No Regrets for Bender
Dec 30 2009 2:21PM
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Jonathan Bender has been a "Godsend" for head coach Mike D'Antoni and the Knicks.
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No regrets. That was the motivating factor behind Jonathan Bender’s recent comeback to the NBA after a four-year absence due to chronic knee problems.
“I’m my biggest critic,” Bender stated before a recent game. “I knew I was going to try again. I said to myself, ‘I know I’m done but let me make sure I’m done. If I try again and can’t do it then I can live with that.’”
Despite his age, Bender had few critics when he applied for the early entry to the 1999 NBA Draft out of Picayune High School in Mississippi. The 6-foot-11 forward had a stellar senior season for the Maroon Tide, averaging 23.1 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in his final high school campaign. And on the biggest stage for high school basketball players -- McDonald’s High School All-America game – Bender scored 31 points, besting the record set by Michael Jordan in 1981 by one point.
With his accomplishments and basketball acumen, the Toronto Raptors used the fifth overall pick in the 1999 draft on Bender. His draft rights were later traded to the Donnie Walsh-led Indiana Pacers.
The injury bug hit Bender beginning in his rookie NBA season when he suffered a broken bone in his wrist and missed 18 games. His knee problems began prior to the 2003-04 season when he had offseason surgery and missed the first 39 games of that season. Bender would go on to only play seven games in 2004-05 and two in 2005-06 before taking leave from the NBA to deal with his persistent knee problems.
“That first year I blocked it all out,” Bender said of his first year away from the NBA. “I didn’t watch ball I just rested. The second year I started working out and making sure my body kept up.”
Bender wasn’t able to stay that far from the game he loved. He would often play pick-up games with his cousin Morris Peterson of the New Orleans Hornets. “Mo Pete” encouraged Bender to attempt a comeback.
“He said, ‘come on and try it again,’” Bender remembers. “I already knew I was working on getting back anyway.”
It was around this time that Bender got in touch with Olympic high jump gold medalist Charles Austin. Austin applied training techniques that world class track and field athletes employ to his basketball workouts. Bender credits Austin’s approach for relieving the pressure on his knees.
Being physically ready for a return to the NBA was first big hurdle for Bender to overcome but the second was to get NBA teams interested in his abilities again. Bender posted a message on the Web site Rawskills.com -- a business venture he was working on while he was away from the game -- that he was considering a return to the league and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“Once I did that I started getting a lot of press and different teams began contacting my agent,” he said.
But Bender was most interested in working for his former boss in Indiana.
“I always loved Donnie as a business man and a person, so I came [to New York] and talked with him,” Bender said of the Knicks President of Basketball Operations. “He said whenever I felt like I was ready to give it a try to make sure I call him first. That’s what I did.”
His long absence from the game notwithstanding, Walsh felt signing Bender was worth the gamble.
“I do know Jonathan’s talent level and the kind of guy he is so I thought if we are going to take a chance, let’s take a chance on a guy like this,” Walsh said. “Jonathan’s a good basketball player.”
Bender showed just how good of a basketball player he is in his first game back on Dec. 18 against the Los Angeles Clippers. With under three minutes to go in the first quarter, head coach Mike D’Antoni scanned his bench and point in the direction of Bender to enter the game.
“We discussed before the game that I was going to get in the mix that night to see how it felt,” Bender said of his pregame conversation with D’Antoni. “So when he called my name I was ready.”
Bender wasted little time getting in the mix. The Knicks first trip down the floor, Bender saw a seam inside and drove to the basket for his first NBA point since the 2005-06 season. The next possession Bender pulled up from behind arc to show his 3-point range. He would finish that game with nine points in 14 minutes of action.
“I was a little nervous,” Bender said with a smile, thinking back on his first game, “but you have to put all that behind you and play.”
Two nights later Bender would shake off more rust and butterflies against the Charlotte Bobcats with an 11-point effort in 15 minutes of play. With his comeback not even a month old, Bender has already impressed his new bench boss. D’Antoni likes the versatility Bender brings to the Knicks as well as his size and defensive prowess. The Knicks head coach even went as far as to say it’s a “Godsend” for a coach to have a player like Bender on his roster.
“Jonathan Bender has added something different,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I do want to see where that goes. The potential is there for this year, next year or whatever, and you have to explore it. I’m just ready to keep expanding his minutes.”
Only time will tell what the future holds for Jonathan Bender but for now he is happy knowing at present it involves life back in the NBA.
“I’m my biggest critic,” Bender stated before a recent game. “I knew I was going to try again. I said to myself, ‘I know I’m done but let me make sure I’m done. If I try again and can’t do it then I can live with that.’”
Despite his age, Bender had few critics when he applied for the early entry to the 1999 NBA Draft out of Picayune High School in Mississippi. The 6-foot-11 forward had a stellar senior season for the Maroon Tide, averaging 23.1 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in his final high school campaign. And on the biggest stage for high school basketball players -- McDonald’s High School All-America game – Bender scored 31 points, besting the record set by Michael Jordan in 1981 by one point.
With his accomplishments and basketball acumen, the Toronto Raptors used the fifth overall pick in the 1999 draft on Bender. His draft rights were later traded to the Donnie Walsh-led Indiana Pacers.
The injury bug hit Bender beginning in his rookie NBA season when he suffered a broken bone in his wrist and missed 18 games. His knee problems began prior to the 2003-04 season when he had offseason surgery and missed the first 39 games of that season. Bender would go on to only play seven games in 2004-05 and two in 2005-06 before taking leave from the NBA to deal with his persistent knee problems.
“That first year I blocked it all out,” Bender said of his first year away from the NBA. “I didn’t watch ball I just rested. The second year I started working out and making sure my body kept up.”
Bender wasn’t able to stay that far from the game he loved. He would often play pick-up games with his cousin Morris Peterson of the New Orleans Hornets. “Mo Pete” encouraged Bender to attempt a comeback.
“He said, ‘come on and try it again,’” Bender remembers. “I already knew I was working on getting back anyway.”
It was around this time that Bender got in touch with Olympic high jump gold medalist Charles Austin. Austin applied training techniques that world class track and field athletes employ to his basketball workouts. Bender credits Austin’s approach for relieving the pressure on his knees.
Being physically ready for a return to the NBA was first big hurdle for Bender to overcome but the second was to get NBA teams interested in his abilities again. Bender posted a message on the Web site Rawskills.com -- a business venture he was working on while he was away from the game -- that he was considering a return to the league and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“Once I did that I started getting a lot of press and different teams began contacting my agent,” he said.
But Bender was most interested in working for his former boss in Indiana.
“I always loved Donnie as a business man and a person, so I came [to New York] and talked with him,” Bender said of the Knicks President of Basketball Operations. “He said whenever I felt like I was ready to give it a try to make sure I call him first. That’s what I did.”
His long absence from the game notwithstanding, Walsh felt signing Bender was worth the gamble.
“I do know Jonathan’s talent level and the kind of guy he is so I thought if we are going to take a chance, let’s take a chance on a guy like this,” Walsh said. “Jonathan’s a good basketball player.”
Bender showed just how good of a basketball player he is in his first game back on Dec. 18 against the Los Angeles Clippers. With under three minutes to go in the first quarter, head coach Mike D’Antoni scanned his bench and point in the direction of Bender to enter the game.
“We discussed before the game that I was going to get in the mix that night to see how it felt,” Bender said of his pregame conversation with D’Antoni. “So when he called my name I was ready.”
Bender wasted little time getting in the mix. The Knicks first trip down the floor, Bender saw a seam inside and drove to the basket for his first NBA point since the 2005-06 season. The next possession Bender pulled up from behind arc to show his 3-point range. He would finish that game with nine points in 14 minutes of action.
“I was a little nervous,” Bender said with a smile, thinking back on his first game, “but you have to put all that behind you and play.”
Two nights later Bender would shake off more rust and butterflies against the Charlotte Bobcats with an 11-point effort in 15 minutes of play. With his comeback not even a month old, Bender has already impressed his new bench boss. D’Antoni likes the versatility Bender brings to the Knicks as well as his size and defensive prowess. The Knicks head coach even went as far as to say it’s a “Godsend” for a coach to have a player like Bender on his roster.
“Jonathan Bender has added something different,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I do want to see where that goes. The potential is there for this year, next year or whatever, and you have to explore it. I’m just ready to keep expanding his minutes.”
Only time will tell what the future holds for Jonathan Bender but for now he is happy knowing at present it involves life back in the NBA.
