This is from Grant Whal's recent interview with Freddy Adu (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/grant_wahl/01/16/adu.insider/index.html)--thought it was funny, but didn't merit posting in the soccer threads (sorry if it's out of place here). "Wahl: Who's the most interesting VIP you've met in the last few months? Adu: Probably Shaquille O'Neal. He said, 'Welcome to the big leagues. I wish you good luck, and I can't wait to see you play.' When I met him, he came out doing stepovers. Wahl: With a basketball? Adu: It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. You see this big dude come out with a basketball doing stepovers. It was hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. I thought he was going to slip and fall, but the guy held his own." Who knew Shaq knew what a stepover was, let alone could do one.... More on topic: thank god he didn't hurt his toe......
haha Believe it or not, the NBA has a bunch ex-soccer players. Kobe said soccer helped him achieve the agility that he has.
Hakeem Olajuwon played soccer in his youth before he took basketball seriously. http://nba.com/uk/british_players.html Steve Nash could just as easily have become a premiership soccer star as join the NBA. His father John played professional football in England and South Africa and his brother Martin now plays in the Scottish Premier Division. The family emigrated to Canada where Nash excelled in many sports but chose to focus on basketball in order to be able to play sport with his friends.
His brother played for the Impact in the A-League last season. http://www.montrealimpact.com/players_detail.asp?joueur_id=55