D2 eZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAy, MARCH 3 , 2020
Quotable“I’m talking football
with Jon Gruden,
and he says,
‘Hey, man, are you
from planet Earth?’ ”
JeFF oKuDaH,
former ohio state cornerback,
speaking with NFl.com,
on a compliment the raiders coach
gave him a t the scouting combine.olympicsBY CINDY BORENPita Taufatofua, known
throughout the world as the shirt-
less, oiled To ngan flag-bearer, is
making another trip to the Olym-
pics, where he figures to be a viral
sensation again d uring the p arade
of nations at t he Opening Ceremo-
nies in Tokyo.
Ta ufatofua, who d rew attention
for b aring his b uff, w ell-lubricated
chest as he marched proudly in
native dress at the previous two
Olympics, secured his third Olym-
pic berth in a taekwondo qualify-
ing event in Australia, beating a
competitor from Papua New
Guinea in the Oceania qualifier.
They were the only two competi-
tors in their weight c lass.
“Looks like we’re going to need
more coconut oil,” Taufatofua
joked on Instagram.
But there’s more to Ta ufatofua,
who became a sensation when he
carried the South Pacific island
nation’s flag during the Opening
Ceremonies for the 2016 Summer
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He
returned to t he Olympics at the
2018 Winter Games in
P yeongChang, defying tempera-
tures in the 20s to again carry the
flag while s hirtless.
“If my ancestors could sail
across t he P acific Ocean f or a thou-
sand years... then I can walk for
25 minutes through an opening
ceremony without a shirt on and
represent a thousand years of her-
itage,” h e said i n South Korea.
He c ompeted i n those Games i n
cross-country skiing. For 2020, he
had hoped to qualify in sprint
kayak as well as taekwondo. But
last month, Taufatofua, 36, wrote
on Instagram that he had torn
muscles in his rib cage, affecting
his performance. Last week, he
wrote that he had aggravated the
injury while sparring before the
taekwondo qualifying.
“Strapping tape is holding me
together but just so glad to be
finally competing,” he wrote.
“Whatever you go through, there
are no excuses — just reasons to
keep p ushing!”
His Olympic experiences have
been brief, b ut that’s not the p oint:
He has become something of a
To ngan ambassador. He was only
the s econd Winter Olympian from
To nga, and he had not experi-
enced snow until two years before
the G ames. Offers of m odeling and
movie jobs poured in, and agents
advised him to change his name.
His response? He changed agents.
“The truth isn’t glamorous, it
isn’t shiny,” he wrote on social
media during his previous brush
with celebrity. “The truth is that I
have had more injuries than I can
count, that I have lost more match-
es than I have won, that I have
gone through massive financial
hardship and lost very close rela-
tionships in pursuit of the dream.
What I pride myself in is not my
skill in my craft, there are others
who will a lways b e better.... What
I pride myself in is that I do not
quit, I do not s top!”
[email protected]‘Shirtless
Tongan’
is heading
to Tokyo
teleVision anD raDio
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10 p.m. Washington at sacramento » NBc sports washington, wFed (1500 aM)
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7:30 p.m. boston at tampa bay » NBc sports Network
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1 p.m. boston vs. new york yankees » esPN
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6:30 p.m. mississippi state at south carolina » sec Network
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2:30 p.m. german cup, quarterfinal: bayern munich at schalke 04 » esPNU
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5 a.m. Wta: lyon open, early rounds » tennis channel
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college baseball
3 p.m. unc greensboro at north carolina » acc NetworkBY CINDY BORENScratch Dustin Johnson from
the list of American golfers who
might compete in the To kyo Olym-
pics this summer, a move that
could improve Tiger Woods’s
chances.
“Dustin gave the Olympics a
great deal of thought,” Johnson’s
manager, David Winkle, t old Golf-
week in a n email. “A t the e nd of the
day, it’s a matter of personal pref-
erence and priority. As m uch a s he
would be honored to be an Olym-
pian, the FedEx Cup Playoffs are
also very i mportant to him.”
Four golfers will qualify for
Te am USA based on their world
ranking. Brooks Koepka (ranked
third) a nd Justin T homas (fourth)
are ahead of the fifth-ranked
Johnson. Patrick Cantlay is sixth,
followed by Webb Simpson
(eighth), Patrick Reed (ninth),
Woods (11th) and Xander
Schauffele (12th).
Another American spot may
open as well: Koepka said r ecently
that professional golf ’s four ma-
jors and the FedEx Cup matter
more to him than a gold medal.
Olympic play begins shortly af-
ter the British Open ends July 19
and features four rounds from
July 30 through Aug. 2 at Kasumi-
gaseki Golf Club in Saitama. The
first FedEx Cup playoff event, the
Northern Trust, starts Aug. 1 3.
Woods, 44, said last fall that
“making t he O lympic team is a big
goal.” “I don’t see myself having
too many opportunities other
than” i n 2020, he added.
Playing in the Olympics would
require Woods, who has had a
number of injuries over the years,
to manage his schedule even more
carefully than usual. H e played in
only 12 tournaments last season
after making 18 appearances in
2018.
Golf was in the O lympics for t he
first time in 112 years at the 2016
Rio de Janeiro Games, and it was
viewed as a success. More people
watched the final round on NBC
than tuned in for the f inal round of
that year’s U.S. Open, British Open
or PGA Championship. G reat Brit-
ain’s Justin Rose edged Sweden’s
Henrik Stenson for t he men’s g old;
American Matt Kuchar took
bronze.
[email protected]
olympics
Johnson’s
choice may
open door
for Woods
pro basKetball: analysisMIcHael dwyer/assocIated Press
James Harden took a jab at Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game by saying being t all and dunking “takes no skill at all.”BY BEN GOLLIVERJames Harden knows an awful lot
about reductive criticism.
After all, the Houston Rockets guard
has been painted by critics over the years
as a choker, a con man, a ball hog, a lazy
defender and a party animal, among
many other unwanted and distorting
labels. He surely understands that he is a
big and easy target: He has never won a
title, he’s not shy about campaigning for
individual awards, and his style of play is
confounding and unorthodox.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis
Antetokounmpo jabbed at Harden twice
last month — mocking his ball-
dominance with a one-line joke during
the all-star draft and referencing his
defensive deficiencies during his
postgame news conference at t he All-Star
Game. Harden deserved better on both
counts. He’s a willing, and often
visionary, passer. While hardly elite on
defense, Harden is incredibly effective
guarding bigger players in the post and is
solid on the perimeter when locked in.
That context is what made Harden’s
response to Antetokounmpo so galling.
Rather than offer a detailed defense of his
own game or a nuanced critique of
Antetokounmpo’s approach, Harden
deployed the same type of shallow and
misrepresentative analysis that has so
often been foisted upon him. Simply put,
Harden stooped to the level of his worst
trolls and detractors.
“I wish I could just run and be 7 feet
and just dunk,” Harden told ESPN’s
Rachel Nichols in a televised interview
when asked about Antetokounmpo’s
comments. “Like, that takes no skill at a ll.
I have to actually learn how to play
basketball and have skill. I take that any
day.”
Harden’s dismissive tone and
sentiment touched a nerve.
Antetokounmpo, the 2019 MVP winner
and 2020 MVP favorite, is the NBA’s most
dominant physical force and its second-
most-prolific dunker this season. But
Antetokounmpo isn’t a perfect player.
He’s a career 29 percent three-point
shooter. He’s a bit robotic in the
midrange. And, despite significant
progress in recent years, he’s a good, butnot extraordinary, passer.
When it comes to the version of
basketball “skill” that gets glorified in
highlights and sneaker commercials,
Harden surpasses Antetokounmpo. He’s
a better and smoother shooter with
deeper range, and his ballhandling and
bag of tricks are far superior. In truth,
Harden surpasses almost every player in
NBA history by these measures.
But these attributes hardly paint a full
picture of basketball “skill.” Contrary to
Harden’s p ortrayal, Antetokounmpo isn’t
a mindless lug, a one-trick pony or an
unsophisticated apprentice. His game
and personality are overflowing with
valued skills.
James Naismith, the inventor of
basketball and the ultimate authority,
listed the sport’s “physical and mental
requirements” in 1892. “Skill” made the
cut, as did agility, accuracy, alertness,
cooperation, initiative, reflex judgment,
speed, self-sacrifice, self-confidence, self-
control and sportsmanship.
Antetokounmpo, 25, checks every box.
He’s endlessly agile in the open court,
slithering through defenses with his
long-legged Eurosteps. He’s accurate,
leading the league in field goals made.
He’s alert, captaining the NBA’s top-
ranked team in defensive efficiency a s a
leading defensive player of the year
candidate.
Antetokounmpo cooperates,
unselfishly setting up his teammates
within an offense that ranks in the top
five in efficiency, assists and three-point
attempts. His initiative is perhaps his
most prized quality; he has obsessively
transformed himself from a raw teenager
into a starter, into a most improved
player, into an all-star and, finally, into an
MVP during his seven years in
Milwaukee. His reflexes and end-to-end
speed, of course, are self-evident.
From a leadership standpoint,
Antetokounmpo has followed in themold of Stephen Curry and Tim Duncan:
He incessantly defers credit to his
teammates after wins and takes blame
after losses, reflecting his self-sacrifice
and self-confidence. Aside from
occasional frustration with officials and
this uncharacteristic engagement with
Harden, Antetokounmpo has been a
model of self-control and sportsmanship
since rising to stardom.
The Bucks are 112-31 over the past two
seasons, an absurd stretch of consistent
excellence made possible only by
Antetokounmpo’s reliability both on and
off the court.
“My game is not just power,”
Antetokounmpo said when told of
Harden’s comments.
No kidding.
It takes skill to perfectly time a chase-
down block. It takes skill to know
precisely when and how to attack a
defender in transition. It takes skill to
read double teams and find the open
shooter. It takes skill to be willing to
challenge any center in the league at the
rim.
It takes skill to admit weaknesses and
address them one after another. It takes
skill to raise one’s scoring and
rebounding average every year for seven
straight years. It takes skill to respond to
a disappointing 2019 Eastern Conference
finals with a career year. It takes skill to
keep a team on track for 70 wins without
help from a Hall of Fame sidekick.
It takes an obscene combination of
skills to drive from the three-point line,
pirouette through three defenders,
gather your footing a nd then dunk over a
fourth defender — as Antetokounmpo
did against the Charlotte Hornets on
Sunday. It takes skill to do those things
season after season when the NBA’s best
organizations are putting all of their
manpower and brainpower into
stopping him.
By pitting Antetokounmpo as his
opposite, Harden is guilty of constructing
a false dichotomy and of arguing in bad
faith. He must know there’s so much
more to Antetokounmpo than running
and dunking, just as he should know
there’s s o much more to basketball “skill”
than shooting and dribbling.
[email protected]Harden’s shot is off the mark
By pitting Antetokounmpo
as his opposite, Rockets star
is arguing in bad faithwashingtonpost.com/sports
soccer
D.C. United wraps up
deal to add Higuaín
D.C. United on Monday
completed its acquisition of
midfielder Federico Higuaín ,
who will be a player and
assistant coach.
Te rms were not disclosed, but
people close to the situation said
Higuaín, 35, agreed to a one-year
salary of around $100,000, a
steep cut from his $1.1 million
contract from last year. He will
receive an additional payment
for coaching duties. His formal
title is player development
coach.
Higuaín, an Argentine who
played eight seasons for the
Columbus Crew, has recovered
from an ACL injury suffered in
May. However, team officials said
he will need about six weeks to
build fitness. Higuaín posted 55
goals and 63 assists in his
Columbus career.
United is also set to announce
the signing of d efensive
midfielder Mohammed Abu , 28,
who most recently was with
Norwegian club Valerenga.
— Steven Goff
A rsenal advanced to the sixth
round of the FA Cup after a 2-0
victory at Portsmouth on goals
by Sokratis Papastathopoulos
and Eddie Nketiah.college basKetball
The Maryland women had a
program-record six players earn
all-conference honors Monday,
the day after the Te rrapins
clinched a share of their fifth Big
Te n championship in six seasons.
Ashley Owusu highlighted
No. 6 Maryland’s haul. The
Woodbridge, Va., native was
named the Big Te n freshman of
the year, as voted by the league’s
coaches and a media panel.
Owusu, a Paul VI graduate,
averaged 11.1 points and 4.7
assists in conference play. Her
150 assists overall are the second
most among all freshmen in the
country, behind Nevena
Dimitrijevic of St. Francis
Brooklyn (169).
Owusu, who was also named
to the conference’s five-player all-
freshman team, was joined by
senior guard Kaila Charles ,
senior forward Stephanie Jones ,
senior guard Blair Watson ,
sophomore forward Shakira
Austin and sophomore Taylor
Mikesell in receiving honors.
Charles was named a
unanimous all-Big Te n first-team
pick for the second year in a row.The senior leads Maryland with
16.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per
game in league play.
Jones (11.6 points, 6.7
rebounds in conference play)
and Austin (11.1 points, 6.5
rebounds) were named to the all-
Big Te n second team. Watson,
whose 3.1 steals per conference
game were second in the league,
was named to the a ll-Big Te n
defensive team. Mikesell (10.1
points per conference game) was
an a ll-Big Te n honorable
mention selection.
Maryland, t he No. 1 seed in
this week’s Big Te n tournament,
will face Purdue or Michigan
State at noon Friday in the
quarterfinals in Indianapolis.
— Ava Wallace
The Georgetown women will
face Providence in the first round
of the Big East tournament at
noon Friday in Chicago. The
Hoyas (5-24) are the No. 9 seed,
and the Friars (12-18) are No. 8;
the winner plays No. 1 seed
DePaul (25-5) in the
quarterfinals.sKiing
A lexis Pinturault of France
won a World Cup giant slalom in
Hinterstoder, Austria, for his
second win in two days to return
to t he top of the overallstandings.
Pinturault added 250 points to
his tally over the three-day event
to o vertake Norway’s
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde , who
finished sixth and trails
Pinturault by 26 points with six
races left.
Filip Zubcic of Croatia
finished second, with Henrik
Kristoffersen of Norway third.misc.
Defensive end Yannick
Ngakoue , 24, announced via
social media he no longer wants
to sign a long-term deal with the
Jacksonville Jaguars.
A third-round draft pick out of
Maryland in 2016 who also
played at Friendship Collegiate,
Ngakoue has 37.5 sacks and 14
forced fumbles in four years....
A nthony Joshua (23-1, 21
knockouts) will defend his three
heavyweight b oxing belts against
Kubrat Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) on
June 20 a t London’s new
To ttenham Hotspur Stadium....
Tim Ritvo is out as chief
operating officer of the Stronach
Group, which runs California’s
Santa Anita racetrack, where a
large number of horse deaths
provoked a crisis in the sport.
— From news services
and staff reportsDigest