Timmy D. SO much more than an ACC Phemon.
BY LAURIE PARKER AND EMILY BREWER
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT COPY EDITOR AND PERSPECTIVES EDITOR
Student fan: Duncan and other studnets cheer on the baseball team in its win against Appalachian State at Hooks Stadium on Feb. 20
When the country hears the name Tim Duncan, they probably think of double- doubles, slam dunks and record-breaking athletic feats. But when he’s not making basketball history or autographing programs for 10-year old fans, he’s one of the approximate 3,600 undergraduates here at the university.
Who is the man behind the now retired number 21 uniform?
Duncan,a senior, may be the most famous student on this campus, but he does not want to be considered so different. “I’m just like everyone else,” he said.
He admits that he does have a special talent for basketball, but “that’s just how everyone is,” he said. “Everyone has something different and special about them.”
His celebrity status has not caused him to feel that he is less of a student or that he is different from his peers on campus, he said.
“I don’t feel separated at all. There’s no reason to be,” he said.
Although some may argue that when he’s being interviewed by news reporters from around the country that he very well is separated from the rest of the students, there is a private side to Duncan, one that the cameras just can’t capture … because they’re not let in.
Constant interviewing and interaction with the public can be frustrating, he admits. It’s important to keep your private life private, he said.
“I don’t think you have to let everything out. I give what I want and I don’t give any more than I want to give,” he said.
And he doesn’t care about the media or what sportswriters think about him. After all, he’s not out to prove himself to the rest of the world.
“I didn’t come to Wake to be player of the year,” he said. “I came to prove myself.”
And if his future is any indication, he has certainly succeeded.
Looking ahead
to the NBA
While many other seniors are being wined and dined by corporate executives around the country as they make their postgraduate plans, Duncan has a myriad of teams, contracts in hand, ready to sign him on.
With such a future on the horizon, and such pressure on his shoulders, how is he handling the stress of the country’s eyes watching his every move?
"I’m looking forward to the different kind of competition but at the same time I don’t know what to expect, so I’m not looking forward to that.
“Hopefully, I can feel comfortable – just be myself and have fun doing it.”
Duncan practices life saving techniques in his swimming class. In addition to this class, he has three other courses in his schedule this spring, including courses in anthropology, Chinese literature and psychology.
Although he does not have any definite projections for his future, he hopes to take the skills he has honed at the college level and adapt them to the new demands of the NBA.
“I just want to be productive and be a good player at the next level.”
Mental preparation is more important than physical prowess, Duncan said. And frustration is harder to deal with than fame, he said.
Dealing with the fame that accompanies his status is important, because thousands of children look up to him as a role model. According to Duncan, a role model is “someone you look up to, aspire to be like, shoot for being.”
While he cannot avoid the popularity that his fame brings, he said that he is not comfortable with being a role model. But it’s unavoidable. “I don’t think I have a choice. My decision turned me into that. No one famous has a choice of being one, unless you apply for it,” he said.
His fame can get in the way of his social life, he said, and sometimes he doesn’t like going out because he feels conspicuous and self-conscious.
“If I know where I’m going, I don’t mind going out but if I’m going somewhere new … I don’t like to go to new places a whole lot because I don’t know what to expect,” he said.
Bits and Pieces
It may be tempting to typecast Duncan into just an NBA-bound hoopster. But his life is far from such a simple categorization. He is the sum of his friends and his hobbies – the bits and pieces that make up his existence.
So what does Duncan do in his free time? Much like a lot of students on this campus, he enjoys club and party hopping every now and then, he said.
“I go around every once in a while. I don’t go out very often.”
Duncan said that he is not one to be tied down, and that includes his music taste.
“I listen to so many different kinds of music, it’s by the month – whatever is good that month. I change week to week, month to month,” he said.
Like a lot of the popular culture, Duncan has joined the Star Wars hype.
His favorite character? He thought for a few moments and said definitively, “Chewie.”
He said that he’s seen all three original films, but his favorite?
“What is the one where they are in the desert? Was that Star Wars? Star Wars.”
It may be surprising to discover that Duncan is not a posterchild for Wheaties and other health foods.
I eat a lot of junk," Duncan admitted. He paused and smiled. “I eat very badly.”
He said that he likes to eat most anything. "At dinnertime, steaks and stuff. I love steaks. “Have you been to Hero House? I like a lot of Hero House. Chicken souvlaki and things like that.”
And as for ice cream, his favorite kinds are rainbow sherbet and Gold Medal Ribbon from Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavor Ice Cream. “It’s real good,” he said.
Miles and miles away from his home in the Virgin Islands, Duncan doesn’t know whether he’ll ever return there to live.
“That’s home, and I’ll probably eventually end up there. After a while it seems constricting. I’m not good at constricting.” However, he does love the Virgin Islands. “I love going back home. It’s a lot different, though. But it’s still a chill place. I don’t get stressed a lot at home. I enjoy going home and just having fun being at home.”
And the weather there is a definite draw. “I don’t enjoy winter too much,” he said.
Student Life
In his last semester at school, Duncan has a full course load, including a beginner’s swimming class. Before he started playing basketball in high school, he was a nationally ranked swimmer. But he’s not in it to learn the sport, he said.
“I just wanted to swim,” he said. “I actually do swim workouts, so it’s not like beginning swimming. I just want to get back in the water. It’s just kind of getting back into swimming shape.”
In addition to his swimming class, Duncan is taking courses in anthropology, Chinese literature and psychology.
Although he used to frequent on-campus dining establishments, Duncan said that he now likes to eat “just anywhere.” “I used to hang out in Benson all the time, but now I just eat off-campus a whole lot.”
Duncan lives for each day, concentrating on what is happening now, and he tries not to worry about the future. “Twenty-five years? Whoa. I don’t think that far into the future. I think about next week when I have a test.”
Duncan said that his relationship with freshman Loren Woods, considered by many his successor, is going “real well.” Is Woods kind of like a little brother?“Little? No,” he said, laughing.
Engrossed in his studies, Duncan flips through a notebook in his Chinese Literature class. With the basketball season coming to a close, he may have more time to devote his studies.
“We’re actually kind of close right now; we’re really cool right now. We didn’t exactly start that way, so it’s a different progress,” Duncan said.
While the fans at home basketball teams have been chastised recently for their lack of enthusiasm and energy, what does Duncan think?
“Wow! Crowd-bashing!” He laughed. “Yeah, I heard about that. I like our fans. At times, not the most exciting bunch, but I like this place (Joel Coliseum). I like the atmosphere. We’ve got our own share of people that go wild, but that’s not everybody, and that’s just how we are.”
He genuinely appreciates and enjoys fans, and likes having people want him to do well.
“I’ve gotten great support from day one, and it’s a positive place to be, a place I love to be.” He said that he tries to focus on the game when he’s playing, and has to block out the crowd’s cheers for him and the team, “I don’t listen to that a whole lot.”
Duncan does not let a lot of things bother him, he said. “I’m not a very serious person,” he said. "I might seem serious on the court, but at no other time am I that serious.
“I don’t get stressed a whole lot at all. I try not to, but every once in a while, I do. It’s a big peeve of mine. I don’t like being stressed, I don’t like getting stressed.”
Low-key and mellow, Duncan said that on a perfect day he wouldn’t do much of anything. He would play pickup basketball, but he emphasized that it would be for fun, not for score or competition. He said he would watch TV or play video games – and just have fun.
He doesn’t have any can’t-miss TV shows, but he likes Highlander, Wings, and The Tick. “The Tick is awesome,” he said. “It’s the greatest show.”
And during baseball season he can often be found in the student cheering section, supporting the Demon Deacon baseball players. In many ways, he’s switching roles.
Duncan doesn’t want his approaching millions to change anything about him but his financial situation.
“I hope it doesn’t change me. I don’t think I’m going to change a whole lot. You have to be yourself.”
Tattoo Watch
If his attitude now is any indication, he will not allow the NBA to change him.
What does Duncan say about his time at the university and on the basketball court?
“I’ve had a lot of fun,” he told the packed crowd at Joel Coliseum Tuesday night when his number was retired.
Having left his mark left on the coliseum, Duncan will continue to walk the halls of his alma mater as a student until May 19.
在网上闲逛时找到的，还有几张图片，都很稀有，不过我现在上传图片有麻烦，所以大家就先看文章吧，由于本人能力有限，还望各位英语N好的帮忙翻译一下，谢谢了
