Don't Thank Sergio For Being A Friend

Talk to Sergio Rodriguez about helping Rudy Fernandez through his first season and you may find that he gets a little annoyed. Not because he minds talking about his friend and fellow countryman, but because he doesn't understand why everyone thinks he's done something out the ordinary.

"He would do for me what I have done for him," says Sergio. "It is nothing special what I am doing. I am in Portland for three years, he comes from my country, he doesn’t speak English well, I have to help with everything. That’s normal. That’s not a big deal."

Maybe not to Sergio, but I know it was a big deal for Rudy. Being the humble, kind and good-natured guy that he is, Sergio doesn't like the idea that he's some kind of saint for helping out a friend.

"Like everyone says, ‘You are helping Rudy,’" he explains in a slightly sarcastic tone. "I mean, anybody would do that. If you have a person that comes from your country who is now far away from that country with the same circumstances, you’ve got to help him."

I know Sergio feels that way, and we in Portland are lucky for it, but I don't think it's necessarily something that "everyone would do." In a business that can often feel self-centered, it's actually somewhat rare to see someone put the needs of others on par with their own. The NBA is full of egos, and I don't think anyone would blame Sergio for being a little resentful of Rudy's popularity, but that's simply not who he is.

As for how Sergio thinks Rudy will get along without him, he's got no concerns. In fact, he thinks it will probably be a good thing.

"He’ll be totally fine," he said. I think after one year it’s better for him to be by himself because he’s going to learn more English. He won’t have everything easy. He will have to be independent. He will have to listen more. I think that will help him.

"I think Rudy loves Portland and Portland loves Rudy. He’ll be fine. He wants to play like every player. He wants to play, he wants to win and he wants to have fun. Those three things are principle factors for him and for everyone. He can play with everyone. He understands basketball. He will be fine. "

Audio: Rudy Fernandez From Spain

The following is a collection of audio clips collected during conversations with Rudy Fernandez during the last couple of days in Mallorca. I appologize in advance for the numerous moped drivebys.



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Saying 'Adios' To The Spanish Armada

When talking to Rudy about his first season in the NBA, Sergio Rodriguez’s name comes up a lot, and with good reason. He was Rudy’s closest friend on the team, his running buddy on and off the court, countrymen and teammates for the Trail Blazers and the Spanish national team. Sergio the lob-throwing half of the “Spanish Connection,” later dubbed the “Spanish Armada,” with Rudy playing the part of the easy gliding finisher.

But Sergio’s most important impact on Rudy likely came off the court. Sergio’s ability to help Rudy traverse his first year in the United States might have been Rodriguez’s best assist of his career. His guidance and friendship played a huge part in allowing Rudy to surpass expectations in his first foray into the NBA.

“In Portland, I think it’s important that Sergio helped me a lot with the transition for the first year,” said Rudy. “But LA, Brandon, Joel, Travis, everybody help me for the transition for the team.”

But while LA, Brandon, Joel and Travis are still Trail Blazers, Sergio is now gone, off to the Sacramento Kings in a draft night trade. The Spanish Armada, for the second time in history, was sunk, or at the very least, docked indefinitely. After having taught him so much in his first season, Sergio’s departure imparted a final lesson on Rudy: That the NBA, as they often say, is a business.

And even though he’ll readily admit he’s going to miss his compatriot, Rudy, true to form, is taking a positive approach to the situation.

“I think it’s an opportunity for him to play in Sacramento, play minutes,” said Rudy. “For me, for sure, I’m am not happy Sergio is going to another team, but it’s basketball. It’s sports. Right now I am focused. For me I’m happy right now because Sergio is happy.”

As for his life post-Sergio, Rudy says he’s ready for the challenge, with a little help from his friends.

“I think (I’m ready). I can tell for sure when I come back to Portland, but I think so. Right now I am focused in my work in Portland with my friends, because LA, Brandon, Travis, Martell, Greg, Bayless these are big friends with me, too.”

Rudy Demands Your Satisfaction

You can tell Rudy expects a lot of himself on the court. In the few days Ive been here I've seen him push himself to the brink of exhaustion during workouts, refusing to quit until he's made a satisfactory number of shots. He gets upset when he misses a few in a row, cursing his hands for not guiding the ball through the net, while he's emotionless after rattling off upwards of ten straight makes from three-point range.

His dedication to improving his game, as far as I'm concerned, is unquestioned, but I'm beginning to wonder if that dedication is matched or exceeded by his desire to provide a memorable experience for the kids at his summer camp. Throughout the course of my stay I've come to realize that, when it comes to showing these kids a good time, Rudy will accept nothing less than perfection.

To be honest, Rudy's dogged pursuit of the ultimate camp experience is starting to worry me. I can see the frustration and disappointment in his face when things don't go exactly as planned, which is admirable, but as far as I can tell, everyone is having the time of their lives. No child who approaches Rudy is turned away without a smile. He engages everyone in conversation and somehow knows all of their names. He's constantly moving, riding a bike or walking from group to group in an effort to spread his time as equally as possible. Everything that someone in his position would be expected to do, he's done, and yet he still worries that it's not enough.

Part of it has to do with Rudy seeing himself in the faces of the kids he's trying to entertain. Having been identified as somewhat of a prodigy at a young age, Rudy remembers attending camps that focused solely on improving skills, sometimes at the expense of a good time, which is why he's tried to gear his camp more toward providing a fun experience for children of all ages and skill levels.

"I remember when I go to the camps in a similar situation a lot of years ago," said Rudy. "I think it's the opportunity of a lifetime to be with one player, an NBA player. For the kids, this is incredible. It think it’s very important that the kids are happy. Only then am I happy."

Making sure the kids are enjoying themselves is part of it, but there's something else driving his efforts, something more personal. Rudy has noted on more than one occasion that interacting with the kids at his camp is preparing him for the day when he will becomes a father, so I think maybe he considers the camp a kind of pre-parenting workout, a practice in fatherhood. To Rudy, failure to provide anything less than a perfect experience for his campers would be akin failing his test as a prospective father, and that simply isn't going to cut it.

"I love kids," says Rudy. "For me, their happiness, it's an obligation. It’s satisfaction that the people go home with a smile, you know?"

Yes Rudy, I know. I know something else as well: If Rudy the father puts in as much work as Rudy the basketball player or Rudy the camp organizer, everyone is going to go home happy.

Random Thoughts: Mallorca

Today is my last day in Mallorca, so I thought it might be time to pass along a few peculiarities I've noticed during my stay. Nothing of any importance, just a few things to keep in mind should you ever decided to take a pilgrimage to Rudy's homeland.

• Banks are only open from 8 AM to 3 PM, which got me thinking one of the reasons the United States is one of the superpowers of the financial world could be due to longer bank hours. If you've got to spend money to make money and you've got to go to the bank to get money to spend, then having banks open until 6 PM gives Americans a leg up against the Mallorcans.

• While street signs are followed by the general populace as more of a suggestion than an edict, you will get yelled at in Catalan by police officers for going the wrong way down a one way street, regardless of how many times you've seen other people do the exact same thing.

• Older women have no problem cutting in front of you should the opportunity afford itself, though I hardly mind. I experienced this firsthand today while buying sunscreen.

• Speaking of sunscreen, you can, in fact, get a sunburn on your eyelids.

• Hamburgers here don't necessarily come on buns.

• It is impossible to find regular water here. Everything is mineral water or carbonated water.

• Don't bother bringing your electric razor. You're liable to trip the breaker in your hotel room, even if you have the proper power adapter.

• Feeding cats table scraps is sometimes permitted, but not always. I guess that's really no different than anywhere else.

The Reason For the Offseason

The first thing Rudy Fernandez said to me when I arrived at his camp assuaged any concerns I had regarding how I might have been received by someone who, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t know all that well.

“Welcome to my home,” he said, stretching out his arms in an attempt to present the landscape of Campanet as if it were a painting hanging in a museum.

But Rudy did not grow up in the small town of Campanet, the location of his youth camp. He spent his first twelve years in Palma, the largest city on the island of Mallorca, before moving to Barcelona to begin his professional basketball career with Joventut’s junior team. But to Rudy, home is more than the place where he lays his head at night. It’s a feeling determined more by the kinship of a people who share a common history than it is an address. And maybe most importantly, home is a place where he can finally get some respite.

“My family is here, my friends are here,” said Rudy. “I need to rest from basketball. No rest a lot because the camp is basketball, but be with my friends because in Portland, the first year, I stay in the USA. It was a big change for me, but right now I think I need to relax in my country with my food, with my friends. I think it’s very important.”

He couldn’t be more correct. Everyone was tired after the end of last season, but in regards to fatigue, no one had more to overcome than Rudy. Getting acclimated to the physical style of play, not to mention the schedule employed by the NBA, is tough for a rookie. So is leaving your family and friends for a foreign land. Denying yourself a midseason break so you can participate in All-Star weekend and playing an extra month or so worth of games so you can represent your country at the Olympics is difficult as well. And when you consider those singular circumstances as pieces of a whole season, it’s hard to imagine a more exhausting set of circumstances.

Which is why returning home after the end of the season was such a significant event for Rudy. Fans often lament that players don’t stick around to take in the wonders of an offseason in Oregon, but in many cases, such as Rudy’s, there’s good reason for that yearly exodus.

“I think it’s difficult the first year,” said Rudy. “Probably the people don’t see me in my house sometimes. I think all the time about my family when with the Portland Trail Blazers. I think it is important right now for me is to stay with my family. In Portland sometimes I stay with my friends, with my family, but not everyday. And this is difficult for me because I need the help of family, the help of friends.”

That shouldn’t be read as a declaration of discontent. Far from it. Rudy is quick to point out how satisfied he is with Portland, especially when it comes to the support of the fans in the Rose City and beyond, but the transition was understandably difficult for a man so family oriented and with such deep Iberian roots.

“Every day I think about Mallorca,” said Rudy, “I think about Barcelona. But my dream is to play in the NBA. You can see behind you, you can see in front of you. Right now my new goal is to play a lot of yesrs in the NBA. Sure I think of Mallorca, for sure I think about my friends, but right now I focus on my dream, I focus on my work. That’s playing basketball.”

Camp Out, Workout

Rudy Fernandez isn't one those guys who uses his name to attract kids to a camp, only to show up for a few abbreviated appearances. He's working all the time. He's giving instruction and breaking up scuffles. He's doing his best to enforce peace and quiet at night, going so far as bunking down on a dormitory cot (while lowly bloggers stay at artisan hotels). He's throwing kids in the pool and conducting interviews with local politicians and posing for pictures with anyone who asks. This is el campo de Rudy Fernandez, whose namesake is dead set on giving these kids their money's worth.

But while Rudy is one heck of a camp counselor, he's also an NBA basketball player, and that means nary a day goes by when he's not working on his game. Playing a little pickup ball with a bunch of preteens can help work up a sweat, but it's not going to get you ready for the rigors of an 82-game season.

So that's why Rudy was in a stuffy one court gym with a rubber floor in Campanet today working out with assistant coach Kaleb Canales. For over an hour Rudy worked on a series of shooting drills designed to keep his skills sharp for the upcoming season. Pump fakes, one-dribble pullups, floaters in the lane, baseline shots from behind the backboard, jumpers off of screens, jumpers off dribble hand offs, three's from every part of the floor. Rudy, with the help of Coach Kaleb, pushed himself through the workout despite being in a gym with no ventilation (my guess would be the temperature was somewhere in the mid 90's).

I assumed Rudy would take a little time off afterward, but I saw him head back to where the kids were at as Coach Kaleb and I left for the hotel. That's dedication, both to his kids and the Trail Blazers.

Horseplay Is Permitted In Mallorca

Quite a bit of Rudy's camp is conducted in the pool. They spend a lot of time working on basketball skills, but it's well over 90 degrees here in Campanet, so frequent dunks in the pool are necessary and welcomed by all, including Mr. Fernandez.

As you can see in the picture, many of the rules we Americans are accustomed to when it comes to hanging out the municipal pool fly by the wayside here in Spain.

Off to a workout. More later today!

Rudy At Camp

Twenty four hours and one temporarily missing bag later, I am finally in Campanet, Spain for Rudy’s camp, or “campo” as they say here. As you can see, my grasp of Spanish grows by the minute. Que bueno, no?

All of the frustration of getting from Portland to Mallorca melted away as Coach Kaleb and I drove into Campanet. I can’t say for sure just what I was expecting, but I know it wasn’t this, and I say that in the best way possible. The city is like something out of a postcard. Narrow streets, old sun baked women in scarves waving from screenless windows, goats, sheep, centuries old olive groves, cobblestone streets. The whole old-world vibe. It’s not exactly the place you would expect an NBA player to conduct a camp, but that’s a testament to how much Rudy identifies with his homeland.

Life moves at a slower pace out here, which I suspect is one of the reasons Rudy has chosen to hold camp here. After doing nothing but playing basketball for almost a whole calendar year, it must be nice for Rudy to relax in a place where he’s almost completely anonymous.

That’s not to say the people here don’t know who he is. Far from it, but aside from the occasional handshake or friendly pat on the back, people let Rudy be. He sits by the side of the public pool like any other local. He eats what the campers eat and sleeps where the campers sleep. Here, he’s not Rudy Fernandez the NBA player. He’s just plain old Rudy.

You can see the difference in his appearance. He seems looser, freer. He speaks freely with anyone who comes within earshot. He’s animated as he tells stories and jokes. And he’s having a great time doing it.