San Antonio Spurs

[tackielarla]

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David Robinson, who enters the Hall of Fame on Sept. 11, has done many admirable things
The Republican Sports Desk
By Jeff Thomas

To say David Robinson was an empty vessel would be an insult to the soon-to-be Basketball Hall of Famer.

After all, he was accepted at the United States Naval Academy, where good grades, high test scores and a letter of recommendation from a congressman or two are needed to gain entry to Annapolis.

But in terms of basketball, his experience was limited, and that proved to be a big help to then-Navy coach Paul Evans.

"The good thing about him is since he had only played one year of high school basketball, he was like coaching a junior high kid," Evans recalled. "He had no bad habits. He started fresh and kept the ball off the floor."

By time he graduated in 1987, Robinson was named college basketball's player of the year, owned 30 Navy records, two national blocked shots titles, a rebounds title, the NCAA record for double-doubles in a season with 31 and was the first pick in the NBA draft.

Robinson went on to have an outstanding professional career with the San Antonio Spurs, leading them to two NBA championships, while adding three Olympic gold medals to his trophy case.

While Evans knew he was getting an excellent athlete with a big upside from Osbourne Park (Va.) High School, he did not suspect a future Hall of Famer.

"We thought we were going to get another Johnny Newman," Evans said, referring to the former University of Richmond forward who had a good NBA career. "(Robinson) was only 6-7 when we saw him, and he only played one year of basketball. What he could do was run the floor.

"When he came in as a plebe, he was 6-9½ and the next year he was seven feet," Evans added.

Robinson didn't start as a freshman and only averaged nine minutes a game as he learned the ropes as a backup center.

As a sophomore he started in his first game, as well as the next 98 games played by Navy.

"He was such a good student of the game, and he had one of the best turnaround jumpers," Evans said. "His junior year he led the nation in blocked shots, and we led the nation in blocked shots. He had one less than the second team, which was Louisville."

Robinson, nicknamed "The Admiral," led Navy to three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, with the Midshipmen reaching the regional finals in Robinson's junior year.

After serving two years in the Navy, Robinson was honorably discharged and joined the Spurs in 1989, the start of a 13-year career in which the Spurs went to the playoffs 12 times and won two NBA titles.

A 10-time all-star who averaged 21.1 points and 10.6 rebounds over his career, he earned such honors as Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player, as well as winning a scoring title and rebounding crown all in the first six years of his career.

But it wasn't until the 10th year of his career when the Spurs won their first NBA title. They added another in Robinson's last year in 2003, both titles coming with Tim Duncan at his side.

"When you've got two kids like that it creates bad matchup problems," Evans said. "And when you look at David, the way he ended his career was as admirable as the way it started. A lot of kids couldn't handle that."

Evans is referring to the rise of Duncan as the team's first offensive option. Robinson embraced the young Duncan and did what was best for the team.

That attitude came as no surprise to people like Evans, who watched Robinson mature from boy to man.

"You've got a great player and more importantly a great person," Evans said. "What he's done down there in San Antonio with the school is just incredible."

Robinson, whose charitable work inspired the NBA to give the David Robinson Plaque to the annual recipient of the NBA Community Assist Award, in 2001 started the Carver Academy, a school that gives elementary school-age students in San Antonio a quality education regardless of race, religion or financial situation.

When Robinson enters the Hall of Fame next month, Evans, who left coaching after a successful run at the University of Pittsburgh, will be on hand with current Navy coach Billy Lange and some of Robinson's old Navy teammates.

That's the kind of friendship Robinson inspires, and his presence in the Hall of Fame will only make the shrine a better place.

[menderouv]

can't wait for the season to start

[cxtknight]

tony p mayneeeeeeeeeeee hapit na jud...mura sag mutan-aw q hahaha wah mi cable....

[tackielarla]

tony p mayneeeeeeeeeeee hapit na jud...mura sag mutan-aw q hahaha wah mi cable....

If I'm not mistaken, RPN 9 (or CS9) airs NBA games regularly.

[menderouv]

Pwd pd sa net kng paspas net connection nmo

[cxtknight]

If I'm not mistaken, RPN 9 (or CS9) airs NBA games regularly.

yea, but dli maklaru ang rpn sa amu-a mau kalagot au

[cxtknight]

Pwd pd sa net kng paspas net connection nmo

yea sa justin.tv man tingali to...hmmm, saun hinay man amu net

[tackielarla]

Good news: Ian Mahinmi is playing really well.
Bad news: Tony Parker is not playing well.

Finland Shocks France 77-73, Petteri Koponen Outplays Tony Parker
by Timothy Varner
48 Minutes of Hell

Kimmo Sinisalo is a Finnish citizen who, not surprisingly, lives and works in Helsinki. He’s been around basketball for 30 years. He’s a self-described basketball lifer who has coached, played, kept stats and referred more games at the amateur level than he can remember. He’s also a 48MoH reader. Kimmo had the good fortune of attending today’s France-Finland rematch, and was kind enough to send his thoughts our way. The following post, and title thereof, belongs to him. Thanks, Kimmo. You’re the very best of our Helsinki crowd.

Finland got a huge upset over France thanks to Portland pick Koponen, ex-Ute and Hawk Hanno Möttölä, and some hot shooting from Euroleague vet PG Teemu Rannikko, among other guards. Nic Batum and Johan Petro did not play for France.

My evaluation of Parker: he seemed to move without discomfort, but was clearly nowhere near full speed. He did not push the ball full court, was not aggressive in the halfcourt offense, could not earn any free throws and missed every one of his jumpers off the front of the rim. A classic case of playing with heavy legs. Parker totaled 4 points on 2/14 shooting and just 3 assists despite playing 31 minutes. Koponen was able to stay in front of Parker, getting 2 blocks and a steal off Parker’s hands. At the other end Koponen used his size advantage to hit two pull-up 3s over Parker, as well as get inside paint and dish several perfect assists. OK, this was TP at maybe 60%, but I believe Koponen could be a solid backup PG in the NBA. Hopefully someone buys his rights from the Blazers, who may not ever find room for him.

Anyway, this surprising mismatch was crucial for Finland winning. France, of course, had nothing to play for and did not show their best defensive intensity.

Then the good news: the other two Spurs were the most efficient players for France.

Nando de Colo played 23 minutes at 2 and also 3 in small-ball lineups. He was top scorer for France with 18 (8/11 shooting), hitting 2 clean spot-up 3s and several layups coming from good backdoor cuts, loose balls and fast breaks. On D, he showed awareness and quick hands, getting several deflections. Overall a smart and solid performance with no eye-catching mistakes.

Ian Mahinmi played little in the first half, but in the second half he was very active and mobile for a 10-minute stretch, scoring efficiently at the rim (5/7) and rebounding well. He got 12 pts and 5 rebs in just 12 minutes. His post defense against the wily moves of veteran Möttölä was also the best on the French team.

[menderouv]

Tim Duncan surpasses Carl Malone as the best power forward of all time source: FOX Sports

I rate Karl Malone as the second-best power forward of all time with Tim Duncan at the top of the list. How would you compare the two? — Ryan Cole, Denver, Colo.

Malone was much stronger and, in his prime, a half-step quicker. Both were equally great rebounders, with Duncan having slightly better range.

Duncan's offensive game had many more possibilities than Malone's — better spin moves, a better left hand, more potent moves from the right box, and Duncan's effective shooting range was a step or two longer.

As expected, Malone's screens were more muscular, and he was especially adept at slipping his screens.

Duncan's handle is vastly superior, particularly in face-up situations. Plus his passwork is more reliable, and he's not the turnover machine that Malone was.

Because of his strength, Malone could make opponents' feet slide on defense and therefore push them off their favorite post-up spots — something that Duncan is mostly incapable of doing. In addition to his intimidating straight-ahead push, Malone also liked to swipe at the ball when an opponent gathered to shoot. But if this latter tactic was unsuccessful then either a layup was in the offing or another of Utah's bigs was forced to commit a foul. Neither shot-blocking nor rotating were significant aspects of Malone's defensive game plan.

Duncan, on the other hand, plays better positional defense against post-up opponents but is more reactive than proactive. However, Duncan is a better shot-blocker and help-defender.

Both were undependable at the stripe.

But Duncan's biggest advantage is his reliability in the clutch. In far too many win-or-lose situations, Malone would settle for tossing up turnaround jumpers over his right shoulder from the left box — whereas Duncan reaches into his bag of tricks.

Here's an example of how little opposing coaches thought of Malone's ability to excel in important games: The Bulls and the Jazz played a total of 12 games over the course of the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals. Through it all, the Bulls' philosophy was to play Malone one-on-one, and he came up with only two games in which his scoring turned the games in Utah's favor. (Of course, when Michael Jordan did two-time Malone in Game 6 of the 1998 series, he came away with the game-winning steal.)

A Hall of Fame go-to scorer operating against strictly man-to-man defenses should dominate more than two out of 12 games.

Because of Malone's limited offensive repertoire, his gambling defense and his penchant for choking in critical games, I'd certainly rate Duncan higher on the all-time list. In fact, I rank Duncan as the best power forward ever, followed by Kevin McHale and Bob Pettit, with Malone in fourth place. Dave DeBusshere is fifth, followed by Dolph Schayes and Dennis Rodman.

[tackielarla]

^ Good stuff bro. I've read that article from the Admiral hater, but nonetheless good stuff. Unfortunately we already knew Timmy is THE BEST PF ever!