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Parker, Diaw open French doors
Friends pave NBA path for countrymen
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 1, 2007 12:00 AM
Best friends Boris Diaw and Tony Parker are calm and cool for sure. They are selfless and skillful without argument.
But the adjective that the former French academy roommates try to dunk on each other just does not jibe with their public personas.
"Boris is crazy," Parker, the San Antonio Spurs guard, said. "I'm more the calm guy, the responsible one."
And Parker?
"He's crazier than he looks, too," Suns forward Diaw said.
We will take their word, merely because there are stories from their teens they will not share. Good times, apparently. They spent much of that time on NBA daydreams, ones they never imagined would be fulfilled as stars for dueling NBA title contenders. The Spurs and Suns meet at 8:30 tonight at US Airways Center.
Diaw's road to Phoenix and Parker's road to San Antonio began at Institut National du Sport et de l'Education Physique (INSEP). It is where France's top athletes train and study at Bois de Vincennes, a park near Paris.
Diaw and Parker were roommates at age 16, and current Los Angeles Lakers forward Ronny Turiaf lived down the hall. It is a good thing Diaw and Parker clicked so well, because they spent every waking hour in tandem. From 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., there was a daily regimen of breakfast, class, practice, lunch, class, practice, dinner and homework.
"That was tough," Diaw said. "When we had free time on Sunday, we didn't know what to do.
"We really got to know and trust each other. We made jokes you make only if you know a person really well."
The bond that led to twice-a-week phone calls (daily during the playoffs) formed out of one year together at INSEP. Parker turned pro in Paris at 17, giving Diaw and Turiaf somewhere to go on Sundays.
"We did a lot of stupid and fun stuff," Parker said.
Their best memory is winning the 2000 under-20 European Championship for France. How did they celebrate? "For 18-year-old kids, pretty hard," Diaw said.
The next year, the Spurs selected Parker with the 28th, overall pick in the NBA draft, laying groundwork for more French players. Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Jerome Moiso had reached the NBA through U.S. colleges. Parker's success led to Diaw's selection by the Atlanta Hawks with the 21st overall pick in the 2003 draft. The NBA French connection continued with Turiaf, Mickael Pietrus, Johan Petro, Mickael Gelabele and Yakhouba Diawara.
"We dreamed and thought about the NBA but did not really think there were a lot of chances for all of us to be in the NBA," Diaw said.
Parker, now 24 like Diaw, said: "It's funny. I never thought we'd be here so soon."
Parker and Diaw are so tight that Diaw attended Parker's playoff games in 2005 once Phoenix was eliminated and Parker did the same last season. Parker was the one who often talked Diaw through frustrations in Atlanta, where his talents were hidden for two years.
"I was saying, 'It's about time,' " Parker said of Diaw's Phoenix breakout. "I knew he was very talented. It was just a matter of getting the opportunity, because Atlanta didn't play him or give him the ball. Mike D'Antoni knew and understood the European game and how to use him so he could express himself.
"He's very, very unselfish. Sometimes he's too nice, but he's got a great heart."
Parker and Diaw likely won't talk much trash tonight or throw the same elbows as they do during national team practices. It is brotherly love.
"I want him to play good, but I want to win the game," Diaw said. "That's the perfect situation. I don't want him to play bad. We can be friendly and still play our hardest. It isn't going to make us lose our focus."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0201suns0201.html
Friends pave NBA path for countrymen
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 1, 2007 12:00 AM
Best friends Boris Diaw and Tony Parker are calm and cool for sure. They are selfless and skillful without argument.
But the adjective that the former French academy roommates try to dunk on each other just does not jibe with their public personas.
"Boris is crazy," Parker, the San Antonio Spurs guard, said. "I'm more the calm guy, the responsible one."
And Parker?
"He's crazier than he looks, too," Suns forward Diaw said.
We will take their word, merely because there are stories from their teens they will not share. Good times, apparently. They spent much of that time on NBA daydreams, ones they never imagined would be fulfilled as stars for dueling NBA title contenders. The Spurs and Suns meet at 8:30 tonight at US Airways Center.
Diaw's road to Phoenix and Parker's road to San Antonio began at Institut National du Sport et de l'Education Physique (INSEP). It is where France's top athletes train and study at Bois de Vincennes, a park near Paris.
Diaw and Parker were roommates at age 16, and current Los Angeles Lakers forward Ronny Turiaf lived down the hall. It is a good thing Diaw and Parker clicked so well, because they spent every waking hour in tandem. From 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., there was a daily regimen of breakfast, class, practice, lunch, class, practice, dinner and homework.
"That was tough," Diaw said. "When we had free time on Sunday, we didn't know what to do.
"We really got to know and trust each other. We made jokes you make only if you know a person really well."
The bond that led to twice-a-week phone calls (daily during the playoffs) formed out of one year together at INSEP. Parker turned pro in Paris at 17, giving Diaw and Turiaf somewhere to go on Sundays.
"We did a lot of stupid and fun stuff," Parker said.
Their best memory is winning the 2000 under-20 European Championship for France. How did they celebrate? "For 18-year-old kids, pretty hard," Diaw said.
The next year, the Spurs selected Parker with the 28th, overall pick in the NBA draft, laying groundwork for more French players. Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Jerome Moiso had reached the NBA through U.S. colleges. Parker's success led to Diaw's selection by the Atlanta Hawks with the 21st overall pick in the 2003 draft. The NBA French connection continued with Turiaf, Mickael Pietrus, Johan Petro, Mickael Gelabele and Yakhouba Diawara.
"We dreamed and thought about the NBA but did not really think there were a lot of chances for all of us to be in the NBA," Diaw said.
Parker, now 24 like Diaw, said: "It's funny. I never thought we'd be here so soon."
Parker and Diaw are so tight that Diaw attended Parker's playoff games in 2005 once Phoenix was eliminated and Parker did the same last season. Parker was the one who often talked Diaw through frustrations in Atlanta, where his talents were hidden for two years.
"I was saying, 'It's about time,' " Parker said of Diaw's Phoenix breakout. "I knew he was very talented. It was just a matter of getting the opportunity, because Atlanta didn't play him or give him the ball. Mike D'Antoni knew and understood the European game and how to use him so he could express himself.
"He's very, very unselfish. Sometimes he's too nice, but he's got a great heart."
Parker and Diaw likely won't talk much trash tonight or throw the same elbows as they do during national team practices. It is brotherly love.
"I want him to play good, but I want to win the game," Diaw said. "That's the perfect situation. I don't want him to play bad. We can be friendly and still play our hardest. It isn't going to make us lose our focus."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0201suns0201.html
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