Udonis Haslem
Udonis Haslem
Udonis Johneal Haslemis an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the University of Florida, where he was a key member of four Florida Gators NCAA tournament teams. He played professional basketball in France for a year, and then signed with the Miami Heat in 2003. He has won three NBA championships while playing for the Heat...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth9 June 1980
CityMiami, FL
CountryUnited States of America
They have a new coach. We have a new team.
They pretty much had us dead in the water.
It's kind of like fool's gold. We're definitely making plays at the end of games to win, but at the same time we don't want to have to rely on that going into Detroit or with the playoffs coming up.
It's a tremendous loss. No matter how much time he gets or what the situation is, he's one of the guys you could count on every night to give us everything he has.
There's not a time we're in that building that we're not doing some type of conditioning. We never really have a day off.
A lot of people look at playing overseas as a step down from the NBA. And, yes it is a step down from the NBA money-wise, but there is just as good of talent overseas as in the NBA. Not better talent.
Anytime you have a Pat Riley running things, calling the shots, you are not going to question things because he has been through it. He knows what it is all about and what it takes to win. All we have to do on our end is play basketball because we know the right calls and the right decisions are going to be made up top.
The Heat gave me an opportunity when nobody else wanted to.
My work ethic I learned at Miami High, and I have taken that with me.
I've learned a lot from the experiences that I went through in high school, through college and overseas, and just everything in life. That is what prepared me for coming into the NBA, being undersized, no recognition, not getting anything easy, and I have been fortunate to prosper in this league.
We're two different players and we can bring two different things to the table. If we put that together, we should have a pretty good tandem.
Since I've been here, they've made great decisions. And I'm sure they'll make the right decision here.
I threw my mouthpiece at the ground. Looking at it on TV, I could see how Joey would think I was throwing it at him.
It is a game I'll never forget as long as I play the game of basketball. Obviously it's always in the back of our mind, how close we were last year.