INTERESTING... Aug. 22, 2006, 1:43AM High-revving Badiane ready to leap into action By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle SAPPORO, JAPAN - As a kitchen appliance, Malick Badiane would likely be a blender — a spinning, whirring combination of sharp blades and high-revving motor. He doesn't play basketball so much as he attacks the game, using his active, lively legs to maneuver for position under the hoop and his long arms and angular body to go after rebounds and blocked shots. Three years ago, the Rockets saw enough potential in a 6-11 teenage forward to make him a second-round pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and they have watched him grow and develop from afar while he has played for the Deutsche Bank Skyliners in the top German league. Now, Badiane is a 22-year-old at the World Basketball Championship, competing for the Senegal national team. And he is hoping his time to get a shot at the NBA in Houston is near. "I think I am ready to try, to attend a fall training camp and measure my progress," he said. "I am not saying that I am ready to play in the NBA at this moment." The Rockets aren't saying Badiane will ever be ready. But when you watch him come off the bench for Senegal and virtually throw himself into the action, it is not difficult to see what intrigues them. His energy. "I bring athleticism and defense into a game," Badiane said. "I know that I am never going to be a big scorer in the league. I can get my points by hustling and being active. But I think that I can make a contribution by being very aggressive on defense, getting blocked shots and going after every rebound." In Senegal's first two games of the tournament, Badiane has as many rebounds as he does points. He has pulled down 14 rebounds in 37 minutes of playing time, which is the kind of per-minute ratio (one every 2.7 minutes) that makes people take notice. His offense still has plenty of raw edges, but it is improving. In the tournament opener against Slovenia, Badiane took one dribble on the right side of the lane, used his lower body to turn properly, and floated up a nice hook. "He is learning. He does know what to do with the ball," said Rockets scout Dean Cooper, who has kept track of Badiane. "There's enough there in him, and he's still young enough to be worth the effort." Badiane came to the game only seven years ago at the suggestion of one of his brothers. One of 19 children in his family while growing up in Thies, Senegal's second-largest city, he spent most of his time on the soccer pitch. "No position in particular," he said. "I played some goalkeeper and got out onto the field and loved to run. I tell you, I have some good footwork. "But (with me) being the tallest one in my family, one of my brothers suggested that I give basketball a try, and I found that I liked it. I think I have found my sport." Attracting attention Badiane played for a local team in Senegal, and a big performance in the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany in spring 2002 attracted the attention of the Skyliners. He started with the farm team, TV Langen, to develop his skills and soon become known as an intimidating defender and hustling rebounder, which is what drew the Rockets. Moving up to the top-level club, Badiane helped the Skyliners win the German league title in 2004. "It was so exciting," he said. "The arena was sold out for each game, and winning it in front of our fans was a great experience. It gave me an appetite for more." Badiane was off to a fast start the following season when he suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery. But he's now recovered and, after stints with the Rockets' summer league teams in 2003 and 2005, is getting antsy for a move up to the October training camp. He's bulked up from 230 pounds when drafted to 255 and has definition in his shoulders. "I would definitely like to get an invitation at this point in my career," he said. "I think I have shown with my performance in Germany and now with the Senegal team that I am willing to work and improve." However, with Dikembe Mutombo likely coming back for one final NBA season, the Rockets might be inclined to let Badiane's game ripen one more year in Europe. As soon as they sign him and bring him to camp, a two-year clock starts ticking on his rights. At the end of that period, if he's not with the team, he becomes a free agent. By next season, he'll still be only 23, and that would give the Rockets until he's 25 to see what he's got. Facing the U.S. Senegal qualified for the World Championship by finishing runner-up to Angola in the African Championship and will face Team USA in the last game of the preliminary round. "Our goal is to be competitive," Badiane said. "I hope the Rockets will be watching." fran.blinebury@chron.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY Battier's kind of play Twenty-four hours after he did the equivalent of stepping in front of a locomotive, Shane Battier was still getting compliments and head shakes of disbelief over taking a charge from his huge new Rockets teammate Yao Ming. "There's a lot of things I'll do in a game, but I'm not sure I would have done that," said Dwyane Wade. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski had seen similar plays so many times before during Battier's four-year career at Duke. "Shane loved it," he said. "That's Shane's ultimate kind of play. I thought Yao really looked great against us, and I was talking to Shane this morning and told him, 'That's a pretty good guy you're getting as a teammate.' " Meeting time Mike Krzyzewski gave Team USA Monday off from practice. But they still had individual meetings with the coaching staff in preparation for the run of three games in three days to conclude the preliminary round. The U.S. will face Slovenia (today), Italy (Wednesday) and Senegal (Thursday). China needs win It's already crunch time for Yao Ming and the Chinese national team, who opened the championship with losses to Italy and the United States. If China is going to advance past the preliminary round, it will almost certainly have to knock off Puerto Rico today, then defeat Senegal on Wednesday. Can it happen? "Why not?" asked Yao. Easy to share The American big-name stars actually seem to be enjoying being part of a team where they don't have to carry all of the offensive load every night. "We have to be unselfish because of the caliber of players that we have," said co-captain LeBron James. "There's no reason for us to be selfish. Guys can make shots. Guys can make plays at any given moment of the game. You can't be selfish. You just look around and see who's next to you on the court. I don't have to score for us to win." FRAN BLINEBURY
Alot of people have written off this kid, but you forget that he is still very young. I wonder, playing in Germany, if he has been exposed to the music of David Hasselhoff that seems to help Dirk so much.
I don't just think we should invite him, I think we need him. 1) We need a 3rd PF/C kind of guy. Just in case Deke or (God forbid) Yao go down, this guy can provide 10 minutes, even if he fouls out in those ten minutes. We know he won't be lazy, we know he'll play hard, we know he'll grab boards, we know he'll block shots. All he'll be is the guy who MIGHT get 10 minutes. 2) It would do him a lot of good being in the same practices as Yao and Deke. No doubt about that whatsoever. He has lots of room to improve. 3) We could send him to the NBDL for 10-15 games to prepare him for the style of the NBA. 4) He is by far the cheapest investment. Low risk, high reward. Room for improvement. I really don't see what we could lose by signing him to the minimum for one guaranteed year, and one non-guaraneted. A player with his physical attributes and energy level will down the road be at least worth the minimum on any team in the league. The Rockets would be smart to invite him to camp. His transition needs to be slow, and it neeeds to begin in Deke's final year.
1) why wouldnt we get a borderline C / PF, there are lots of guys with such attributes, ps badiane doesn't block shots 2) yes as u say lots to improve, with that time we could have scout for another one 3)hmm that i can't argue 4)that last roster spot might be critical towards our trading policy
1) Like who? featuring these attributes: Unbelievably athletic, great rebounder, great work ethic, very good size, good shotblocker, collects garbage points. 2) The whole point is to have him just as INSURANCE right NOW, and then later on WE have the option of keeping him or not. 3) -- 4) Trading policy? We don't have the cash to sign someone who would be useful in trades anytime soon. You can't combine players with TE's. Plus, we have no one on the roster we want to trade but Juwan Howard. How does this signing change any plans we have for trading? We need one more big guy who won't demand minutes. It really doesn't matter who it is, because most likely they won't play. But in Badiane's case, he might actually become useful in a year. However, in (for example) Cato's case, if he doesn't play, every penny is wasted because he is not going to improve, and he is not going to be playing much longer.
According to whom? His European league doesn't keep blocked stats, but they say he likely averaged 2+ pg.
the guys athleticism is sick, but i feel like stromile was/is much better and we traded him away as a toss in... kind of.
If you were a Houston fan in the Dream years you will always have a soft spot in your heart for athletic young Africans. Be a cynic if you want, the odds are on your side but it is more fun to Dream.
he seems like just as good of an investment as any of the other leftover garbage out there, not saying badiane is garbage...just a huge project...so apparently he seems about as athletic as swift and tall, but has the heart and the drive to improve, a la chuck hayes, which is a big plus...if the rockets dont really have anything really worth while in the pipelines, they should seriously check his progress out during the world championships, and maybe take a chance on him this season, or at the very least, next year...it'd be nice to know that these long term 2nd round investments are starting to pay off when we need them the most...
When I saw the title, I thought we signed him for trainign camp, but then it turns out that it's just about him wanting an invite. I broke my ban on Blinebury for that?
All im hoping that badiane just mature at the start of the contract, not at the end of the contract, or else we will pay alot more. Trading can always involve 1 for 2 players, Im sure someone would throw in one, considering there are so much trash contracts out there and the rox management somehow sees championship potential in these contracts
Personally, I think Badiane would make more sense than Azubuike. We have plenty of guards right now, but only 2 guys that can play center. One is a starter that has had stamina issues and foul trouble issues, and one is on his NBA death bed. I wouldn't be surprised if JVG called for Deke to sub in on opening night only to realize that he had turned into a pile of dust.
it makes sense that they wait another year, but like I've said all along - wait and see. IllSkillz will never hear the end of it. On a side note I watched his first and second game in the WC's. The first game he played better in my opinion. Played 16 minutes and blocked a couple of shots. Seven boards if I remember right and excellent field goal percentage (all hustle points). Second game I can't remember what happened exactly, but he wasn't efficient on offense and I can't remember how many blocks he had. Still good on the boards for the minutes given. Ben Wallace is the type of player he wants to mold himself into by the way. I'll donate a hundred to Clutchfans if he isn't on the roster next year. (pesos are legitimate betting tender aren't they?)
