HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

It’s not hard to find people in and around the NBA who are anticipating a long, cold lockout. Some are certain we’ll miss the entire 2011-12 NBA season, some feel issues will get resolved in time to salvage a 50-game season like the one we had in 1998, but very few people are ready to predict that the owners and players will find common ground in time for the start of the season. Count Chris Bosh among the very few holding out hope for the best-case scenario.

“I’m always looking at the brighter picture,” Bosh said in a recent interview with ESPN Radio. “I’m always positive. I have a positive outlook on everything. I think everybody just needs to talk. There’s always issues especially in business. This is a business at the end of the day. We don’t want to hurt our fans by them missing games and I don’t think anyone wants to miss games. We just have to get everything on the table and kind of come to a middle ground, but sometimes it’s difficult. Business is always difficult and I’m sure we’ll get to a solution very quickly.”

Don’t expect to hear that Bosh is considering signing with an overseas team while the issues are getting worked out in the NBA. Still, he sees the benefit for the players who actually do reach some kind of agreement to play elsewhere.

“I think a few (will play overseas). I think a few. Only because you never know what is going to happen. I mean we could strike a deal tomorrow. Then what happens? It’s as soon as you leave, you land in Europe, and it’s like well yeah while you were gone we struck a deal and you gotta come back. I think just because of that that’ll keep guys grounded and you know staying in shape and everything and making sure we are ready for the call whenever it comes.”

The Miami HEAT have taken a lot of, well, heat this summer, largely for the way in which they went about assembling the team through free agency last summer. From LeBron James’ infamous “decision” TV special to the way the trio of stars carried themselves in the Finals, there have certainly been some bumps along the way. Bosh says the important thing is to learn from those mistakes and keep moving forward.

“I say you own up to it. We all make mistakes. I think anybody would be kidding themselves if they thought they were perfect at anything. I mean why change it? We’ve already went through with everything. Whether good or bad, whether it was a good decision or bad decision, or we should have done this, could of done that, if we would of done this. We are here now. Everything has happened, so let’s just own up to it. Yeah we did it. Yes. If it was a mistake? If I see it as a mistake and here’s the reasons why, but here’s the reasons why it is going to help us in the long run.”

Admittedly, most NBA fans see Bosh as a distant third when talking about Miami’s three All-Stars. Dwyane Wade and James are the real headline grabbers, and while that does upset Bosh, he also keeps it in perspective.

“Well, I mean we are human. That stuff kind of bums you out a lot. You try to have thick skin. You have thick skin then. You eventually reach your tipping point where it gets to you. I know me, myself, I reached (the tipping point) a bunch of times because it’s like I like watching SportsCenter or something like that. I may chose not to watch it tonight because we didn’t do too well. I used to watch it as many times, but that’ll get cut down a little bit because I can assume what is going to be said and what is going to happen, so I just let it roll off. At the end of the day we are going to be…like I said it’s hard, it’s tough, but it makes you better. That’s all I really care about.”

Listen to Chris Bosh on ESPN Radio by linking here!

Up Close: Stephen Jackson

Milwaukee Bucks guard Stephen Jackson talks with HOOPSWORLD about working with the Kendrick Perkins foundation to give back to his home community in Texas, the trade that sent him to Milwaukee and the surprising first Buck to reach out to him, the NBA lockout, the reasons players are looking overseas, and more in this exclusive interview:

Wall Going Back To School?

Upon first meeting John Wall one if often struck by how different he is from usual professional athlete/celebrity fare. Honestly, I was impressed when I first came across John at the Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago last year. He didn’t seem to know he was supposed to run from the media; just sat right there in the media work room and watched the coverage of weights and measures going on across town. It was striking how down-to-earth he was, so it really shouldn’t come as any surprise that his approach to the lockout is equally down-to-earth.

“I’m trying to see if I can take some classes on campus (at the University of Kentucky), and if the lockout ends I can finish online,” said Wall, who is pursuing a degree in business management. “I wanted to be the first person in my family to get a college degree, although I’m probably going to be the second one now. My sister [Cierra] is going to be a sophomore, so she’s ahead of me. Nobody had an opportunity to go to college in my family.”

Wall was a committed student during his time at Kentucky, earning credit for two semesters and two summers’ worth of classes during his one year at the school. His grades earned him a spot on the Southeastern Conference freshman academic honor roll. Wildcats head coach John Calipari has been encouraging Wall to return to school, especially since Wall is using the facilities to work on his game during the lockout.

The book is still out on just how good Wall will eventually be as the Washington Wizards’ franchise player, but there is absolutely no doubt that he is the kind of high-character person teams want to build around. It comes as no surprise that he’s thinking about finishing his degree even as he rakes in millions from playing basketball.

That’s just who John Wall is.

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