Closing time

By Casey Michel     1/29/09 6:00pm

Damon Stoudamire needs closure. The diminutive point guard, who burst into the league with his 5'10" stature and pinball-machine energy, knows that his career might be over. It's the middle of the NBA season, but for the first time since 1995, Stoudamire can't be found in NBA colors, nor on the injured reserve, nor collecting a massive payday from a European club.

But does that irk him? Is Stoudamire pouting, sitting idly by the telephone and waiting for call back to the league?

Not exactly.

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A new face in a new fieldhouse

If you looked closely enough at the new Tudor Fieldhouse, you'd see that Stoudamire has instead become men's basketball coach Ben Braun's wingman on Rice's bench, forgoing his playing time to give some veteran advice on a team that badly needs it.

In a shrewd move that went largely unnoticed late last year, Athletic Director Chris del Conte brought Stoudamire on board as the program's director of player development. As an All-American at the University of Arizona in the early 1990s, Stoudamire played under del Conte, who was formerly an assistant AD with the Wildcats. The two had maintained enough of a relationship that when Stoudamire's future turned uncertain del Conte offered a phone call of his own.

"I always told myself that if and when I was done I would love to get into coaching," said Stoudamire, who averaged 13.4 points per game over a 13-year career. "I felt like this was the closest thing I can get to being in the game right now, so I thought it was a great opportunity for me to learn some of the coaching ins and outs from somebody that's well-respected as a coach [like] Coach Braun. I just felt like this was a great opportunity that I couldn't pass up."

The decision to come to Rice was an easy one. Having lived in Houston since 2003, Stoudamire had often frequented Rice's athletic facilities over the years to keep in shape during the offseason. As the 2008 break became longer than usual, Stoudamire, the 1995-'96 NBA Rookie of the Year with the Toronto Raptors, realized that a job with Rice would give him the best possible options for staying around what he calls "the art of basketball."

After getting acquainted with his new job - per NCAA rules, he's not allowed any physical interaction with the players while on the court - Stoudamire's role began to settle.

"I'm kind of here like a big brother type because I've been through anything that a player has been through on each level," Stoudamire said. "[The players] pick my brain a lot. Point guard is one of the most difficult positions in basketball, but if you're a good point guard, especially in college, you can lead your team a long way."

Making an impact

For years, Stoudamire thrived at the point guard position, leading both the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers to multiple Western Conference Finals, so his expertise at this position should go a long way with Rice's youthful backcourt. Helmed by sophomore Bryan Beasley and newcomer Connor Frizzelle, the squad's guards are green behind the ears but still expected to lead a team that went 3-27 last year.

The Owls opened this year with a narrow home loss to Portland State, yet as the season has progressed it has been easy to see that Stoudamire's wisdom has begun to rub off on the Owls. Not only has Rice already surpassed last season's win total, but the tandem of Beasley and Frizzelle have pushed the Owls to a conference win against Southern Methodist University and a close loss against No. 4 University of Oklahoma in December.

"When you get a pro athlete of Stoudamire's status at my position, you don't really get opportunities like this," Frizzelle said. "[Stoudamire] opens your eyes up, giving tips, insight, anything he sees. You've got to be like a sponge and soak it all up."

It's not very often that a scrounging, struggling squad like Rice lands a former Rookie of the Year, so it's safe to say that the players were excited about the status of the program's newest member. But for Beasley, Stoudamire's presence came as a shock.

"I didn't hear about him until I actually saw him at practice," Beasley said. "It was definitely a surprise."

Beasley was one of the lone bright spots on last season's squad, but as a former top 10-rated high schooler in Texas, it could be argued that the 20- year old is someone who has not succeeded at the next level - much like Stoudamire, whose career petered out after his stellar rookie year. In similar situations, the two have struck up a rapport that's begun to show results on the court.

"A lot of things come from being aggressive and driving into the lane: getting kickouts, getting layups for yourself," Beasley said. "I think by Damon being here, he's instilled a lot of that aggression into me."

One thing Stoudamire has yet to instill into the team is a staple of his playing days: his "Mighty Mouse" moniker. With a tattoo of the resilient rodent on his arm, Stoudamire had carried the nickname throughout his career, yet the Owls still haven't put it to use.

According to Beasley, however, that absence may soon change: "If he steps on the court, we might have to bring that nickname out again."

Moving up, moving on

The nickname might resurface, but it won't be by one of the Owls. In his current position, Stoudamire isn't allowed to work out with the players on the court. Thus, the only way he can get on the court with his pupils is if he makes it back to the Association.

So while he tries to help the Owls back to respectability, the 36-year old still holds out a belief, a hope, that his career is not yet complete.

"We have that understanding that if a call [from the NBA] were to come, I'd definitely leave, because in order for me to feel like I got closure with that chapter in my life, I've got to go back," he said. "Right now, I don't have closure with it."

According to The Oregonian, Stoudamire was one of five players who worked out with the Phoenix Suns in December, but the Suns eventually signed former University of Illinois point guard Dee Brown.

Fortunately for Rice, Stoudamire seems to be a perfect fit for the team. His enthusiasm is almost as obvious as the ease with which he talks to the players, and he and Braun share similar philosophies on the roles of the point guard. And while it would be easy to mistake him for an Owl - both his stature and his skills belie his age - Stoudamire hasn't allowed himself to wallow behind the bench, waiting for the sense of completion he desires.

In fact, a position like this may help give him some of the closure he needs.

"This [job] gives me the opportunity to straddle the fence and keep one foot in and one foot out," he says. "If I can look down the road and see this program [become] successful and [know] I had a little part to play, that's something I can take with me.

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