Harris and his fishing buddies are proud on Thursday night as Celtics coach Ime Udoka helped Boston recover from a 15-point deficit and beat the Warriors 120-108 in the first leg of the final. I was watching with surprise.
“The comeback was almost indescribable,” Harris said. “Everyone here is very excited about Ime.”
The past few months have been a pleasure for those closest to Udoka. Her sister, Mfon, said she had to hang up because of the constant flood of phone calls and text messages after the Celtics broke the heat at the conference finals on Sunday.
Support was warm and sincere, as opposed to the relative silence of the season when Boston fell to 11th place in the east and whispered whether Udoka, a first-year coach, was the right person for the job. ..
“I knew it didn’t bother me, but it did a little bit of all the negatives I heard,” Muphon Udoka said on the phone. “But if I told him one of those things, he would. [expletive].. I don’t care what people are saying. I really don’t care. “
“And he doesn’t really do that. I jokingly say this, but I think he’s the most innocent person on the planet. People around me, including me, said,” What’s happening? I was wondering, but I never saw a reason to panic. “
Mfon said her brother’s steady and unaffected attitude was rooted in their upbringing. Their father, Vitalis, was a Nigerian immigrant who had a hard time finding a consistent job as a worker after moving to Portland. Before Ime was born, the family once lived in a motel after being expelled from their apartment. Also, the lights in my house went out and I gathered near the oven to stay warm.
However, Vitalis and his wife Agnes have always emphasized that the three children will eventually have a better life opportunity. It takes time and good work ethic.
“Our parents have always pushed us, regardless of their circumstances, giving us the belief that we can do anything,” Mfon said. “We didn’t have everything, but it was enough to understand it and find a way to succeed. And Ime always keeps going, no matter what’s happening around him. I had the ability. “
Vitalis Udoka died of a heart attack in 2006, and Agnes Udoka died after a short fight against cancer five years later. Once loaded with FedEx packages at night and chasing basketball dreams during the day, Ime bounced from one minor league town to another, honing his NBA player career and Spurs Greg. I worked as an assistant under the direction of Popovich. ..
The late start of his first year as the head coach of the NBA wasn’t going to falter him. Still, he tended to be protected by his emotions, and Mfon had some concerns. When she contacted Celtics assistants Damon Staudamia and Aaron Miles, she was her longtime friend with Portland and they reassured her.
“They were like’Hey, Ime is Ime’,” Mfon said. “He handles it all really well.”
The Celtics have recovered from injuries and COVID-19-related absences and have strengthened their roster by adding Derrick White and Daniel Theis to the February trading deadline. After that, they turned to the NBA’s most dominant team.
However, in addition to being unaffected by his team’s early stumbling blocks, Udoka was not hit by its final surge. Mfon, who played for several seasons at the WNBA, said Ime always believed this was a championship-level roster.
“He did a lot in the first year and did a great job. I don’t think he expected any more,” says Mfon. “But like him, it is.” Well, what difference would it make if we couldn’t win? We have to win everything. “”
When the Celtics broke the heat at the conference finals, Udoka didn’t think he had much to celebrate yet, so he tried to shake off the water bottle flooding by the players. Then he realized that his resistance was in vain and even broke his smile when he was sprayed.
“I honestly remember a game he played in Portland. He yelled and raised his fist. I was like,” Oh, who is that? “,” Mfon said. rice field. “If they win, you’ll be shocked to see him really celebrate [a title] for now. He is very modest. But I want to see him yell a little and maybe fly around. “
Udoka and his brother James don’t have a social media account, so Mfon shares a post with Ime in a family group textbook with the most entertaining memes about these Celtics.
“Someone said he looked like Sinbad,” Muphon said with a laugh. “He said,’My [butt].. It’s garbage. I don’t. “
However, in most cases, Mfon simply shares a support message. She said the Nigerians were proudly swollen and that some tribes continued to claim Udoka as one of them. And as the Celtics practice unfolded, the topic spread across the continent.
Udoka’s friends and family returning to Portland hope to help Boston take this last step. Harris exchanged text messages with him several times during these playoffs. The communication is concise and simple, which usually ends with thanks to Udoka for taking care of his former high school coach.
You can contact Adam Himmelsbach at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach..
