"Jordan" kuno, may sarili ng pangalan

Ipinagsisigawang siya ang susunod na Michael Jordan. Pareho silang 6’6" na guwardya mula sa North Carolina. Pareho ng abilidad, pareho ang estilo. Pareho kaya ng mararating.

"I think it was all positive," paggunita ni Jerry Stackhouse sa Pilipino Star Ngayon. "They gave me a lot of confidence going in and, obviously, I did not know what to expect in the NBA. Having everyone else tell me how good I am gonna be, they kind of helped me. So I think it was all positive."

Pinili siyang pangatlo sa pangkalahatan ng Philadelphia 76ers sa 1995 NBA Draft. Nagtala siya ng 20 points, 3.5 assists at 4 rebounds kada laro sa dalawang taon doon.

Pero, ipinagpalit siya kasama ni Eric Montross sa Detroit Pistons para kay Theo Ratliff, Aaron McKie at iba pang player noong December 18, 1997. Ang kanyang ipinakita doon: pinakamababa’y 14.5 points per game noong 1998-1999, at mala-Jordan na 29.8 sa 2000-2001. Pero tila tuwing umaalis siya, doon pa lang umaangat ang koponang iniwanan. Nang lisanin niya ang Philadelphia, humataw naman si Allen Iverson.

Noong September 11, 2002, ang All-Star ay ibinato ng Pistons sa Washington Wizards, kasama si Brian Cardinal at Ratko Varda para kay Richard Hamilton, Hubert Davis at Bobby Simmons. Pag-alis din niya, nagpasya sila, Hamilton at Ben Wallace na hinog na sila para sa kampeonato.

Noong June 24, ang dating Tar Heel ay muling inilipat, ngayon naman sa Dallas Mavericks, kasama si Christian Laettner at ang draft rights kay Devin Harris, ang No. 5 pick sa 2004 NBA Draft, kapalit kina Antawn Jamison at perang cash.

"Definitely, they’ve got a lot of talent on the team. They have a lot of shooters," paliwanag niya ukol sa Mavs. "I think they’ll definitely miss Steve Nash, but the new guys will fill in. But I think my ability to get to the basket in the NBA and put pressure on defense is something that they haven’t really had the last two years, and I’m hoping that intensity will help us win a championship."

Pumasok ang Dallas sa NBA noong 1980. Pero tuluyan na silang bumulusok noong bilhin sila ng bilyonaryong si Mark Cuban noong 2000. Kamalasan lang nilang sila’y kapitbahay ng dominanteng San Antonio Spurs at ang lumalakas na Houston Rockets. Kaya nanga-ilangan ang Mavs ng isang beteranong lider.

"I think we’ve changed a bit," pagmamalaki ni Stackhouse. "We have a low-post presence defensively (Shawn Bradley, Erick Dampier, Dirk Nowitzki at dalawa pang seven-footer). It’s gonna be fun. There’s a lot of movement. I’m not sure where everybody is, and I’m sure the fans don’t. Some teams look good on paper, and some may not look good on paper but are a better team in person. We’re hoping we’re the latter."

Ang magandang balita: naghilom na ang makulit na tuhod ni Stackhouse.

"I was nowhere near the player I wanted to be when I came back," pag-amin niya. "But now I’m 100 percent and excited with my new team. We know where to go." At sa Mavs, nakita mismo ni Stackhouse kung gaano kagaling na ang mga manlalaro sa labas ng Amerika. At may payo siya sa mga bubuo ng susunod na US Olympic team.

"There’s a lot of things that could have been done differently," panukala niya. "We could put together a better team in terms of international play. A team consisting of more shooters and less superstars. Other teams are catching up in terms of talent. But I still don’t think that any team in the Olympics can be as talented as ours."

Sa unang pagkakataon, nasa Western Conference si Stack, kung saan mas magagamit niya ang kanyang husay sa pag-atake sa basket.

"I just feel that I’m a basketball player, no matter where you put me. I’ve had a lot of success against teams in the West in the past. We do more transition in the West, and I’ve been known in my career to finish on the break and do different things."

At panalangin niyang makakuha na siya ng kampeonato, tulad ng inihahambing sa kanyang si Michael Jordan.