More or less (at one point) those words summed up Jerome Kersey's thoughts on today's NBA athletes.
I'm not sure if Jerome still feels this way today but if you talk to many players from Kersey's era they would probably agree with him.
Talk to many fans, like myself, who watched players like Kersey ball back in the day, then go and watch an NBA game tomorrow (particularly one with Tim Duncan whining the entire game) and you might agree with him as well.
The NBA of today IS a bit different than it was when Jerome Kersey played.
Having watched the game for some time now, I would argue that there is more 'talent' in today's NBA than back then. However that talent is either under-developed or the players don't have the right mental composition to be able to build on that talent.
Jerome Kersey wasn't the most talented player to play in the NBA.
But that didn't stop him from becoming one of the most productive Forwards to ever play in the NBA.
Why?
Because he had HEART.
Maybe it was the Jordan effect.
Kersey was drafted in the same 1984 Draft that produced probably the greatest NBA competitor of all time in Michael Jordan. Not far behind in that draft (in the area of competitiveness) you also had guys like Charles Barkley and John Stockton.
While I know that the NBA was a different beast back then in terms of its competitive fire, in 1984 Michael Jordan introduced a new level of 'mean' to the NBA. And more importatnly, he had the unique talent to back it up.
People always credit MJ for changing the league. This is one way he did.
MJ being in this league made EVERYBODY step up their game and their level of competition.
For a while you couldn't make it in the NBA if you didn't have.......HEART.
Jerome Kersey had heart. That's what got him inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and that's what recently got him inducted into the Oregon Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2008.
And he's not even from Oregon.
Sure he will never make the Basketball Hall of Fame. That's reserved for the basketball elite. The players with the most talent that have the numbers as well as the wins to get into the Hall.
He didn't give you much on the perimeter in terms of scoring. He had zero 3pt. range. His game was more physical. He could handle the ball, rebound and play some defense. His game was a lot like mine. Maybe that's why I liked Kersey so much.
For his career, he finished with decent numbers averaging over 10 points a game to go along with 5.6 rebounds and almost 2 assists. There are players in the Basketball Hall of Fame with similar numbers. However he didn't win enough or made a significant enough impact on games to be Basketball Hall of Fame worthy.
But I will take a less talented player that gives you his all for his career over a slightly more talented player that needs to be 'babied'. It helped Jerome Kersey hang around for 11 years.
The NBA could use a few more Jerome Kersey's.
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