Cassell still big-time in NBA
Sam Cassell had game long before he came to Tallahassee.
What the fiery competitor didn't have when he arrived at FSU in the summer of 1991 was a motor-mouth. A non-stop engine stuck on warp speed motor-mouth.
Cassell, whose No. 10 jersey will be retired Thursday during a halftime ceremony at the FSU men's basketball game against Wake Forest, didn't develop his reputation as an all-world talker until after he left FSU.
"He wasn't that way at Florida State," said Doug Edwards, Cassell's teammate at FSU and, like Sam Cassell, a first-round NBA draft pick in 1993. "I don't recall him talking as much the way I see him talking now.
"I guess it's part of who he's become. I'm sure he's just trying to get into people's heads on the court."
It's more than that. It's the Baltimore native's personality in full bloom.
He can't help himself. At practice. On the plane. On the bus. In the locker room. Sam "I Am" Cassell is talkin'.
"He doesn't shut his mouth," Los Angeles Clippers teammate Chris Kaman told the Los Angeles Daily News . "Whether it's about basketball or life or whatever, he just has this constant blow of information coming out of his mouth."
Added coach Mike Dunleavy: "I don't even know what he's saying half the time he's talking to me."
Expect Cassell to say all the right things at the Civic Center on Thursday. The savvy shooting guard who led FSU deep into the NCAA Tournament — the Sweet 16 his first year, the Elite Eight the next — is humbled to have Florida State retire his jersey.
The last time he was in Tallahassee was 2004, when he was inducted into the FSU sports Hall of Fame.
"This is an honor. Never in my wildest dreams did I think the school would bless me with this opportunity," Cassell said during a telephone interview.
"If it wasn't for Doug Edwards signing with Florida State, Sam Cassell's jersey wouldn't be retired. Sam Cassell wouldn't be a number at Florida State.
"Doug Edwards was the guy who set the tempo for Florida State to get athletic recruits," Cassell added. "I came the next year, and it was history after that."
It was a new world for the Pat Kennedy-coached Seminoles. They switched from the Metro Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the superpower of college basketball leagues, at the same time Cassell arrived.
Their first ACC game was against North Carolina in Chapel Hill. To the astonishment of many, FSU won handily, 86-74.
In the locker room, Cassell described the Tar Heels' fans — where the student body was cloistered in the upper deck while alumni and season ticket holders were close to the court — as a "wine and cheese crowd."
It was an observation that was the talk of college basketball for weeks to come. It also led to North Carolina revamping its seating policy, moving the vocal student section to courtside much like at FSU, Duke and other venues.
"I think they should thank me for making that statement. It brought the student body close to the floor and gave them a home-court advantage," Cassell said. "I think I deserve an assist for that comment, don't you?"
The win in Chapel Hill was a key moment for FSU basketball. The university regarded as solely a football power proved it could compete in more than one sport.
It helped that a star football player, Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, was Cassell's backcourt running mate. Ward was also a first-round NBA draft pick, as was swingman Bob Sura, whose jersey was retired last year.
Tom Carlson, an assistant coach at FSU when Cassell & Co. chalked up 47 wins against 20 losses, was impressed that Cassell went out of his way to room with the straight-laced Ward.
"Everybody thinks of Sam as this colorful player, which he is," Carlson said. "We thought it was odd that he asked to room with Charlie, because Sam likes to enjoy himself and have a good time.
"But Sam knew this was his time to shine and go ahead and make his mark, and he wanted to be staying with Charlie because he knew he'd go to sleep at the right time. That's how important basketball was to Sam."
Amazingly, Cassell is still going strong in his 15th year in the NBA. He was drafted by Houston with the 24th pick of the first round in 1993 and proceeded to win two NBA championship rings with the Rockets.
He's now with his seventh team and has as a teammate former FSU All-American Al Thornton, a first-year player in the pro ranks. His longest stint was in Milwaukee, where Cassell, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson took the Bucks to the Eastern Conference finals in 2001.
Cassell's plan is to play one more year, then move to the sidelines as an assistant coach in the NBA. He's the subject of trade rumors — the Celtics reportedly are interested in him — as the league closes in on the All-Star break.
"My body is feeling good. That's the only reason I'm playing basketball besides the passion and love I have for it," Cassell said.
"I understand the mental aspect of this game. People think this game is all about how high can you jump, how well can you shoot. But the NBA is 80 percent mental. That's what's allowed me to play as long as I've been playing."
The week before Cassell and the Seminoles toppled North Carolina in their ACC debut, they played what was to become the last intra-city game between FSU and Florida A&M.
The record books show that FSU won the Dec. 7, 1991 game 2-0. A fight that turned into a brawl broke out, with a majority of the FAMU players ejected as a result.
Cassell was on the court when the first punch was thrown. His reaction: He immediately ran to press row, where he grabbed a writer’s pencil and turned to face the enemy. Carlson bear-hugged Cassell from behind the led him off the floor.
“You’ve got to understand: Sam was from Baltimore,” former FSU assistant coach Kenny Williamson said. “There’s a different code where he comes from. You either fight or take flight.
“I guess Sam was going to fight. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.”
And Sam Cassell lived to talk another day.
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