SAM I AM.

By Migs

Say what you want about his physical appearance. The fact of the matter is, former Rocket, Celtic, Timberwolf, Maverick, Sun, and Buck Sam Cassell was one of the best clutch support players of all time.

Here's a little story I'd like to share about him.

As a kid (in the 1990s), I was a Utah Jazz fan. If you want to go back to when I was 3 feet tall, I was a Boston Celtics fan, primarily because of Larry Bird. I was not, by any means, a Houston Rockets fan. I did dig what Sam Cassell did on the hardwood, though.

He was vocal, and I found it fascinating that despite being diminutive in stature, he liked to post up, and was adept at creating space for himself on offense to get uncontested mid range jumpers. His mid range jump shot accuracy rivaled that of another Houston Rocket great, Calvin Murphy. I've got a bit of a bias for players who played things smooth on the perimeter. Dirk Nowitzki's my all time favorite cager, netting a tie for the plum with Larry Bird. Cassell played smooth, he played with grit, and yeah, he was a leader. I admired that about him.

My dad would often go on business trips to the United States in the 1990s, and an official function in the middle of that decade brought him to the East Coast. I can't recall what hotel it was, but then, he was billeted in one of those five star joints in the city. One afternoon, my father was relaxing in the lobby, when, in the distance, he saw a visibly tired African American man on seated in one of the corner seats, seemingly waiting for someone to arrive. That African American man was the Rockets' Sam Cassell. I'm guessing that he looked drained because the Rockets were in the midst of a long road trip, and that he had probably starred in one of those long, drawn out, games that had ended at around midnight the day prior. My didn't know that I was a Cassell fan, or that I wasn't a Rockets fan for that matter. He wasn't that familiar with the Rockets roster, either, but then, my dad knew that the man seated at the end of the hallway was an NBA cager. He later told me that he recognized that he was an NBA-er because he had remembered seeing an "alien looking fellow who played for the Rockets" on television.

I'm sure Cassell got teased a lot as a youngster (and maybe even later) because of his looks. As an NBA player, though, he let his game do the talking.

And so yes, my father nervously approached SAM I AM that afternoon and requested for his autograph. My father mentioned that I (his son) was a big fan and that he loved the NBA. Sam supposedly replied (wearily so, because he was tired) that he was happy to hear about that, and that he'd gladly give me my dad his autograph. Since my father did not have a decent piece of paper on hand, he asked Sam to autograph the back of his calling card.

I have since lost that autographed calling card, yet I remember how thrilled I was to have seen it when my dad showed it to me a day or two after he arrived back home in Manila. Sam's note to me read,

"To My Fan in the Philippines, Miguel

Thank you!

Sam Cassell"

The basketball fan in me shook with excitement at how one of those "big guys" I'd see on television actually acknowledged my existence. There existence as professional athletes seemed to be foregone conclusions, but mine, mine, an Asian kid from a third world country, didn't always seem to be worth half as much in the greater scheme of things. For that moment, it feel gratifying to have someone from the stratosphere, actually call me by name.

Sam Cassell has since retired, and brought with him 3 NBA titles, two with the Houston Rockets of the nineties, with the likes of Otis Thorpe, Clyde Drexler, Robert Horry, and Hakeem Olajuwon. He nabbed his last ring as a member of the Boston Celtics, the team which featured Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and yes, my favorite, Scot Pollard. Sam now work's as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards. John Wall's got a good mentor in Sam, and while Wall's career is only beginning to take form, he's already managed to display some of the on-court tenacity Cassell possessed during his playing days.

I, meanwhile, am still in the Philippines, and am still an erstwhile fan of basketball. I know that maybe, this little anecdote of mine is a grain of sand in the desert, but then, some grains of sand mean more in the others. Amongst a thousand grains of sand, there may be one or two of a varying hue- one or two that may be more brightly colored than the others. This tale, to me, is that bit of sand that got dipped in the "wrong" vat of paint. This story's made me ponder on the power public figures have, how the can shape perception and even alter the course of lives with the wave of a hand.

SAM I AM, from thousands of miles away, helped remind me that I was important, that I had an identity which I had the greatest of opportunities to mould and make whole, make solid.

If only Sam knew how his "small" gesture taught me a big lesson- that we owe the game (of life), and not the other way around, and that every breathing moment ought to be spent finding ways to give, and to inspire.

~0~