ex-Pacer TJ Ford To Retire

[OnFire]

Just showing some appreciation for a classy professional who played well in his time with us. Good luck, TJ. Be well.

Spurs point guard T.J. Ford abruptly retired Monday following the latest scare to his surgically repaired spine, which once sidelined him for an entire NBA season and hampered the dazzling promise that made him a college star.

Ford told reporters that lying motionless March 7 on the court against the New York Knicks wasn't the first time it had happened, and he decided to walk away while he still had a chance. He was playing just his 14th game in an injury-prone season when Knicks guard Baron Davis elbowed him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

The 28-year-old Ford didn't move for several minutes and wobbled while being helped off the court.

He averaged 14 points and 7.9 assists in his Raptors debut, and his scoring average hit a career high of 14.9 points with Indiana in 2008-09.

Full story:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7676569/san-antonio-spurs-tj-ford-retiring-latest-injury-neck

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNNPllmoUBM[/youtube]

[Miller4ever]

He got a lot of flak from guys like me. When he came into the league he had really good potential, but injuries really took that away from him.

[basketballwacko2]

I remember when TJ was in Milwalkee before going to Toronto, he looked really good and something happened to him maybe the injuries or maybe some Canadian thing IDK!!??

[Miller4ever]

Spinal injury while he was still in Milwaukee which made him from an all-star potential to a solid starter at best, then a plethora of smaller things that nagged him into retirement when really he's at an age where he would be in his prime.

[Moooose]

His potential diminished greatly following the spine injury he got while still in Milwaukee. It was that obvious. It is a good decision on his part. Respect.

[basketballwacko2]

Well lucky for TJ he made a lot of money on his last contract lets hope he invested and saved and has himself set for life and lets hope he doesn't have any complications like loosing feeling or numbness in his extremities.

We wish him well I never want to see someone get seriously hurt.

[Starkiller]

I often wonder how we would have worked w/ TJ at the point without JOB as coach. Funny, I think all of us would like to have TJ running PG right now if we could.

[Moooose]

^ If he's healthy, yes. But his injury is more serious than anything else i've seen.

[Scoot McGroot]

Sorry to hear that his injury has debilitated him so tremendously. Glad to hear he's retiring while he still has a chance to grow old and play with his kids one day.

Ultimately, he put up with a lot of crap here, and I really don't recall him once having an outburst in public or in the press. He stayed quiet, and just went about his job. Even when he left Indy, he never had any "tell all" interviews.

Came across as a good guy. Man, was he dynamic that first half of his rookie year in Milwaukee, though. He torched us a couple times, and I just thought he was going to be a GREAT player. If not for the spinal stenosis, I have no doubt he would have been.

Good luck, TJ. Stay healthy.

[glasket]

Great respect for TJ, wish him all the best. A very classy player.

[Starkiller]

^ If he's healthy, yes. But his injury is more serious than anything else i've seen.

Of course.

[tdotrep2]

Well lucky for TJ he made a lot of money on his last contract lets hope he invested and saved and has himself set for life and lets hope he doesn't have any complications like loosing feeling or numbness in his extremities.

We wish him well I never want to see someone get seriously hurt.

The maple syrup hardened inside him and it stiffened his spine.

[TJFordisGod]

R.I.P. T.J.