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Speaking of nicknames, good article on how Church got his
Posted on: August 1, 2017 at 14:23:29 CT
FIJItiger MU
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Greg Church was just a little tack hammer when he first started going one-on-one with the "sledgehammer" of the house, his father James. "He was kind of a beanpole-type kid when he was younger," James said. "That's how he learned all his skills from old Dad beating on him." And boy, would dad beat on him. "He used to foul the tar out of me," Greg said. "He did. He used to hack me every time I tried to shoot." Sometimes, young Greg would get so frustrated -he'd glare at his father. ' "He'd buckle down and he wouldn't quit," James recalled. "We used to work up some hellacious sweats on the patio in the summertime."
That's where the family hoop was installed on-the Church patio in. Palmyra, Mo. And these basketball brawls definitely were family affairs. Greg's mother Jane a star in her own right during her playing days at Palmyra High would throw in the ball to Greg. Greg would turn to the hoop, but first he would have to get past James a three-year basketball letterman during his career at Palmyra. "I used to get mad at him," Greg said. "He did it on purpose, because he knew it was coming sometime."
By the time Greg was a strapping ball peen, about his freshman or sophomore year in high school, things start- ed to change. "I got to pound back a little better," Greg said. Soon, the venerable Sledgehammer had to hang it up head back to the toolshed.
"When he got big enough to beat Old Dad on the head, I gave up on it," James said.
These days, Greg Church is a full-fledged hammer in his own right at the University of Missouri. He picked up the nickname "Hammer" from his teammates last season. Somehow, the rural kid from Mark Twain country in northeast Missouri has found a place among all the inner-city whiz kids from Motown and the Band-Aid man from New York, Derrick Chievous. In fact, Church is one of only two players to start every game this season for the 4-1 Tigers. He is a role player, averaging 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, and being the Hammer has helped get him where he is today.
"I don't want it to be like a dirty thing, because it's not," Church said. "I just try to play hard and aggressive. And by doing that, I may play a little more physical than some people. But I don't want this to be something negative."
"To be successful, he has to be aggressive," MU coach Norm Stewart said. "He's got to go after the ball, pick up the loose ball. Hustle, and you can get a little garbage."
Which is not to imply that Church has no talent, an image that seems to go hand-in-hand with the Hammer persona. It may be too late to worry about that. According to Church, his image was sullied by a former coaching great turned commentator, Jack Hartman, during a Mizzou-Kansas State telecast last season.
"He said all kinds of bad things, like I wasn't even out there to play basketball, I was just out there to hurt ' people, and I had no athletic ability," Church said. "Everybody's got their opinion, but he had no right saying that. And that's not my intentions. I was just trying to guard Norris Coleman, and hold him down by bumping him inside and stuff like that. The only way you can survive is to beat back or you're going to get killed. It's not like I invented something new. Gee whiz. If I don't beat back, then I'm going to be all bloody and I'll be the one who's getting killed."
"To average 20 points, I don't think that's something I could do in college," Church said. "There are better athletes than I am. If it ever happens that sometime I scored 20 points, gee whiz, someone probably would just let me run in there and shoot layups all game."
"He told me one time, 'Dad, I wouldn't care if they never blew a whistle. I don't mind the contact,'" the Sledgehammer said.
Greg Church was just a little tack hammer when he first started going one-on-one with the "sledgehammer" of the house, his father James. "He was kind of a beanpole-type kid when he was younger," James said. "That's how he learned all his skills from old Dad beating on him." And boy, would dad beat on him. "He used to foul the tar out of me," Greg said. "He did. He used to hack me every time I tried to shoot." Sometimes, young Greg would get so frustrated -he'd glare at his father. ' "He'd buckle down and he wouldn't quit," James recalled. "We used to work up some hellacious sweats on the patio in the summertime."
That's where the family hoop was installed on-the Church patio in. Palmyra, Mo. And these basketball brawls definitely were family affairs. Greg's mother Jane a star in her own right during her playing days at Palmyra High would throw in the ball to Greg. Greg would turn to the hoop, but first he would have to get past James a three-year basketball letterman during his career at Palmyra. "I used to get mad at him," Greg said. "He did it on purpose, because he knew it was coming sometime."
By the time Greg was a strapping ball peen, about his freshman or sophomore year in high school, things start- ed to change. "I got to pound back a little better," Greg said. Soon, the venerable Sledgehammer had to hang it up head back to the toolshed.
"When he got big enough to beat Old Dad on the head, I gave up on it," James said.
These days, Greg Church is a full-fledged hammer in his own right at the University of Missouri. He picked up the nickname "Hammer" from his teammates last season. Somehow, the rural kid from Mark Twain country in northeast Missouri has found a place among all the inner-city whiz kids from Motown and the Band-Aid man from New York, Derrick Chievous. In fact, Church is one of only two players to start every game this season for the 4-1 Tigers. He is a role player, averaging 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, and being the Hammer has helped get him where he is today.
"I don't want it to be like a dirty thing, because it's not," Church said. "I just try to play hard and aggressive. And by doing that, I may play a little more physical than some people. But I don't want this to be something negative."
"To be successful, he has to be aggressive," MU coach Norm Stewart said. "He's got to go after the ball, pick up the loose ball. Hustle, and you can get a little garbage."
Which is not to imply that Church has no talent, an image that seems to go hand-in-hand with the Hammer persona. It may be too late to worry about that. According to Church, his image was sullied by a former coaching great turned commentator, Jack Hartman, during a Mizzou-Kansas State telecast last season.
"He said all kinds of bad things, like I wasn't even out there to play basketball, I was just out there to hurt ' people, and I had no athletic ability," Church said. "Everybody's got their opinion, but he had no right saying that. And that's not my intentions. I was just trying to guard Norris Coleman, and hold him down by bumping him inside and stuff like that. The only way you can survive is to beat back or you're going to get killed. It's not like I invented something new. Gee whiz. If I don't beat back, then I'm going to be all bloody and I'll be the one who's getting killed."
"To average 20 points, I don't think that's something I could do in college," Church said. "There are better athletes than I am. If it ever happens that sometime I scored 20 points, gee whiz, someone probably would just let me run in there and shoot layups all game."
"He told me one time, 'Dad, I wouldn't care if they never blew a whistle. I don't mind the contact,'" the Sledgehammer said.
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Speaking of nicknames, good article on how Church got his - FIJItiger MU - 8/1 14:23:29