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.”
