Mourning's rebound

MIAMI -- They met when he was a high school senior and about to embark on the long and arduous process of choosing a college. Alonzo Mourning tried to approach the whirlwind of recruiting without any preconceived ideas about where he should go.

But a whole lot of that went out the window when Georgetown coach John Thompson arrived for a visit -- with his friend and former Celtics teammate, Bill Russell, in tow.

``Let's just say it definitely affected my decision to go to Georgetown," Mourning said before last night's Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Mavericks. ``I couldn't believe he was there. I couldn't believe he was there to see me."

Russell was struck with the intensity with which the young man from Chesapeake, Va., attacked the game. There was a ferocity to the way Mourning played basketball that Boston's Hall of Fame center could identify with.

``I turned to John and said, `That kid is a warrior,' " Russell said. ``But then the more we thought about it we decided, `No, that's not it. He's a gladiator.' That was more fitting."

The gladiator is 36 years old now, and as he took the floor in Miami last night, he did so knowing it well could be the final appearance of his career in front of his home crowd. Mourning's contract is up this summer, and if the Heat win a championship, he might retire.

In 13 years in the NBA, through the All-Star years in Charlotte, and his first tour of duty in Miami from 1996-02, and a brief stop in New Jersey (not to mention a trade to Toronto in which he refused to report), Mourning never had carved a path to the NBA Finals.

There were plenty of successful years, including back-to-back seasons (1998-99, 1999-00) when he was named Defensive Player of the Year. The award was nice, but what attached special significance to it was when his friend Bill Russell presented him the trophy.

``It was one of the greatest moments of my life," Mourning said. ``I'm not much into individual accolades, but that meant a lot."

Two seasons later, Mourning was in the prime of his career when he was diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis, a serious kidney ailment that would require him to undergo a transplant. He was shocked, angered, then devastated by the news.

``It was actually the closest thing to making me feel like a newborn baby," Mourning said. ``I seriously felt helpless. Completely helpless. As I got sicker, I couldn't imagine that I could even be in such a weakened state.

``When I woke up from that transplant in the hospital room, I asked God, `Please help me get my strength back.' I told Him, `If you do, I'll try to help each and every person that has been through this.' "

Even as he was convalescing, Mourning set about keeping his word. He researched other illnesses that required transplants. He talked with other patients. He asked doctors what they needed to make the process easier.

``I was in that hospital, on that floor with those people," Mourning said. ``I saw them face to face, every day. I saw so many people who were worse off than me. I wasn't ever going to forget those people."

His own recovery was taxing. He was weak, sick from the medication, discouraged by the toll his illness had taken on his body. The 2002-03 season came and went, and Mourning did not suit up. He played 12 games the following year and 37 in 2004-05, splitting his time between the Nets and Heat, but he was not the same player.

The reality, he knew, was he never would be the same.

Thompson, Patrick Ewing, and his close circle of friends reminded 'Zo that his gift was his health, his life, his family. True to his word, Mourning threw himself into charity efforts to raise awareness about organ transplants.

Once a gruff, private public figure, often quick to anger, Mourning underwent a change. He looked at life -- and people -- a bit differently.

Mourning acknowledges his transformation, smiling wistfully. ``If I only knew then what I know now," he said.

Mourning's minutes have been limited in this series, particularly when coach Pat Riley has chosen to go with a smaller lineup. Yet he has had his moments, including a spirited 4 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 13 1/2 minutes in Game 4.

He is still a factor defensively, still a force under the glass, still an intimidator.

``When you think of 'Zo, you think of toughness," said Dallas's Adrian Griffin. ``That, and always professional. I had a chance to be in a couple of training camps with him, and I couldn't believe how much he worked out, and what great shape he was in, all the time. As a young guy, you couldn't help but get the message that that was what you had to do if you wanted to stick in this league."

There is rarely a day that passes without Alonzo Mourning remembering where his journey has taken him.

``That surgery wasn't a mistake," Mourning said. ``It was so I could raise awareness about organ donations. It was so I could tell people who have been through it, `It's OK. You can live your life.' I'm living proof of that."