Heat rookie Marcus Slaughter thought his eyes were deceiving him a few weeks ago when he first saw Penny Hardaway walk into the practice facility.
It couldn't really be him, Slaughter thought. Could it?
'When I realized it was, all of those things you remember from back in the day came right back,'' Slaughter said. ``The Little Penny doll. The commercials. Chris Rock [who voiced the doll]. All that. I mean, he was one of the greatest players in the game.''
At age 36, Hardaway is often the first to remind those around him he is far from the player he was in the mid-1990s -- a four-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection.
Sure, the accolades from his days with the Orlando Magic were all legit. So, too, has been the aging process.
But even after two major knee surgeries, several other injuries and nearly two years of inactivity, Hardaway is battling in camp to prove he is more than just a player who used to be somebody.
And there is an opportunity to do so on a Heat team that opens its exhibition season tonight in Detroit. Hardaway is among the candidates at shooting guard to fill in for Dwyane Wade, who is expected to miss at least the first two weeks of the regular season as he recovers from knee and shoulder surgeries.
''I can still play basketball,'' Hardaway said, with a hint of defiance. ``I'm excited to get the opportunity to prove it again. I'm finally healthy, and everything that's been a major obstacle is totally out of the way.''
source : miamiherald.com
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