[ESPN] Woods gets rave Revue in summer block …

看板BLAZERS (波特蘭拓荒者)作者Price (不聽老婆的話該罰)時間21年前 (2003/07/29 23:08)推噓1(1推 0噓 0→)

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Woods gets rave Revue in summer blockbuster By Marc J. Spears Special to ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/spears_marc/1586209.html SALT LAKE CITY -- Just two years ago when Avery Johnson was a Denver Nugget, I remember telling him how impressed I was with a player during summer league. In Avery's unique voice, he replied, "Marc, it's summer league." I laughed and instantly knew what he meant. It's summer league, not the real NBA. But even though it was just the Rocky Mountain Revue, the Portland Trail Blazers can't help but be intrigued by forward Qyntel Woods, who has been the most impressive player this summer with performances that included a 37-point outburst. "Qyntel has a world of talent and a great deal of potential," Blazers general manager John Nash said. "He's like a lot of young players trying to convince his coaches that he is capable of playing more minutes and then being productive with them. Summer league affords him that opportunity." Qyntel Woods led the Rocky Mountain Revue in scoring at 28.0 points per game. While it's just summer league, Woods' play at the Rocky Mountain Revue called for more minutes in the regular season. Woods averaged a league-best 28.0 points per game on 50.6 percent shooting. He also averaged 9.5 free-throw attempts and 6.5 rebounds per game as well. In a win over the Phoenix Suns last Saturday, Woods scored 37 points on 15-of-23 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds in 35 minutes. In a loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, he scored 13 of his 25 points from the free-throw line. And Woods is also doing all this with a bad back. "The 37 game? I was worried," Blazers assistant coach Dan Panaggio said. "When a young guys scores 37, he is going to come back and try to get 47 the next night. He has to let the game to come to him. "The talent has always been here. He hasn't really had a chance to express himself. He got some garbage-time minutes in the NBA last year. You don't have to make a lot of decisions in garbage time. Let it all hang loose. Here, in the summer league you got games on the line and overtime. All of a sudden, this is very important. It's great experience." Just a year earlier, Woods wasn't as mature physically and usually could only last seven minutes at a time before begging to come out. At the Rocky Mountain Revue, he led the summer league in minutes per game at 36.3. Blazers summer league coach Jerome Kersey has said that Woods needs to make a lot of improvement defensively, while Panaggio added that Woods needed to improve his shooting, shot selection, passing off the dribble and body control. That being said, there is also a feeling that Woods has a chance to be a special player. "He is one of several very talented young players who has a great upside," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. As a rookie, Woods had much more opportunity to learn while watching instead of playing. Prior to the 2002 draft, Woods seemed to be one of the hottest prospects. Everybody knew who Yao Ming, Jay Williams, Caron Butler, Amare Stoudemire and Mike Dunleavy were. But this kid from Northeast Mississippi Community College was coming out of nowhere to make a name for himself. Woods averaged 32.3 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in 31.4 minutes per game as a sophomore at Northeast Mississippi. The 6-foot-8, 221-pounder was described as the next Tracy McGrady and several draft projections had him landing in the top 10. He was long, with super athleticism, a good jump shot and the ability to create a shot at will. While no one would dispute Woods' talent, there were other issues that raised eyebrows. The Memphis native admitted to having been a marijuana user. He also had anterior cruciate ligament surgery in his left knee in 1999. Then the draft arrived on June 26, 2002. The first 10 picks go by. Woods is still there. Next were Jared Jeffries, Melvin Ely, Marcus Haislip, Fred Jones, Bostjan Nachbar, Jiri Welsch, Juan Dixon, Curtis Borchardt, Ryan Humphrey and Kareem Rush. Woods is still there. And with the 21st pick in the NBA draft, the Portland Trail Blazers select Qyntel Woods. One NBA executive said that had it not been for the marijuana issue, he would have been a lottery pick. "I just went back to the room, took my clothes off and went to bed," Woods said. "I was disappointed. Upset." While Woods was upset, the Blazers felt they might have got the steal of the draft. "He dropped and we said, 'Hey, we got a heck of a talent here at No. 21,' " Panaggio said. "We were aware of (the issues). We knew him pretty well and our scouts knew him pretty well. But you have to look at the potential and quality of player he is and guy he is. "He had a few little problems, but you have to balance it and say, 'When it comes right down to the basics, is he a good kid or not?' And he's a good kid. We love him." Had Woods been drafted earlier as projected, he probably would have landed with a rebuilding team that needed him to play immediately. But in Portland, a young small forward got used to sitting on the bench. Two-time all-star Rasheed Wallace, future Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and veteran Ruben Patterson all played the position. In 53 contests as a rookie, Woods averaged 2.4 points in 6.3 minutes per game. But with Pippen's locker to next to his, Woods was a sponge, collecting as much information as possible from Pippen. Of all the young players Portland had, Woods picked up basketball knowledge the quickest. And by competing with the likes of Pippen and Wallace in practice, Woods gained confidence. "Playing with the veterans in Portland got my confidence up," Woods said. "I saw that if I can play against them, I can play against anybody." The Blazers saw that, too. And when Pippen decided to go run with the Chicago Bulls again recently, all was not lost in Portland since there is a feeling that Woods is now ready to be a strong contributor. "If he could play as an off-the-bench player, a productive 18 to 20 minutes a night, that would be a big boost," Nash said. Over a year has passed since Woods dropped to No. 21. Even so, not a day passes where it doesn't cross his mind and you could tell he feels he has something to prove by his play this summer. Yeah Avery, I know it's just summer league, but from what I saw, it's safe to say that Woods is no fluke and he will soon have teams second guessing themselves. When asked what scoring 37 points in a summer-league game means, Woods said: "I'm just trying to go out there and get better. It means that I showed the people that passed up on me that I can play and it showed that they made a mistake ... "That's my motivation. It's there every day. I think about it every day I play." Marc J. Spears, who covers the NBA and Denver Nuggets for The Denver Post, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. “ Playing with the veterans in Portland got my confidence up. I saw that if I can play against them, I can play against anybody. ” — Qyntel Woods -- 剛剛本來在翻這篇，不過就在我翻到剩下三四段左右時當機.... 沒存檔，而且該死的是我用記事本... 救不回來，委屈大家看英文吧，如果明天我心情好會再翻譯一次，如果心情不好... 唉唉... -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw) ◆ From: 210.68.148.45