The Kid Grows Up
http://www.nba.com/blazers/features/The_Kid_Grows_Up-79488-41.html
很棒的一篇長文，對Randolph有興趣的可以看看，
希望下一個用這標題的是Woods及Outlaw，有沒有人可以翻譯一下呢？
The kid is back in Portland, sweat soaking his shirt as he shoots jump shot
after jump shot. "Gotta start now if I'm gonna get better" he says as he takes
a break to grab some water.
It is less than a month since Portland was ousted by the Dallas Mavericks in
Game 7 of the NBA Playoffs, but Zach Randolph is already back in the gym,
working on his game.
"This summer is all about getting better," Randolph says, as he hits shot
after shot, the ball touching nothing but net. "I played well last year, but
I know I can play even better." Randolph showed glimpses of his All-Star
potential last season, but now the pressure is on, and Randolph is ready to
take his game to that next level.
As his two-hour workout concludes and he has knocked down 200 shots from all
over the court, Randolph is instructed to get to the free throw line and shoot
10 final charity shots. Tired and winded, the kid they call Z-Bo wipes his
face as he toes the line, trying to get a couple extra seconds to catch his
breath.
"This is where we find out what kind of shooter you are," assistant coach Jim
Lynam says grinning. "I'm saying right now, eight out of 10."
Randolph shakes his head. "No way coach, I'm making all 10," he says
confidently. He calmly strokes his first attempt, but his second bounces around
the rim before falling through the net.
"You made your first miss, that's a break, but I'm still saying eight of 10,"
Lynam says, trying to rile up Randolph.
He puts up his third attempt, and it falls just short, generating a loud "
aaahhhh" out of Randolph's mouth.
"There's one," Lynam informs him. "Zach, you know I'm one of the few who can
still get in your head."
Randolph fires back, "I'm not missing again coach, that's it."
Disgusted with his miss, Randolph seems to tune his coach out. He is more
focused now, concentrating on the hoop and not the chatter coming from the
sidelines. He's back in a groove, and determined to prove his coach wrong. He
successfully drops his last seven shots just like he predicted. As his last
attempt touches nothing but twine, he looks at his coach, and with a sly smile
says, "Told ya coach."
Following his 9-for-10 shooting performance, Lynam calls him in and asks him
the difference between a shooter going eight of 10 and one going nine of 10
from the line. Randolph doesn't respond, just awaits the answer from Lynam,
who spreads his arms apart as wide as he can.
"The difference isn't one shot, the difference is as big as the Grand Canyon,"
Lynam explains. "There are a ton of guys who shoot 80% from the free throw
line, but I can probably count on one hand guys who are career 90% shooters
from the line. That's the difference."
Randolph nods his head to show his understanding and says, "Gotcha coach."
Lesson learned today for the kid.
That's part of what makes Randolph so special. He is extremely competitive,
as shown in his free throw test, and he is eager to learn. This kid wants to
excel and knows that he can.
Randolph, who will turn only 22-years-old on July 16, might have lost some of
that confidence after his first season in a Blazer uniform. An early-entry
candidate in the 2001 NBA Draft, Randolph was selected with the number 19 pick
by the Blazers after playing just one season at Michigan State. He played
sparingly in his rookie season with the Blazers, averaging just 3.1 points and
1.7 rebounds in just 41 games. Entering the 2002-03 season, critics thought
that Randolph's lack of defense and poor footwork would keep him on the
Blazers' pine again this year. That is, until Randolph got the chance to
prove his critics wrong.
"Overall, I think I had a pretty good year," Randolph said. "I got a taste of
starting, I contributed and I think I did everything I was asked to do."
His numbers don't really tell the whole story (averaging 8.4 points, 4.5
rebounds, 16.9 minutes), but Randolph had times where he was the most
dominant player on the court.
"I think there are two benchmarks for Zach's emergence last year," Lynam
said. "First, when he started for Rasheed Wallace during a seven-game stretch
when Wallace was serving a league suspension, and secondly, when he started
those last four playoff games. Zach got the minutes during that stretch and
showed he can definitely be a factor in this league."
The first date Lynam is referring to is that stretch of games back in January,
where Randolph started seven consecutive games, and the team went 5-2 with him in
the lineup. Randolph averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds during his starting
stint, while shooting 48.5% (33-68) from the floor in his first significant
amount of playing time.
"Oh yea, I loved playing those starters minutes," Randolph said. "That got my
confidence level high and that was the first time that I got to show everyone
that I can play in this league."
It's not that Randolph was losing confidence in his play, but he was itching
at the chance to show what he could do on the court. Up until those seven
starts, he really didn't have the opportunity to prove it.
"Right there after that, we knew that Zach was ready to be a player in this
league. He was improving, but more importantly, he was starting to understand
the league," says Lynam. "Unfortunately, with Rasheed coming back, we didn't
have enough minutes for Zach in the rotation."
With the return of Wallace to the lineup, Randolph went back to his role of
reserve. Actually, when Wallace returned to the lineup, Randolph played less
than he had all season, averaging just 3 points and 3 rebounds in only 7.8
minutes a game over the next 11 outings. Just like that, in a span of 18 games
since he first got that call to start, he went from being a starter and major
contributor to the team, back to the bench, where even though he knew he could
be in the lineup and knew he could play, he couldn't get on the floor.
"That was probably the toughest thing for me last year, going from starter
back to the bench," Randolph said. "All of a sudden, I wasn't getting any
minutes and I didn't know what to think. I got down a little bit. It's human
nature to get a little down. But, I just kept a strong mind and kept positive,
and I knew that I just needed to continue to play hard and I would get another
chance."
His chance came in the form of the playoffs, when in the fourth game, with
Dallas leading Portland three games to none and the Blazers roster slowed by
injuries, head coach Maurice Cheeks called on Randolph to inject some life
into the starting lineup.
"It was just a hunch, putting Zach in there," Cheeks said after Portland's
Game 4 victory. "I didn't know what it would do, but I did know that Zach would
give 100 percent and add some energy to this team."
Cheeks' hunch paid off. Randolph had team-highs with 25 points and 15 rebounds
in his first playoff start, and Portland stayed alive in the playoffs, beating
the Mavericks 98-79 to force a Game 5. His insertion into the lineup provided
the Blazers with a much bigger starting five, and it created match up problems
for the finesse-oriented Mavericks throughout the rest of the series.
"I just went out and did what I do," Randolph says about his performance. "I
was nervous, big-time nervous before that game, but once that ball went up, it
was on and I just did my thing."
That "thing" Randolph refers to is scoring and rebounding. Sounds easy, but
it's hard to find a guy who does both with equal impressiveness.
"Zach does two things that every coach loves - he scores the ball, and he
grabs rebounds," says Lynam. "It sounds simple, but it really isn't. He has an
incredible knack for being around the ball and scoring the ball when he gets
it. But what is more surprising is his rebounding efficiency. He sometimes
gives up a lot of size to his opponents, but he manages to find a way to beat
them on the boards."
Randolph followed his Game 4 performance with a 22-point, nine-rebound
performance in Game 5, a game in which Portland shocked the Mavericks, in
Dallas, forcing a Game 6 back in Portland.
"That might have been the highlight of the year, not just for what I did, but
for what the team did," says Randolph. "Everyone counted us out after we were
down 0-3, but we came together as a team, got a win in Portland, then got
that huge win on Dallas' court to keep our season alive."
In his four-playoff starts, he averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the
Blazers went 3-1 in those games, all on national television.
While many might be surprised at Randolph's success, Lynam jokes he knew it all
along.
"No, I'm not surprised at what he's done," says Lynam. "I knew from the first
time I saw him that he has a gift. He is a pure shooter with a soft touch. He's
a fierce competitor, an extremely hard worker and he definitely doesn't lack
for confidence."
Randolph proved last season that when he gets his minutes, he contributes. He
played 30 or more minutes in 11 games this season (four in the playoffs) and
averaged nearly 20 points and 11 rebounds in those games.
His potential as a perennial force in the league could not have been more
evident than in game at Memphis near the end of the regular season. Randolph
poured in a monster game, registering career-highs with 31 points and 20
rebounds (11 offensive). He was the first Blazer to record 30 or more points
and 20 or more rebounds in a game since Jerome Kersey accomplished the same
feat 15 years ago.
"That was just one of those nights, I was feeling it," Randolph says of his
performance. "But man, I wish we could have got the win that night."
That game against Memphis evoked memories of the prep star out of Marion
(Indiana) High School who was a USA Today and Parade Magazine first-team
All-America selection, was MVP of the 2000 McDonald's High School All-American
game and was named the 2000 USA Today Indiana Player of the Year.
Prep accolades aside, Randolph's stock slipped in the NBA Draft despite
averaging 10.8 points and 6.7 rebounds in his freshman season on a Michigan
State team that reached the NCAA Final Four. Scouts thought that Randolph was
an NBA "tweener", too small for the physical play of power forward, and too
slow to keep up with the faster small forwards in the league. Randolph feels
this season was sort of a vindication for those people who thought he couldn't
make it.
"Definitely, I feel that I at least showed that I do belong in this league as
a power forward," Randolph said. "I still have a lot of work to do, but I think
in the back of my mind I did feel a little pressure to prove myself. Now I
don't have to worry about that, and I can just focus on basketball."
One of the biggest strides Randolph has made, which has often gone overlooked,
is his commitment in the weight room. He has dropped 20-30 pounds since he
arrived in Portland, toning up his body and leaving him at a lean 250-pound
frame.
"Zach really has put in a lot of effort in there," Lynam says, as he points to
the Blazers weight room at the practice facility. "That shows a lot about that
kid. He knows he has the talent, but he didn't rest on that alone. He busted
his butt to get leaner and stronger, and that has been one of the keys to his
improvement. He can bang with the best of them in the paint."
His footwork and technique are something that Randolph knows he still needs to
work on, but he knows that his bread and butter is his shooting ability,
especially his soft touch around the basket.
"Zach has never seen a shot he doesn't like," Lynam jokes. "He has that
shooting guard mentality. He feels everything he puts up is going in, and for
the most part, that's true. A lot of players, when their shots hit the rim,
they bounce off. With Zach, if that ball gets to the rim, it's going in. What
he's got to do this off season is recognize the other facets of his game he
needs to work on, most importantly on the defensive end, so the he can
continue to improve."
So what's next for the kid his teammates call Z-Bo? He is going to spend the
summer working on his game - his shooting, his footwork, his defense, his
conditioning - everything. He wants to be an NBA All-Star someday, but first
has his sights set on cracking Portland's starting lineup for good next season.
But, with the talent and depth this team has, he knows that will be a
difficult task.
"I want to start, but I know that won't just be given to me," Randolph says.
"There is a lot of talent on this team, and I think we've got something good
here. If I don't start, yea, I'll be disappointed, but I'll do what I did this
season, keep working hard, and things will work out for me in the end. I know
I'm still young in this league and I just have to wait my turn."
For now, the kid will continue to work on his game and will do whatever the
team asks of him next season. It looks like the kid is growing up a bit.
--
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