JJ would often cry in interviews about how mean some of the fans were to him when they called him names such as "Gay-Gay". How JJ wished to be loved by the fans.
Last night, Redick made his NBA debut for the Orlando Magic in pre-season action.The reigning college player of the year received a boisterous ovation from the crowd of 13,781 upon checking into the game late in the second quarter.
JJ was scoreless in 12 minutes, making him the only player of the 22 who got into the game who didn't score. He missed both of his shot attempts, one of them a 3-pointer from the wing.
"It was nice to get out there, but it would have been really nice to have hit a shot," joked Redick, whose playing time was limited by doctors. "The guys (on the bench) kept screaming at me to shoot the ball, but I didn't want to force anything."
JJ's wish has come true.
JJ has gone from hated to:
The one they all cheer for;
The little white guy sitting on the end of the bench who only gets to play in the final minutes of a lopsided game;
The autistic kid who serves as ball-boy for 3 and 1/2 years and finally gets to play the last 10 minutes of the final game.
Listen to them cheer:
"JJ!" "JJ!"
The magic are up by 20 with 2 minutes left and the crowd wants you.
"JJ! "JJ!"
They want you to jack up a 3-pointer at the buzzer so that you will have scored
"JJ!" "JJ!"
They love you now.
1 comment:
JJ's playing time is going to be very limited by the "doctors" this year and every year thereafter. They should start a "Dook washout team" with JJ, Jay Williams, William Avery, Shavlik, et al. to play exhibitions against the Heels and other ACC teams. That would be a much better draw than Athletes in Action or Marathon Oil.
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