[外電] NBA's youth movement a painful adjus …
NBA's youth movement a painful adjustment
Era of polished players has given way to on-the-job training
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/05/06
On the Hawks' practice court at Philips Arena on a given day you
could find a college basketball coach's dream.
Josh Smith guarding Marvin Williams on one block. Esteban Batista
and John Edwards trade elbows on the other. Salim Stoudamire and
Royal Ivey guarding each other at the top of the key, all in a
half-court scrimmage that Hawks coach Mike Woodson uses to teach
his youngsters the nuances of the passing game and spacing.
Ten years ago drills like these would have been an anomaly at an
NBA practice. There was no need for such trivial pursuits since
most, if not all, of the players in the league had several years
in college programs where the fundamentals of the game were as
routine as baggy shorts and black socks.
But that was when the NBA truly was a player's league, where only
the best of the best made it. Since Kevin Garnett did something
very few before him did — go directly from high school to the
NBA in 1995, rosters have gotten younger and younger.
During that same span the league has gone from the polished
product that mesmerized the globe during the golden era of Magic,
Bird and Jordan to what is on display now, a league where teaching
and player development is far more prevalent than ever before.
It's been a startling transformation for those who have witnessed
it firsthand.
"It's the nature of our game these days and simply a reality for
everybody in our league," said Woodson, who coaches the NBA's
youngest team. "It's a major process now, and you don't always
have a lot of time to teach. So when you do, you better make the
most of it. Our staff and our time is constantly about teaching.
"And it's not just the fundamentals. It's every facet of the
game. It's defensive fundamentals, proper defensive stance, help
side defense, how to set a screen. It's amazing all the things
you have to teach. For me, it's fun because it gives me a chance
to teach the game the way it was taught to me, and I enjoy that.
But if you're going to be a good team and your guys are going to
have to get better, you have to make a commitment to teaching and
doing it right."
Post-Jordan shift starts
Everyone knew the NBA's changing of the guard would be a slow and
at times painful process when Michael Jordan's reign ended.
With every franchise in search of the next star, there have been
many evaluation mistakes made. However, athleticism and upside
have replaced fundamental skills and basketball acumen as the
indicators of who will cash in on draft night.
For every Garnett, LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire, physically
advanced high schoolers who make an immediate splash in the pros,
there is a Leon Smith, Ndudi Ebi and Korleone Young, freakish
talents that never made it and are out of the league just as fast
they entered.
There are still many players who spend a year or two — or
sometimes even three — in college and head to the league
prematurely because some team is willing to gamble on their
"upside."
And who can discount the recent influx of unprepared international
talent that has littered the top, middle and bottom of nearly
every draft this decade. There have been a handful of exceptional
finds but far more long-term projects and as many busts.
The culture shift in the NBA was led to a league where the gap
between good (see seasoned veteran units) and bad (youthful
outfits like the Hawks) is magnified in the standings.
"I think a lot of people were caught up in the moment of the past
two decades and didn't really give much thought as to what the
league would look like in 2006," NBA legend Clyde Drexler said
during all-star weekend in Houston. "I don't think that's an
indictment of the players today or the game itself. The game has
changed at every level, high school, college and the NBA.
"There are probably more great athletes in the NBA now than there
have been at any one time."
True, perhaps. But are there as many great basketball players?
And if not, why?
"Every team in the league is drafting on potential," said Phoenix
TV analyst Dan Majerle, who was booed on draft night in 1988
before becoming a three-time All-Star and inductee into the Suns'
Ring of Honor. "It's just too hard to pass up on a young kid you
might think could be great. The Suns took [Stoudemire] and he
could have gone the other way. But he turned out great because he
was the kind of guy who wanted to work for what he got.
"Personally, I think the kids get too much too early these days,
and if you're not the right kind of person you might not ever
learn how to work the way you need to in order to be successful
at this level. And I don't want to paint all the young guys in
the league in a bad light as guys who don't belong. But there are
just so many instances where guys are in over their heads, whether
they're high school guys or one- or two-year college guys. And
it's not entirely their own fault."
Trend entrenched
There's no going back now, not even with the league's new age
limit rule preventing high schoolers from entering the league
directly.
"There are too many talented guys out there willing to do
whatever it takes to get to this level," said Indiana all-star
forward Jermaine O'Neal, who sat behind a veteran frontcourt in
Portland for four years before a trade to the Pacers helped his
career take off. "If you look at most of the guys who are
all-stars right now, most of them were either high school guys
or early entry guys. So how anyone can look down on what's gone
on the last 10 years or so, to me, is totally ridiculous. The
most vibrant part of this league right now is that there are so
many young superstars."
There are those transcendent talents, like James and former
Southwest Atlanta Christian star Dwight Howard, who simply
cannot be ignored on draft night.
Balancing them out, however, are the scores of ill-prepared
prospects who will have to be schooled on the basics before
they are ready for prime time.
"What are you supposed to do?" Pistons all-star guard Richard
Hamilton said during all-star weekend when asked to assess the
current state of the game. "LeBron's a freak, a grown man at 17.
At that age, with his body and the skills he already has, that's
a once in a lifetime player. How stupid would somebody be to pass
up on that king of talent?"
Still, Hamilton knows well the rugged road players faced as
recently as six years ago. Washington drafted him with the
seventh pick in the 1999 draft after he led Connecticut to the
NCAA title. But he struggled to find his niche with the Wizards
and was traded to Detroit, where he has since blossomed into the
talent many expected.
"It is what it is," he said of the league's transformation from
one era to the next. "The league has gone younger and younger for
the past decade. Times change. Standards change. What's acceptable
changes. Everything changes.
"But this is still where the best basketball players on the planet
come to work every single day. That will never change."
資料來源
http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0305nbachanges.html
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