The Handle Podcast – Audie Norris: 09/28/18

By Reinis Lacis (@LamarMatic)

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There are so many ways I could introduce Audie Norris. European basketball star with Barcelona, former Portland Trail Blazer, global ambassador of the NBA, even a certified backboard breaker. We talked about everything. From coaching kids to teaching Kristaps Porzingis the bank shot, his main influences in basketball and greats from different parts of the world. A packed episode of The Handle podcast.

Follow Audie on Twitter @atomicdog14, on Instagram @audienorris, on Facebook @audienorris14 or visit his website http://www.audienorris.com to learn more about his camps and his work!

Topics discussed in the podcast:

01:40 – Coaching basketball all around the world, experience in China with the Jump10 program, his pupils who went professional;
07:30 – The untapped potential of places like China and Senegal, the numerous kids who showed up for his camp in Senegal, feeling short among the locals;
11:15 – Kristaps Porzingis having the skill level even before, being there at the right time to teach him the bank shot, a shot he had not used before, the authors of the bank shot like Tim Duncan, Julius Erving, Juan Antonio San Epifanio, Jose Ortiz;
15:40 – The theory of coach Kevin Eastman, how it can be boring and repetitive to work on your skills;
20:05 – Older brother Sylvester Norris as his idol who took Audie with him to Jackson State scrimmages, how that helped him mature as a player, later joining Sylvester for summer practices with the San Antonio Spurs, George Gervin predicting that he’ll see Audie in the NBA in a couple of years;
26:40 – Breaking five backboards during his career, a memorable glass shattering dunk against Alcorn State and Larry Smith, Mychal Thompson giving him the nickname “Atomic Dog” after a dunk on the Dallas Mavericks;
31:50 – Intense practices in the NBA, having it instilled in him to adopt the right basketball habits, coach Jack Ramsay teaching him how to be a professional, being in awe of the Los Angeles Lakers during his first game against them and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar;
40:40 – Series-winning shot against the Dallas Mavericks in the 1985 Playoffs, good friend Kiki Vandeweghe helping him with his confidence, Mark Aguirre‘s performance in that game;
43:35 – Leaving the NBA for more playing time in Europe, how it helped prolong his career, the very good competition in Italy, returning to a Blazers camp later on and listening to his body;
51:10 – Facing Arvydas Sabonis in Spain and his strategy of bringing him away from the basket, an anti-Norris campaign in Spain, other teams signing players like Stanley Roberts, a rivalry with Fernando Martin, the physical game back then;
57:45 – A blessed career, meeting Adam Silver and becoming a part of the European Ambassador Program, the respect he has for the very strong Jugoplastika teams of Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja, his main rivals in the European Champions Cup.