Fred Gibson Finishes the Drill

As they used to say back when I was in school, "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!"

I think it's great that Gibson kept pushing, kept striving, persevered through disappointments, and completed his degree. Congratulations to him.

Love to see the good news about athletes after graduation. There are plenty of opportunities to stumble, and plenty of articles written when players succumb. Hat's off to the AJC for writing an article that casts a former athlete in a positive light.

Gibson

I'll say this, too. One of the reasons why I appreciate Mark Richt is because he does in fact stress more than wins and losses. I know that we hire a coach to win ball games. I love to win just as much as the next guy. But it's a bigger failure to win championships and lose young men. Cutting guys loose after they're injured, or because they've been supplanted at the top of the depth chart. Leaving them with no chance for a degree and no tools to manage life.

Whatever the team's record, the fact remains that as individual student athletes we only play ball for a short time. Our greatest achievements do not lie in the school records or championship rings, whether we have them or not, but who we are as people after we hang up our cleats or sneak's. It's as Fred Gibson has found, what truly matters is the "more", the "life after football", and the care that we give to our five year old daughter or others who look up to us and rely upon us.

As one friend once said, "success is finding out what God wants you to do and doing it with all your heart." I wish Gibson well as he racks up other milestones along life's journey.

Thanks, Fred Gibson, for representin'. Thanks, too, coaches, for those of you who inspire us to stick with it, finish strong, and be excellent in whatever our fields of endeavor. Go Dawgs!

Two Sport Athletes: Response to Philip

I was going to post this response to Philip and leave it in the comments section on the article on Nick Marshall. Then I thought that I should go ahead and post it, since more readers will see it and perhaps join the discussion.

At any rate, I want to thank Philip for responding to the challenge of naming guys who have played both football and basketball, and were "contributors," which I arbitrarily defined as scoring more than 5 points per game. Philip offered Reggie Love from Duke, and Julius Peppers of UNC as examples.

Reggie Love works at the White House so his is a name in the news these days. My objection to Reggie Love as an example of a contributing 2-sport guy is that he averaged 1 point and 1 rebound per game. Since he did start a few games for the team, and the team is Duke, then Love gets some extra credit, I suppose.

Julius Peppers did not play basketball his red-shirt year, but he did play hoops in two out of his four years. He last played basketball ten years ago, 2000/2001, averaging 7 points per game. After that season, however, Peppers felt he had to concentrate on one sport. He ended up giving up hoops for football.

Charlie Ward was drafted by the NBA, NFL, and MLB in the early nineties. Tony Gonzalez played a couple of years of basketball. Different situation entirely, but Kenny Lofton did play basketball and baseball at a high level back in the late eighties.

Closer to home, Georgia had Larry Brown in the late nineties, Fred Gibson and then Quentin Moses eight years or so ago. Moses didn't contribute much in basketball. He was all-SEC in academics, so he may have chosen to focus more on his studies. Besides, he played during that weird time just when Harrick was on his way out and Felton was brought in. Gibson scored just 5 points a game, but he helped out in a memorable win over Florida. Larry Brown had his moments, too, but I probably need some help from other fans who remember how many points per game he averaged.

Any others? Who did I miss? Is the football/basketball two-sport athlete at the college level rare or fairly common? Will Marshall successfully play both? What do you think? Help us out here.

Fred Gibson Career Contrasted

Interesting article from the NY Times.

None of us can play sports forever. Sometimes we stop at junior high, high school, church league, intramurals or even Division I college competition. Even if we get to the the pro's, there's no guarantee of a lengthy stay.

The attached article contrasts two players who in fact made it to the highest levels. But only one was able to find a fit for the long term.

Fred Gibson and Chris Canty were drafted together, Gibson going one pick before Canty. The above article notes that Fred didn't stay in the pro's and make the big money, while Canty is still playing and being paid very well.

While I may be the only one who thinks this way, one of the key elements of the article, one that might be missed, is whether you keep going in life. Are you going to let the disappointments throw you off course or will you tackle the next assignment to the best of your ability?

Both men have kept going, overcoming obstacles. One faced injuries and recovered to make a career with his football skills. The other worked really hard to make it in the League. When that didn't work out in the way he had hoped, he didn't stop moving, but instead came back to school to get his degree.

I take my hat off to Fred Gibson. Finishing the drill.

Fred Gibson Released

by the Austin Toros. The move by the Toros was made to get the team down to its roster for starting the D-League season.

Is this the end of Gibson's career in professional sports?

Freddie In, Ezra Out

Fred Gibson is on the roster for the Austin Toros of the NBA's D-League this year. He played almost all of last year with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, but joined the Toros very late in last year's season, and did not score any points.

Followers of the Blog will remember that Ezra Williams played for the Austin Toros for more than one year. Williams is not listed as a returning player for the 2009/2010 season.

Fred Gibson released by Albuquerque

Happened right at a month ago. I have not seen if Gibson has been picked up by any other team. I'll look around and find out what I can.

Fred vs. Ezra

Fred Gibson's Albuquerque Thunderbirds squared off Saturday night against Ezra Williams' Austin Toro's, and it turned out to be another great game.

Ezra Williams played more minutes and won the statistical battle. He had 11 points and 4 rebounds in 25 minutes. Fred Gibson played 15 minutes and scored 6 points with 2 rebounds.

Ezra won where it really counted, as the Toro's edged the Thunderbirds in overtime, 125 to 121.

Fred Gibson still Contributing

Fred Gibson played 11 minutes in the Albuquerque Thunderbirds' Wednesday night game against the Erie BayHawks. Gibson responded by shooting 2 of 3 from the floor and 1 for 1 from the line. The Thunderbirds won the game by 1.

Gibson has not scored a lot of points, but he is contributing, and has had a pretty good start to 2009. In the first game of the year, he went 6 for 6 from the floor. The next game, he was 3 for 7.

Gibson followed with a game in which he shot just 1 for 5 from the field, so you would think that the coaches would want him to be more consistent. As it stands, however, the Thunderbirds have won 3 games in a row, and Fred is a part of the team's improving record.

D-League Update

Fred Gibson and the Albuquerque Thunderbirds are 2 and 9. Fred is coming off the bench and is making contributions where he can.

Steve Newman's scoring has gone down. He didn't score any points in his last game, and in the game today, has not scored yet.

Ezra Williams is playing the best out of the three. He did a little bit of everything in his last game-- he had a few rebounds, assists, and points. His team, the Austtin Toros has won 8 straight.

Fred Gibson and Ezra Williams Battle Again

Similar result. The Austin Toros defeated the Albuquerque Thunderbirds again last night by a score of 127 to 121. This time, the game had the added drama of overtime.

Fred went 3 for 3 from the floor for the Thunderbirds. He also had a steal and a rebound. No turnovers in 16 minutes. That's a pretty good game.

Ezra scored 9 points. He was 2 of 6 in shooting, but was able to offset an off night from the floor by getting to the line. He was 4 of 5 from the charity stripe.

Austin improved to 6 and 3. Albuquerque is 1 and 7.

Fred Gibson and Albuquerque Thunderbirds

lose to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

In an NBA D-League match-up, the Thunderbirds lost to the Vipers by a score of 122 to 99.

It appears that the Thunderbirds just aren't very good. They are now 1 and 6 in the young season.

Fred Gibson scored 5 points on 2 of 5 shooting from the floor, and 1 of 2 from the line. Who knows, maybe the coach will shake up the line-up and give Gibson more minutes. Probably couldn't hurt.

D-League Update

Fred Gibson scored 16 points in just over 20 minutes in a losing effort for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds lost to the 14'ers on Sunday. In addition to his 16 points, Gibson also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Steve Newman had 5 points and 4 boards in his last game. He was 2 of 4 from the field, with a three-pointer.

The Utah Flash is now 1 and 1 on the season. Fred Gibson's Thunderbirds team is 0 and 2.

Fred Gibson makes Roster

As with Steve Newman, Fred Gibson has made a D-League team in the Southwest.

Who knows? If he has been working on his jump-shot, Gibson may end up as a really fast shooting guard on some future NBA squad.

Albuquerque

Unusual Selection for D-League

Frederick Levar Gibson was selected in the NBA D-League draft, held Friday, November 7. Gibson was drafted by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the 10th round.

Gibson's decision to play basketball might be somewhat unexpected to those Dawgs who remember Gibson's play on the football field. During his collegiate career, Gibson excelled as a receiver, garnering an impressive 161 receptions, almost 3,000 yards, and 20 touchdowns. He was selected in the 2005 NFL draft, as pick #131 by the Minnesota Vikings.

Gibson, who considered himself, "Randy Moss, without the attitude," spent time on the practice squad of several NFL teams, however, he never made it onto the field during an official NFL game.

To those who know him best, Gibson's decision to pursue basketball might not be that much of a surprise at all. Gibson grew up in Waycross playing basketball. He averaged 21 points a game as a senior. Being a 6' 4" speedster, he was a hotter commodity as a receiver than at shooting guard, so he signed a football scholarship with UGA.

Notwithstanding Gibson's role on the football team, Georgia Coach Jim Harrick still had his eye on Gibson for the basketball squad. In 2001/2002, Gibson in fact joined the basketball team after the football season, and scored a career-high 13 points against University of Florida. He averaged 5 points and a rebound for the basketball Dawgs, and shot 45% from the floor.

Now that Gibson is with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, he is now back to his comfort zone. He stated it this way prior to the NFL draft: he liked basketball, but played football because it was his job.

Since he was not able to showcase his talents on the football field, Gibson has apparently returned to his first love.

The Albuquerque Thunderbirds has a pre-season game tomorrow night. I'll check the results and post a recap if Gibson gets to play.

Good luck, Freddie!