Glenn
03-16-2008, 10:38 AM
With a world of experience, Dunbar ex waits for his shot
By RANDY GALLOWAY
Star-Telegram staff writer
The Fort Worth roots still run deep, but the globe is his home.
Chasing the dream, living the life, playing the game, Demetric Shaw has become -- attention here, Mayor Moncrief -- the city's goodwill ambassador to the world.
Lebanon, Qatar, Australia, Venezuela, Colombia, Iceland, Poland, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Sweden.
Pick and roll, or give and go, Shaw has run the floor in all those countries, plus made a couple of D-League stops in the U.S.
No one in basketball is savvier about the international scene than Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson. "A class kid, and a good player," he said of Shaw on Friday.
Well, maybe "kid" no longer applies, age-wise. Shaw is 29, and will be 30 in September.
But the overachieving mentality and the strong work ethic he took out of Fort Worth Dunbar as a 1997 graduate still apply no matter where his passport and jump shot take him anywhere in the world.
And above all, the elusive NBA dream remains a constant.
"Most people would say it was darn near impossible to finally make the NBA at age 30," Shaw said Friday, while at home on a short basketball break.
"But really, I will be the only one not surprised when it happens. I know I don't have the raw talent, but over the years I kinda developed a swagger. I hope in the right kind of way that my work ethic and the talent God has given me will eventually result in me achieving this goal."
There are, of course, constant stories in the NBA about wasted talent and dreams destroyed.
Shaw is the flip side. As his collection of passport stamps indicates, he has wasted no opportunity in attempting to get there. Not even a deadly car bomb exploding just three blocks from his apartment in Beirut during a civil war in Lebanon sent him scurrying home to Fort Worth.
Shaw played that night in a game.
It would be easy to give it up. He has a degree in biology from Kent State, and for seven years, the NCAA has been holding a post-graduate scholarship in his name because of long-ago academic success at that school.
Shaw has thought of using that scholarship to enroll in medical school, and still might, just not now. Now is about the game, although he admitted that traveling the global basketball road has certainly caused moments where he thought of surrendering to the "real world."
There are strong family ties here in Fort Worth. His father is a teacher at Forest Hills Junior High, his mother works in the fast-food business. His sister, Ebony, was a star player at TCU and is now the girls basketball coach at Trimble Tech.
Then there are also solid ties in Ohio, where he was a star player who led Kent State into the Elite Eight of March Madness, plus was voted "Homecoming King" by the student body and was on the dean's list his final three years there.
Instead, however, of going home, he will be going away again. In the next couple of weeks, Shaw may be headed to Amsterdam. "Never played there," he said, laughing, or on his way back to Venezuela. As Donnie Nelson said, Shaw is in demand around the world, and these are good paying jobs.
Then again, about that dream.
Six weeks ago, Shaw caused headlines around the world. Actually, it was more worldly news than in the U.S. He established a FIBA record for most points in a game while playing for a team in the Mexico major league.
Seventy-four by a 6-3 point guard.
Thirteen threes and 13 twos. Seventy-four points in only 35 minutes. He had 50 at halftime and had missed just three shots.
By the next morning, the phone was ringing off the wall, mainly calls from friends around the world, but also from agents. Those agents were in contact with NBA teams.
The Pistons, Celtics and Grizzles showed an interest in bringing Shaw in for a final month of the regular season for a tryout. As of last week, the Pistons seemed like the best shot, and Shaw is hopeful that phone call will come.
In the past, Nelson has invited Shaw to play on several of the Mavs' summer teams, and has helped Demetric make international contacts.
Although Shaw has never been invited to an NBA training camp, Mavs assistant coach Mario Elie is an example of why the dream can take awhile. It took Elie six years to get an NBA invite, only after he played in several of the same foreign stops as Shaw.
"The main thing is, I love the game, and I'm having fun doing this," Demetric said. "No matter what happens, there won't be any regrets, and I can always say I've got friends all over the world."
For you travel agents out there, Shaw lists Australia and Venezuela as his two favorite countries, "mainly because of the sheer beauty of the landscape, and also with Australia, about the nicest people you will ever meet."
As long as the jump shot falls, the dream continues. Fort Worth's ambassador to the world is never without the next boarding pass.
The new Horace Jenkins?
By RANDY GALLOWAY
Star-Telegram staff writer
The Fort Worth roots still run deep, but the globe is his home.
Chasing the dream, living the life, playing the game, Demetric Shaw has become -- attention here, Mayor Moncrief -- the city's goodwill ambassador to the world.
Lebanon, Qatar, Australia, Venezuela, Colombia, Iceland, Poland, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Sweden.
Pick and roll, or give and go, Shaw has run the floor in all those countries, plus made a couple of D-League stops in the U.S.
No one in basketball is savvier about the international scene than Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson. "A class kid, and a good player," he said of Shaw on Friday.
Well, maybe "kid" no longer applies, age-wise. Shaw is 29, and will be 30 in September.
But the overachieving mentality and the strong work ethic he took out of Fort Worth Dunbar as a 1997 graduate still apply no matter where his passport and jump shot take him anywhere in the world.
And above all, the elusive NBA dream remains a constant.
"Most people would say it was darn near impossible to finally make the NBA at age 30," Shaw said Friday, while at home on a short basketball break.
"But really, I will be the only one not surprised when it happens. I know I don't have the raw talent, but over the years I kinda developed a swagger. I hope in the right kind of way that my work ethic and the talent God has given me will eventually result in me achieving this goal."
There are, of course, constant stories in the NBA about wasted talent and dreams destroyed.
Shaw is the flip side. As his collection of passport stamps indicates, he has wasted no opportunity in attempting to get there. Not even a deadly car bomb exploding just three blocks from his apartment in Beirut during a civil war in Lebanon sent him scurrying home to Fort Worth.
Shaw played that night in a game.
It would be easy to give it up. He has a degree in biology from Kent State, and for seven years, the NCAA has been holding a post-graduate scholarship in his name because of long-ago academic success at that school.
Shaw has thought of using that scholarship to enroll in medical school, and still might, just not now. Now is about the game, although he admitted that traveling the global basketball road has certainly caused moments where he thought of surrendering to the "real world."
There are strong family ties here in Fort Worth. His father is a teacher at Forest Hills Junior High, his mother works in the fast-food business. His sister, Ebony, was a star player at TCU and is now the girls basketball coach at Trimble Tech.
Then there are also solid ties in Ohio, where he was a star player who led Kent State into the Elite Eight of March Madness, plus was voted "Homecoming King" by the student body and was on the dean's list his final three years there.
Instead, however, of going home, he will be going away again. In the next couple of weeks, Shaw may be headed to Amsterdam. "Never played there," he said, laughing, or on his way back to Venezuela. As Donnie Nelson said, Shaw is in demand around the world, and these are good paying jobs.
Then again, about that dream.
Six weeks ago, Shaw caused headlines around the world. Actually, it was more worldly news than in the U.S. He established a FIBA record for most points in a game while playing for a team in the Mexico major league.
Seventy-four by a 6-3 point guard.
Thirteen threes and 13 twos. Seventy-four points in only 35 minutes. He had 50 at halftime and had missed just three shots.
By the next morning, the phone was ringing off the wall, mainly calls from friends around the world, but also from agents. Those agents were in contact with NBA teams.
The Pistons, Celtics and Grizzles showed an interest in bringing Shaw in for a final month of the regular season for a tryout. As of last week, the Pistons seemed like the best shot, and Shaw is hopeful that phone call will come.
In the past, Nelson has invited Shaw to play on several of the Mavs' summer teams, and has helped Demetric make international contacts.
Although Shaw has never been invited to an NBA training camp, Mavs assistant coach Mario Elie is an example of why the dream can take awhile. It took Elie six years to get an NBA invite, only after he played in several of the same foreign stops as Shaw.
"The main thing is, I love the game, and I'm having fun doing this," Demetric said. "No matter what happens, there won't be any regrets, and I can always say I've got friends all over the world."
For you travel agents out there, Shaw lists Australia and Venezuela as his two favorite countries, "mainly because of the sheer beauty of the landscape, and also with Australia, about the nicest people you will ever meet."
As long as the jump shot falls, the dream continues. Fort Worth's ambassador to the world is never without the next boarding pass.
The new Horace Jenkins?