Monday, July 23rd, 2012
Out Of The Blue
Overshadowed as an amateur and undervalued as a young pro, Mike Conley is now on the way to making a serious name for himself in Memphis
by Abe Schwadron | @abe_squad
When Mike Conley agreed to play in the FedEx St. Jude Classic Pro-Am golf tournament in Memphis earlier this summer, he figured it would be a rare chance to enjoy a relaxing round with a foursome filled out by local fans. He was geared up and ready to pose for photos and perhaps even sign an autograph or two for the weekend hackers in his group.
Instead, he arrived at TPC Southwind for a 12:20 tee time only to find himself billed to play with a very different trio: Julius Erving, Rick Barry and Penny Hardaway.
?It was supposed to be regular guys, it wasn?t supposed to be three other celebrities in the group, so I?m thinking I?d be around three other, like, businessmen. But it was three legends, and then me,? says Conley, who just completed his fifth NBA season and still won?t turn 25 for a few more months. ?I was texting everybody I knew and they were all jealous that I was getting this opportunity to basically spend five hours with some of the greatest basketball players ever.?
Beyond thanking the scramble format for keeping his strokes down, the Grizzlies guard won?t say how the course played that day or what he shot. Not that he cares, though, since the afternoon was a win no matter how he hit ?em. After all, Conley, the starting point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, spent the afternoon soaking up lessons from three men with a combined 23 NBA All-Star Game appearances, a pair of League titles and an Olympic Gold medal.
Even in the presence of two Hall-of-Fame forwards, Conley gravitated toward the best golfer of the gang, the ex-player who also happened to hit his NBA prime during Conley?s formative years.
?Penny was one of my favorite players growing up,? Conley says of Hardaway, a native of Memphis, who, for a few too-short years in the ?90s, was one of the best players in the League.
Continues Conley: ?It?s cool, because he?s had so many different experiences and so much wisdom that he can trickle down to you. I think the biggest thing watching him, more than anything, was his demeanor on and off the court. He was a true professional, but in between the lines, he brought it to another level?with his focus and the way he approached the game. He approached basketball a lot like he approaches his golf game now. He?s very, very into golf and focused. When we got done playing 18 holes, after six hours, he went right to the driving range to try to fix something he couldn?t figure out.?
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