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Show The Salt Lake Tribune NBA c10 Massenburg Happyto Contribute to the Jazz’s Success tonio coach Larry Brown told eeee or atleast survive, if he “ran the floor and rebound. ed.” “That encouraged me,” Massenburg says, “because I knew I could do that much with my eyes dl losed.” “| becamecompetitive,”he says. “I wanted to win at everything, becauseI thoughtI should. I had the advantage, so | always felt like I had to be the best. He playedfootball as a tight end and defensive end, and participated in track the110 high hur. dies, triple jump and high jump Nomatter, he was released midway through the following season, after which he signeda series of before basketball 10-day contracts with the Hornets, Celtics and War- swamped everything elseover his final two prep years. Whenhe attended a summer campfor high @ Continued from C-1 riors. Next, he wentto Italy to play. a along- schooi invitees in Pennsylvaniaprior to his senior season, and recruiters got an eyeful of Massenburg’s amthat’s successful,” hesays. “That's the great cruiting letters. It was a source of satisfaction for fer, the Clippers called and signed Massenburg to a two-year deal. Hestarted in L.A. until the Clips left him unprotected in the expansion He couldn't have been more correct, but ina different way than heexpected. rible Philly team.After that, he signed with New Jersey for a single season. The Celtics invited him raw-but-athleticgifts, hereceived in excess of 300 re- art. That's fun. That’s what lights thefire. That’s hat's been missing. I can makeadifference. What do tonight canhelp. I don’t needto be the guy who draft and he was picked by Toronto.Helasted half a him,but deep down hefelt slightly unprepared for what was comingnext. its the dagger shot at theendof the game. | just vant to be the guy next to the guy who hits the dag: wr shot. The winning is the sweet reward for work. 1 hard. It’s the reward I've always lacked. season there,until the Raptors traded him to a hor- “[ neverfelt like I had really good coaching,” toa tryout in Las Vegas the following summer at which he impressed coaches and was signed toa Massenburg says. “Myhigh school coach was sci. enceteacherandanassistantfootball coach. It Until now Massenburg’s coming to theJazz in early Decem: wr was serendipitous after the badluck that three-year contract. But, then, before the '97-98 season started, he was to Vancouver. wasn't like I came from a major‘program.’ It wasn't hisfault, but I could only get from my coach whathe hadtooffer. So, I thoughtI was behinda little bit.” med to punish himfor morethan a decade, and, vybe even long before that. After being released y the Memphis Grizzlies a day before the season tarted, he was signed by Utah whenJarron Collins iw out his knee. 1 got the call on a Friday,” hesays. “ 1 was here Finding a Home: So much transition to crappy team after crappy team took toll on Massenburg. “I knowI'm no All-Star,”he says. “But I also Recruiters didn’t scem to mind. No Dream: Ultimately, Massenburg chose to knew there were things I could contribute. I also knew there are a hundred different ways to fall by sign with Maryland,in part, because he fell hard for a greatplayerthere, a kid namedLenBias. “I had the wayside when you're being traded around like I was.| just continued to work hard, play defense and Tun the court, so I could continue to be a player — even if it was on bad teams.I tried to bea been a North Carolinafan,” he says, “until I saw | Saturday. | was extremely excited.” Lenny play.” His eagerness was spawned,in part, by perspec He enrolledin thefall of 1985. Massenburg came to Maryland a mix ofproud, insecure, determined and paranoid. His parents Not only had Massenburg been bumped ound the league throughouthis career, including ints in| y and Spain, andone remarkable sea never had thechancetogoto college, and he looked om during which he ayed for San Antonio, Chartte, Boston and Golder tate, he usually wound up boringfor litte more a paycheck andper demicopportunity. Hebristled when he foundouta Rowing for a crew aboard boats headed for nohere, season after season, moreabeast ofa hisabilities in the classroom. nal pride irdenrather thana Sunday, February 16, 2003 figured, given his stature, there was no other option than to bebetter than the other kids. synchronizedaffair. And while, yeah, that’s a hacked and mixedmet. phor, so was Massenburg’s entire career. He was a ard workingrole player who is so valuabletoa dis: iplined,perennial winnerlike the Jazz, caughtin a eb of playingfor unstructured losers. “We like himbecause hegives us a live body ho can back upKarl [Malone]andalsoplay the enter position,” says Jazz. assistant coach Phil shnson. forward to dialing in on both theathletic and aca- counselorat his high school had written a letter to admissions officers at Maryland, casting doubt on “Shethought I wouldn't last there,”he says. She was nearly right, but for reasons the counselor could notha’ st After a promising freshman season in which Massenburg started half the games,in which then‘Terps coach Lefty Driesell said that the fledgling He knows how to play. Hedoesn’t just have one At last, Massenburg is needed. After being tossed roundthe dregs of the NBAlike yesterday’s gar\yage, he's finally blessed with a rare double-pack: being avaluedpart of a winning team. “T never felt like everybody in the world was honorroll during his junior year. Bad Rap: More difficulties arose atthestart of Bias was taken with the secondpick in the NBA “My roommateandI were asleep whenoneof our teammates who wasin the room with Lenny ran overto ourbuilding andsaid Lenny wasatthe hospital. It was, like, 5 a.m. I thought he had some kind of seizure. But I thought he would be OK. I mean, Lennywas strong,like a horse. “Then, when we were at the hospital, I'll never forgetit, Lenny’ 's mom cameout and said quietly, painst m » says.“But, the waythings hapened, and kept happening,| guess I could have. (he only way to handleit was to keep working and hopefor the best.” ‘Thatis precisely what Massenburg was brought \pandtaughtto do. 300d Foundation: He was born theonly child { Alvin and Hattie Massenburg,each of whom orked long hoursin a cigarettefactory in rural In theaftermath ofthe tragedy, circumstances for the remaining basketball players, including Mas- senburg,spiraled downward, havingto deal not only with the burdenofsorrow,butalso facing accusa- stony Creek, just a few full-court passes downa dirt vadfrom1-95. “Myparentswerejust 18 and19 yearsolder than say. “I can remember when they 5, it wasjust thethreeofus, all grow: tions and resultant stigmasthat encircled the Maryland program. “Wewentfrom one momentbeing almostidol- ized by people to suddenly being tainted by Lenny’s death,” Massenburg says. “I lost a friend, and then everyone turned away from us. There was a misconception that wewere all doing drugs, partying, skippingclass. Nobody wanted to be associated with us. ing up ietios They taught me right from wrong. ‘hey madegooddecisionsandthey sacrificed for 1. They knew how to work.” It was like we ruined Lenny. We were supposedlyall bad guys.” Massenburg felt targeted as a part of a witch Andwhilethey did, young Tonyplayed sports nd grew large. Bythetime he was a sophomore at Sussex Cen: huntby a newlyformed groupofoverzealous dogooders wanting to clean up the Maryland program. He thought about transferring, but decided to remain, despite being ruled ineligible for a season on iral High School, hestood 6-foot-6 and weighed 190 pounds. Two years later, he was 6-8, 220. Massen- Lurg’s size profoundly affected him. It pressured himtoexcel at sports because,in his own mind, he accountof whathe describes as contrived concerns Massenburg was as Merebnasibie as parts following season, and he was coming up on the third =of that deal when he was released before this sea- his sophomore season, whenit was discovered that Massenburg anda few of his teammates, and an as- >ik month later, the Jazz saved him from his cycle ofdefeat. sistant coach, had profited from the sale of comp Ifa touchof self-pity seeps throughin the journeyman’s comments,from the early years, through college and a dozen seasonsas pro, he says it is un- tickets to Maryland games. Hewasordered to repay the money — $1,000 and was suspended for a handful of games. Amid that commotion, the linger- intended. He knowsheis blessed, despite having ing bad aura surroundingthe Terrapins never relented. played so long for the Clippers and Grizzlies. Toil‘ing onthe fringes of the NBA, continually having to provehimself, has lent him perspective in an envi- Massenburg admits that he made mistakes, but not to the extent portrayed by schoolofficials. “There was never any evidence that I did drugs,” ronment where too often itis lost. “There are people out there who don’t know he says. “But I was stigmatized. All of us were.It ‘He's gone.’ Those wordsstill echo in my brain. We all just broke down.It waslike the worst kind of dream,but there was no waking up.” Virginia. They had a house on three acresof land in straightening out the academic problems. He even- promise went askewandfell asunderon the night team,he is an interchangeable came. Heremained in Vancouver for two seasons, before being traded to Houston, where he tore his conin the third year of his deal and was never resigned. TheGrizzlies signed him backfor three years the room,building uphis body(he nowis 6-9,250), and tually graduated in child psychology, making the that he hada decentshotat playing in the NBA,the Massenburg’s teammateand idol succumbed to an overdose ofcocaine. He canscore, reboundand defend. He's andgives us a good, hard night’s work. We abouthis grades. Hespentthat timeoff workingin the weight powerforwardreminded him of Buck Williams, and Draft by the Boston Celtics. Ina dorm room in a building adjacent to his own, “He's a tough, veteran guy,” says John Stockton. Rick Egan/TheSalt Lake Tribune Utah’s Tony Massenburg shoots over Houston's Kelvin Cato during Utah's loss last Wednesday. He is excited to be playing for a winning team. warrior on the court andalways walk awayfeeling good about my effort. But I did long to win. Man, I wanted to win. Unless you win in this league, you're nothing.” It’s worthyof note that, in the NBA,ifa playeris nota star, but he playsfor a winning team, he is considered role player.If heiefor a losing where their next meal is coming from, people who waslike we were all doing crack. On topofthat, have lost friends or loved ones, those are real probJems,” Massenburg says.“This is just basketball. WhenI see someone I’m better than making 10 times as muchas I do, I remember that there are a lot of people who wouldlove to be in myposition. 1 was bounced around and I’ve played for a bunch of bad organizations,|but, hey,that’slife. I've got a lot to be thankful for.” Especially now thathe’s a player rather than a there were lot of politics going on.” Heleaves it in those vague terms. Byhis senior year in 1989-90, after teammates, former and new, had turned the Maryland basketball office into Grand Central Station, constantly transferring out and in, Massenburg had ducked and covered and then determined that he would get his degree and moveon to whateverthe future changeableoil filter. wouldbring. He earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors, averaging some18 points and 10 oards. He subsequently was drafted by San Antonioin the second round. Again, he felt unprepared. “T wondered whatcould havebeenif someone had really taken an interest in mebeingthe best basketballplayer I could be,”he says.“I was left to fend for myself. But I was so determined notto fail, I Especially now that he can makea difference. Especially nowthathe has foundhis fun. “Tm blending in here,”he says.“I like the fans. I like the place. I could spendthe rest of my career here. It’s not all about New York and L.A. and Chi- cago. I like Utah.I’m learning the system.I'm happy to help. feel like I'll be better next month than I am now.It’s not about numbers for me.It’s about pro- viding a spark defensively, shooting the ball consistently on offense, and rebounding. Doing whatever I can to help us win.” After all the years of losing, that is Tony Massenburg’s beautiful reward. worked hard as I moved forward.” Little changed, in either regard,at the pro level. Massenburg played for the Spurs’ summerleague entryand went on to makethe team. 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