Hier noch ein sehr lesenswerter Artikel aus dem Sentinel:
Will Howard rise like a Sun?
Published June 5, 2005
Every time Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire made a great play -- and there were many -- the past two weeks against the San Antonio Spurs, you just knew what those in the Orlando Magic organization were thinking.
That could be Dwight Howard in two years.
The Magic still lament the trading of a future draft pick to Phoenix that eventually became Stoudemire with the No. 9 pick in 2002, but they are buoyed by the hope that Howard can become the very same player in the near future.
Stoudemire, in only his third year, had a banner season that turned into a monster run in the playoffs, elevating him into a legitimate NBA star.
Although the Suns lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, Stoudemire made his mark by outplaying former MVP Tim Duncan. Stoudemire was dominating around the basket, both offensively and defensively, drawing raves from around the league.
He averaged 37 points against the Spurs. He averaged 29.9 points through three rounds of the playoffs.
And the physical similarities between him and Howard are real.
Both were selected directly from high school. Stoudemire is listed at 6 feet 10 and 245 pounds. Howard is listed at 6-11 and 250. Both are very gifted, very athletic, big men who can play power forward and center.
And they might be following the same career path.
Howard averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds and 1.7 blocks this season as a rookie, playing in all 82 games for the Magic. Stoudemire, as a rookie in 2002-03, averaged 13.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, also playing in 82 games. Both are durable, quick for their size and still maturing physically.
Stoudemire is 22. Howard is 19.
"Obviously, it's hard to compare players, but if you look at the body type, the athleticism, the way they both run the floor, you can understand the comparison," Magic Coach Brian Hill said. "What you can't measure are the intangibles, the work ethic, how coachable they are. But from everything I've heard, Dwight has all that. He really wants to be a great player."
Hill still hasn't coached Howard, and he won't get that chance until training camp opens (if there isn't a lockout), but he was raving about him last spring when he still was an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets.
"Until you have someone up close, and you see how they absorb the coaching, the teaching, you really don't know for sure," Hill said. "But the prospect of having him is one thing that made getting this job so exciting for me. I don't see any reason why -- if he really works at it -- he can't get there [where Stoudemire is]."
One of the decisions facing Hill will be exactly how to use Howard. Although Howard played at power forward as a rookie, the success of Stoudemire as a center in an up-tempo style at least should tempt Hill to move him into the middle as he matures.
"Some people look at him [Stoudemire] and might say he's not a true center, that it's a disadvantage because he isn't as big as some, but in many respects, it's an advantage," Hill said. "The guys trying to guard him aren't used to someone that quick, can't handle someone that athletic."
Hill isn't the only one in the Magic's organization who watched Stoudemire last week and saw Howard in a couple of years.
"I think a lot of what he [Stoudemire] does, Dwight will be able to do," said Dave Twardzik, Magic director of player personnel. "Both are athletic, explosive jumpers with a good feel around the basket."
Predraft camp arrives
Hill, Twardzik and much of the Magic's front office will be in Chicago this week for the predraft camp, where prospective draft picks will be working out before every team in the NBA.
Even though teams have scouted these players throughout the year, they still put considerable emphasis on their play in Chicago.
"It's very valuable to see them in this setting, because they are taken out of their comfort zone, put into a new system and maybe a new position where they'll have to play at the next level," Twardzik said. "And you'll see things that you just didn't see during their college season."
The only problem with the camp is that many of the top players don't participate, except to be weighed and measured at the end of the week. Twardzik said there is a good chance the player the Magic select at No. 11 in the draft June 28 will be a player who didn't play in Chicago.
Early workouts
The Magic already have had a handful of players auditioning privately at the RDV Sportsplex, and even more will be in town in the two weeks leading to the draft, but trying to predict their choice at this point is like throwing darts.
Among those who have been to Orlando are Antoine Wright, the junior swingman from Texas A&M; Joey Graham, the senior small forward from Oklahoma State (who transferred from UCF); and Hakim Warrick, the senior power forward from Syracuse.
Predictions about who the Magic may take from various national draft experts range from guard Martell Webster, the prep standout from Seattle, to Fran Vazquez, the power forward/center from Spain.
Around the Rim
The Magic won't be making any announcements until next week, but watch for Randy Ayers to become an assistant in Orlando, according to NBA sources. Ayers, a longtime assistant to Larry Brown, was the head coach in Philadelphia, but he was fired late in the 2003-04 season. He also was the head coach at Ohio State.
"It's been insane," said Brian Hill, describing how hectic things have been since being appointed head coach of the Magic again. "But insane in a positive way."
Although the Suns lost in the Western Conference Finals, they may have had a positive impact on the league's future, proving high-octane basketball is effective and entertaining. It's the opposite of what Coach Jeff Van Gundy has done to the Houston Rockets with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
The Detroit Pistons can't seem to forget they could have had Dwyane Wade on their team for the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami. The Pistons took little-used Darko Milicic with the No.ƒ|2 pick in the 2003 draft, and he has been watching the series from the bench. The Heat took Wade in that same draft at No.ƒ|5. "He's just a 19-year-old kid waiting his turn," Pistons President Joe Dumars said of Milicic. "His time will come."
A Final Thought: Would somebody please tell the players to look into the camera when they do TV interviews?ƒp
Tim Povtak can be reached at
tpovtak@orlandosentinel.com.
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Man wird das genial seine Entwicklung mitverfolgen zu können.
Übrigens: Jay Williams, ehemals von den Bulls, soll wieder sehr gut aussehen und sogar in einem Workout mit Raymond Felton und Dee Brown nicht nur mitgehalten, sondern sogar besser ausgesehen haben.
Für mich ein sehr interessanter Kandidat für das Trainingscamp.