Judging from the excitement in Rick Carlisle's voice, one would think Mavericks training camp was commencing today, not six weeks from now.
Speaking to The Dallas Morning News by cellphone, Carlisle was, in fact, standing on a basketball court. He had just finished doing what comes naturally to him, teaching basketball, but his pupils were not Mavericks. They were 64 coaches from around the world, in Orlando's ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney complex to guide their age 13-14 boys and girls teams in the inaugural Jr. NBA World Championship.
"It looks like an Olympics, the way they have this place set up," Carlisle said.