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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12625922p-13479802c.html
Skinner brings a new spirit to Sacramento
Languishing on the bench in Philadelphia, he has become a force in the middle with the Kings.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, March 26, 2005
"Joy comes in the morning."
The scribbled scripture is written on the size-20 shoes of Brian Skinner, a passage reminding the spiritual 28-year-old that every day is anew.
A new start, a new chance to show the world what you're about, a revival like the one he's experiencing in Sacramento.
Skinner becoming a King has brought something new for both sides. And since the six-player trade that sent him from the Philadelphia 76ers to Sacramento on Feb. 23, his cup of joy has runneth over.
To the Kings and their followers, Skinner is truly a godsend - that physical presence in the post they've been lacking for so long, and a saving grace after the broken left fibula of center Brad Miller likely ended his regular season March 12. To Skinner, Sacramento is just as welcome, the rare place where his abilities are being put to use rather than put to the bench.
An NBA journeyman with a mostly frustrating journey, Skinner has averaged 2.14 blocks in 14 games with Sacramento, entering rare territory for Kings players. Since the franchise turnaround in 1998, only Chris Webber has averaged more than two blocks per game - 2.12 in 1998-99.
Skinner, the all-time blocks record holder at Baylor who has spent six-plus seasons with five teams, might well be the long-lost twin of vaunted Detroit Pistons shot-blocker Ben Wallace. Both are among the NBA's shortest starting centers at 6-foot-9, both boast the bodies of a pro wrestler, and both hold the deed to all real estate below the hoop.
To new beginnings, for Skinner and the Kings.
"No matter what you deal with, no matter what situations come up, or what you encounter during that day, there's always something to look forward to the next day," said Skinner, who is also averaging 9.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 29.9 minutes. "Every day is a fresh start."
But in the inspirational writing on his sneakers, Skinner leaves out the first part of the passage. In its entirety, the sentence in Psalms 30 reads "Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning."
And after spending the last month taking a city by surprise, Skinner's omission should surprise no one.
Does he look like the crying type?
Skinner has been tearless at every stop on his NBA tour. There was no crying in Los Angeles, where the Clippers rested their hopes on the shoulders of top pick and Pacific product Michael Olowokandi, while Skinner (22nd overall pick that year), was either injured or ignored on the bench for three seasons.
His eyes stayed dry in Cleveland, where his body was right but the fit was not. He was more mystified than misty in two separate stints in Philadelphia, where coaches Chris Ford and then Jim O'Brien started Skinner just nine times in the 101 games he played.
Skinner refused to whine, a lesson he learned early.
Before the bulging biceps emerged along with his NBA talent, Skinner was a gangly 6-1 teenager at Temple High School in Texas. After playing point guard in middle school, Skinner didn't enjoy the heavy workload that came at the prep level. He was taller than most of his teammates by then, meaning a move to the paint. But Skinner was far from fierce, a third-stringer on the freshman "B" team.
Then-Temple coach Harry Miller saw promise in the muscleless lad. His main concern was one that seems absurd nearly 15 years later: Skinner was a softy.
So Miller called in Skinner's mother, Gladys, to settle the problem. During their meeting, the coach handed the mother a pair of scissors and said, "These are to cut the apron strings away from Brian." The other directive: ignore her son's "crying and moaning and complaining about how tough coach Miller is being," as Miller told the Kansas City (Mo.) Star in 1997.
"He saw a bigger picture than what I saw," Skinner said. "As a freshman, I wasn't thinking about college, wasn't thinking professional, wasn't thinking anything else but to play and give it a shot. That was the first time I was competitive."
But not the last. Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said Skinner's production last season with the Milwaukee Bucks is what eventually landed him in Sacramento.
Petrie believed Skinner could become a force, bringing much-needed defensive help and the ability to score. Skinner averaged 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.09 blocks as a Buck, then was traded to Philadelphia.
"He had a really terrific year in Milwaukee, and it looked like he was really starting to emerge," Petrie said. "Then for whatever reason, he wasn't getting time. Part of (the trade) was to bring some depth, versatility to our front line. ... He's done a fantastic job for us. And with Brad's injury, I don't know where we'd be now if we hadn't gotten him."
Skinner's influence on the Kings has been noticed by other NBA players, most recently Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki.
"I think they're tougher (since trading Webber)," Nowitzki said after the Kings' 109-101 victory Thursday night at Arco Arena. "They're a lot more physical."
Kings coach Rick Adelman has longed for someone like Skinner since Keon Clark left, insisting the new center would have received playing time even if Miller hadn't been hurt.
"We've never had a guy like (Skinner)," Adelman said. "We really didn't know what he was going to bring. But I think he's surprised everybody, because he hadn't played at all, and we didn't know why."
Nor did Skinner. But rather than collect a work-free paycheck in Philadelphia, he only prepared more. Skinner came to the Kings in shape, bulked up from weight lifting and and capable of playing big minutes.
"Brad gets hurt, and suddenly there's a golden opportunity to play 35-36 minutes a game," Adelman said. "I give (Skinner) credit for staying in shape."
Short of playing near his family in Texas, Skinner said Sacramento is as good a place as any for his new start. His two daughters live with his ex-wife in Houston, and Skinner has written their names - Avery and Madison become "Ave" and "Madi" for short - on his shoes next to the Psalms 30 passage. His parents are still in Temple, where Gladys is an endocrinologist and James works in a neurology department. Skinner is here, drawing joy from basketball like he hasn't in some time. "I try to live one day at a time," Skinner said. "It's a job, and it's still a bit new being here, with all the friends and family you have (elsewhere). You ship up and move somewhere else, it's a little different. I think it'll be a good fit, but you just have to play your cards as you go."
Skinner brings a new spirit to Sacramento
Languishing on the bench in Philadelphia, he has become a force in the middle with the Kings.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, March 26, 2005
"Joy comes in the morning."
The scribbled scripture is written on the size-20 shoes of Brian Skinner, a passage reminding the spiritual 28-year-old that every day is anew.
A new start, a new chance to show the world what you're about, a revival like the one he's experiencing in Sacramento.
Skinner becoming a King has brought something new for both sides. And since the six-player trade that sent him from the Philadelphia 76ers to Sacramento on Feb. 23, his cup of joy has runneth over.
To the Kings and their followers, Skinner is truly a godsend - that physical presence in the post they've been lacking for so long, and a saving grace after the broken left fibula of center Brad Miller likely ended his regular season March 12. To Skinner, Sacramento is just as welcome, the rare place where his abilities are being put to use rather than put to the bench.
An NBA journeyman with a mostly frustrating journey, Skinner has averaged 2.14 blocks in 14 games with Sacramento, entering rare territory for Kings players. Since the franchise turnaround in 1998, only Chris Webber has averaged more than two blocks per game - 2.12 in 1998-99.
Skinner, the all-time blocks record holder at Baylor who has spent six-plus seasons with five teams, might well be the long-lost twin of vaunted Detroit Pistons shot-blocker Ben Wallace. Both are among the NBA's shortest starting centers at 6-foot-9, both boast the bodies of a pro wrestler, and both hold the deed to all real estate below the hoop.
To new beginnings, for Skinner and the Kings.
"No matter what you deal with, no matter what situations come up, or what you encounter during that day, there's always something to look forward to the next day," said Skinner, who is also averaging 9.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 29.9 minutes. "Every day is a fresh start."
But in the inspirational writing on his sneakers, Skinner leaves out the first part of the passage. In its entirety, the sentence in Psalms 30 reads "Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning."
And after spending the last month taking a city by surprise, Skinner's omission should surprise no one.
Does he look like the crying type?
Skinner has been tearless at every stop on his NBA tour. There was no crying in Los Angeles, where the Clippers rested their hopes on the shoulders of top pick and Pacific product Michael Olowokandi, while Skinner (22nd overall pick that year), was either injured or ignored on the bench for three seasons.
His eyes stayed dry in Cleveland, where his body was right but the fit was not. He was more mystified than misty in two separate stints in Philadelphia, where coaches Chris Ford and then Jim O'Brien started Skinner just nine times in the 101 games he played.
Skinner refused to whine, a lesson he learned early.
Before the bulging biceps emerged along with his NBA talent, Skinner was a gangly 6-1 teenager at Temple High School in Texas. After playing point guard in middle school, Skinner didn't enjoy the heavy workload that came at the prep level. He was taller than most of his teammates by then, meaning a move to the paint. But Skinner was far from fierce, a third-stringer on the freshman "B" team.
Then-Temple coach Harry Miller saw promise in the muscleless lad. His main concern was one that seems absurd nearly 15 years later: Skinner was a softy.
So Miller called in Skinner's mother, Gladys, to settle the problem. During their meeting, the coach handed the mother a pair of scissors and said, "These are to cut the apron strings away from Brian." The other directive: ignore her son's "crying and moaning and complaining about how tough coach Miller is being," as Miller told the Kansas City (Mo.) Star in 1997.
"He saw a bigger picture than what I saw," Skinner said. "As a freshman, I wasn't thinking about college, wasn't thinking professional, wasn't thinking anything else but to play and give it a shot. That was the first time I was competitive."
But not the last. Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said Skinner's production last season with the Milwaukee Bucks is what eventually landed him in Sacramento.
Petrie believed Skinner could become a force, bringing much-needed defensive help and the ability to score. Skinner averaged 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.09 blocks as a Buck, then was traded to Philadelphia.
"He had a really terrific year in Milwaukee, and it looked like he was really starting to emerge," Petrie said. "Then for whatever reason, he wasn't getting time. Part of (the trade) was to bring some depth, versatility to our front line. ... He's done a fantastic job for us. And with Brad's injury, I don't know where we'd be now if we hadn't gotten him."
Skinner's influence on the Kings has been noticed by other NBA players, most recently Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki.
"I think they're tougher (since trading Webber)," Nowitzki said after the Kings' 109-101 victory Thursday night at Arco Arena. "They're a lot more physical."
Kings coach Rick Adelman has longed for someone like Skinner since Keon Clark left, insisting the new center would have received playing time even if Miller hadn't been hurt.
"We've never had a guy like (Skinner)," Adelman said. "We really didn't know what he was going to bring. But I think he's surprised everybody, because he hadn't played at all, and we didn't know why."
Nor did Skinner. But rather than collect a work-free paycheck in Philadelphia, he only prepared more. Skinner came to the Kings in shape, bulked up from weight lifting and and capable of playing big minutes.
"Brad gets hurt, and suddenly there's a golden opportunity to play 35-36 minutes a game," Adelman said. "I give (Skinner) credit for staying in shape."
Short of playing near his family in Texas, Skinner said Sacramento is as good a place as any for his new start. His two daughters live with his ex-wife in Houston, and Skinner has written their names - Avery and Madison become "Ave" and "Madi" for short - on his shoes next to the Psalms 30 passage. His parents are still in Temple, where Gladys is an endocrinologist and James works in a neurology department. Skinner is here, drawing joy from basketball like he hasn't in some time. "I try to live one day at a time," Skinner said. "It's a job, and it's still a bit new being here, with all the friends and family you have (elsewhere). You ship up and move somewhere else, it's a little different. I think it'll be a good fit, but you just have to play your cards as you go."
