i started to think about a thread regarding maloney and how he hasn't rebounded in chicago. that got me to thinking that perhaps his first year (not bad for a rookie pg) in the nba was more a result of pretty good coaching by rudy than people give credit for. so i started to try and remember other players who have had fairly good runs with the rockets but have significantly dropped of since. this as compared to players who rudy never got much out of but have prospered elsewhere. (i avoided players whose physical condition or age significantly changed and thus affected there performance (e.g. barkley body getting old), or players who really weren't here long enough to evaluate (pippen). this is the ones i could come up with: Players who rudy really got a lot out of (compared to what they've done with other teams): 1. maloney - at least his first year 2. elie 3. kenny smith 4. vernon - remember vernon in san antonio? 5. chucky brown - at least what i remember of him 6. horry - has never gotten back to the level of his years here players who went on to better things (or dropped off significantly since coming to houston) 1. avery johnson 2. sam cassell - (this is probably more due to simple maturity than coaching change) 3. brent price any others? my point is that i bet the first group is probably bigger than the second group. ------------------
I might have to put Sam I Am in both of those categories. We got a lot out of him, and he went elsewhere and kept getting better. What about OT? I don't know much about him in his pre-Rocket days, but I loved him while he was here. Personally, I don't understand the anti-Rudy faction. I think he's a great coach who is fully capable of getting the most out of his players. Elie, Horry, and super-rookie Cassell are perfect examples. Also, I wish we had got something from Antoine Carr. He reminded me of Kevin Willis (another one of my favs, BTW) with his toughness. ------------------ Proud Cheerleader 'til we move to New Orleans 302 [This message has been edited by Lynus302 (edited March 27, 2000).]