Ike Reese: 'I Am Trusting The Process'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - SportsRadio 94 WIP's Ike Reese voiced his support for Joel Embiid as the 76ers star continues to emerge as one of the NBA's elite big men. He tells Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that he has not seen this type of buzz around a basketball player in a long time.
"I am trusting the process. I really am and I'm enjoying it. Joel Embiid is a breath of fresh of air, not only to the NBA, but, primarily, obviously, to the city of Philadelphia. A lot of us basketball fans haven't been this excited about a player in this town since Allen Iverson was here."
Reese said he likes Embiid's abundant energy and the belief that anything is possible.
"He is an optimistic player. He wants to bring everyone along for the ride. He can be a little unrealistic at times with some of his expectations. I don't expect the team to make the playoffs this year, but when your best player is saying he believes it, who am I to pour water on what he's trying to get accomplished?"
While he does not buy into some talk that the team will be a contender soon, he thinks the future is bright for the star center.
"They only have ten wins. Now, while that equals their total amount from last year, and we've only played 35 games so far this year, not even a half of a season and they've equaled that win total from last year, that really just speaks to how bad the team has been over the past couple years compared to how good they are this year. They still only have ten wins at this point in the season. I think that's like the third or fourth worst amount of total victories so far this year. I don't think the playoffs are a realistic expectation, but I love this kid's enthusiasm and his ability to try to will his team into believing that."