[外電] 土庫外傳

看板UTAH-JAZZ作者maxtail (伊利諾農夫魂)時間16年前 (2008/05/11 19:58)推噓17(17推 0噓 5→)

留言22則, 16人參與討論串1/1

Okur has lots to show for hard work 土庫外傳 Gordon Monson The Salt Lake Tribune In the parking lot adjacent to the Jazz practice facility on Saturday morning, among all the latest iterations of auto technology, custom paint, horsepower and 22-inch wheels, sat Mehmet Okur's baby. 在爵士訓練中心旁的停車場上，你很難不對那台閃閃發亮的高科技產品行注目禮。沒錯，那正是土耳其中鋒歐庫的心肝寶貝。 His scream-your-guts-out-yellow Ferrari F430, a sports car that runs from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, making it the third-fastest Ferrari road car ever, and costs somewhere around $200,000, give or take 50 grand. 那台讓你幹聲連連的黃色法拉利F430跑車正是他買的，由起步到時速100公里只需3.5秒，法拉利家族第三快，更別提它的要價是令人咋舌的600多萬台幣。 He keeps it garaged through the winter months, but when the pavement is dry and the sun shines bright, he breaks that sucker out and drives large. 雖說遇到雪季時這輛高檔跑車也只能被晾在車庫裡，但豔陽天時你絕對可以看到歐大個兒駕著它打你前面呼嘯而過。 "It's amazing car, my dream car," Okur said, standing inside the facility with a basketball in his hand, 12 hours after the Jazz's 104-99 win in Game 3 over the Lakers. 「這，就是男人的夢想哪...」歐庫的感動溢於言表。 "Hey . . . I asked my wife." 「嘿，我買這個可是有先徵得我家那隻母老虎的同意好唄！」他像是忽然想到似地趕緊強調一下。 Okur's wife would be Yeliz, a blow-your-doors-off-gorgeous model and former Miss Turkey, the mother of his beautiful 13-month-old daughter, Melisa. 歐太太葉莉又是一個會讓你幹聲連連的美人胚子，她以前可是得過土耳其小姐的咧。 Do you hate this guy's guts, or what? 這樣看起來豈非什麼好處都被歐庫給佔盡了，難道馬總統都不用負責嗎？ That's the funny thing about it, though, Okur is an easy man to like, even if he has a ridiculous excess of just about everything all men want, including a $50 million deal with the Jazz, and the game to back it up. 問題是你卻很難去討厭一個這麼好相處的土耳其人，雖然男人想的要的他似乎應有盡有，叫人咬牙切齒， — 喔，別忘了，他還有一張跟爵士的肥約呢！ "He's a positive person," said Andrei Kirilenko, a close friend. "His favorite thing to say is: 'Sure, why not?' He's a family man. He doesn't like to go out. He's funny, sarcastic. He's fun to be around." 「他是個超級樂天派，」他的摯友奇里蘭柯這麼說，「他最喜歡說的話就是："喔，好啊，有何不可？"」「他也很顧家，平常很少到處亂跑的啦！」「講話又好笑，跟他在一起都不會怕無聊耶～」 Aside from the chuckles, Okur's latest contribution to the team, a 22-point, seven-rebound effort on Friday night, was in line with other performances he's put up in the playoffs. 別看這個人笑笑的，他對球隊的貢獻可不少，上一場季後賽他才拿下22分7籃板，幫助球隊獲勝。 He's averaged 15 points and 12 boards in nine games, having become one of the Jazz's most consistent offensive options. 歐庫季後賽平均15分12籃板，是爵士最仰賴的進攻武器之一。 "I feel good the way I'm playing right now," he said, patting his bed-head and slumping his shoulders. 「老子現在狀況好得很。」歐庫習慣性撥撥頭髮聳著肩說。 Other than being tall, Okur hardly looks the part of the prototypical NBA big man, although it's better than it once was. He looks more like a middle-aged skater dude. 除了長得高，歐庫與我們對一般NBA長人的印象相去甚遠，事實上，他的外型看起來比較像是個來溜冰的中年阿伯。 Before he came to Utah in 2004 by way of free agency, when Okur first entered the league, playing for Detroit, columnist Mitch Albom gave one of the best descriptions of Okur: "He's either an old man in a young man's body or a young man in an old man's face. Appearances are deceiving with Okur. He is a rookie, but he looks like he could have four kids and a minivan. He's a strong rebounder, but his body looks like the 'before' ad for one of those muscle gyms." 早在他2004年以自由球員身份被猶他簽下之前，有個專欄作家就這麼形容過當時還在活塞的歐庫：「他要嘛就是青春的胴體裡住著公園阿伯的靈魂，」「要嘛就是只有臉長得臭老，跟他菜鳥的身份完全不搭，」「別被他無害的長相給騙了，他籃板搶得可兇咧，」「只是白白肥肥的活像是健身廣告裡那些"使用前"的肉腳罷了。」 The face is the same, the body is a notch better. 且不論長相，歐庫的身體是越來越粗勇了。 "When I first came here, I thought I was in shape," he said, "But I wasn't in Jerry Sloan-shape." 「剛來猶他的時候，我還以為我已經夠壯了，」歐庫說，「後來才發現我離史龍教練想要的"壯"還差得遠咧！」 Said Sloan: "That hurt him at the beginning. He had a tough time. But since he got in shape, he's been terrific. He complements Carlos Boozer because he can play outside. 教皇說：「當年一開始可真是苦了他啦，」「但他越變越壯，也就越能夠成為我的愛將，口桀口桀～」「他可以拉開到外線打，剛好跟那個騙人布湊一對。」 "He draws people out on the floor. That helps our spacing. But he's added more than outside shooting to his game. And he's rebounded well. He's smart. He's one of those guys who if you tell him something, he does it." 「當他把對手吸引到外圍，內線的空間就變大了，」「他外線的威脅性也是不容小覷的，搶籃板也不輸人，」「他是個聰明的傢伙，一點就通，而且會照做。」 Okur's learning curve has been steep for years. 顯然歐庫的學習曲線仍在急速上升中。 Growing up in Turkey, he spent his youth playing soccer, mostly goalkeeper, for various club teams. When he was 14, his growth plates expanded to exaggerated proportions, causing him to give basketball a try. He'd never played the game until that time. 少年歐庫比較常擔任的是足球的守門員，但14歲時身高驚人的他首次嘗試了籃球。 Bit by bit, his participation in soccer was eclipsed by his new pursuit. Always attempting to catch up with junior and eventually senior players who had much more hoop experience, Okur lived in the gym. Some days, between lifting and running, shooting and playing, he spent 12 hours undergoing new training. 漸漸地，他的偏愛轉移到了籃球上，他總是找比他高年級或有更多經驗的人對打，而且越來越不遜色，除了一般的訓練跟打球，有時候他甚至會花半天的時間來研究新的練習方式。 "I was first at practice and last to leave," he said. "I got better." 「練球的時候我總是最先到最晚走的。」歐庫說。 But, until much later, Okur was not a star player in Turkey. Playing for a number of different clubs, and eventually his country's national team, he was mostly relegated to a subordinate role. 歐庫在土耳其打過幾支球隊，雖然後來也進入國家代表隊，但始終不是明星主力球員。 "He plays the same style now as he did then," said Kirilenko, who faced Okur in a number of international competitions when Kirilenko was still playing in Russia. "He could shoot, but he added more range, more three-point shooting." 「他的打球風格一直沒什麼變化，」奇里蘭柯說，他們兩個曾經好幾次在國際賽上照過面，「他從前就是個射手，只是他的射程越來越遠。」 When Okur, who also played against the Lakers' Pau Gasol of Spain, made himself available for the 2001 NBA Draft, Detroit took him in the second round, with the 38th overall pick. After playing in Turkey for another year, he joined the Pistons and was on their NBA title team. 歐庫後來在2001年的NBA選秀會第二輪第38順位被底特律相中，不過他又回土耳其打了一年後才正式加入活塞並且幸運拿到冠軍戒。 But after Detroit signed Rasheed Wallace to a big contract in 2004, Okur went the free-agent route, coming to the Jazz for a lucrative six-year deal. 只是2004年在溪蛙與活塞簽下豐厚的合約後，歐庫回復了自由球員身份，隨即被爵士網羅，簽了六年合約。 He said he's grown up as a basketball player and as a man in Utah and wishes that he'd started his NBA career here. 作為一名籃球員，歐庫說他在猶他成長許多，如果能夠回到過去，他多麼希望自己的職業生涯是在此展開。 "This system made me All-Star," he said. "I understand Utah Jazz basketball. I work hard every day. Hopefully, I will stay here playing for a long time. I'm 29 soon. My life is good. I want to stay. My wife, she loves Salt Lake City. She thinks it's great place to raise a family. It feels good being a dad. My daughter, you just want to love her and hug her. It's great. The fans are great. I have great teammates. We want to stay a long time." 「是爵士的戰術體系讓我有機會成為全明星，」歐庫說，「為了深刻體會猶他戰術的精義，我每天都加倍努力，」「希望我能夠在這支球隊待很久很久，」「我快要29歲了，我對現在的生活很滿意，」「我老婆她也很愛這小城，她說這是個養兒育女的好所在啊，」「— 喔，說到小孩，我13個月大的女兒很可愛喔，」「你看到一定會想抱抱她，嘿嘿～」「阿爵球迷都超可愛的啦，隊友們也是，我們都想要在這裡落地生根耶～」 Even if the Ferrari stays garaged in the snow. 就算法拉利雪季時得關在車庫裡好幾個月，看來庫哥也不改其志唷。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 210.64.85.234 ※ 編輯: maxtail 來自: 210.64.85.234 (05/11 20:04)

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