How good is Brandon Roy?
He's so good that Boston Celtic coach Doc Rivers has put together highlight videos of Roy that he gives to his sons to study.
"He's one of my favorite players in the league," says Coach Rivers. "He plays under control, he plays unselfishly, and he plays at gears that young players don't play at. Most young players play fast and out of control, and for them it's all about getting 'my shots.' But his whole attitude is based on team play."
As Ian Thomsen describes him in his story today on SI.com, "the 6'6" Roy plays like an aging vet who takes pride in outsmarting the rim-scrapers while conserving energy to extend his career. In fact, he is a 24-year-old blessed with a 41-inch vertical leap, which he uses only when necessary. He wears neither tattoos nor jewelry. In this era of unparalleled athleticism and style over substance, Brandon Roy is the NBA's curious version of Benjamin Button—a young body driven by an old-school mind."
Says Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard: "He absolutely changed the direction of our team."
So, asks Thomsen, "how does he make the spectacular look so effortless?"
The answer is fundamental: Roy can dribble so well that you can't tell which is his weak hand, and at 211 pounds he has the size to shield the ball as he reads the defense and waits for a play to develop. He has a coach's mind, an intuitive understanding of teammates and opponents swirling around him as if they were X's and O's diagrammed on a whiteboard.
Teammate Steve Blake contends that Roy is "always on balance, so if someone reaches in, he's able to spin and he's not falling over."
Portland coach Nate McMillan says Roy has "three moves that will get you... a crossover, a pump, a spin."
According to Chris Paul, it's a matter of angles and efficiency:
"He goes in straight lines. Anybody who knows basketball knows if you go around a guy, you need to go right by him. He takes a minimal amount of steps, and then he's at the rim."
To improve, Roy says he needs "to make some mistakes."
"I think that's where my potential lies — taking more risks, trying to play with more flair and having more fun out there."
2.10.2009
JERRY WEST
A couple of excerpts from Jerry West's book "Mr. Clutch", which was published 30 years ago.
West, averaged 27 ppg over 14 seasons with the Lakers.
~~~~~~~~~~
I've seen too many players who never improve because they think they've got it made. What they do well, they enjoy doing, naturally, so that's what they practice, sort of showing off, like a great hook-shooter who spends all day shooting hooks. I've seen too many players who won't practice what they don't do well, because they're afraid of showing these faults up, of being embarrassed by them. I always practiced ballhandling rather than shooting because I needed ballhandling practice more than I needed shooting practice.
The more you come through, the more you're apt to keep coming through. Confidence is a lot of this game. If you don't think you can, you won't.
West, averaged 27 ppg over 14 seasons with the Lakers.
~~~~~~~~~~
I've seen too many players who never improve because they think they've got it made. What they do well, they enjoy doing, naturally, so that's what they practice, sort of showing off, like a great hook-shooter who spends all day shooting hooks. I've seen too many players who won't practice what they don't do well, because they're afraid of showing these faults up, of being embarrassed by them. I always practiced ballhandling rather than shooting because I needed ballhandling practice more than I needed shooting practice.
The more you come through, the more you're apt to keep coming through. Confidence is a lot of this game. If you don't think you can, you won't.
LEBRON JAMES & TIGER WOODS
What does LeBron James have in common with Tiger Woods?
According to Chris Ballard in SportsIllustrated, "Just as Tiger Woods remade his swing when he was already dominant, James spent last summer quietly reconstructing his jumper, working with assistant coach Chris Jent five days a week, an hour and a half per session."
Why?
If you watched James shoot last year, you know why; even though teams were petrified of his penetration, he sometimes looked like he was chucking pumpkins at the backboard.
Ballard describes how Lebron -- "like a pee-wee player, began by putting up one-handed shots close to the basket."
He graduated to "one-dribble jumpers and free throws, then midrange shots. Remarkably, never once during the sessions did he fling a three-pointer."
Says Coach Jent:
"Form first, and the range will come."
According to Chris Ballard in SportsIllustrated, "Just as Tiger Woods remade his swing when he was already dominant, James spent last summer quietly reconstructing his jumper, working with assistant coach Chris Jent five days a week, an hour and a half per session."
Why?
If you watched James shoot last year, you know why; even though teams were petrified of his penetration, he sometimes looked like he was chucking pumpkins at the backboard.
Ballard describes how Lebron -- "like a pee-wee player, began by putting up one-handed shots close to the basket."
He graduated to "one-dribble jumpers and free throws, then midrange shots. Remarkably, never once during the sessions did he fling a three-pointer."
Says Coach Jent:
"Form first, and the range will come."
1.24.2009
BRING IT EVERY NIGHT
Doc Rivers on Phoenix guard Steve Nash's role and what third-year Boston guard Rajon Rondo can learn from Nash, who is in his 13th NBA season:
"Every game Steve's agenda is to make his teammates better and he does it each night. He does it some nights by scoring and some by passing.
The one thing that Rondo can learn from Nash is Nash may not play well every night, but he doesn't have an off night mentally. He has a great mental focus every single game. I've never seen him play in a game where he has no focus or low focus. Young players, in general, are up and down in that area. The great ones, like Steve, are always dialed in."
"Every game Steve's agenda is to make his teammates better and he does it each night. He does it some nights by scoring and some by passing.
The one thing that Rondo can learn from Nash is Nash may not play well every night, but he doesn't have an off night mentally. He has a great mental focus every single game. I've never seen him play in a game where he has no focus or low focus. Young players, in general, are up and down in that area. The great ones, like Steve, are always dialed in."
JOHN PELPHREY - KEEP HAMMERING AWAY
John Pelphrey's Arkansas team won 12 of its first 13 games of the season before losing their first three games in SEC play.
But Coach Pelphrey hasn't changed his approach:
"Whether we're in the middle of something great like going 12-1 or in the middle of something difficult like being 0-3, you try to be consistent and keep hammering way. You never know what swing it's going to be that shatters that boulder. You just keep hammering away."
But Coach Pelphrey hasn't changed his approach:
"Whether we're in the middle of something great like going 12-1 or in the middle of something difficult like being 0-3, you try to be consistent and keep hammering way. You never know what swing it's going to be that shatters that boulder. You just keep hammering away."
BENCH PLAYERS
Last night against the Dallas Mavericks, Rip Hamilton came off the bench for only the first time in his seven seasons as a Piston.
Hamilton's reaction?
"They told me I was coming off the bench, that it was something coach Michael Curry wanted and I said, 'Fine, cool.' The bottom line is you want to win games. If this is the best way we can win a championship, then I am all for it."
Some bench players say they prefer coming off the bench because it gives them an advantage:
"Coming off the bench allows you to see what's going on," said Tennessee Wayne Chism, who came off the bench against Vandy the other night to go for 20 points and 7rebounds. "You're able to see what's working and what's not working and use that to your advantage."
The value of a good bench can't be overstated. Just last night, in a win over WAS, the Lakers bench played a key role. "The bench was what broke the game open for us, actually," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Sasha, Trevor, Lamar."
LA's Lamar Odom, who until this season had started nearly every game he's played in during his 10-year pro career, takes pride in his role with this year's Laker team:
"Every game when me and Trevor are checking into the game, I tell him, 'Let's change the game. Let's change it. Whether it's offensively, defensively or the intangibles.' Our depth is important to us. As a team, we're proud of it. It makes our practices very competitive. Hopefully it'll help us down the stretch."
Hamilton's reaction?
"They told me I was coming off the bench, that it was something coach Michael Curry wanted and I said, 'Fine, cool.' The bottom line is you want to win games. If this is the best way we can win a championship, then I am all for it."
Some bench players say they prefer coming off the bench because it gives them an advantage:
"Coming off the bench allows you to see what's going on," said Tennessee Wayne Chism, who came off the bench against Vandy the other night to go for 20 points and 7rebounds. "You're able to see what's working and what's not working and use that to your advantage."
The value of a good bench can't be overstated. Just last night, in a win over WAS, the Lakers bench played a key role. "The bench was what broke the game open for us, actually," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Sasha, Trevor, Lamar."
LA's Lamar Odom, who until this season had started nearly every game he's played in during his 10-year pro career, takes pride in his role with this year's Laker team:
"Every game when me and Trevor are checking into the game, I tell him, 'Let's change the game. Let's change it. Whether it's offensively, defensively or the intangibles.' Our depth is important to us. As a team, we're proud of it. It makes our practices very competitive. Hopefully it'll help us down the stretch."
1.23.2009
BRANDON ROY
Six winters ago, Brandon Roy was ineligible and insecure, cleaning out containers in a shipyard.
Last night Brandon Roy became the second player in the 107-season history of basketball at Washington to have his jersey retired.
"I really can't put this into words," Roy said.
The kids were waiting for prime courtside seats to see Roy's UW jersey No. 3 hung in the arena's rafters. Roy chose the number at Washington to honor his older brother, who wore it as a high school star before troubles derailed his chance at college.
"One of two players in 100 years of basketball? That's amazing," Roy said.
Roy failed to get qualifying college entrance scores out of Seattle's Garfield High School in 2002. His scores improved so dramatically when he took the SAT a second time the disbelieving NCAA's clearinghouse rejected them as invalid. So he took it again -- and his scores were lost. Then they were found.
The NCAA cleared him for eligibility. UW did not, initially.
Months of what should have been his freshman year passed, darkly. The Huskies' season began and Roy was a confused teen, shut out of college and the arena in which he is now immortalized. He needed a purpose, a job.
So Roy scrubbed industrial spills out of the insides of shipping containers in the rugged, cold shipyards in downtown Seattle.
"The doubt definitely crept in my freshman year," Roy said, chuckling. "I thought, 'Man, I'll never have that chance to prove myself."
His family kept encouraging him, saying everyone's story is different "and this one is yours." Each day, his co-workers at the shipyard made sure Roy didn't see the docks as a dead end.
"That taught me a lot, sitting with those guys. They would say, 'When you get a chance to go to college, make the most of it,'" Roy said.
Romar remembers as if it was yesterday the January day in 2003 when he told Roy that Washington had declared him eligible. They hugged and held on for what Roy said had to be five minutes.
"That was probably the most special day of my life," Roy said.
He refused to redshirt because he was so eager to play. But for the next couple seasons, he quietly sat back and let teammate Nate Robinson, now with the New York Knicks, get the accolades as Washington soared into the nation's elite.
Washington needed Roy to rebound, so he led the Huskies in that.
Then Roy missed much of his junior season with a knee injury. He returned mainly as a sixth man, content to ease his way back in, to not disrupt the chemistry of a team that was on its way to another NCAA tournament.
He took over in his senior season, averaging 20.2 points and scoring the fourth-most points in a UW season. He passed. He rebounded. He shut down opponents' best scorers. The Huskies went 26-7 and reached another regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament.
"Brandon Roy separates himself from any era. You can't match what he did. Brandon's in a class by himself," he said.
Last night Brandon Roy became the second player in the 107-season history of basketball at Washington to have his jersey retired.
"I really can't put this into words," Roy said.
The kids were waiting for prime courtside seats to see Roy's UW jersey No. 3 hung in the arena's rafters. Roy chose the number at Washington to honor his older brother, who wore it as a high school star before troubles derailed his chance at college.
"One of two players in 100 years of basketball? That's amazing," Roy said.
Roy failed to get qualifying college entrance scores out of Seattle's Garfield High School in 2002. His scores improved so dramatically when he took the SAT a second time the disbelieving NCAA's clearinghouse rejected them as invalid. So he took it again -- and his scores were lost. Then they were found.
The NCAA cleared him for eligibility. UW did not, initially.
Months of what should have been his freshman year passed, darkly. The Huskies' season began and Roy was a confused teen, shut out of college and the arena in which he is now immortalized. He needed a purpose, a job.
So Roy scrubbed industrial spills out of the insides of shipping containers in the rugged, cold shipyards in downtown Seattle.
"The doubt definitely crept in my freshman year," Roy said, chuckling. "I thought, 'Man, I'll never have that chance to prove myself."
His family kept encouraging him, saying everyone's story is different "and this one is yours." Each day, his co-workers at the shipyard made sure Roy didn't see the docks as a dead end.
"That taught me a lot, sitting with those guys. They would say, 'When you get a chance to go to college, make the most of it,'" Roy said.
Romar remembers as if it was yesterday the January day in 2003 when he told Roy that Washington had declared him eligible. They hugged and held on for what Roy said had to be five minutes.
"That was probably the most special day of my life," Roy said.
He refused to redshirt because he was so eager to play. But for the next couple seasons, he quietly sat back and let teammate Nate Robinson, now with the New York Knicks, get the accolades as Washington soared into the nation's elite.
Washington needed Roy to rebound, so he led the Huskies in that.
Then Roy missed much of his junior season with a knee injury. He returned mainly as a sixth man, content to ease his way back in, to not disrupt the chemistry of a team that was on its way to another NCAA tournament.
He took over in his senior season, averaging 20.2 points and scoring the fourth-most points in a UW season. He passed. He rebounded. He shut down opponents' best scorers. The Huskies went 26-7 and reached another regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament.
"Brandon Roy separates himself from any era. You can't match what he did. Brandon's in a class by himself," he said.
1.10.2009
KOBE BRYANT
Here is an observation by Eric Musselman the former NBA coach while watching Kobe Bryant during his game against the Warriors:
During Kobe's pre-game and halftime warm-ups, unlike a lot of guys, he isn't chatting or casually shooting. He's focused & taking game-speed jumpers. Its that kind of focus and preparation that separates him from the other elite players. Kobe takes advantage of every minute he is on the floor and it’s that tiny bit of extra focus that can make a big difference.
During Kobe's pre-game and halftime warm-ups, unlike a lot of guys, he isn't chatting or casually shooting. He's focused & taking game-speed jumpers. Its that kind of focus and preparation that separates him from the other elite players. Kobe takes advantage of every minute he is on the floor and it’s that tiny bit of extra focus that can make a big difference.
GARY WILLIAMS
Longtime Maryland coach Gary Williams points out that for a team, there has to be a consistent level of commitment across the board:
"To be a good team... it's just a matter of if everybody makes the same commitment; there's always going to be one guy that's better than the others. But the team's got to get over that. You're doing everything you can to help us win. In other words, for us to win, that guy's got to get those points. Everybody's got to have their role and accept the fact that points aren't the answer to whether a team's successful or not."
"To be a good team... it's just a matter of if everybody makes the same commitment; there's always going to be one guy that's better than the others. But the team's got to get over that. You're doing everything you can to help us win. In other words, for us to win, that guy's got to get those points. Everybody's got to have their role and accept the fact that points aren't the answer to whether a team's successful or not."
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS
Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl speaks on the addition of Chauncey Billups, the 12-year veteran, who has played in three NBA Finals. He has had an immediate impact on how the team approached the season:
"In a strange way, I think Chauncey has defined winning with this team as being the only reason why we play the game. In the past couple of years, it seems like we've won games, but that wasn't the only reason we played. His no-nonsense priority is that we're here to compete, we're here to win, we're here to represent the organization, we're here to represent the city of Denver and do it in a first-class way."
"In a strange way, I think Chauncey has defined winning with this team as being the only reason why we play the game. In the past couple of years, it seems like we've won games, but that wasn't the only reason we played. His no-nonsense priority is that we're here to compete, we're here to win, we're here to represent the organization, we're here to represent the city of Denver and do it in a first-class way."
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