DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum ****Cleveland Cavaliers March Thread Part Duex****

Mike Brown just got tossed, and with real good reason. How that was a no-call on Mo's drive is ridiculous. I thought Brown was going to throw a punch at Danny Crawford.

refs treating kevin martin like dwade tonite...

horrific officiating tonite

Lebron just got whistled for 3 seconds while he had the ball

Glad I remembered this was on after I got home from work.

The last few minutes has been intense! Lebron putting on a defensive clinic and gets us to OT.

tough win tonight, i thought they were done when they fell behind by 12 but this team doesn't quit

woot

Great win

Get on the damn plane and LET'S GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These guys cannot keep doin' this crap...It's gonna catch up to em' against a Celts or Magic team...

What winning,

Great win!

10 games in the last 15 days, only two of them at the Q, and we go 8-2 over that stretch. That's incredible.

17 games left, only 5 more road games. Time to blow this thing wide open.

Hope no one has any shopping to do tonight, K-Mart is closed.

damn, what a year...

we have 8 of our next 9 at home and Boston has 6 of their next 8 on the road...

starts on Sunday with Larry Hughes and Co. making an appearance....

need to keep the urgency and stay focused... what's great is that we don't need to rely on anything to happen...

at this point, we pretty much control our own desiny in terms of East seeding

lb got jacked tonight, insert whatever term you want. he got mauled every time he went to the hoop.

the cavaliers will remember, harder screens, next time we see "nocioni", you dont forget that

We need to save some of these great come-from-behinds for the playoffs,...but they are sure fun to watch.

Defense...Or lack of is a major problem right now...

In Brown's presser he was pretty adimant about it over these 3 games...But he knows it's been goin' on for 3 weeks...We gotta get back to the energy level on D that's gotten us where we r right now...These guys know it...

Verajoa's like that pesty lil' fly that keeps swarmin' around ya'...U get so pissed and frustrated u can't smash em' u WHAM it and end up tearin' your ACL...Dude on the offensive end is non-stop till u get to half court...

they also played without 2 starters last night... any kind of a win when you are missing starters is a great win. even if it's against one of the worst teams in the nba. who by the way, came to play last night. it's not like we made them look good, they were just very good last night.

that's why i always say, get 'em early. win against the bad teams early, because at this point in the year, even the bad teams are better. they have no pressure, they can just go out and play. they aren't worried about seeding like we are, and unless they are like the 2002-2003 cavs, they have absolutely no reason to lose.

sasha made martin look really good

he makes bill cartwrights release look smooth..ugly ugly shot

Let's go Bucks...

56-50...5 to go in 3rd...

Bucks by eight with 4 minutes left

Done...Way 2 go Bucks...

3 up...

done deal?

yeah...the bucks beating the celtics

But...please, by all means...START THE COUNTDOWN!!

jc

Whats the magic number to clinch the #1 seed?

I hope Z's finger is ok... we are gonna need him on Tuesday nite

The countdown can commence

Good article about Chris Jent and LeBron James

In him LeBron trusts
Basketball has carried ex-Buckeye Chris Jent and his family around the world to his role as coach and confidant to the Cavs' superstar, but the trip has been far from smooth
Sunday, March 15, 2009 3:30 AM
By Mike Wagner

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

KYLE ROBERTSON | DISPATCH
Chris Jent watches LeBron James shoot before a Cavaliers' game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The assistant coach's relationship with James extends beyond games to late-night practice sessions and off-season time.


KYLE ROBERTSON | DISPATCH

KYLE ROBERTSON | DISPATCH
Chris Jent, left, talks to LeBron James about his shot selection during a game against the Grizzlies. Long hours spent in practice together has created a close bond between the two men.


CHRIS RUSSELL | DISPATCH
Jent shoots over Michigan's Chris Webber during an OSU game at St. John Arena in March 1992. Webber was Jent's nemesis that year.


KYLE ROBERTSON | DISPATCH
Chris Jent and his dad, Arnie. Arnie Jent routinely drove more than 1,000 miles to watch Chris' games when he played for Ohio State.

Multimedia

Audio slideshow: Chris Jent talks about coaching the Cavs


Photos: Chris Jent's timeline
LeBron James was in the practice gym, but most eyes, including those of the basketball king, were on the man with the pure, effortless shooting stroke.

The new guy for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, the one who rarely missed a three-point shot, wasn't even a player.

But he had something James wanted.

That something always seemed natural to Chris Jent, from his days playing neighborhood hoops in his small New Jersey town to games in Ohio State's St. John Arena to stops in countless steamy gyms on three continents.

"Seeing the way he could shoot the basketball, I thought 'maybe you could help my shot look like yours,' " James said. "From there, I gravitated to his work ethic, his honesty and genuine personality."

Jent endeared himself to Buckeyes fans with constant floor burns and a soft shooting touch as a player from 1988 to 1992, and he has done the same for the Cavs with his basketball IQ and passion.

But Jent's route to Cleveland was rarely smooth. It took him on a grueling tour of small European towns and offered the thrill of playing for a championship NBA team.

He is torn between duty and family. Basketball -- and his relationship with LeBron James in particular -- has at times caused tension at home.

The native of Sparta, N.J., became director of player development for the Cavs in 2006 and is a full-time assistant coach for the team tied for the NBA's best record.

He works tirelessly with all of the Cavaliers, and like other assistant coaches, he scouts opponents and sometimes runs team huddles during games.

But his relationship with James, one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet, extends far beyond his normal duties, late into most nights during the season and much of the off-season.

"In my situation, it's hard to trust people, but I trust Chris, and there is just this vibe between us," James said.

James' shooting has steadily improved, but Jent shrugs off credit for helping make the league's potential MVP even better.

"The amount of time he has put into being a better shooter is unreal," Jent said. "You can't imagine how hard he works at this. During the summer, it's just us alone in the gym with no other bull. He puts a lot of trust in me and I work hard for him. He's so young, but just having an honest relationship with someone appeals to him and I."

The basketball king's schedule often keeps Jent away from his wife, Alice, and their three children. Alice willingly shares her husband with basketball, and James, most of the time. But she has had her share of struggles, such as when she's alone with sick children, when she gave birth in a strange Italian city, and when she faced a life-threatening illness.

James calls when he wants unscheduled practice time on cold winter nights. And on hot July days, when James travels the country for commercials or appearances, Jent goes along to find suitable arenas for shooting. And James typically doesn't stop until he makes 400 shots under Jent's watch.

A demanding and unpredictable schedule isn't new for Jent, a basketball nomad since leaving Ohio State in 1992.

He played for obscure teams in the Continental Basketball Association, NBA teams and teams overseas. He won a championship ring with the Houston Rockets and served as an interim head coach with the Orlando Magic for 18 games.

Jent, 39, also coached high-school basketball and the fourth-grade travel basketball team of his son, Jimmy, when his family returned to the Columbus area in the summer of 2006. After that move, Jent finished his degree at Ohio State and was prepared to help Thad Matta's Buckeyes.

Then Cavs head coach Mike Brown called Matta and asked to borrow Jent for a few weeks -- a stretch that has turned into more than two years and a bright coaching future in the NBA.

"I can't explain in words what he has meant to our team," Brown said. "I think he is on track to be a head coach in this business, and we would be in trouble if we didn't have him."

OSU: no regrets
Jent's biggest nemesis, wearing baggy maize and blue shorts, swaggered onto the court to whisper a pre-game message to Jent, already soaked in sweat after warm-ups.

"You aren't going to score," said Michigan's Chris Webber. "Not a (bleeping) point tonight."

If any basketball game between Ohio State and Michigan ever lived up to the storied football rivalry, this was it.

It was the third meeting between Ohio State's experienced team and Michigan's five starting freshman, known as the "Fab Five."

But this time, the winner, in front of 23,000 fans in Lexington, Ky., would advance to the Final Four.

"It truly was hate and disdain between us -- at least for me it was," Jent said. "We really thought this was it: We are going to win this game and go on to win the national championship. This was why I stayed at Ohio State."

Jent, a prolific scorer in high school, picked Ohio State over Pitt, Seton Hall and others.

But he nearly left after averaging fewer than five points a game his freshman year. There were plenty of opinions about whether Jent should stay or go. Even his parents were split. His dad supported a potential transfer. His mom feared a worse situation elsewhere.

That summer, he returned to his hometown, and day after day, he greeted Sparta High School custodians Larry, Charlie or Norm, who unlocked the gym for Jent.

Alone on that high-school court, the one where Jent was made to be immortal, he decided that winning was more important than scoring.

"I felt like I wasn't doing what I had always done -- be a shooter," he said. "But it was either accept it or move on."

Jent accepted a role as a reliable secondary scorer and agreed to play out of position as a power forward facing the likes of Webber, who was four inches taller and 40 pounds heavier.

Less than two minutes into the game against Michigan in March 1992, Webber backed up his message to Jent by blocking his shot and knocking the ball into the third row. Jent, who had scored in double figures in 16 consecutive games, made only two of 12 shots.

His final chance for redemption came with the game tied and three seconds left.

A loose ball squirted directly to him.

Jent rose quickly and rushed a 10-foot baseline shot.

It looked good.

But glanced off the rim.

And the Buckeyes lost in overtime.

Jent cried harder than when his grandma died before his senior year of high school. He has never watched a replay of that game or that shot.

"I'm not going to lie, it still hurts," he said. "I have no regrets about my time at Ohio State. I loved my teammates. I just wish I had made that shot."

Born and saved abroad
A steady stream of smoke rose above the hospital as Chris and Alice Jent drove to their first appointment with the doctor who would deliver their first child.

The building looked more like a factory than a medical center.

It was common in Battipaglia and elsewhere in southern Italy to see people burning trash for lack of landfill space. But that wasn't comforting to a young American couple already leery about having a baby abroad.

"As we drove up, I was thinking, 'What in the world am I doing here with my wife and child?' " Jent said. "I was scared. Alice was scared."

This was the second of what would be eight overseas stops for the Jents. From 1993 to 2003, Chris played professional basketball five times in Italy and once each in Australia, Greece and Spain.

Each stop had its own wonder and excitement, but the Jents endured many sacrifices while starting over again and again.

"There were good times, but it wasn't all rosy," Alice said. "No place could really become our home."

Their son Jimmy was born in Battipaglia, southeast of Naples, despite their concerns about burning trash near the hospital. But that was far from the Jents' biggest scare in Italy.

Three years later, while living near Bologna in Imola, Chris boarded a bus for an away game while Alice and Jimmy were going to sleep. At about 2 a.m., Alice awoke to a violent seizure. Help arrived, but the seizures continued at the hospital.

A CAT scan revealed a brain tumor. Surgery two weeks later saved her life.

"Our lives where turned upside down, and to top it off, Chris suffered a debilitating ankle injury," Alice said. "He ended the season as broken as I was and on the bench."

Life-changing day
The car skidded off the interstate and rammed head-on into a tree, leaving Jent's father with seven broken ribs, a damaged heart, punctured lungs and other injuries.

Doctors at a hospital in Hartford, Conn., had little hope that 60-year-old Arnie Jent would survive.

Alice desperately tried to reach her husband to tell him that his father was fighting for his life. But Chris was coaching at a Pennsylvania basketball camp, and the mountains blocked cellular reception.

Alice's phone rang later that day, but it wasn't the person she expected.

It was Randy Ayers.

Chris' former coach at Ohio State had just been hired as head coach of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.

"I want to know what Chris is doing," Ayers kept repeating, almost giddy.

Chris was coaching high-school ball in Stamford, Conn., and Ayers was offering a chance to coach professionals. Alice didn't tell Ayers about Arnie's accident.

Chris' mom, Trish, later reached her son, and he raced to the hospital. Mother and son sobbed together in a corner.

About two weeks later, Chris and Alice packed for Philadelphia.

Arnie Jent, the man who instilled toughness in his youngest son, survived but never fully recovered. The man who routinely drove more than 1,000 miles with Trish and their daughter, Megan, to watch Chris' games at Ohio State, died about a year ago.

Chris, along with his brothers, Tim and Eric, and his sister each gave eulogies.

"Chris will call all the time and just say 'Ma, how you doing?' " said Trish, a school secretary in Sparta. "And I just start crying at the sound of his voice."

No. 23
Late-night shooting sessions with LeBron James had become routine seven months into Jent's new job with the Cavs. Then the basketball icon wanted to take their private workouts on the road all summer.

The first trip would start with shooting a commercial in Washington, D.C., before making stops in Vegas and Los Angeles.

"Are you sure this is what you want, for me to come with you?" Jent asked James as Alice cooked dinner one night.

"Yeah, you're my guy."

To Chris, it was both an honor and opportunity. To Alice, it felt as if her husband were being kidnapped -- again. And it couldn't have come at a worse time.

Alice had just given birth to their third child, they were selling their home in Powell and moving into a rental home in Cleveland.

"I had all kinds of names for No. 23 back then," Alice said.

"I needed my husband physically home with me. He would call Chris at night and say he was ready to shoot, and Chris would go back the arena for three more hours. And now he was taking him away from us in the summers. That was not a pleasant night for Chris and I."

This wasn't the first time a star player had grabbed hold of her husband. In Philadelphia, Allen Iverson turned to Chris for help. In Orlando, where Jent coached after Philadelphia, Grant Hill would call after a tough game while the Jents were eating dinner.

Alice still wants to see more of her husband, but she no longer resents James. In fact, she considers him part of the family.

"I really love LeBron, and I know he respects Chris," Alice said. "And it's hard for me to complain too much about Chris being gone when I know he is staying in places like the Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills and his brother, Tim (a major in the Marines), has dodged bullets during tours in Iraq."

Finding a home
Fans erupted and thrust up their arms after LeBron James drained a three-point shot that forced the Memphis Grizzlies to call time out. Teammates hit James with fist bumps, but Jent waited with a stare and a marker board.

The two men ignored the hoopla and huddled to plan how James could avoid being double-teamed and get open for the next shot.

"Chris will look LeBron in the eye and tell him something he may want to hear or something he may not want hear," coach Mike Brown said.

Before the Grizzlies game, Jent stood for hours feeding balls to any player who wanted extra shooting practice. Then, for about two hours, he played a three-on-three game with Cavs' players, with a focus on rookie J.J. Hickson. Jent guided the 20-year-old power forward to the proper spots while continuing to make shot after shot himself.

When their workout ended about 40 minutes before the game, Jent bounded off the court like a schoolboy.

A huddle of fans yelled his name and "Go Bucks."

The work with Hickson paid off: The rookie scored 10 points against Memphis and grabbed nine rebounds in one of his best games.

"Chris is always thinking, always working to make us better," James said.

For now, Jent is content with his role and doesn't want to give up the front row seat he has in James' life.

"Nearly every day, he does something that has you shaking your head," Jent said.

One of those moments came in practice the day before the Grizzlies game. Teammates shooting high-arching three-pointers landed one on top of a scoreboard above the backboard -- 16 feet up. About half of the ball was visible, and several players couldn't knock it lose with another ball.

About 60 feet away, James grabbed a ball, slung it underhand and popped loose the stuck ball.

"He could have at least taken three tries to do that to make it look like he is human," Jent said.

"I love where I am, and I can't imagine being in a better situation," he said. "I hope we are here in Cleveland forever."

Cavs fans hope No. 23 feels the same way.

Frenchy,

Thanks for posting that.... Great read!

Can he tell him to stop putting up so many threes when he only makes 1 out of 3 but is 70 % from the paint?

He may shoot the three too much but when he gets it going to it opens thing up for everybody else. He can do whatever he wants and it is fine by me. WIthout him the organization would be nowhere.

No reason to be rude,...I'm just not feeling it.

i do, it's a cleveland team that could win a championship.

i know the browns are still the favorites in the town. but the cavs are doing this city proud.

an nba championship is just as good as a super bowl win, in my eyes.

world series, super bowl, nba finals trophy, i'll take anything.

magic are hot in the 3rd, but it's a tight game.

LeBron with 6-0 run of his own to close out the 3rd.

Cavs down 75-72 after three.

Does anyone else watch the ESPN game cast on here? I swear recently they are getting things wrong on there. They will say LeBron or Mo miss a free throw when they actually don't. So I get all upset, then they change it to a make like 30 seconds later... It's quite annoying. Especially when the game is on the line and the FT's mean something!

EDIT: As I say this Mo misses two free throws. Arggh!