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Samr<br>
SpursCentral.com<br>
March 1, 2005<br>
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With the Spurs clinging to a marginal 4th quarter lead, Robert Horry turned around. After dribbling the ball around like a <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.weaselballs.com/weazel2.jpg">Weasel Ball</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->, he finally located the three-point line. Swish. It would take two of these to cement the Spurs’ win in the closing minutes of an 86-78 win. <br>
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While big shots are Horry’s forte, and his namesake, they are not what make him so valuable to the team. To any team. Robert “Big Shot Rob” Horry, is the team’s resident veteran. A piece understatedly crucial to any dynasty’s success.<br>
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The NBA is changing. It is getting younger. It is getting faster. It is becoming increasingly influential in everyday life. But in a league where high school seniors can make over $90 million before stepping foot on a basketball court, the game is also becoming ever more dependent on its veterans to lead the way.<br>
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“Veterans are just know how to skip the useless [stuff]. They’ve been around so long that the game just comes easy to them. They know what they can and can’t do, and they know how to do it. They’re efficient,” said Robert Hodge, former division III basketball player and high school standout. <br>
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That much, at least, is true. Horry used to be the athletic, agile small forward that helped lead the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers to NBA titles. As a Spur, he has become increasingly more effective in the low post, where he can block shots and use his size to grab rebounds and putbacks. <br>
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“Robert Horry is getting old, and he knows it. His body is wearing down, and he knows it. But the guy has been around so long that he knows how to get around it”<br>
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Horry, like most veterans, has done the best with what he has. When he isn’t fighting for a position in the post, or draining the occasional game-winner, he is teaching. He has turned himself into the rock wall the younger players can lean on. He has become a teacher on the Spurs. <br>
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Standing at the chalkboard, you don’t question their abilities. They know what they’re doing, because they’ve been where you are. They’ve done the dirty work, they’ve put in all the effort. They stand there, preaching new material and filling young minds with the tools they need for their future, as the weathered veterans. And if you ever get in a bind, stuck on a really hard problem, they will help you. With a game-winning three.<br>
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Said Robert Hodge, “You don’t question a veteran. They know their [stuff]. They’ve been there. They’ve done all that. You cannot build a solid team without one. They’re so good, their game is so developed, that they don’t have a downside. They’ve been around long enough to completely get rid of that, and when you need them, they’re the guys you rely on.”<br>
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Horry, like most veterans, is keenly aware of what he can and can’t do. In the final minutes of a crucial playoff game, that ability can make the difference between a huge win, and a devastating loss.
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"NEVER underestimate the heart of a champion." -Rudy Tomjanovich</p><i></i>
