Collier our early Christmas present? According to him he is...

Two picks give Rockets reason to believe

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle

Jason Collier was told, as he would be repeatedly in the evening's media blitz, about Hakeem Olajuwon's penchant for his version of rookie initiation.

Olajuwon, who had earlier in the day reported himself to be running well and breathing better, has long picked young, big men for post-practice one-on-one sessions. Devin Gray and Carlos Rogers took turns last season facing Olajuwon's array of clever moves and creative officiating.

Collier, the Rockets' first-round draft pick Wednesday and Olajuwon's latest 7-foot foil, seemed certain to be next.

Hearing this and no doubt noticing the chuckling emanating from Rockets vice president Carroll Dawson to his right and coach Rudy Tomjanovich to his left, Collier said the right, respectful things.

But he also seemed to look forward to the matchup, and not just for the chance to check out a legend up close.

"I'd be happy if anybody wanted to stay afterwards, but that's awesome," Collier said. "Who wouldn't want to work with one of the best ever? It would be pretty good. It would be pretty fun, too."

Much was quickly made Wednesday about the similar shooting touches of the Rockets' draft choices, Collier and second-round pick Dan Langhi. Both were selected to fit in with the Rockets' backcourt talent as well as to bolster the frontcourt. Both had impressed the Rockets with better-than-advertised quickness.

But as they were introduced Thursday, both showed a confidence that could be more impressive than Collier's stroke or Langhi's SEC-leading scoring.

"I'm an all-around pretty confident person," Collier said. "If somebody gives me something to do I'm going to believe I can do it. You want to go in with a humble approach and that's what I have, but you also have to have confidence. You have to believe in yourself."

Collier left little doubt that he does, a sentiment heartily endorsed by Dawson and Tomjanovich even if Collier becoming the Rockets' first-round selection was as surprising as Dennis Miller becoming a sportscaster.

Collier, however, seemed unconcerned with doubts. He dismissed his transfer from Indiana to Georgia Tech and the notoriety it continued to bring him during the latest Bobby Knight torrent of revelations.

"Everything with Indiana is over with," he said. "There's no baggage for me to comment on. I usually don't talk about it. I don't want to be known as the guy who left Indiana. I want to be known as the guy who played for Georgia Tech and was selected by the Houston Rockets."

The criticism about his game would be as readily rejected.

"I've heard a lot of things said about me, that I'm soft, I don't have quick enough feet to play the four position," Collier said.

"I think I proved it time and time again in college that I wasn't that way.

"I've always been told I need to work on my foot quickness. I've done that. Ever since the end of the season this year, I really, really concentrated on that. I think one of the main things people were concerned about was my footspeed. I know Houston told me plenty of times my quickness had gotten better and was better than they expected."

But Collier, the fifteenth player taken in the draft, had nothing on Langhi, selected with the thirty-first pick, in the confidence department.

Langhi is coming off a season in which he led the SEC in scoring and was named the league's Player of the Year over such stars as LSU's Stromile Swift, the second player selected Wednesday, or Florida's Mike Miller, picked fifth.

But even with that success, he said at Vanderbilt he did not show what he could do.

"I think I'm a lot more athletic than people think I am," Langhi said. "I feel I have really quick feet for my size (6-10). I can dribble the ball pretty well. I didn't always get to showcase my talent the way we played at Vandy. I think I'll surprise some people this season."

Langhi said he expected to be taken in the first round. But when the first round was over, he said he told his wife Emily that he hoped to go to the Rockets believing that he also would ideally fit with the Rockets' system, the spacing it provides and the outside shooting it requires.

"I didn't think I'd be there for Houston," Langhi said. "I felt very comfortable with this organization. When you're around it and you see the way they interact with each other, you know they're winners. They've got a dynamic backcourt and they have one of the greatest players to ever play the game."

The Rockets also didn't expect to be able to get Langhi, even with Dallas picking for them with the second pick of the second round.

"We didn't even know we were going to pick a second-round pick," Tomjanovich said. "Dan was a guy I didn't think was going to be in the second round. I thought he would be drafted at the end of the first round from what I saw in Chicago. There's 60 guys at the pre-draft camp and he's a guy who caught my eye quickly with his size and just (being) a very aggressive player. He kept that intensity throughout the whole camp."

If his play in Chicago might have demonstrated Langhi's abilities to the Rockets, it seemed Langhi already knew.

Collier no doubt knows how he feels.

Other might have been surprised by the pick.

Collier said "I think they're getting an early Christmas present, and I plan on working very hard to give it to them.

"I'm biased," he said. "Only time will tell whether or not they got a bargain. If I go out there and do really well, I guess they got a big-time bargain."

One thing I like- these kids sure have a lot of confidence.

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Member of the pro-Collier/Langhi movement. IN RUDY WE TRUST!!

[This message has been edited by The Cat (edited June 29, 2000).]