Tough grind for Telfair

PORTLAND, Oregon — Nobody ever said it was going to be easy and Portland Trail Blazers sophomore Sebastian Telfair is living proof that an undersized high school graduate with no college experience has to overachieve to make it big in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Telfair, 20, is a six-foot, 160-pound point guard who went straight from Lincoln High School in New York to the NBA last year. No doubt, the kid is talented but in the rough-and-tumble world of the NBA where giants lord it over, it’s an uphill climb for Bassy to stardom.

What makes the road even tougher for Telfair is he’s being asked to take control of a team that’s still in the process of jelling. Worse, he’s got to rein in veterans like Zach Randolph and Ruben Patterson whose history of unpredictable behavior — on and off the court — is unenviable. Randolph, for instance, just lost his starting job for picking up his third late slip for practice this season which is only a month old. He was late for two shootarounds in the preseason so promptness is clearly not one of his virtues.

Blazers new coach Nate McMillan, a strict disciplinarian, isn’t about to let his players get away with their shenanigans. He’s made it clear that there are no sacred cows in the team. McMillan won’t hesitate to lower the boom on anyone who crosses the line — whether he’s a star or benchwarmer.

The talk is when the Blazers practice, you can hear McMillan bark at his underachieving players two blocks away from the gym.

"Yeah, he can get very loud when he makes a point," said Telfair during a meeting the other day with the San Beda team that won this year’s Adidas Asian Streetball Finals. "Coach is a good teacher. If you don’t do right, he’ll make sure you know how he feels."

Telfair himself has not been spared from McMillan’s uncompromising approach. In Portland’s 98-96 overtime win over New Orleans at the Rose Garden here last Friday, Telfair was benched the entire fourth quarter and the five-minute extension because his reliever Steve Blake appeared to be more in synch.

Still, McMillan’s long-term vision is for Telfair to take over the team like Steve Nash with the Phoenix Suns.

Telfair said his development as the Blazers leader is a work in progress.

"In my first year, I looked up to Damon (Stoudamire) and Nick (Van Exel) and they taught me a lot," continued Telfair. "Now that they’ve gone to other teams, I still talk to them every day for advice. In my second year, with Damon and Nick gone, I’m responsible for controlling the offense and I’m learning to be the leader of our team. Once we get things together, the points and assists will come."

Telfair said if he had a choice, he’d love to play with Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. But that’s wishful thinking. He said another dream is to play alongside a two-guard in the mold of either Paul Pierce or Michael Redd.

For the draft next year, Telfair said the Blazers could use a backup for Randolph at power forward.

Telfair noted that a highlight of this season so far was when he torched the New York Knicks for a career-high 27 points at Madison Square Garden last month. He was matched up against cousin Stephon Marbury and their families were in the stands watching their duel.

"I was challenged by Stephon and everything was falling in for me," recalled Telfair. "It was really inspiring for me since I was back home in New York."

Telfair said although he’s barely out of his teens, he’s not letting his status as a celebrity athlete make him lose focus. He proudly mentioned that last month, he did something special — he took his mother out of the projects in Brooklyn and bought her a new house in New Jersey.

But even as Telfair isn’t the type to indulge in unnecessary luxuries, there was one excess he couldn’t resist. He bought himself a brand new white two-door Bentley which retails for about $230,000. I imagine if you add up what Telfair must have spent for accessories, the car probably set him back some $275,000.

"When I was in high school (that wasn’t too long ago), I saw this picture of a Bentley in a magazine and told myself someday, if I can afford it, I’ll buy myself that car," said Telfair. It seemed like an impossibility at the time considering Telfair was just a kid living in the projects.

Impossible is nothing, said Telfair as he drove away from the meeting with his Filipino fans in a white Bentley.