He's Adelman's pick more than CD and Morey's. He happened to be CD and Morey's because the players they were trying to get were gone. Adelman has spoken highly of him all along, saying he followed him extensively when he was living in Portland and AB was playing for Oregon.
link please. The first I ever heard of the Rockets having any interest in AB was when his name was called during the draft.
It would be a travesty if francis plays ahead of brooks. The pg depth chard should go james, brooks, alston, francis.
I don't have a link. I just know that insiders know that CD and Lindsey were targeting him last year.
But I'm sure CD and Lindsey were targeting more than 20-30 players, I don't think they would've picked him in first round just b/c they watched him.
Aaron Brooks won't hit the D-League. He will benefit more from practicing with the team and running our offense then he will playing down there. Plus, he will get some time this year. It just likely won';t be much unless something crazy happens. On Novack, I guess. He had a terrible summer league and can't play defense
I remember being shocked that the Rocks picked Brooks, and I spent a lot of time reading about the up-coming draft possibilities. Not too much gets past this BBS. Brooks being targeted would have been a big deal. It would have had a lot of play here. Did I miss it?
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-bko--usscrimmage&prov=ap&type=lgns Just read this article from yahoo. Looks like the USA select team is giving the senior team a run for their money in the scrimmages. Nothing specific regarding the select team players, but I am pretty sure that AB has a significant impact on his team's progress. Regardless of whether the senior team is playing at full throttle or not, the scrimmages serve as a great learning experience for all players involved.
Whatever! Regardless of your memory, Adelman's words about giving AB playing time say it all. I never claimed AB was hand-picked by Adelman. You pulled that one out of thin air. Read please.
With Howard giving Kapono a "shot to the head" and Tyson Chandler leaving after suffering a blow, these scrimmages must be very high intensity. AB can only be better off for participating. It's good the select team is pushing the senior team to the limit before the competition starts.
I'm sure it will get more heated after the rooks beat the vets. Just the fact that brooks was selected says volumes about what others think about him. This will be a great experiece for him
Please. I followed this guy religiously all throughout college and he probably wouldn't even have gotten drafted if it weren't for his amazing senior year.
"For the Select Team, Andre Iguodala, Devin Harris and Aaron Brooks were the stars, while Channing Frye, Jeff Green, Al Jefferson and David Lee all did their part on the boards" So im sure he did really well. Link: http://my.nba.com/forum.jspa?forumID=400025373
Anyone know how Brooks is doing in those scrimmages? Is he the starter for the select team? The select team beat the Dream Team in the most recent game 39-35. in fact, they made it really hard for them to score and won the 3rd, 4th, and overtime.
article link Team USA shooting off target Associated Press Posted Sunday, August 19, 2007 LAS VEGAS — It’s a good thing Team USA wasn’t playing Brazil or Argentina on Saturday. The Americans had trouble shooting against zone defenses in splitting a four-quarter scrimmage with the U.S. select team, comprised of younger NBA players. The senior team won the first and second quarters and lost the third and fourth, the last in overtime. “We’re not shooting real well,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. Indeed, the Americans’ inconsistent long-range shooting, a problem in last year’s world championships, cropped up again. Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony each missed 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds of overtime. Though it was only a scrimmage in a high school gym, the shooting woes brought back memories of last summer’s world championships in Japan. The U.S. shot 32 percent from beyond the arc in losing to Greece in the semifinals — a defeat that forced them to play in the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament this summer. But Krzyzewski warned against reading too much into Team USA’s struggles four days before it opens the FIBA Americas. The U.S. needs to reach the finals to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. “I don’t think you make anything of any one thing,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s all a process. “The main thing is, we’re playing really good defense. We have really good players. And we’re going to use those first few games in the tournament to develop a rotation.” On Saturday, the senior team started Bryant, Anthony, LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire and Jason Kidd. But Krzyzewski said that wouldn’t necessarily be his starting five in the upcoming tournament. “I think the three guys you could say would start every game would be Carmelo, Kobe and LeBron,” Krzyzewski said. “And then we would look at other people. The main thing is just so they can develop a feel of playing with one another.” They looked out of sync late in the scrimmage, and for much of the overtime, against a fired-up select team that had given them little trouble earlier in training camp. “The first two days, we were kind of like, ’We’re supposed to lose,’æ” select team swingman Andre Iguodala said. “But I think after we lost, guys were pretty (ticked) off. That’s a good sign. “We want to win,” he said. “We aren’t here just to get beat up.” The senior team led 20-12 in the fourth quarter — each quarter starts 0-0 — when the starters returned with about 6 minutes to play. The select team whittled the lead and tied the game on Jason Kapono’s 3 with 25 seconds to play. The senior team failed to get off a shot at the other end, forcing overtime. The select squad dominated the overtime on its way to a 39-35 victory. <b>“That’s what you want,” select guard Aaron Brooks said. “You want to push them. It was intense out there. We didn’t want to give up.” </b> Had this been a real game, Krzyzewski likely would have sent in one of his top long-range shooters — Michael Redd or Mike Miller — in the final seconds. Instead, he stuck with his regulars. “I might play 5 minutes of how we play in a game and then put a whole different kind of unit in, and then guys are sitting for 10 minutes,” he said. “It doesn’t really simulate that.” But the intensity of play simulated international conditions. Late in the game, senior center Dwight Howard floored Kapono with a shot to the head, drawing an intentional foul. “Everybody’s competing,” Kidd said. “Everybody wants to win. That’s what’s going to make us better.” Team USA formed the select team to train future senior team members and also to provide high-level competition for the senior team in training camp. “We’ve got to push them,” Iguodala said. “With us stealing two (quarters) against them, it’s going to make them play even harder.” The Americans rarely have been pushed in FIBA Americas qualifiers, where they are 26-0 all-time. It’s possible that the select team is the toughest opponent the U.S. will face this week. “I would hope so,” Iguodala said. “We’ve got all the tools of an international team.” Notes: Senior team center Tyson Chandler left the game after being hit in the head. Athletic trainer Casey Smith said Chandler had a headache but did not have a concussion, and he was held out for the remainder of the scrimmage. Chandler is expected to return to practice Monday, after the team takes Sunday off.
article link Big three trying to find a comfort level By Lonnie White, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 11:56 PM PDT, August 18, 2007 LAS VEGAS -- After four days of training camp, getting Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony to play together seems to be the top priority for Team USA Coach Mike Krzyzewski. With Bryant and James playing on the wing and Anthony stepping into the power forward position, Krzyzewski has tried to keep the trio together as much as possible while interchanging point guards Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups and Deron Williams. "We want them to develop a feel of playing with one another," Krzyzewski said of his players, who will play their first game Wednesday in the FIBA Americas Championship against Venezuela. "Their roles have changed. . . The type of shots that Kobe may get are different than the shots he gets when he is playing for the Lakers. So he has to have a period of adjustment. So this has been good." On Saturday, Team USA's big three struggled to get any offensive flow when they scrimmaged against a select team that included Andre Iguodala, Channing Frye, Jason Kapono and Al Jefferson. Although Team USA's defense was sharp, the combination of players passing up shots to make an extra pass and poor three-point shooting was hard to ignore. "It's funny but you can get caught up doing too less," Billups said. "A couple of times during the scrimmage, I found myself standing around. You see Kobe having a shot that you've seen him shoot a million times and then he gets non-aggressive. He tried to make a pass to Lebron or someone else because he thinks they may have a better shot. "But we're going to be fine. It's just going to take some time for guys to figure out where their opportunities are going to come. . . We have so many good players, you don't really know where your shots are going to come at. With your regular team, you know, but this is different." Over the last two days, Team USA finished practice with shooting drills because Krzyzewski said, "We're not shooting real well with the guys." But one player who has not had that problem has been Michael Redd, who seems to have worked his way into Team USA's top rotation with his shooting. "Redd is the quickest shooter," Krzyzewski said. "Just set something up and he comes off shooting." Redd, along with Mike Miller, have been the most consistent perimeter shooters for Team USA, which is expected to face plenty of zone defenses in the FIBA Americas tournament. The smallest player on the court has been Houston Rockets rookie Aaron Brooks, a six-foot point guard from Oregon. On Saturday, Brooks gave Team USA's backcourt problems with relentless penetration and effective outside shooting. "This is really special because I'm out there playing against guys that you always see on TV," said Brooks, who was invited to training camp two weeks before it began. "I'm really just trying to learn as much as I can out here so that I am ready for the season. . . But I can see, there are a lot of things I have to learn. It's a big adjustment coming from college. I'm definitely not comfortable out there. . . But overall, it's just a fun experience. I'm trying to soak it all up." Bryant, playing for Team USA for the first time, said the major difference between international players and American players is how they develop. "Growing up over there," said Bryant, who spent much of his childhood in Italy, "you play point guard to center. You learn every position and what's required to play there, from footwork to your reads. Everything to help you understand the game." lonnie.white@latimes.com
