Jack’s Blog

It’s always interesting (for those of us to do this sort of thing) thinking about who, after all the draft hype, will eventually be the Rookie of the Year.  Sometimes, it’s a certainty, e.g. Lew Alcindor (remember him?), Patrick Ewing, Shaq and LeBron.  Barring injuries, no one really knows because, although the number one pick usually goes to a bad team and, thus, gets mega-minutes, other first rounders are put into positions which showcase their abilities and allow them to have big years.

Naturally, the overwhelming favorite this season will be John Wall.  Based on his first two summer league games, the ROY award’s going to be hard for anyone to take away from him.  But there are other candidates.  One, in particular, is the number two pick, Evan Turner.  Having played in college for a greater period of time must have helped with his maturity, as did playing on the Big Ten stage and having to be a leader for the Buckeyes - which he did magnificently.  Another factor in his favor is he will be coached by Doug Collins who, aside from being a terrific motivator and possessing an extremely keen basketball mind, was the number one pick coming out of Illinois State.  He will be a calming mentor to Turner.

Picks three and four, Derrick Favors of the Nets and Wesley Johnson of the Timberwolves, respectively, each were selected by bad teams desperately in need of immediate help at their positions so opportunity will be no problem and while their teams were lousy last year, each has complementary pieces who should allow the two newcomers to flourish in their extensive roles.

DeMarcus Cousins’ maturity has come under scrutiny - for which he has only himself to blame - but if his mental makeup can catch his physical stature, he also will be given a role in which he’ll get all he needs to prove himself - and will have a great point guard and guy who understands what it takes to win the award.

Gordon Hayward and Cole Aldrich may have hit the jackpot with the teams who drafted them but, while they’ll be happy to be in the situations that present themselves, they won’t be ROY candidates - which is as good as any rookie could hope - to be drafted by a good team which needs them but, more importantly, is just what they need.  As if the guaranteed money wasn’t enough of a bonus.

So, armed with all this knowledge, who will the 2011 NBA Rookie of the Year be?  My pick is . . . the Clippers’ Blake Griffin.  For all the reasons above - opportunity, need, big minutes, will be playing for Vinny Del Negro, under whose guidance Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson became NBA fixtures (defined - by me - as guys who will have minimum 10-year careers) and, add to that list, a hunger to make up two years in one.  

Those in the Clippers’ organization claim Griffin’s work ethic is unsurpassed.  And he has several others traits that ought to insure NBA longevity and stardom, e.g. skill set, strength, quickness, intelligence and high character.  After missing his first year in the league due to injury (the reason he’s eligible for the ROY award), Griffin is finally healthy.  This is a guy who was MVP of last year’s summer league.

If ever Napoleon Hill’s quote applied to anyone, it applies to Blake Griffin:

“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.”

Coaches everywhere preach that defense wins games.  I’ve blogged in the past that offense was more important than defense in basketball because - basketball is the only team game in which the defensive goal is not a shutout. 

After watching the games last night, I amend that statement.  Tack on an addendum: until your team gets to the Sweet Sixteen.  For the people who know me best, they won’t believe I’ll give up my basic premise - one that I developed in the late ’70s - that easily.  And they’d be right.  I still think offense is more important for the simple reason that, even at this time of the year, coaches are writing on the board before a game their defensive goal - and it’s always at least 50.  That means, in order for their team to win, they must find a way to generate at least 51 points.  And don’t tell me they anticipate getting it from their defense.

If coaches depended on their defense for all their points, they’d have to change their defensive goals to around 20!  Execution is the name of the game as far as scoring at the offensive end - and therein lies the problem come tournament time.  Teams are so much more focused and, whether coaches want to admit it or not, kids play harder at tourney time.  Maybe it’s the sudden death atmosphere or that more games are televised (or, for the teams whose games are always televised, they realize the audience is so much larger), but it’s easier for coaches to get that maximum effort they’re always talking about.

With this increased effort, defenses dig in deeper and scoring becomes much more difficult.  Cases in point were last night’s Sweet Sixteen games.  Although the Tennessee-Ohio State game was in the 70’s (relatively high scoring for this time of year), both teams play up tempo, UT and their flamboyant coach, Bruce Pearl, enjoy that style and the Buckeyes often have four guards on the floor who function much more effectively in an open floor game.  Even still, the Vols win it with a stellar defensive play when J.P. Prince cleanly blocks Evan Turner’s three-ball attempt to tie.

The other games were simply defensive gems by the winners.  Baylor employed a zone that 1) limited Omar Samhan’s touches (or at least his scoring opportunities, making him pass the ball back out nearly as soon as he caught it), 2) didn’t allow the ball to go easily into the high post, forcing the Gaels to pass around the zone, rather than penetrating it and 3) were close enough to render three-point shooters ineffective and, most importantly, 4) held St. Mary’s to 49 points, 17 in the first half.  The Bears seemed so juiced up by their stellar defense, that they were uncharacteristically efficient on the offensive end.

Tom Izzo has always been known as a motivational guru and, ask any coach, it’s difficult to motivate guys to excel offensively.  It’s about execution, timing and making shots.  Defensively, motivation can be used quite effectively - and Izzo is no stranger to pulling the right strings at the right times.  When his teams practice in shoulder pads, it’s not to fine tune their offense.  Northern Iowa, a very good team, independent of whatever tag someone wants to place on them, had a tough time finding shots it wanted, especially the perimeter threes it shots so well.  Knowing Izzo at this time of year, though, he’s probably upset the UNI cracked the 50 point barrier. 

Duke’s offense was absolutely miserable at the outset of their contest against Purdue, but, defensively, they simply turned off the Boiermakers’ water.  When you’ve only scored 24 points at the half - and are winning - your “D” is doing its job.  The only reason Purdue got as many as 57 points was because the Dookies were ahead by so much at the end, you could hear, “Don’t foul” as PU’s guys drove to the bucket in the waning minutes.

The reason defense dominates is because it’s easier.  Offense takes skill.  Defense is based much more on desire.  In essence, the reason defense is easier is:

“Offense has to actually accomplish something - put the ball in the basket, while defense is simply stopping someone from doing something.  A group with a strong work ethic will find success a lot more at the latter than the former.”

Tom Izzo is a grunt - and admits to it.  Nothing easy ever came to him.  Sure, he has one of the best jobs in the nation but he worked his butt off to get it to that position - as a graduate assistant, full-time assistant and as the guy in charge.  He wasn’t a star player who walked into a cake job.

At first, following Jud Heathcote, one of the wisest coaches - and sharpest wits in the business - was a challenge.  And that’s nothing short of one of the great understatements of all time.  Jud had won a national championship (with Magic Johnson) and came close on other occasions - all the while, doing it his way.

Tom’s first year at Michigan State found his club in the NIT.  For his maiden postseason voyage, they sent him and the Spartans packing to Fresno.  It was Jerry Tarkanian’s first year with the Bulldogs and, by the end of the season, Jerry’s guys had bought into his pressure defense.  Tom’s offensive philosophy was to run plays.  Jerry’s defensive philosophy was not to let teams runs plays, to force them to make plays.  By the time MSU pulled into Fresno’s Selland Arena, the joint was hoppin’ - 10,220 strong.  The ‘Dogs blew away Sparty.  Years later, the two teams and coaches met again - in the NCAA tournament’s second round.  This time, after years of gruntwork, i.e. serious recruiting, Izzo got his revenge - beating Tark and eventually making it to Final Four.  Where he’s seemingly been ever since.

Last year, the stars were aligned and not only did Michigan State make it to the Final Game, but it was held in the Palace at Auburn Hills, nearly walking distance for Spartan fans.  Unfortunately, the opponents were the UNC Tarheel teams, loaded with first round draft picks.  The ‘Heels prevailed but this year, while UNC’s season turned south, Michigan State returned stronger than ever.

And then, in as exciting a second round game as the tourney’s ever seen, they knocked off Maryland - only because they had the ball last.  In the process, however, they lost Kalin Lucas, their point guard and leader on the court.  For the rest of the tournament.  What looked like a stroke of luck, #1 overall seed and next opponent, Kansas, was upset by Northern Iowa, turned sour after Lucas went down.  While the Spartans could still get by UNI, Ohio State looms as the team standing between them and another Final Four (if the Buckeyes can get past Tennessee) and, ironically, OSU found itself where MSU is now earlier in the season when their superstar, Evan Turner, took a nasty spill and sat out a number of games. 

When’s a good time to get hurt?  Turner is probably still smarting from the awful fall he took early in the year (while dunking), but he’s thankful he’s healthy now, while Lucas can only cheer.  But at least those guys got hurt in action, helping their teams win a game. 

Darryl “Truck” Bryant of West Virginia broke his right foot in practice.  We’re talking about practice.  Maybe Allen Iverson had it right.  Although that’s really not the case.  The foot had begun to bother Bryant in the Mountaineers second round game against Missouri.  He changed shoes at halftime, knowing something was wrong. 

Bob Huggins has been to the Final Four once before - in 1991 as a #4 seed.  I didn’t even have to look it up, as it is indelibly etched into my brain.  I was associate head coach at USC and we were the #2 seed (in the Midwest).  We were handed a crushing defeat by Georgia Tech (their freshman, James Forrest hit the first three-pointer of his college career - with 0:00.8 of a second left in the game - and us up two).  This, following then-Memphis State’s upset of #3 Arkansas and the day before the biggest upset, UTEP beating #1 Kansas.

Hugs thought his team this year was better than that club.  Until Bryant went down in Tuesday’s practice.  This type of adversity is devastating, but when it happens twice to the same guy.  Huggins best team, the 1999-2000 Cincinnati Bearcats, were poised to make a run at a national championship when, during the Conference USA tournament, Kenyon Martin, the ‘Cats’ star broke his leg and missed the NCAA tournament.  How good was he?  A short while later, he became the number one overall pick in the NBA draft.

As harsh as it sounds, the Spartans and Mountaineers should heed the advice of one of the world’s great leaders, Sir Winston Churchill:

“If you’re going through hell, . . . keep going.”Â

From the beginning of the year, it seemed everyone connected with the sport (the ones with a platform anyway) anointed John Wall as player of the year.  As Kentucky’s season unfolded and win followed win - and Wall managed to make all the big plays necessary to keep UK undefeated, no one argued against the Wildcat frosh winning the award.

But just as Brandon Jennings having the NBA’s Rookie of the Year wrapped up early, only to have fallen behind Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans in recent polls (and also Stephen Curry in some quarters), Wall has had to battle another shining star as of late.

Ohio State’s Evan Turner, whose season took a major downward turn when he broke his back dunking in an early season game, has vaulted into POY consideration as he led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten tournament championship on the national stage - at the outset of March Madness.

Comparing the two is like which would you rather have - a Lamborghini or a Ferrari?  Who cares - I’ll take either and be quite happy.  As for my opinion on the two ballers, I think that right now, Evan Turner has the more mature game, e.g. he plays more under control.  However, after a few years, Wall ought to become the better player. 

Why?  Because while Turner seems to be able to smoothly will his team to victory, Wall has more natural skills.  He’s faster with the ball than Turner (heck, he’s faster with the ball than anybody!), has a better vertical game (but not by much) and is more explosive.  Turner is a better outside shooter now and plays a “cooler” game.  Each sees the floor extremely well.  Defensively, usually players as talented as these two are on the offensive end don’t realize their defensive potential until a few years at the next level.

My pick for Player of the Year is Evan Turner - now - but John Wall has the better upside.  If accused of fence-sitting, I turn to Jimmy Buffett for my defense:

“Indecision may or may not be my problem.”  Â