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Could rookie Jared Sullinger be the next Kevin Garnett?
Though back surgery interrupted his promising debut, the Celtics have high hopes for ?the steal? of the 2012 draft.
By Scott Helman
Globe Staff
March 17, 2013
IT WASN?T JARED SULLINGER?S HEIGHT that established him as an imposing presence on the basketball court. Not his arms. Not speed. No, it was something else: his rear end. As a top high school prospect in Ohio and then an elite college player for two years, Sullinger skillfully employed his backside to carve out space under the hoop. Space to yank rebounds. Space to score from the post. Space to frustrate opposing big men.
His posterior became such a force in the front court that it assumed an almost anthropomorphic quality, as if it possessed an identity distinct from Sullinger himself. It inspired a Twitter account, for instance. The tag line: ?Clearin room in the paint since 1992 with a greater gravitational pull than Jupiter.?
Between his freshman and sophomore years at Ohio State University, Sullinger, seeking greater mobility, dropped 20 pounds and cut his body-fat percentage. But not to worry, he reassured Buckeyes fans at the time. ?I didn?t lose my best friend.?
As Sullinger prepared for an NBA career, though, another part of his body was drawing notice, this time unfavorably. A troublesome back, which had sidelined him for a couple of games at Ohio State, gave pro teams pause. A leading prospect before the 2012 draft, his stock dropped after NBA doctors flagged him as a potential injury concern. Teams with the highest picks passed him over, wary of investing in a risk. As a result, one of the most promising arrivals to professional basketball was still available when the Boston Celtics? turn came, at pick No. 21.
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Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers thinks Jared Sullinger was worth the risk
By Mary Schmitt Boyer, The Plain Dealer
on March 27, 2013
Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger (7), shown trying to score on Brooklyn Nets forward-center Andray Blatche, is rehabbing from a back injury. He says he'll be pulling for Ohio State in the Sweet 16 this week. (Photo by AP)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rookie forward Jared Sullinger was worth the gamble, Boston coach Doc Rivers said.
The former Ohio State star was drafted by the Celtics with the No. 21 pick in the 2012 draft despite doctors figuring he'd need back surgery at some point.
That point was Feb. 1. But the Celtics have no regrets.
"We love the pick,'' Rivers said before Wednesday's game against the Cavaliers. "Where we were at -- No. 21 -- we just felt at that point there was nobody better in the draft than him. If he'd have come out the year before, he'd have probably been top five.
"It was an easy pick for us. Our doctors told us at some point he was going to need surgery. But it's not a career-ending surgery or anything like that. It's just surgery. We were hoping it would happen in the summer time, to be quite honest, that he could get through the year. But he just didn't. He'll be fine next year.''
For now, Sullinger is back in Boston.
"I am doing absolutely nothing right now,'' he said in a telephone interview.
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Jared Sullinger injury: Boston Celtics forward likens himself to 'The Lion King' character Simba, expected to be healthy come training camp
By Jay King, MassLive.com
on May 14, 2013
Jared Sullinger (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Very rarely, one must assume, does the same Disney children's movie inspire popular rap songs and motivate a Boston Celtics power forward during his quest to recover from a season-ending back injury.
But J. Cole has named two of his songs after 'The Lion King' character Simba, and Jared Sullinger told CSNNE's Jessica Camerato he has watched the same animated flick several times since undergoing lumbar disc surgery in February.
"I've watched 'The Lion King' four times (since surgery)," said Sullinger, who has been cleared for physical activities and is expected to be ready by training camp, according to Camerato. "Rafiki the monkey makes me laugh. It was a family movie when I was growing up. I like it because it teaches you you can always overcome. I'm like Simba."
The Simba comparison doesn't work perfectly here, since that would be relatng a man's back surgery to the death of a cartoon lion's uncle, and rehabilitation from the aforementioned surgery to Simba's return to his lion civilization in order to overthrow his dangerous and corrupt uncle, Scar. But if we can expand the metaphor to label Jordan Crawford as Timon and Brandon Bass as Pumbaa, and somehow convince Kevin Garnett to sing 'Hakuna Matata', I'm all for it.
Sullinger told Camerato he needed to wait nine weeks from the surgery before he could begin working out, and that he was "pretty much on bed rest" during that time. Now, he's back in the gym and has been working on planks and pelvic tilts to increase his core and back strength.
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May 29, 2013
Jared Sullinger Spent A Day Working At Taco Bell
By Dime Magazine
Jared Sullinger (photo. Sweta Shah)
Today, all Doritos Locos Tacos at more than 160 participating restaurants in the New England area were only $1 with net proceeds going to One Fund Boston charity. Taco Bell Corporation also donated another $25K on top of that. Pretty cool. It was also awesome to see Jared Sullinger stopping by a local restaurant in Revere, MA to participate by serving up some tacos to the local residents.
