Like (I assume) many of you, I hadn't thought about Joey Dorsey in a while. Sure, I'd heard that the former second-round NBA draft pick — last seen by NBA fans playing about 12 minutes a night as a half-season reserve forward with the Toronto Raptors following several years bouncing between the D-League and big league in between trades — had re-signed with Greek power Olympiacos earlier this summer, but it didn't move the needle; I kind of thought, "Oh, that's cool, but it's a bummer that he didn't stick in the league. Energetic rebounders/dunkers are fun." And then I went back to my blissful existence of not thinking about Joey Dorsey.
So it was something of a surprise when it came across my Twitter feed on Wednesday afternoon:
Which, naturally, led me to YouTube on Thursday morning:
Some of you might say, "Kind of a weak backboard-breaking dunk, Joey Dorsey." (You wouldn't say it to his face, because he is a 6-foot-8, 270-pound monster of a man, but you feel me.) "The glass didn't even come out of the backboard and cascade over everyone very dangerously, like all the dudes did in this Black Rob-soundtracked video. Pretty ho-hum, really."
Personally, I think the fact that the pane shatters but doesn't fall all over everyone is a pretty neat representation of how a finely tuned athlete can display pinpoint control over destructive power, not unlike Frank Dux using the Dim Mak to shatter only the bottom brick in a large stack prior to the Kumite tournament. It's like my grandfather always said: "One man's underwhelming highlight is another's thrilling paean to 'Bloodsport.'" (Our holiday dinners were weird.)
It will probably continue to bum me out that Dorsey never really got a long, concerted look stateside — I mean, if there's one thing we've learned about translatable basketball skills and their value, it's that when a guy can rebound, he can help an NBA team, and Dorsey's rebound rates and per-minute board averages were stellar in both the D-League and the NBA — but he seems to have carved out a comfortable and positive niche with Olympiacos, providing defense, rebounding and frontcourt toughness that helped the Greek side win last season's Euroleague Final Four.
According to Euroleague Adventures blogger Sam Meyerkopf (writing at the excellently named SB Nation site Searching for Billy Edelin), Dorsey cites his relationship with Olympiacos coach Dusan Ivkovic as a major factor motivating his extended stretch in Greece:
"Coach gave me so much confidence coming here, we sat down and he told me what he wanted me to do for this team, and I think Dusan is just a players coach. I talk to him about off the court stuff and everything. And when you got that type of communication with your coach you'll have so much confidence. "
Apparently, a confident Dorsey is one who tears down rims. Olympiacos' gain is our loss. (Until it gets put on YouTube, and then we all win. Internet!)
One last note: That sweet behind-the-back feed that set Dorsey up for his dunk came from Kostas Papanikolaou, the young Greek forward whom New York Knicks fans booed mercilessly when the team selected him in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft a few months back and whom the team shipped to the Portland Trail Blazers in the sign-and-trade that imported Raymond Felton and Kurt Thomas. Good thing, too. Who would want a 22-year-old who can play both forward positions and can drop dimes like that? A real dummy, that's who.
Video via RedBasketZone.
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