AGENT ZERO“He’ll figure out what to hate us for,” said Eric Masselman, head coach of Sacramento, with caution before meeting with Washington on Thursday. Who better than Masselman to know what Arenas is capable of? It was under the leadership of Eric that Gil, who made his debut in the NBA, opened his eyes to experts and fans. Gilbert was not believed when he defended the colors of Arizona University, his talents were looked through his fingers, and one team after another ignored the optimistic sophomore draft 2001, until the Golden State decided to take the kid under modest number 31.
Then the “warriors” could only bite their nails: according to the regulations, the player selected in the second round signs a contract for two years, after which he becomes an unlimited free agent. It was possible to exceed the total ceiling of salaries only if the basketball player played for the team for at least three years. Because Gil went to Washington, where they offered $ 65 million for 6 years.
He is better off not giving extra motivation. Now he assures that he does not hold evil on the coach Mike d'Antoni and Nate Macmillan, who did not include Arenas in the final squad of the United States at the 2006 World Cup. May be. Only the promise to “ship” to “fifty dollars”, respectively, “Phoenix” and “Portland” (clubs headed by coaches), it seems, intends to keep. Not in vain, after all, he made 54 “sunny” on Friday, breaking the record for the Arizona team a series of 15 victories.
Arenas wears the number "0" on his shirt - as a reminder of how many minutes allotted to him unfortunate specialists. Agent Zero - the so-called Gilbert press, but since last week he has proposed the option Agent 60.
KOBE COULD LEARN“I never broke to the records. My previous personal achievement was 47 points scored in three quarters. I shouldn’t get anywhere, say, to 50 - it would be prettier. But there was no need for that,” Arenas assures.
December 18, when his Wizards fought against the Lakers, and the decision on the outcome of the match was drawn to overtime, Gilbert had no other choice. So last season, Kobe Bryant did, making sure that no one else on his team avoids losing to Toronto. Then Kobe scored 81 points. Now Gilbert is limited to 60 - this was enough to win.
There was another factor in the efforts of Arenas. A basketball player who grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles invited 85 (!) Friends and relatives to the game. “When I found out about this, I immediately felt something was wrong,” said Gilbert’s university classmate Luck Walton forward. “He is a real showman, you should expect something extraordinary.”
Surprisingly, such a beautiful achievement did not cause an admiration for the opponent. Bryant, who didn’t get right with the guardianship of the “Washington” leader, having bowed, remarked that Arenas had performed 27 free throws, while the owners - 30, that Arenas had made many unjustified throws, some of which flew into the ring only due to luck. And he assured that he would especially carefully prepare for the return match - in the US capital. “Did he really say all this?” Arenas was perplexed. “I don’t believe my ears. After all, I am his number one fan. Okay, he has achieved a lot and has the right to such words. So, we will prepare for a meeting in Washington.”
By the way, they say that Gil is studying video games at home in order to learn how the referees act - Kobe should learn, not complain.
GAME FOR FEELINGSWalton Jr. is undoubtedly right. Arenas, who can be considered the fastest basketball player in the NBA, gets the upper hand over rivals not at the expense of speed or excellent physical data. He relies on feelings that bring him confidence in himself, and tremendous performance, forcing him to train much more than others.
The pursuit of success is by no means the main thing that drives Gilbert. “Basketball is my outlet,” Arenas explains. “Not every man can afford to have an outlet. Women don’t understand that we don’t go cry to friends - stress is more likely to overtake us. For me, the best way to avoid them is to get the ball against rings in an empty room. When I have life difficulties, my teammates help me with trust and support on the floor, and they know that they can rely on me, no matter what happens. "
Arenas is now in third place in the league in terms of performance (29.1 points per match). Two years ago, he brought the capital club to the playoffs for the first time in many years, and last season he almost single-handedly defeated America’s hope LeBron James in the first round. And he still has everything ahead.
FATHERS AND SONSI wonder how often the leader of the “Washington” visits a psychologist? Or even a psychiatrist? Because there were a lot of experiences on his lot.
First, his father left his 18-year-old mother and went to college to study. Then the mother, having contacted the bad company, left the three-year-old Gilbert in the care of relatives, and they found the father, Gilbert Arenas Sr., and transferred the baby Gil to him.
The eldest, who did not work out a sports career, wanted to go to the actors, but for this he had to move with his seven-year-old son from Tampa to Los Angeles. Having traveled across America to the sports Mazda, his father could not get a job for a long time, and a family of two Gilbert Arenas spent the night in a parking lot. But the younger became a lifesaver in any situation. All adults fell in love with a pretty Gil, and his non-childish self-confidence instantly attracted attention ...
Last season, his mother spotted Gilbert at the match, “Miami” - “Washington”. He did not remember the face of a woman who called herself Mary Francis, but felt that she was not lying. Mother left the phone number, but Gil immediately admitted to his father that he would not call back. So far ... "I don’t blame her for anything, but I don’t think she is a close person," Arenas summarized strictly. But loved ones realized that he was shocked.
Gil and women ... Probably, "thanks" to his mother, he established a persistent disregard for the opposite sex. He cannot fall asleep in the same bed with a woman - therefore he often sleeps on a sofa in his own bedroom. Having parted ways with Laura Gowan, who worked for Sacramento, the Lakers, and Shaquille O'Neill, after moving from Auckland to Washington, Arenas found out that they would have a daughter. The child rights dispute, fueled by lawyers, but hidden from the public eye, made the basketball player turn into a secret agent, secretly rushing around the States for negotiations. In the end, everything was decided safely: Gil settled Laura and baby Isela Semaya in Northern Virginia - a three-minute drive from his house. He does not want to follow the example of his mother.
SEA, CINEMA AND BASKETBALLTo the question of a psychiatrist. Arenas never agrees to consider himself strange. He does not even agree to the harmless wording "not like everyone else." “What's so special about me?” Gilbert wonders. “Did I train the pit bull on the treadmill? Many do this. I stole his favorite sweater from Chris Mills’s house and went on a command plane in it? It was just a joke! I change the oxygen content in the house to the level of the Colorado mountains? It’s very clever! All Chicagoans, Richard Jefferson and Kwame Brown have already asked about this technology. Oh, yes, except for the shower! "
The story of how Gilbert during the break of one of the matches when he was a Golden State player washed himself in the shower because of dissatisfaction with the game of partners and went into the second half completely wet, the basketball player, perhaps, has nothing to beat.
And he has absolutely magical dreams. For example, Gilbert wants to hold a match on a small island in the middle of the ocean, where the audience will splash in the surf, swim on air mattresses or ride around the platform on a jet ski.
He wants to collect all the films and game shirts released on earth, and to arrange a museum of the latter in a basketball hall, completely built of glass. Gil also has a great idea for a commercial for Adidas that famously fits the slogan "The Impossible Doesn't Exist." Instead of throwing a game jersey to Washington fans as usual, he throws sneakers into the crowd. Fans start a brawl to get to the jewel, but the little girl picks up the shoes. She runs away, but in the corridor a boy in a wheelchair puts a bandwagon on her. He picks up the sneakers with the words "And someone said they won’t get to me. The impossible does not exist."
Perhaps dreaming, Arenas often pronounces this phrase.
Nikolai TSYNKEVICH