HeraldNet: Kemp shows joy, maturity he rarely showed before




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Dangling Participles

June 29, 2008

Kemp shows joy, maturity he rarely showed before

Posted at 7:23 pm by John Sleeper

Wrote a column for Monday about Shawn Kemp, who played at the IBL West Division North/South Classic. He's 38 now and sometimes played like it. Still, I liked what I saw, especially after having talked to him after the game.

I wrote a lot about his past problems, about being twice arrested on drug charges. That happened in 2005 and 2006. He addressed it briefly and said he wanted to make up for his mistakes. I believe him. I think he's finally growing up.

His game is one you'd expect for a 38-year-old ex-superstar. Remember when he played at Portland and Orlando? He must have broken 300 pounds. He was an embarrassment. Now, he says he's 255 and runs every day. I sense that he still wants to come back to the NBA, but that at his age, he recognizes finally that it's over.

I also sense he's finally happy. He obviously was having a great time on the court. And the fact that the fans today worshipped him wasn't lost. He was gracious, friendly and even gregarious. That simply wasn't Shawn 10 years ago.

It was a good day, much better than I thought it would be. I hope he stays on this path.

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