Here's to our one and only Shane Battier blogging to us bout the practice! Nothing new though, but anything new is great for us clutchfans! http://www.nba.com/usabasketball/blogs_060720.html#060720_battier He Hasn't Changed A Bit Posted by Shane Battier on July 20, 2006, 3:21 p.m. ET It's exciting for me to be reunited with Coach K, with whom I played for at Duke, because there are so many great memories over the past years – winning championships, basketball games, and just being around the man for four years. It's exciting to be around a guy who just gets it and it's a thrill for me to be able to play for him one last time for a couple of years. I think everyone was a little curious initially about Coach K. Everyone's biggest fear is that he was going to treat them like college-age players. Coach K is a smart guy. He treats everyone like a man. He taught us like men when I was at Duke. He gives us unbelievable freedom to be good basketball players. I haven't seen any changes from how he was then and now. Obviously when you're at Duke, you're an 18, 19-year old kid who's just trying to figure out what's going on in the world, so he just slows things down. Everybody here has either been an All-Star, or a first round draft pick, or All-NBA player somewhere, so there's no need to slow it down quite like he did in college. Personally, I'm trying to bring energy and enthusiasm. I'm trying to play great defense everyday and just be a good team guy. This team does not need me to go out and score 20 points a game or grab 20 rebounds. They need guys who can go out and play hard, and just be a solid player on the team. Day two has been pretty good. Day two and day three of training camp are traditionally a little bit more difficult. The first day you have a lot of enthusiasm and energy – you're excited to be there. Day two or Day three you wake up and you're a little sore, a little tired. You've got to push through it. That's training camp life. Today, we've tried to put in some offensive sets. We've tried to put in some of the defensive rotations that work for international play. Obviously we're very raw at this point. But we're working at it and getting better each day.
This guy is smart for all kinds of reasons. He plays well enough to get drafted #6 out of college and collect #6 money. He constantly chants the mantra "i'm a team guy, you won't notice me unless i screw up, i'm not the sexy star, yada yada yada". Thereby, lowering the expectations of everyone within earshot. He then goes out and underperforms for a #6 draftee, but everyone is cool with it, because he's now got them trained - "i'm a role player". He doesn't demand the ball, so he's "star-friendly" for Gasol and now McGrady/Yao. Coaches love a guy who's willing to fill a role and keep the team chemistry. This guy will be playing in the league for 20 years. His contract runs through 2011. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't do something during his contract year to raise his value. Smart. FYI - this isn't a criticism. i'm excited that he's on the roster (not as excited as having Gay, but...). however, i do think the "aw shucks" demeanor is a little calculated.
I don't think he's competing with Melo. I think he's competing with Bruce Bowen for the "defensive specialist off the bench who can hit open shots" role on the team.
i think you're completely wrong. he's just a really good dude. he downplays his level of contribution(the whole i'm not a star thing) but he does not underperform on the court. his contribution to winning is well documented in other threads.
you're probably right but i'll agree with docgundy in hoping that carmello isn't on there. he's a great scorer but this team will have plenty of guys who can do that. i just don't see him contributing all that much without the ball in his hands, and i'd rather just give it to wade and lebron.
reading threads in the grizzlies forum, it seems those fans are more disappointed in losing battier than they are glad to get gay. i don't think he tries to downplay his contribution of effort. he's just modest. i think if he had to be the top scorer/rebounder on a team he would try to be that.
I only meant underperform in terms of expectations in regards to his draft position. I wouldn't be thrilled with 10.5 PPG, 4.8 RPB career numbers with my #6 pick. Then again, it beats what we got with the #7 that year. I completely understand his overall value beyond those numbers.
If you actually go through the last 20 or so #6 picks, Battier is very clearly one of the better ones. Statisticallly speaking. I posted this a little while ago. Comparing Battier's career per minute production to that of the 10 #6 picks that preceded him. He does very well in the comparison. PER: Career "Player Efficiency Rating"; WS: Win Shares prorated to 15,000 minutes PW: Player Wins prorated to 15,000 minutes; PL: Player Losses prorated to 15,000 minutes; PW%: Player Win% See here for details. Code: [COLOR=Navy]player MP PER WS PW PL PW% [/COLOR] 2001 Shane Battier 12787 14.7 107 40.7 14.9 73.2% 2000 DerMarr Johnson 5484 11.3 66 18.6 39.1 32.2% 1999 Wally Szczerbiak15893 16.7 116 39.5 18.7 67.9% 1998 Robert Traylor 6244 14.5 94 34.1 31.7 51.8% 1997 Ron Mercer 13407 12.5 37 11.7 49.3 19.2% 1996 Antoine Walker 28823 16.5 62 21.5 50.6 29.8% 1995 Bryant Reeves 12071 13.8 37 16.8 46.5 26.5% 1994 Sharone Wright 4531 12.8 36 10.9 55.3 16.5% 1993 Calbert Chaeney 22009 11 46 15.1 40.6 27.1% 1992 Tom Gugliotta 23556 15.9 82 27.4 41.1 40.0% 1991 Doug Smith 5833 11.7 41 12.1 54.0 18.3% Further, Battier happens to be MUCH better than his stats indicate, because of all the things he does on the floor that aren't captured in a box score. He's actually been one of the better #6 picks.
I think this guy will do everything the teams wants him to do without any negative comments or behaviors. We r so lucky to have him.
I think the guy just realizes that, athletically, he is not going to compete with the Kobe Bryants and Tracy McGradys of the world. That was the rap on him coming out of college- that he would be a good, but not great, player. They also said that he would the type of player who could play a valuable role on a team. I mean, you have to have players like Mario Elie, Bruce Bowen, and Ron Harper. Battier just knows his limitations and admits them. I don't think he should be criticized because he gives good interviews and is honest.
Im happy for him and if he doesnt make the team thats a joke but i think their is no doubt he will play Backup to lebron as Coach K loves the guy.
if you really understand his overall value beyond those numbers then don't grade him on just points and rebounds. you have to look past those 2 numbers and also compare his production to players drafted in a similar range. or just look at durvasa's post.
Tb-Cain: I think that you just don't realize how weak the 2001 draft was as a whole. Here was how it went down: 1. Washington Kwame Brown, F, Glynn Academy (sucks donkey d's) 2. L.A. Clippers Tyson Chandler, F, Dominguez HS (Rights traded to Chicago) 3. Atlanta Pau Gasol, F, Barcelona (Rights traded to Memphis) (a finesse PF with offense) 4. Chicago Eddy Curry, F/C, Thornwood (Ill.) H.S. 5. Golden State Jason Richardson, G/F, Michigan State 6. Grizzlies Shane Battier, F, Duke 7. New Jersey Eddie Griffin, F, Seton Hall (Rights traded to Houston) 8. Cleveland DeSagana Diop, C, Oak Hill Academy (Va.) 9. Detroit Rodney White, F, Charlotte 10. Boston Joe Johnson, G/F, Arkansas 11. Boston (from Denver) Kedrick Brown, F, Okaloosa-Walton CC (Fla.) 12. Seattle Vladimir Radmanovic, F/C, FMP Zeleznik (Yugoslavia) 13. Houston Richard Jefferson, F, Arizona (Rights traded to New Jersey) 14. Golden State (from Indiana) Troy Murphy, F, Notre Dame 15. Orlando Steven Hunter, C, DePaul 16. Charlotte Kirk Haston, F, Indiana 17. Toronto Michael Bradley, F, Villanova 18. Houston (from N.Y. via Phoenix and Orlando) Jason Collins, C, Stanford (Rights traded to New Jersey) 19. Portland Zach Randolph, F, Michigan State 20. Cleveland (from Miami) Brendan Haywood, C, North Carolina (Rights traded to Orlando) 21. Boston (from Phoenix) Joseph Forte, G, North Carolina 22. Orlando (from Milwaukee via Houston) Jeryl Sasser, G, Southern Methodist 23. Houston (from Dallas via Orlando) Brandon Armstrong, G, Pepperdine (Rights traded to New Jersey) 24. Utah Raul Lopez, G, Real Madrid (Spain) 25. Sacramento Gerald Wallace, F, Alabama 26. Philadelphia Samuel Dalembert, C, Seton Hall 27. Grizzlies (from L.A. Lakers via N.Y.) Jamaal Tinsley, G, Iowa State (Rights traded to Indiana via Atlanta) 28. San Antonio Tony Parker, G, Paris Basket Racing (Paris) Of the players in draft who were drafted after Battier's group, only Joe Johnson (#10), Richard Jefferson (#13), Zach Zandolph (#19) and Tony Parker (#28) are, in my estimation, better players right now than Battier. However, no NBA scout would fail to draft a 6'8" Naismith winner who can shoot the ball and play defense like Battier to take Ark-Little Rock standout Joe Johnson, a guy who was on a team that was beaten in the NCAA finals by Battier's Blue Devils ("Jefferson"), some fat forward out of a college in Michigan (Randolph), or some cheese-eating surrender monkey from France (namely Tony Parker). With respect to the rest of the draft after Battier, no argument can be made that any one of them should have taken Battier's place. So why complain about Battier being a role player because he was drafted sixth? Nobody expected any of the players who are better than him now to be as good as Battier. Maybe Battier was in the right place at the right time. But I don't think he's high jumping over a low-bar by calling himself a role player.
There's some truth to this. But hey, it sure beats the Mike James "I'm a prostitute" demeanor. Both come off a bit fake, but I'd rather read Battier's faux-humility than Mike James's crazy rants.
some of you people really ought to try picking up on some of the subtle nuances of words...like their meaning, for example. when i say - "this isn't a criticism" - i guess what i'm really trying to express is that i'm not criticizing him. unless, to you, being called "smart" is an insult. when i say - "underperformed based on expectations" - that doesn't mean he sucks. merely, that he didn't realize some people's expectation for what a 6th pick might produce. when i say - "i completely understand his overall value beyond those numbers" - well, how can i put it so you won't misunderstand? nope. nope. can't be done. at this risk of being misinterpretted yet again, i'll try and assemble a group of words to form a sentence with meaning you can understand. here goes... while i can appreciate the zealous defense of our newfound Rocket brethren, let us, at least, save it for when he's actually being attacked. no? take two... back off, fellas, i'm with you
