Practice Shows Glimpse of What's to Come

Beaverton, Oregon | February 4, 2002

Even people outside of the Bulls think Crawford could be an unbelievable player--Baron Davis recently described J.C. as "phenomenal."

One day a long time ago, a somewhat obscure Boston area rock music critic named Jon Landau wrote a review of a concert he had just witnessed at the Harvard Square Theater for an even more obscure New England area newspaper entitled The Real Paper. Landau opened his piece by writing about how disappointed and jaded he had become towards music over the years, something he had a deep passion for as a young man. He talked about how, to his dismay, the day's music was about as exciting as a trip to the dentist's office. Then one night he stumbled across a skinny, scruffy looking, 20ish something kid who literally blew him away.

"But tonight there is someone I can write of the way I used to write, without reservations of any kind. Last Thursday, at the Harvard Square Theatre, I saw my rock'n'roll past flash before my eyes. And I saw something else: I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time."

- Jon Landau, The Real Paper, May 22, 1974

Rolling Stone magazine picked-up Laudau's quote of seeing the future of rock and roll and the legend of "The Boss" was born.

After practice, Trenton Hassell, Eddy Curry and the rest of the Bulls did some serious shopping at the Nike Employee Store.

Well, although I'm not the first to say it, this obscure correspondent is here to tell you that I have seen the future of the Chicago Bulls, and its name is Jamal Crawford. On a day that I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was seeing basketball for the very first time.

Yesterday morning, confined by the beautiful glass enclosure of the Bo Jackson Fitness Center on the corporate campus of Nike Sports, the future of the Chicago Bulls and, dare I say, the future of the NBA Finals, took to the hardwood for a few brief moments. Coming off summer surgery for a torn ACL, the second-year playmaker out of Michigan took command of a band of players who included 19-year old rookies Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry, as well as swingman Eddie Robinson and veteran sharpshooter Fred Hoiberg, and transformed them into a magical, yet lethal combination of athletic grace and raw, thundering power.

No, Ron Artest hasn't been traded. Rather, he sports the jersey of a certain no. 23 who calls him one of the best defenders in the NBA.

Although not completely cleared to practice full-time, (he meets with his famed orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, later this month) it's almost hard to recognize Crawford on the basketball court. Playing with a new-found confidence and an additional 15 pounds of muscle, Jamal has transformed himself into a player that commands your attention. The few moments that I witnessed of Crawford's uncanny ballhandling, along with his ability to spot open teammates--hitting them with crisp, pin-point passes--and a completely re-worked textbook-smooth jump shot gave this true-blue Bulls fan goosebumps.

With Crawford at the helm, teen towers Chandler and Curry were fully able to showcase athletic gifts that will dazzle basketball fans for many years to come. Add Eddie Robinson's smooth and silky ability to glide through the air for almost effortless alley-oop dunks and Hoiberg's marksmanship from beyond the 3-point arc, and I left Nike headquarters with a renewed excitement for the future of this team. I am now convinced that with Crawford's presence on the court, the Bulls should be in a position to make a serious stampede to the playoffs in the very near future.