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No. 1 fan Pistons coach a sparkplug on the NBA award campaign trailPosted: Friday April 12, 2002 1:56 PMUpdated: Monday April 15, 2002 2:22 PM
In a unique marketing twist, Pistons rookie coach Rick Carlisle spent part of last week personally phoning over 150 NBA media members to lobby on behalf of his players for various individual postseason awards. Carlisle spent over three days on the campaign, which he claims was his own idea, to talk up the merits of Ben Wallace for Defensive Player of the Year, Corliss Williamson for Sixth Man, and Jerry Stackhouse for All-NBA. "My guys worked so hard for me this year, I just wanted to do whatever I could to support them," Carlisle said. That an NBA coach, in the midst of a busy playoff run, would go to such effort to help his players struck a chord among many media members. Carlisle even made return phone calls when he didn't hear back immediately (sorry, Rick, I was out of town) and left his cell phone number. Though he never once mentioned his own candidacy for Coach of the Year, we're guessing it didn't hurt his chances there either.
Stoudamire leads this year's prep-to-pros cropAmare Stoudamire, the 6-foot-10 prep phenom from Orlando, won't be the only high school player in this year's NBA Draft. Sources say anywhere from one to four other teenagers will declare, with DeAngelo Collins, a 6-9 small forward from Inglewood, Calif., reportedly getting close to making the jump.Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony, a 6-7 small forward from Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), says he still plans to attend Syracuse provide he gets the necessary score on his ACT test. Among this year's high school crop, Stoudamire is considered a clear top 10 prospect. Strong and powerful in the mold of a young Shawn Kemp, scouts like his NBA body and willingness to take the ball to the basket. However, he is still considered too raw to make an immediate impact. "He can rebound, and he runs like Bo Jackson," one NBA scout said. "But he's got almost no offensive skills. He just tries to run over people right now. He's clueless." Shaq admits kidney, liver concernsTwo years after swearing off anti-inflammatory medication because of poten tial liver and kidney complications, Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal admits he's back on the pain-killers. "I tried to stay off of them," O'Neal said, "but if I don't take them I really can't move or play."Like many NBA players, O'Neal says he stopped taking the meds after hearing about Heat center Alonzo Mourning's kidney problems. Though his recent battles with an arthritic big toe and sore wrist have changed his stance, he says he remains vigilant about monitoring the situation. For example, he recently had his liver and kidneys tested after feeling ulcer-like symptoms in his stomach. "I thought I had an ulcer. My stomach was messed up," he said. "[The test] came back OK. Not great, but it came back OK." Later, he added to reporters, "Your [organs] are probably great, because you probably don't take pain medicine. I've been taking it for 10 years. There's really nothing to worry about. … I don't see myself [playing] for more than five years, so I don't think about it."
Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
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Sports Illustrated's Marty Burns says Shaquille O' Neal is monitoring his kidney and liver levels because of the pain killers he is taking. 
