Back in the day, Gatorade had the "Be Like Mike" ad campaign for Michael Jordan. Maybe it should be reprised for former Buckeye and Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley--and not because of his basketball expertise.
Conley has become one of the NBA's top role models. He's become the face of the Grizzlies franchise and has handled himself with class on and off the court. He demonstrated that again on Wednesday.
Memphis trails San Antonio 2-0 in their best of seven series but return home for game 3 Thursday night. Conley--hoping to create an even more hostile environment for the Spurs, purchased 500 tickets and after Wednesday's practice, hung out at the arena passing them out to fans.
Conley's good will Wednesday did not just extend to fans--it included his coach too. David Fizdale was fined $30,000 by the NBA for his sharp criticism of the officials in the Grizzlies loss in game 2. Part of his rant included defending Conley who he says is not respected by NBA officials. After getting word of his coaches fine, Conley stepped up.
I've heard Ohio State coach Thad Matta, hundreds of times, talk about the special person Mike Conley is. He has shown to the city of Memphis and the Grizzlies organization through the years. Hopefully fans in America notice. Sports could use more Mike Conley's.