CECIL HURT: How to handle NBA success escaped Sprewell

Latrell Sprewell was back in the news on Tuesday, which — given his recent history — is never a good thing.

The University of Alabama has sent a number of athletes into pro sports. Some have been wonderful ambassadors for the school. Others have had moments that they probably wish they could take back. Most are reasonably good guys. I still see several of them — Shaun Alexander, Robert Horry, Antonio McDyess, Cornelius Bennett and others — in a professional capacity. All ask about things going on in Tuscaloosa.

Sprewell is one of the athletes who, as far as I know, left the University of Alabama and never looked back, at least not in any capacity. He isn’t the only one, by any means. He always considered Milwaukee his home, and I suspect Tuscaloosa was more of a way-station on his ride to the NBA, not much different than Poplar Bluff, Mo., where he spent two years playing at Three Rivers Community College.

When he was here, Sprewell didn’t talk much. The lasting impression that he left was singleness of purpose. Lots of athletes come to college with the intention of making big money in the pros. Some do it with the same sort of attitude that people take into the mini-mart in Georgia or Tennessee when they buy a lottery ticket. If it happens, great. If not, that’s great, too.

Sprewell wasn’t one to leave things up to chance and some natural ability. When he arrived in Tuscaloosa, he was a solid junior college prospect, but he wasn’t accompanied by great hoopla. Most of the attention went to Robert Horry, or to another newcomer on that 1991 team, James “Hollywood” Robinson, who was eligible after sitting out a year in an academic snarl. Those two seemed the likeliest pro prospects.

Sprewell had a good junior year, but still didn’t seem likely to be a first-round NBA draft choice. But in the offseason, his work ethic kicked in.

“He was an unbelievable worker,” said Philip Pearson, the current Alabama assistant coach who was a teammate of Sprewell’s. “He was a good player and a good guy. I roomed with Spree on the road for a year. One thing about Spree — anything that Wimp told him to do, or Rocky Colburn [the basketball strength coach at the time] told him to do, he did it.”

Sprewell improved his jump shot and his 3-point spot in the offseason between 1991 and 1992. He was always quick and had the stamina of a marathon runner. At the end of an intense 40-minute basketball game, Sprewell always looked like he could easily play another 40 minutes, an often-overlooked characteristic of elite athletes.

In 1992, even on a team of stars, he was a standout. He scored 31 points against Kentucky. He was an All-SEC player, an All-SEC defensive player and, just as he wanted, a first-round draft choice. At that time, he was an example of how junior college players can help a program. Even then, I can’t say I envisioned Sprewell well as a multiple-time All-Star, but it didn’t shock me when it happened.

What did shock me, frankly, was the way that Sprewell’s career turned out. It surprised me when he choked his coach, P.J. Carlisemo. He’d never even talked back to Wimp Sanderson at practice, as far as I ever saw. He certainly never tried to choke him and (I say this with affection) there were plenty of people who wanted to choke Coach Sanderson at least once in their life.

As his pro career went on, and he made more money, Sprewell became a symbol of what a lot of people don’t like about the NBA. He seemed flashy and arrogant. He seemed to care more about himself than his teams through stints with the Knicks and the Timberwolves. Perhaps it was the same stubborn streak that got him into the NBA, then betrayed him when he got there.

That’s what it seemed like. Sprewell would do whatever it took to achieve his goals, but if he didn’t want to do something, he could be just as adamant — or perhaps a better word is “stubborn.” He wouldn’t compromise, perhaps to the point of attacking the coach, certainly to the point of walking away from a 2005 contract offer that might have earned him another $20 million or so before hanging up his sneakers.

Now, Sprewell is in the news as a subject of foreclosures. His fancy yacht has been sold on the auction block. His home will probably be next. And, frankly, there aren’t a lot of people who have a lot of sympathy for Sprewell in his current dire straits.

It’s perplexing, if you know how hard Sprewell worked to get to the NBA in the first place. But getting there is one thing, and knowing what to do when you’ve arrived — and that isn’t always easy — seems to be another thing entirely.

Cecil Hurt is sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0225.