http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/14/4487434/leading-off-abdur-rahim-35-to.html

Sixteen years ago this week, Shareef Abdur- Rahim wrestled with a decision
that most 19-year-olds usually don't have to make.

Stay at Cal for his sophomore basketball season or enter the 1996 NBA draft.
A two-time high school Player of the Year in Georgia, Abdur-Rahim was the
first freshman in Pacific-10 Conference history to be named the Player of the
Year. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 21.1 points and 8.4 rebounds, leading the
Bears to the NCAA Tournament.

He liked his coach and teammates, and he enjoyed college life.
But the lure of the NBA was too great, and Abdur-Rahim tearfully said goodbye
to Cal in a news conference. A week later, there was another news conference
– he was staying.

And like a kid torn between his two favorite ice cream flavors, Abdur-Rahim
changed his mind again and turned pro. He was drafted third overall by the
Vancouver Grizzlies. He had a successful 12-year career and is now the
assistant general manager of the Kings, the team he finished his playing
career with in 2008.

But before leaving Cal, Abdur-Rahim promised to return and earn his degree.
Today, at 35, he will walk across a stage in Berkeley and receive a sociology
degree after earning a 3.8 grade-point average.

He made the right decision.


===========================================================================
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/15/4490062/ailene-voisin-kings-executive.html

Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been stuck in freeway traffic more times than he can
count. Thus, he has become a huge fan of earpieces, micromanaging and weekend
travel. He also has experimented with every shortcut imaginable between his
Sacramento-area home and his alma mater in Berkeley.
His alma mater in Berkeley. A degree from Cal. How sweet does that sound?

It took almost 17 years, a nudge from the NBA, a bigger nudge from his
family, on-line courses and community college offerings, guidance from
academic counselors at Cal and the constant support of his boss, Geoff
Petrie. And it required personal discipline and an unhealthy number of
sleepless nights.

But on Monday, Abdur-Rahim, the Kings' assistant general manager, officially
graduated from Cal. He walked with fellow sociology students inside
Zellerbach Auditorium, heard his name called, heard his family cheer,
returned his gown, secured his scroll, then commuted home.

"If I was still 21, maybe we would celebrate," Abdur-Rahim said with a
deep-throated laugh as he navigated Interstate 80 shortly after the two-hour
ceremony. "But I'll probably just go into the office and get back to work."

His familiar modesty notwithstanding, there was more to come, including
dinner and at least another round of hugs and applause. His parents and his
four closest siblings flew in from Atlanta for the festivities. His wife,
Delicia, who has a law degree, has been at his side and helped raise the
couple's two children, Jabri and Samiyyah.

Seize the seasons, all 16 of them, right? Reminded of the time factor,
Abdur-Rahim laughed again.

It seems like an NBA eternity, yet this weekend alone, the NBA's
back-to-school campaign received a boost from two other prominent old-school
types.

Shaquille O'Neal, who obtained his doctoral degree from Barry University in
Miami Shores, Fla., donned his cap and gown Friday during TNT's postgame
show. The self-anointed Big Aristotle is a whopping 40 years old. Don Nelson,
who finally fulfilled his Spanish requirements and was given credit – after
decades of coaching – for student teaching, participated in graduation
ceremonies Saturday at the University of Iowa. Nellie turns 72 today.

By comparison, Abdur-Rahim, 35, is in his infancy. Nonetheless, his
protracted academic journey is impressive for a number of reasons, including
that he completed approximately 12 units before entering the 1996 NBA draft.
"I was able to fulfill my dream and help my family out," Abdur-Rahim said,
"but I also knew someday I would finish school. I just didn't think it would
take this long."

Initially, Abdur-Rahim, who was drafted by Vancouver with the third overall
pick in 1996, was all NBA, all the time. Before his knees began buckling, he
was a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team that won gold in Sydney, and he
was named to the 2002 NBA All-Star squad.

His interest in academics was revived when he joined the Hawks in 2001, aided
by that nudge from nearby friends and relatives. Officials with the NBA's
post-career department connected with new advisers at Cal; most of his former
counselors were gone. Sociology professors then apprised him of applicable
courses available online or at community colleges in Atlanta and his
subsequent destinations in Portland (2004-05) and Sacramento (2005-08).

The NBA travel schedule was a bonus, allowing time to read textbooks and
write papers. When Abdur-Rahim retired because of persistent knee problems
and joined the Kings' basketball operations department in 2008, he arranged
his class schedule around games and scouting trips and thus was able to
fulfill his remaining requirements on the Berkeley campus.

"My playing career stopped so abruptly that it was an adjustment,"
Abdur-Rahim said. "But you have to find other ways to contribute. With
school, I wanted to finish for my folks and to set an example for my
children. It just moved along a little quicker at that point."

Abdur-Rahim also was motivated by a commitment to the Future Foundation Inc.,
the Atlanta-based charity he established to provide academic support,
counseling and after-school programs for an estimated 5,000 at-risk
youngsters.

"We're seeing tremendous improvement," he said, "and now that I have my
degree, I don't have to tell the kids to do what I say. I can tell them to do
what I did."