Thrilled to be alive, Nene says he's ready to lead Nuggets

DENVER — If you're not rooting for Nene, I'm sorry.

Only someone cursed with a glacier of a heart would decline to cheer for Nene after all the troubles he's seen.

But here's the problem. The romantic in me wants to believe Nene can deliver a superlative season for the Denver Nuggets. The skeptic in me wonders if that's a realistic hope.

Nene, the Denver Nuggets 6-foot-11 center/forward, is a cancer survivor who was undergoing chemotherapy as late as February.

Today, seven months later, he's being asked to help carry an NBA franchise.

He could complain or make excuses, but that's not his nature. He swears he's ready.

He's thrilled to be alive. He's filled with joy when he hears doctors say he's free of his testicular cancer.

He chooses to embrace and emphasize the blessings from his excruciating struggle.

"I'm strong," Nene said Monday as the Nuggets opened training camp.

"I don't see anybody out there my age being through all the stuff I've been through. My God has made me strong. My Jesus has made me strong.

"Now is my time. All this experience has made me a man. That is what I think. That is what I believe."

Nene, 26, will need all his strength and wisdom as he faces a daunting assignment.

He's the man in the middle after the team dumped 34-year-old Marcus Camby over the summer.

The Nuggets gave Camby to the Los Angeles Clippers in what amounted to an early Christmas present.

Nene smiled as he thought about patrolling the middle. Smiling is Nene's reaction to virtually everything.

"I'm not a real center," Nene said in his sing-song voice.

"I like power forward, but let's play center. I play center, too."

He'll be playing out of position, but that's common in the NBA.

Nene's health issues are unique. He's missed nearly 200 games in his six-season NBA career, including the last 81 games of the 2005-2006 season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee.