(CHRON) College kids gives Rockets a lift

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3413682

College kids lift Rockets
Bench players from top programs coming through in the preseason
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

The glory days of the summer and fall of 2005 are over, to be replaced with final tuneups for next month's start of the NBA regular season.

But for the Rockets, they were fun while they lasted.

The presumed regular-season rotation has not meshed. The games have been ugly. The wins were unsatisfying. But for five summer-league games and six preseason games, the Rockets needed only to keep it close for three quarters or so, wait until the coaches cleared the benches and then roll to wins in 10 of 11 games.

When the games moved to the final minutes, when they were won or lost by players far from the spotlight, the Rockets were loaded with players from college glamour programs.

The Rockets could come off the bench with Lonny Baxter, the heart of the Maryland championship team; Luther Head, just off Illinois' near-perfect Final Four team; Chuck Hayes, fresh from Kentucky and 109 wins in his college career; and Keith Langford, just out of Kansas and two Final Four trips.

By 5 p.m. on Thursday — but possibly before the Rockets begin preparing for their final preseason games on Wednesday and Thursday — Langford and Hayes could be waived.

The Rockets have 17 players on the roster, including 14 with guaranteed contracts. Both are long shots to be around when the team pares its roster.

Baxter will likely move to the end of the bench. Head will likely begin paying rookie dues.

In the trials of summer and preseason basketball, they seem to have demonstrated the value of a college education, in their cases with some of the nation's most successful, tradition-rich programs.

Pedigree enough?
"All of us were at winning programs, top schools," Baxter said. "That really gives you the advantage in knowing how to win."

Said Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson, "You go to Maryland, Kansas, Kentucky and Illinois, you're used to winning. You know how to win."

That might not be enough for Hayes or Langford to make a team this season. But such backgrounds offer more than nice memories. Neither player seems out of place with the Rockets.

"It gives you a little bit of advantage, playing at a place like Kentucky," Hayes said. "At Kentucky, you play with a lot of pressure day-in, day-out because of the expectations. It prepares you for training camp, because there's a lot of pressure to make a team, and there are expectations from the coaching staff to do your job and compete hard."

But there are other advantages with their experiences. On a different level in college, Hayes or Langford might have been more featured players — getting plays called for them, taking more shots and piling up greater numbers.

But in the NBA, both will have to fit in as role players, able to contribute by running plays well, making quick passes, getting to loose balls and knocking down open shots. Many college stars struggle to adjust when they are no longer featured in the NBA. College players used to complementing stars could have an advantage.

"I played with three lottery picks: Drew (Gooden), Nick (Collison) and Nick (Hinrich)," Langford said. "Playing with those guys, we have to understand team roles better. At Kansas, you understand you're not going to be the main guy, the go-to guy until you work your way up.

"Chicago did it last year (with Ben Gordon of Connecticut, Luol Deng of Duke and Hinrich). Maybe teams can see that players that contributed on the top end of college basketball can come in and contribute on the NBA level. It goes to a maturity level, understanding how to complement guys that get the touches and how to impact a game in a variety of ways."

It is unlikely that Langford and Hayes will ever make the NBA as featured players. Instead, they have to hope their talent for doing little things that win games will draw attention and earn them roster spots.

March madness
"You learn that it's only about winning; winning is what keeps you around," Head said. "Playing in March is such a big atmosphere; it's similar to playing in the NBA. Though the NBA is a different game, it makes it easier to be comfortable out there."

That apparently is what has worked for Baxter. After winning the 2002 national championship, he has played for the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets, and he spent last season in Greece.

But now that he seems to have found a fit, he said his strengths are the same that he needed to win on college's highest level.

"I haven't changed, but I have been there before," Baxter said. "It's all about knowing what to do in those situations.

"That caliber of team, we just knew how to win. We knew how to just flat-out get the job done. We learned that whatever it takes to get the job done, you just have to go out and do it."

So with a few preseason and summer-league games on the line, they got it done. That might not mean much when the real games begin, but it could be the difference in carving out a few careers playing basketball.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com
ROCKETS SUMMARY
Too much thinking
David Wesley's slump was dragging on.

He missed his first four shots on Sunday to fall to 8-of-41 in the preseason before he finished a pair of drives with slick passes that led to layups. He came up with a steal and headed back up court and drained the sort of jumper he had been clanging. He followed that with another and another.

"It might have been coincidence," Wesley said. "I do think each game I feel a little better. I'm getting into a defensive stance better. The more you're into the game, the more you can expect good things to happen.

"I've been aiming, thinking, thinking too much. A lot of times I'm thinking, got to bend, got to do this, got to do that, instead of just going out and shooting the shot. Tonight, the last few shots I shot I just shot them. I thought, just let them go.

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy did not seem too concerned with Wesley's shooting. More to the point, he said Wesley should not be.

"Right now, its not a revelation that he's struggled mightily to put the ball in the basket," Van Gundy said. "But he can do so many things to help us win even on those nights that he doesn't shoot well. The more he focuses on his shooting, the more it saps his energy, because frustration sets in. What I love about him is he's a tenacious competitor and very unselfish. He shouldn't worry about the shot."

Buyout reached
The Rockets made Charlie Ward's move from player to coach official, reaching agreement on a buyout that agent Craig McKenzie called "market value and with the NBA on what Ward will cost the Rockets on their salary cap this season and next."

Market value on a buyout is typically the minimum for that player — in Ward's case, $1.1385 million.

JONATHAN FEIGEN



For those complaining about Wesley and thinking he should be benched... especially interesting and relevant are JVG's comments.