Shaw, Kenny Smith, Derrick McKey and Charles Smith.

“Confidence is an important part of my game,” said Bogues in his book “In the Land of Giants” which he co-wrote with David Levine. “On paper, I’m supposed to be the underdog. But on the court, I feel I’m equal to every great guard in the NBA or at least I can get my opponent thinking he’s got his hands full. It’s a constant challenge. It’s how I play the game.”

* * * *

 Bogues is in town to grace the Jr. NBA National Training Camp (NTC) which will feature a Jr. NBA Alumni All-Star Game led by UAAP cagers Aljun Mariano and Henry Asilum at the Music Hall of the SM Mall of Asia this Sunday. Also on Sunday, the top 10 campers and the Jr. NBA Coach of the Year will be known – they will take a trip abroad in November for an unforgettable NBA experience. The top 10 campers will come from the pool of 50 outstanding young ballers invited to participate in the three-day NTC starting tomorrow. Of the 50, 40 were chosen from the regional camps and 10 from the Alaska Power Camp supervised by PBA legend Jojo Lastimosa.

Bogues will definitely inspire the players – aged 10 to 14 – as he is expected to join Jr. NBA coach Sefu Bernard and Lastimosa in conducting drills and value-formation sessions for the 50 campers. The Jr. NBA program is now on its sixth year. Previous NBA legends who came to Manila for the program were Marty Conlon, A. C. Green, Horace Grant, B. J. Armstrong and Luc Longley.

This year’s Jr. NBA program was launched at the British School in Global City last Jan. 19. The bandwagon went through Lucena, Dagupan and Davao before winding up in Manila for the grand climax. The Jr. NBA program reached out to 500 schools and more than 60,000 players, coaches and parents. It is the NBA’s youth development platform.

Bogues earned over $18.4 Million in his NBA career. He was Washington’s first pick in the 1987 draft where David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, Kevin Johnson and future PBA imports Dennis Hopson, Vince Askew, Ronnie Grandison and Kevin Gamble were also selected. In 1993-94, Bogues was No. 2 in average assists with a 10.1 clip and the next season, ranked No. 5 in free throw percentage at .889. He averaged in double figure points in three campaigns and once, averaged a double-double in points and assists.

The youngest of four children, Bogues grew up in the Baltimore projects. His father Richard was 5-6 and mother Elaine 4-11 so he wasn’t expected to be tall. Bogues was only 12 when his father was arrested and jailed for armed robbery. His father spent 12 years in prison and died in 1993, a victim of pneumonia and a hard life.

* * * *

Bogues never considered his lack of size a handicap. “My size is no big deal,” he said in his book. “I’ve been playing against bigger guys my whole life. I think I stopped growing altogether by the time I was 10. To be honest, it seems like I’ve been 5-3 my whole life. To me, basketball is about talent, heart and desire. It’s not about size. It’s not a game for people who are big. It’s a game for people who can play. Size isn’t only measured from ground level up. Size is about more than just feet and inches.”

Levine said, “There will be other Larry Birds in basketball’s future, there will be other Magic Johnsons, other Michael Jordans, other Shaquille O’Neals … but ask anyone involved in the NBA if there will ever be another 5-3 starting point guard and you will not find a single person who says yes – Muggsy Bogues is, in every sense imaginable, unique.”

It’ll be quite an honor for Filipino fans to meet the NBA’s Little Big Man.