Virgins do it better!

Virgin Islanders to be more specific...do it better. I know the title of this post may have grabbed your attention, but with Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs one game away from winning yet another odd-year NBA Championship, I had to post about my fellow Virgin Islander and Crucian (for those of you that don't know what a Crucian is, it's a person who hails from the island of St. Croix.).

While Tim was growing up on St. Croix, he was known as a gentle giant and excelled in the swimming pool. His sister, Tricia, was a member of the Virgin Islands Olympic swim team and encouraged Tim to swim.

When Hurricane Hugo hit the islands in 1989, it not only caused havoc to people's lives and property, it destroyed the Olympic pool where Tim and others swam. Word in the Islands was that Tim would have competed in the 1992 Olympics (Barcelona) and would have made a strong run for a spot on the United States Team. (Tim set a number of records in the 50, 100 and 400 meters freestyle.)

Hurricane Hugo hit St. Croix extremely hard and once Tim decided that he didn't want to swim in the ocean (Tim is extremely afraid of sharks), he turned his attention to basketball. But, that wasn't the only blow that Tim had to contend with. Tim had to deal with the death of his mother, Ione, who died on April 24, 1990, one day before his 14th birthday, due to breast cancer.

Coach Cuthbert George, Tim's high school basketball coach, knew he was special when Tim showed a high aptitude and a desire to learn the game. Tim serves as a role model for many Virgin Islanders.

"I feel so proud, and so happy to have one of my own playing in the NBA," George says. "We have a lot of kids looking up to him. And one thing, we have much more kids staying in school because of him."

So, when you watch game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday (6/14), keep in mind all that the San Antonio Spurs represent and what "The Big Fundamental" stands for....Excellence and Team Work in all things.

Virgins do it better!