NBA vet David Wood arrives on Saipan

The wait is finally over for basketball coaches and youth players hoping to take part in the clinic to be conducted by seven-year NBA veteran David Wood.

Wood, who played for the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and the Milwaukee Bucks, arrived yesterday and was at the Northern Marianas College later in the afternoon, prepping for the start of a three-day coaches clinic.

“We’re just coming here to promote character and basketball and try to help you guys go to the next level in basketball and as people,” he said during an interview. “We’re excited to be here. It’s an honor to be here on Saipan and we just feel like we’re suppose to be here and it’s going to be good time.”

Joining Wood in conducting the clinic are Dan Dix, Mike Brown, and Dick Dankworth, who was on island earlier in the year working with BANMI officials in organizing the clinic.

With many players losing touch with the many other important values of sports play, the clinic focuses on sending a positive message with regards to building character that will not only benefit players on the court, but off as well.

“We’re going to work hard,” Wood said. “We’re going to give the guys and gals in the group a good workout. We’ll talk to them about team characteristics that will help them win, about individual things about honesty, loving your neighbors, yourself, and doing to others as you want them to do to you. We’ll talk about emotional things, spiritual things, physical things…it’s going to be a well-rounded clinic.”

Dix, who serves as character coach, explained that a big focus will be on things of importance aside from just winning a game.

“Well in life, there’s character principles that we can learn on the court that transfers over into life so that’s what we’re going to be talking about. We want to help the kids be the best they can be. They have be committed to be the best they can be at all times, not only on the court but off the court,” he said.

“Sports is the closest thing emotionally to life. Your boss fires you, somebody cuts you off in traffic, something doesn’t go right with your wife or your husband. It gets into an emotional deal. How you handle yourself under pressure is really the key indicator to who you are at your core. It’s easy to live good when things are going good. So sports teaches you that not everything goes good and you got to play under adversity, under tough conditions. You’re not always feeling good. You got to find ways to fight through pain and adversity.”

The coaches’ clinic began yesterday and will conclude on June 3. The youth clinic will be held from June 5 to June 8. The deadline for registering for the youth clinic is today.

Organizers are urging those interested to register at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium or Marianas Health Services as over 200 of the 300 available slots have already been filled.

Players between the ages of eight and 12 years old will have the opportunity to enhance their fundamental skills of the game in the morning sessions, while players between the ages of 13 and 17 years will see action and receive instruction in the afternoon sessions.

The players will then have the opportunity to work on or showcase their newly acquired skills at the end of the clinic as it culminates with a championship tournament that will acknowledge merit and award merit.