Warrior mentality: golden state's three rookies are learning about life in the NBA as their team learns how to win

Sporting News, The, Nov 26, 2001 by Sean Deveney

Arenas had an even loftier idea. Inspired by an MTV show featuring an entertainer who has a shark tank in his house, Arenas decided that he, too, should have a pet shark. All he would need is a 250gallon tank and some salt water. He was giddy as he brought the idea to Smith. Smith responded by taking Arenas to Marineland and having him talk with a shark trainer. By the time they left, Arenas figured perhaps some tropical fish would be a better idea.

"Something like that, I have to say no" Smith says. "But I have to treat them like adults. I have to show them why this would not work, rather than just standing back and saying no."

It's a fine line to walk, trying to teach guys who are adults, who are world-class athletes and who have been famous since they were freshmen in college, how to act like grown-ups. Players are coddled in college, more so than in high school. Each of the Warriors' rookies was a stars at a major program--Richardson at Michigan State, Murphy at Notre Dame and Arenas at Arizona--where little real-world responsibility is left to the player. Schedules and meals are laid out, and bills are taken care of Murphy did not even have a checking account until this summer.

For players suddenly out on their own, everyday tasks can be disproportionately daunting. Driving, for one thing. Richardson says he used to think he was a crazy driver because he would go 80 mph on Michigan roads, but in California, "these people are nuts, doing 90, 95 like it was no big deal."

Eating is another cause for concern.

"What I need," Richardson says, "is for my mom to come out and fix a big pot of chili, a big, huge pot, enough to last till the end of the season. Because if I keep trying to cook, I am going to wind up burning my house down."

"If you take all the food I have bought, the amount I have burnt is bigger than the amount that wound up on my plate," Murphy says. "I try to cook something simple like pasta, and I am on the phone with my mom saying, `How high up should it be? How long?' I tried making chicken on the George Foreman grill, and when it was done, it looked good on the outside. I cut it, and it was pink and bloody inside."

But rather than take another shot at cooking chicken, Murphy showed some wisdom. "I went to a restaurant," he says.

There was a reaction shared by all three Warriors rookies when first told they would be going to Golden State: Uh, where?

"I thought it was in Washington or something," Richardson says.

"I really could not even come close to naming the starting five," Arenas says.

"I knew Jamison and Hughes, but that was it," Murphy says.

For Richardson, Arenas and Murphy, part of the problem with coming to the Warriors is that they are the Warriors, one of the league's most snakebitten and unknown teams. They won 17 games last season and 19 the year before. They have not made the playoffs since 1994 and, even though they picked up three players in the draft, players who are drafted by Golden State are not usually cause for celebration. The team has had some colossal first-round lusts, including Clifford Rozier, Adonal Foyle and Todd Fuller. Joe Smith was chosen first overall by the Warriors. Even when they have made wise picks, the players eventually have wound up elsewhere, like Latrell Sprewell and Chris Webber.