The Media Learning Curve: Mark Jackson, continued
Following up on today's column (linked here) about ABC/ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson (bio linked here), more Q-and-A about his past, present and future:
== On considering himself both a New York and L.A. person:
"A lot of people are shocked that I live in L.A., but even the first three years when I was here, and calling Nets games for a year, I was doing it and it made for some incredible travel. I'd consider myself a combo guy, both New York and L.A. All my family and inlaws are still in New York. My brother came out to L.A. recently."
== On the analysts out there that he enjoys listening to - basketball or otherwise - and picks up tips from:
"I'm a fan of baseball and football and boxing aside from basketball, and it's like when you play, you watch the great ones do their thing and learn from it and that's how you get better. No matter which sport. Reggie Miller is a friend of mine and he's very good at what he does (on TNT). Cris Collinsworth does an outstanding job in football. Working with Marv Albert after all those years of listening to him was great. He was very patient with me. I've been fortunate to have a lot of outstanding partners who've helped tutor me, even with Ian Eagle and Dan Patrick as a studio partner. A lot of guys out there have made me look better than I am. I've had producers who've been just like coaches, they've believed in my ability and made some subtle corrections. There are times when they say that maybe I could bring the energy level up. I'm a great learner and a great listener. I'm not someone who thinks because I'm doing the NBA Finals that I've 'arrived.' I'm always trying to be the best that I can be."
== On where the best street-ball games can be found in the San Fernando Valley:
"I work out a couple days a week at a rec center near my house with a bunch of other actors and entertainers, about four of us ex-pro players, a couple of ex-football players. We get out there and play, no harm, no foul."
== On his family (a 17-year-old son, a 14-year-old daughter graduating from middle school, a 10-year-old son in the fourth grade and a 6-year-old in kindergarden, plus his wife, Desiree):
"My kids are all Lakers fans. My son was getting ready to go with me to Game 2 (of the NBA Finals), and I went into his room to get him, and he had this Kobe Bryant jersey on. I said, 'You can't wear that!' I thought he should wear something a little more subtle. I took him in with me to interview Dwight Howard before the game, and it was funny. I watched him during the Laker team intros and he's standing up and screaming. They're passionate. My daughter is probably the best athlete of the kids, but she wants to be a singer and actress and does modeling -- all like her mom. I got a text from her in the second quarter of Game 2 -- while I'm still working, mind you -- and she's in the stands and the text says, 'Dad, Rihanna is here!' She's not so interested in seeing Kobe or Dwight. She's going for the looks. My wife just finished an inspirational CD called 'My Voice Is My Weapon,' and we're shopping it around independently. I'm bias, but I'm also a truth-teller in everything I do, and I know I'm the second-most talented person in my family. She's also got a movie coming out at the end of June called 'Pastor Brown,' (linked here) and still does work on some sit-coms, but she's a mom, which is a full-time job. I want to be a groupie for her."
== On his ministry work:
"I'm still planning to start a non-denominational church somewhere here (in Southern California), but there's a lot of work to be done and a great message to be heard. It's just about delivering the message of Jesus Christ. God's given me a voice and I'm not ashamed to use it."
== On coaching his own kids in sports:
"Like any dad, I could tell my (oldest) son something, but they don't always listen to me. I say, 'I've been doing this my entire life!' It's entertaining to have great kids and the opportunity now to coach my youngest, play with him, those are great memories to have as a dad. It's priceless. We have him playing in a rec league and he swears I can't score on him even if I wanted to."
== On what he remembers most about playing in the 2000 NBA Finals for Indiana against the Lakers:
"I was thinking about that when the Lakers went up 2-0 against us, and I knew that Orlando would win Game 3 because I knew how excited we were to be going back home after losing the first two in L.A. But that led to a very important Game 4, and they beat us in overtime after Shaq fouled out an dKobe took over. It was a much closer series than it looked (a 4-2 Laker win). We win that (Game 4) and then win Game 5, we have a chance to go back to L.A. with a lead and it would have been very interesting. Having lived through situations like that makes it easier to figure out what can happen in this series. I'm not really guessing how they feel, I've lived it and I can draw back on those emotions."
== On what he remembers most about his days with the Clippers (1992-94, taking them to back-to-back playoff appearance with coach Larry Brown):
"I remember having a lot of fun, and with Larry Brown, it was a blast. I even had a great relationship with (owner) Donald Sterling. I was reading that story about him in ESPN magazine, and I know people say things about him -- and I was interviewed for that story but I guess they didn't use my quotes because they weren't juicy enough, but I had a great time with him, no problems. It was fun remembering back in the Sports Arena with Penny Marshall and Billy Crystal."
== And on how the NBA actually instituted a five-second rule -- some call it the "Mark Jackson Rule" -- preventing players from backing an opponent down in the lane below the free-throw line for more than five seconds:
"You gotta blame it on Earl (Monroe) and Magic (Johnson), when you had the big guards, but that isn't in style any more and it doesn't occur too often. I had to do something to combat the little quick guard, so I'd use my height as an advantage, get my back to the opponent and dribble in. Then the league decided to take that away. I'm still trying to find out the reasoning behind that. It'd be a better rule to not allow quicker guards to blow by a player (laughing). They must think from a basketball purist point of view that it's not fun to watch a guy back down another guy, but to me, it was like playing chess in the middle of a game. Kobe uses it, but I think you can see the clock ticking down in his head so he doesn't get called for it. Barkley used it a lot, too. I know they want to sped up the game, and it's more fun to watch smaller guards create havic on the court. But I guess it's good to have my name attached to something like that kind of rule change. I made the adjustment, so it never affected me after that."
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