In deference to the larger emotions that are being dealt with not only among the Washington Wizards but the larger D.C. sports community tonight, we’ll just go to Antawn Jamison, whose 32 points and 14 rebounds in Washington’s 108-107 win over Philadelphia were matched by his postgame comments. I was done when Jamsion got choked up at the thought of hearing Abe Pollin tell him, “Your my guy,” via a speakphone call following his first appearance for the Wizards.
“It shocked me more than anything because I got the news not even five minutes before I pulled up to the arena,” said Jamison. “We all know he hasn’t been doing to well here lately, but I talked to him about a week and a half ago. Mentally, he was still the same Mr. Pollin, we were going to turn things around, telling me I’m his guy, and he believed in me and appreciated everything I’d done for him. After a win, to know that you won’t hear that voice saying good job men and I believe in you, it’s going to be tough. It’s surprising because he was a fighter, and he had done so much, not only for this organization but for me and my family. He loved this team. For us it was tough, but we knew that Mr. Pollin would want us to come out and win, play hard and find a way to get it done, and we were fortunate enough to do that tonight.”
“Everybody knows how much he thought of myself, and he always said, ‘You remind me of Wes,’ and we all know the bond that he has with Wes Unseld. For me, I thought it was the utmost respect and just how much he believed in me, my professionalism and just as a player, he put a lot of trust in me from day one. Nobody has given me that trust, ever, really, as far as just doing my job and being the person that I am. This guy always checked up on me and my family and my kids. He always asked me how they were doing, and ‘Buy a gift for them and say it’s from me,’ and just, this guy’s done so much, not only for this city but this organization, making this world a better place.”
“Those two hours, you gave it your all. It was another game, another important game, but you wanted to get the win for Mr. Pollin. Every game you know he’s watching. Every game we play from now on he’s going to be watching as well but from a better place. It was tough to hear the news right before the game but to still have to go through your rituals and lace ’em up and go out and perform, knowing he’s not here in the flesh. But once we start playing and get into the thick of things, it kind of got put on the back burner. But as soon as the game was over, you realize that he wasn’t here, or he wasn’t going to give you a call or come to the locker room saying, ‘Good job,’ so those are the things you have to deal with. You’re not going to hear his voice again, but knowing that he’s still up there watching and cheering on every play.”
We’ll resume the basketball stuff tomorrow.
