作者:
claus (La Jolla)
2017-10-08 03:30:14http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2737129-i-didnt-want-to-go-back-there-lakers-kyle-kuzma-talks-about-his-motivation
http://tinyurl.com/y8b82ye3
'I Didn't Want to Go Back There': Lakers' Kyle Kuzma Talks About His
Motivation
JOON LEE OCTOBER 6, 2017
Everyone in Flint thinks they're the best player in town. It doesn't matter
if you're the fourth-grader on the AAU team or the 47-year-old on their last
legs in the YMCA. If you play basketball in Flint, you think you're the best
player in town.
Before he was selected 27th overall in the 2017 NBA draft, before he averaged
21.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game in
the NBA Summer League, before he teamed up with Lonzo Ball to form "the
lightskin connection," before Lakers fans yelled "KUUUUZZZ" whenever he
touched the ball, Kyle Kuzma knew he was the best player in town.
住在Flint的所有人都覺得他是本市裡面最強的。不管你是AAU球隊裡的小學四年級球員，
或是在YMCA搖搖欲墜的47歲球員，你只要是在Flint打球，你就是覺得你是最強的。
在他在2017年選秀在第27順位被選上前，在他在NBA夏季聯盟拿到場均21.9分、6.4板、
2.7助攻、1.4鍋和1.1抄截之前，在他跟Lonzo合組「the lightskin connection」之前，
在當他拿到球湖迷大喊KUUUUUZZZZ之前，Kuzma知道他是Flint最強的球員。
He also knew he needed to get out.
他也知道他需要離開。
Growing up in Flint, the seventh-largest city in Michigan, site of the
nation's most disastrous water crisis in recent memory, Kuzma felt his world
shrinking. He saw the gang violence. He saw how it took down some of his
childhood friends. He saw his home, a place where he couldn't drink from the
tap or open his mouth in the shower. Kuzma saw it all, and basketball was the
way out.
"I didn't want to go back there," Kuzma tells Bleacher Report. "I wanted to
explore the world and explore life. I wanted to have more to life than Flint."
Kuzma also knew that even if he was one of the best basketball players in the
state, nobody would come out to Bentley High School to watch him play. Kuzma
was the kid who told teachers he was going to the NBA, despite their dismay.
When he was little, Kyle told his mother, Karri Kuzma, about his plan to play
in the NBA. At a certain point, with only a few schools interested (Oakland
University, University of Detroit), Kuzma knew he needed a better path to
league.
在Flint長大，密西根州第7大城市，近年來最嚴重的水質問題，Kuzma覺得他的世界快垮
下了。他看到幫派暴力是如何奪走他的一些童年玩伴。他看到他家，無法直接喝自來水，
洗澡時無法張開嘴。Kuzma都看到了，然後籃球是他的離開之路。
Kuzma跟BR說「我不想回去那。我想探索世界、探索人生。我想要Flint之外更廣的人生」
Kuzma也知道就算是他是密西根州頂尖球員之一，也不會有球探去Bentley高中去看他打
球。Kuzma是那個跟老師說他以後要去打NBA的小孩。他小時候，他就跟他母親（Karri
Kuzma）說他要去打NBA的計畫。到了某個時間點，當只有幾所小學校對他有興趣的時候，
Kuzma知道他需要更好的通往NBA的路。
"If he stayed here, he might've gone to college and played, but it probably
would not have been Division I," Karri says. "His whole story would be
written a different way."
Of course, the story would have still started the same. Karri was attending
Hillsdale College, a small liberal arts school, on a track scholarship when
she found out she was pregnant. She was a two-time Class B shot put champion
at Otisville Lakeville High School, but returned to the Flint area and
started life as a single parent.
Before Kyle could even walk, Karri bought her son a Little Tikes basketball
hoop. Dunking on that hoop, and using a strip of tape as a free-throw line,
remains one of Kyle's earliest memories. It sparked his love of the game,
which followed him to the street courts, the YMCA and then AAU. Karri worked
two jobs during Kyle's entire childhood as the family moved nine times in 16
years, once living in the basement of his grandmother's home when Karri was
laid off.
Karri說「如果他留下來，他也許會去大學打球，但不對是D-1。他的故事會完全不一樣」
當然，故事的開頭仍會是一樣的。Karri當時在Hillsdale College拿著田徑獎學金念書
時得知她懷孕了。儘管他高中拿過兩次冠軍，但還是回到Flint開始了單親母親的人生。
在Kyle能走路之前，Karri就買了一個小的籃球框架給他。用膠帶黏出來的罰球線仍然是
Kyle最早的記憶之一。那讓他喜歡上了這個運動，帶領他去街上的球場，去YMCA，之後
是去AAU。Kyle整個童年Karri同時做兩份工作，16年內搬了9次家，甚至有一度在Karri
失業的時候住在祖母家的地下室。
"I was just working all of the time," Karri says. "I think that resonated
with him. Hard work is pretty much all he knows. You've gotta work hard to
feed the family."
Kyle needed to work harder to get to the NBA, and to work harder, he needed
to play better competition. As a junior, he'd averaged 17.9 points, 14.4
rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.4 blocks per game for Bentley High, so before his
senior year, he sent tapes of his shooting at the Y to prep schools, catching
the eye of Vin Sparacio, then the head coach at Rise Academy in Philadelphia.
Sparacio saw a 6'6", 175-pound, raw player who had a great feel for the game,
and immediately brought him in.
Karri說「我整天都在工作。我想這對他產生了共鳴。辛苦工作是他所知道的一切。為了
養家必須辛苦工作」
Kyle需要更努力才能去NBA，而為了要更努力他則需要更好的對手。在Bentley High高三
的時候，他場均17.9分、14.4板、3.8助攻及3.4鍋。所以在他高四之前，他本他在YMCA
投籃的影片寄給一些預科學校。，其中引起了Vin Sparacio（時任費城Rise Academy的
教練）的注意。Sparacio看到一個6'6" 178 lb 的一個很嫩但絕佳球感的球員，馬上招他
進去。
"He wasn't a great defender, a great shooter or a great ball-handler,"
Sparacio says. "But you could just tell he had that special feel that's hard
to teach. The first couple of months, he wasn't really that good at the prep
level."
For the first time, Kyle and Karri stayed apart for an extended period. The
night before Kyle went to Philadelphia, Karri, in disbelief, lay down with
her son. She held him as they cried together.
"That was what he wanted," Karri says. "I could not believe he was going
away."
He went away and was immediately thrown for a loop. He struggled mightily out
of the gate, having difficulties keeping up with the competition. He'd never
stepped on a floor against five other players capable of playing Division I
basketball. He pushed to change things when he faced off against Fishburne
Military School's Kuran Iverson, then a top-10 recruit at his position and
Allen Iverson's second cousin.
Sparacio說「他當時不是一個好的防守者、射手、或運球者。但當時就可以感覺到他有
與身具來無法教出來的特殊球感。前幾個月，他還沒達到預科學校的程度。」
這是這一次Kyle跟Karri長期的分開。在Kyle去費城的前一晚，仍然不敢相信的Karri跟
他兒子一起躺著。她抱著他，一起哭。
Karri說「那是他想要的。我無法相信他要離開了」
他離開了而且馬上遇到難題。他一開始非常不順，無法跟上其他人的水平。他沒有機會
跟其他5個有打D-1實力的人一起上場。當他對上當時是潛力榜上前十的Iverson（AI的
遠房表親）他下定決心要改變現況。
"That was my matchup, and he really got to me. I was shocked," Kuzma says. "I
was like, 'Oh man, I don't know if I'm ready for this. I don't know what I
got myself into.'"
With a push from Sparacio, he began lifting weights. During AAU weekends,
Kuzma stayed on campus, alternating between lifting weights and playing
pickup basketball from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The coach saw immediate improvement, and Kuzma ended the season averaging 22
points and seven rebounds and receiving calls from Division I schools. Offers
came in from Connecticut, Iowa State, Tennessee and Missouri, among others,
before Kuzma decided on Utah.
Kuzma steadily improved for the Utes under head coach Larry Krystkowiak.
After averaging 8.1 minutes a game his freshman year, Kuzma joined the
starting lineup his sophomore season and averaged 10.8 points, 5.7 rebounds
and shooting 52.2 percent from the field. In the months before his junior
season, Kuzma told himself if he could average close to a double-double and
finish his degree in three years, he'd declare for the NBA draft.
Kuzma說「那是我的對手，然後我被動搖了。我真的很震驚。我不知道我是不是真的準
備好了。我到底把我自己弄進什麼情況？」
在Sparacio的建議下，他開始重量訓練。AAU週末的時候，他留在學校，每天早七晚七的
在重量訓練跟打球中交錯。
教練看到立即的進步，Kuzma季末的時候場均22分7板，也開始收到D-1學校的注意。來自
於很多學校的獎學金機會都來了，他最後選擇了Utah。
他在Utes教練Larry Krystkowiak的指導下穩定的進步。大一上場時間8.1分鐘，大二的
時候進入先發明單並且場均10.8分5.7板52.2FG%。在生大三的幾個月前，Kuzma告訴自己
如果他可以場均接近雙十並且三年內拿到學位，他就要去參加選秀。
After posting averages of 16.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and finishing
his sociology degree, Kuzma declared.
Draft experts pegged him as a second-round or undrafted prospect, but Kuzma
knew if he could get in front of scouts he'd impress. One excellent NBA
combine and 17 team workouts later, it appeared he was right.
"I wasn't really nervous because I was killing every workout and killing the
combine. It was to the point where I knew I was going to get drafted," Kuzma
says.
"On draft day, I wasn't really nervous at all. Then you turn on the draft,
the first five picks go by and then you still thinking, Oh man, I don't know
where I'm going to go. It's really just by the time draft hits, that's when
you get nervous."
On draft night, while at a party with 80 friends and family members, Kuzma
became a member of the Lakers, who acquired him in the trade that sent
D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets.
在他場均16.4分9.3板並且順利拿到社會學學位之後，他決定參加選秀。
當時選秀專家認為他是二輪或落榜的球員，但Kuzma知道如果他有機會在球探前面他一定
會讓人印象深刻。在一個成功的combine以及17個隊伍的練球後，的確看起來是那樣。
Kuzma說「我沒有非常的緊張，因為每個練球我都表現得很好，combine我也表現得很好。
當時我就知道我一定會被選。」
「選秀當天，我完全沒有緊張。但你開始看選秀，前五順位選完，你就開始想你不知道
你會去哪。真的當選秀開始的時候才會開始緊張」
選秀當晚，他在一個有80位朋友跟家人的聚會中，他成為了湖人隊的一員。
Karri, having been a Dennis Rodman, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons fan,
did not like the Lakers while growing up—except for Magic Johnson, she makes
sure to note.
L.A.'s "other" rookie quickly made a name for himself in summer league,
developing a chemistry with No. 2 overall pick Ball before exploding in the
early parts of the preseason with a 19-point performance in his debut against
the Minnesota Timberwolves, a 23-point game against the Denver Nuggets and a
team-high 21 points in the Nuggets rematch, flashing a baseline reverse dunk.
Zero regular-season games into his career, Kuzmania is already in full swing.
"It's surreal," Kuzma says. "The Lakers are the premier franchise in all of
basketball. It's the biggest brand in basketball. It's a really surreal
feeling to wake up every day, put on my Lakers gear and see Magic in there
and play for Luke Walton."
The hard work hasn't stopped. Sparacio, on a recent visit to L.A., couldn't
help but notice all of the work Kuzma is still putting in.
"He's still working out like he hasn't gotten drafted," Sparacio says. "With
the NBA money, guys take a break, and he hasn't taken a break since he got
drafted. It's probably not going to stop."
Karri是個小蟲、公牛、活塞的球迷並且不喜歡湖人、但她強調除了魔術強森之外。
湖人的「另一個」新秀很快的在夏季聯盟建立了自己的名聲，跟第二順位的球哥培養了
默契，並在處女秀對上灰狼拿下19分，對上金塊分別拿下23分跟全隊最高的21分，以及
底線反扣的高光。
還沒打任何一場季賽，Kuzmania已經全力開始了。
Kuzma說「這太超實了。湖人是籃球中最好的球團，最大的金字招牌。每天起來穿上湖人
的球衣看到魔術並為Walton打球的感覺太超實了。
Sparacio在最近一次去LA的時候注意到Kuzma的認真拼勁並沒有停止。
Sparacio說「他仍然像是一個還沒被選上的人一樣認真努力。有了NBA等級的薪水之後，
有些人會休息一下，但他被選上之後都還沒休息過。之後大概也不會。
The shock hasn't stopped for Karri. Kyle recently moved her into a nice
apartment with his first paycheck. On Wednesday, NBA general managers named
her son the second-biggest steal of the draft. Every time she sees him do
something, from the standout summer-league performances to the hype train
chugging along this preseason, she can't imagine something greater happening,
until something does.
Karri likes to think back to Kyle's introductory press conference. At one
point Magic Johnson came over to introduce himself to the Kuzmas and Karri
freaked out. So with a smile on his face, he introduced himself.
"You guys look like family," Johnson said.
For Karri, it finally put things in perspective. Her son had left Flint. He
had made it to the NBA. His plan was finally a reality.
Karri仍然在震驚中。Kyle最近用他第一次薪水讓她搬進一個不錯的公寓。禮拜三的時候
，NBA的GM認為她兒子是本屆選秀第二偷。每當她看到他所達成的，夏季聯盟的突出表現
到熱身賽的瘋狂表現，她無法想像更成功的事情發生，直到真的發生。
Karri回想當初Kyle的入團記者會。魔術過來找Kuzma一家自我介紹的時候Karri整個瘋掉
了。魔術臉掛著笑容自我介紹了自己。
魔術說「你們看起來像是家人」
Karri終於接受了。他的兒子離開了Flint。他進入了NBA。他的計畫夢想成真了。