Pistons center Greg Monroe is keeping a watchful eye on Hurricane Isaac. He's seen this all before.
Exactly seven years ago, Monroe and his family left their Louisiana home with Hurricane Katrina fast approaching. They headed for Houston at around 3 a.m., according to the Pistons' team website, and then reportedly struggled, as did many other hurricane victims, to find a permanent home. Fortunately, their health was intact.
Now, Monroe, the seventh overall pick in 2010 and an up-and-coming NBA big man, is gearing up again. In other words, as much as some things change, other things stay the same.
"After going through Katrina and just having to pay attention to it your whole life, every time one starts to form and all the news stations start to track it, you pay attention," Monroe told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. "It's something that you have to worry about. But you try to stay calm and get as many facts as you can, get to a safe place if you need to."
Hurricane Katrina, of course, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history. And while it's impossible to completely predict what will come of Hurricane Isaac, the 22-year-old now expects everyone to take a more cautious approach.
"People are more conscientious [now]," Monroe reportedly said. "People aren't going to be -– for lack of a better term –- as hard-headed. They had a lot of people who just didn't listen, who stuck it out with Katrina, and that made for more of a crisis. After experiencing that, a lot more people are going to leave. After going through something that big and that horrific, I think people will learn their lesson and understand how much can really happen during a hurricane."
Monroe's family has reportedly headed to Lafayette — about 135 miles away — with Isaac approaching. As the Monroes know, that's probably the safe move.
