Sept. 28--J.J. Redick had a huge challenge over the summer, and it had nothing to do with basketball.
When the sharp-shooter's older sister asked him if he'd be willing to officiate at her wedding last fall, the Clippers' starter was worried that he might lose it emotionally.
It was a valid fear.
"I'm an emotional person," Redick said at Clippers' training camp in Irvine on Sunday. "I've cried at every wedding I've ever been to, including my Little League baseball coach's daughter, whom I did not know. ... Their marriage lasted five months."
As expected, officiating at his sister's wedding was no easy feat.
"For me to sit there and read Scriptures, it was hard, it was way harder than I thought it would be," Redick said. "But I kept it together for the most part."
His other challenge over the summer likely paled in comparison.
Each summer, Redick picks an aspect of his game to zero in on, and he tirelessly works to improve in that area. This time it was going to his left, and sharpening his three- to nine-foot jumper.
Redick has steadily improved his stats each season. He averaged 4.1 points a game in 2007-08, and each year those stats have gradually increased through last season, when he averaged four times that number (16.4 points).
In addition to improving his individual game, Redick said he enters this season with another big goal.
"Win a championship, that's the focus," Redick said. "My focus every year is to improve as a player, but it's also about helping your team win. If we win a championship this year, I'll feel like it's a step forward."
