Luis Leads The Way

Scola looking to build off MVP performance this summer

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - There was a moment when even Luis Scola nearly succumbed to doubt.

Yes, the same man who most often resembles 6-9, 245 pounds of shoulder-length hair, perpetual stubble and pragmatic optimism, had started to wonder whether or not his short-handed Argentinean squad was capable of winning enough games to qualify for next year’s world championships. Forced to play without such decorated stalwarts like Manu Ginobili, Carlos Delfino, Fabricio Oberto and Walter Hermann, Argentina entered the FIBA Americas tournament having lost its last few games of pre-qualifying, and then promptly made matters worse by dropping the first two games of tournament play.

For a proud country accustomed to top-shelf results on the international stage (Argentina’s men’s basketball team took home Olympic gold in 2004 and bronze in 2008), the prospect of failing to qualify for the world championships was unthinkable; short-handed or otherwise. And yet, here they were, on the precipice of elimination with their best player, upon whose shoulders so much responsibility rested, doing everything in his power to combat the doubt which threatened to derail his team for good.

“Everything was dark, everything seemed to be in really bad shape,” recalls Scola from his home in Buenos Aires. “We were no longer fighting for a spot in the world championships; we were simply fighting for a spot in the second round, which was a very difficult situation for us. I’m not going to lie to you, I was kind of worried and nervous.”

Houston Rockets’ Director of Player Personnel Gersson Rosas witnessed Scola’s anxiety firsthand. In Puerto Rico to scout the tournament, Rosas kept in close contact with his hard-working forward and knew the long odds Argentina faced with a club lacking the big names which had graced its roster in years past. Yet he also understood the importance Scola placed on keeping his country among the international elite.

“You could sense the responsibility in his voice,” says Rosas, “and the sense of urgency of, ‘It’s got to be me. This is my responsibility to do what I can to get this team to the world championships.’ We know him well and how much he cares and how much he values playing the game the right way and playing to win, but when it’s about your country it’s totally different. He bleeds Argentina and just to see how focused he was, it was amazing.”

It didn’t take long before that laser-like focus translated into positive results. Argentina bounced back from those early losses in a big way, winning six straight games and seven of its final eight to earn a bronze medal and, yes, a berth in the world championships. Leading the way, of course, was Scola whose tournament-high 23.3 points per game scoring average enabled him to take home MVP honors and memories that figure to last a lifetime.

“It meant a lot,” concedes Scola, making no effort mask his emotion. “It was huge. We struggled a little bit at the beginning and it looked a little bit dark when we lost a couple games, but I was so happy when we fought back and started winning games and made it a really great tournament overall. I have been blessed to win two Olympic medals, so of course those rank very high. But this one, in my heart, it’s close to that level because of the way the team was playing before the tournament and it was a very difficult situation for us, yet we rose above.”

Having risen to that challenge, Scola is now enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation at home before returning to Houston and embarking upon the next one. Coincidentally, the two tasks are not entirely dissimilar. With injured stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady on the shelf, the Rockets are expecting Scola to not only increase his offensive production, but to assume more of a leadership role both on the court and off as well. And needless to say, Houston’s brain trust fosters no doubts whatsoever about his ability to do so after witnessing Scola’s sterling performance in Puerto Rico.

“To see him be the go-to guy on that team and to put the team on his back consistently, and to be the guy who, when they needed a basket was giving them a basket, was just incredible,” says Rosas. “You could see that Luis was comfortable in that position. And I look at it from our perspective where I’m glad he’s getting comfortable in this role because it’s going to translate to this system.

“We’re going to need him to take that next step. He’s fought the wars in both international competition and the NBA now, and we’re going to need that experience. Not one person can replace Yao, but I think you can replace him in situations. And one of the places where we have a major need at this point is in the post, and we’ve seen that Luis can be productive in the post, whether it’s commanding a double-team, or scoring, or drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. And we’ve also expressed to him that now is the stage in his career with our team that he can step up and express more of his thoughts and feelings about what our players have to do, because they have so much respect for his work ethic, dedication and approach.”

Naturally, Scola says he’s willing to do whatever the Rockets ask of him. He embraces the increased responsibility coming his way and understands he’s likely to be a marked man as the object of added attention on both ends of the floor. But just as he so adeptly manages to spin, shake and shimmy his way past perplexed defenders in the post, Scola quickly manages to sidestep questions about his individual role by shifting the focus back to what matters most: his team.

“I’ll be happy to try to do all the things I do for the national team with the Rockets. This is the way I’ve been playing for a lot of years before I got to the Rockets, and it’s the way everybody likes to play; everybody wants to be an offensive player and everybody wants to take a lot of shots.

“If the Rockets want me to take more shots this year, I’m happy to do that, but we have other people who can step up, too – Aaron Brooks will have a bigger role this year as well – and there’s a bunch of guys who can really score on our team, not just me. And that’s what’s getting me excited about this team; it’s going to be a fun team and an exciting team. I think everybody will have to make some changes, but everybody will be part of the offense, we’re going to be running a lot and that’s the way I like to play the most. So I’m looking forward to it and really excited.”

Left unsaid is the fact the future inevitably holds its fair share of speed bumps for Scola and his teammates as well. But perhaps nothing need be said about them anyway. Because when they arise and those old familiar doubts resurface, Argentina’s go-to guy can rely on an unforgettable summer experience to show him the way to respond – with endless amounts of moxie, valor and passion.

You know, M-V-P.

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