Michael Dickerson

[Downtown]

I read where you guys have Mike D at the training camp. You can't believe how excited I am to hear that. I'd like to tell you a little about the player you have there.

I live in Vancouver and had a chance to meet him a few times. A friend of mine's uncle helped Dickerson and his father out financially when he was a teenager in Seattle. So when Dickerson got traded to the Grizzlies my friends uncle made the drive to Vancouver and introduced him to Mike D. So we usually got free tickets from him and hung out a couple times as well. You won't meet a nicer or more softspoken guy.

As for basketball it was well known that Dickerson was one of the fittest players in the NBA and was a weightlifting fanatic. He always broke the strength test marks every year at training camp. And like the article mentioned he liked to box. I see now he's into yoga and martial arts. I bet he's in great shape and at age 33 he's still probably one of the better athletes in the Cavs training camp. I see some on the Cavs staff have already labelled him a beast.

I got some information on his injury when it happened and it was pretty sad. From what I was told at the time he tore the muscle that joins the pubic bone to the abdomen so severely that they had to stitch some sort of fabric inside to try and hold it together. You can imagine the stress that a professional athlete puts on his core and groin area stoping, planting, and cutting on a dime. He struggled for another season with Memphis trying to make it work but it was too severe an injury and he was forced to retire(after 2 more operations).

But Michael Dickerson in his prime was an amazing player that could do alot of great things on both ends of the court. He was a premier defender and I remember him playing Kobe Bryant as well as anyone I've ever seen. On offence he wouldn't force things but had that combination of being able to slash to the hoop inside or hit the 3 point shot. He had one of the highest arcs on his shot and it seemed like his shots would come up short as airballs but just came straight down through the net.

If he can regain some of what he once had physically and his groin can hold up and is now fully recovered I think you guys could have a useful player and also one of the feelgood stories of the year in the NBA. I'm excited for both him and the fans of Cleveland. But until he shows he is healthy enough it's a longshot. If he can make it I would think that Anthony Parker from the Raptors would be about the best comparison. A versatile, defensively responsible, pro's pro who puts his teams success first. It wouldn't hurt to have someone like that one the end of the bench.

I know I'm being too optimistic and I'm thinking too much about the past, and 6 years is a very long layoff, especially with the bad injury he had, but I'm cheering for Mike D all the way. I'd appreciate it if some sort of updates on how he's doing at camp are put in here.

[Da_James_Gang]

Thanks for the info, all of that is really good to hear. Yea its most definitely gonna be a long shot that he makes the team. Especially because i believe we only have like 1 roster spot open and we already have so many guards. But it would be a feel good story and i have heard he is doing good so far...

[mg]

I'm rooting for Mike D! The Cavs have alot of wing players in camp w/ guaranteed contracts so it will be very competitive..

[jnester71]

So nobody has any idea what he's been doing, if anything, basketball wise since 03?

I know he retired in 03' because of severe hamstring and groin injuries..
but is this his first stop on the comeback trail?

Has he been in other camps, leagues, over seas?

He was a pretty good player back in the day.. 15.4 points per game career.. albeit with a bad team..

I agree with the others.. HUGE longshot..

but I too will be rooting for him..

whether he winds up here or eventually somewhere else

[Three34]

He's had literally nothing doing in the basketball world since his retirement. No overseas gigs, no training camps, no summer leagues, no nothing. That's why this is so out of left field.