Ike Diogu, who appeared in all of 10 games for Sacramento this season, including one start in place of the injured Spencer Hawes, was the team's best bench player. All it took were two games to close out the year, in which he averaged 30 points and 12 rebounds in garbage time. Bobby Jackson, brought in for his strong locker room presence and leadership (as much as you can really "lead" a 17-65 team), was hardly the same player at age 35 that he was six years ago, when he won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Rashad McCants played limited minutes even while Kevin Martin sat out the last eight games, while Mikki Moore lost his starting job, and eventually his team locker, after failing to beat out a couple of first- and second-year players. Even Mr. Candace Parker averaged more points per game!
It's almost hard to believe that the Kings were once one of the league's deepest teams, sporting an unparalleled second unit that could throw gasoline on a slim lead or ignite a scoring explosion to break open a close game. The Bench Mob, a term coined by leaders Jon Barry and Darrick Martin, took pride in outplaying opposing reserves and became just as integral to the Kings' success as the All-Star starting unit.
In the earliest days, Barry, Martin, Lawrence Funderburke, Scot Pollard, and Peja Stojakovic, as well as seldom-used defensive stoppers Tyrone Corbin and Tony Delk, routinely rescued the team after poor starts and ended up playing more minutes than the starters. They didn't care about who scored the most points or received the headlines, and weren't trying to land lucrative free agent contracts in the offseason. As cliched as it sounds, they had one goal — helping the team win basketball games.
Jon Barry, nicknamed "The Nose" in honor of (what else?) his big schnoz, quickly became a fan favorite for his instant energy. He routinely delivered timely buckets during a scoreless drought, usually brought on by starter Nick Anderson, who never quite regained his confidence after his infamous free throw misses. I've always thought of Barry as the Kings' version of Scott Brosius — a fiery competitor who made up for his lack of pure talent by laying down the sacrifice bunt or diving for a loose ball to save a key possession.
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Article comments
1 - ryan in sacramento
Great Article! Reading this really made my day!