TIM DUNCAN

Timothy Theodore Duncan (Christiansted, US Virgin Islands, April 25, 1976) is a former professional American basketball player who served in the NBA. He played in the position of Ala-Pivô for the team of San Antonio Spurs. He is considered one of the best players of all time, for his incredible ability to execute all plays in a simple and efficient way, achieving impressive results both in attack and defense.

Early life

Tim Duncan was born and raised in Saint Croix, in the US Virgin Islands. He is the son of Ione, a professional midwife, and William Duncan, a bricklayer. He has two older sisters, Cheryl and Tricia, and an older brother, Scott, Cheryl was a swimming champion before becoming a nurse, and Tricia swam to the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
At school, Duncan was a brilliant student and dreamed of becoming an Olympic-level swimmer like his sister Tricia. His parents supported him a lot, and Duncan excelled in swimming, becoming a teenager in the 50, 100 and 400 meters freestyle and with the goal of going to the 1992 Olympic Games as a member of the United States team.
In 1989, after Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island's only Olympic swimming pool, Duncan was forced to swim in the ocean, and his fear of sharks ruined his enthusiasm for the sport. Duncan suffered another emotional blow when his mother, suffering from breast cancer, died the day before her 14th birthday. On her deathbed, she made Duncan and her sisters promise that no matter what they would graduate from college having obtained a degree, explaining Duncan's long refusal to leave his college early for the NBA.
Initially, Duncan struggled to adapt to the game he thought would help ease his pain and frustration. Nancy Pomroy, the athletic director at St. Croix Country Day School, explains: "[Duncan] was so big. So big and tall, but it was terribly weird at the time." He overcame his embarrassment to become a highlight for St. Dunstan's Episcopal Secondary School, averaging 25 points per game as a senior. His game attracted the attention of several universities, despite starting the game only in the ninth grade.
Wake Forest University basketball coach Dave Odom, in particular, became interested in Duncan after the 16-year-old allegedly played NBA star Alonzo Mourning for a draw in a 5 on 5 game. Given the level weak from basketball in the Virgin Islands, Odom suspected Duncan at first, especially after meeting him and thinking he was inattentive; Duncan stared at Odom for most of the conversation.
However, after the first lecture, Odom understood that this was just Duncan's way of paying attention and found that he was not only a talented athlete, but also a fast learner. Eventually, despite offers of scholarships from the University of Hartford, the University of Delaware and Providence College, Duncan joined Odom's Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

College career

The year before Duncan arrived at Wake Forest University, the Demon Deacons reached Sweet 16, but lost top scorer Rodney Rogers, who entered the 1993 NBA draft. In the 1993-94 NCAA season, coach Dave Odom was considering redshirar Duncan, but was forced to play him after his freshman colleague Makhtar N'Diaye violated NCAA rules and ended up being transferred to Michigan.
Duncan struggled with transition problems at the beginning and even went scoreless in his first college game, but as the year went on, he and his teammate Randolph Childress led deacons to a 20-game winning and losing record -11. Duncan's style of play was simple but effective, combining a series of low-post moves, medium-range bench shots and tough defense. He was chosen to represent the United States at the 1994 Goodwill Games. Meanwhile, Duncan majored in psychology and also took classes in anthropology and Chinese literature. Despite his strong focus on basketball, the head of Wake Forest's psychology department, Deborah Best, said: "Tim was one of my most intellectual students.
In addition to his height, I couldn't distinguish him from any other student in Wake Forest. "Duncan also established his reputation as a stoic player, to the point that opponent fans insulted him as" Mr. Spock ", the prototypical logical and independent character in Star Trek.
Tim Duncan studied at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. As his mother asked on his deathbed for Duncan and as sisters to graduate from higher education, Duncan spent all four years in college, majoring in psychology while playing on the basketball team. He was chosen 3 times as the Best Player of the ACC Conference, and was elected the Best University Player in the 1997 season.