Sometimes, just being comfortable in your own skin is all that it takes to succeed in the NBA. Of course, it helps if that skin is wrapped around a body with the requisite athleticism and a brain with enough basketball IQ to get the job done, but in the case of Boston Celtics reserve forward Sam Hauser, that much is under control, per his former head coach at Virginia, Tony Bennett.
“Sam knows who he is,” he explained in a recent interview with SI’s Chris Mannix. “So many guys don’t know who they are. They’re so desperate to become someone that they aren’t, or they’re trying to prove it, that they end up disqualifying themselves or hurting themselves.”
“Sam is very clear on who he is as a player and a person,” added the Virginia coach. “And that’s gold when you got that.”
— Dr. Justin Quinn (@justinquinnn) December 1, 2022
“He understands clearly, ‘This is my identity. This is who I am.’ And he’s not going to veer from it,” added Bennet.
And from the perspective of the Celtics, that is absolutely fine from where they sit given what we have seen so far.
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