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Self-improvement goes a long way

Sporting News, The, Sept 16, 2005 by Mike DeCourcy

Teams do not get better or worse merely by addition or subtraction. They get better or worse by their players' getting better or worse. If these guys improve in key areas, their teams will benefit greatly.

Juan Palacios, PF, Louisville: rebounding. With long, thickly muscled arms and a chest that appears to have been carved from the Butkus family tree, Palacios looks like a great rebounder. Glance at his stats and you see that he has been--on particular nights. Palacios grabbed 11 rebounds against Georgia Tech, 11 against Memphis, 10 against Cincinnati. So he can do it. But he had only four rebounds in three of his five NCAA Tournament games. Louisville can't afford poor rebounding from Palacios this season--not with Ellis Myles gone.

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A foot injury might slow Palacios early in the season, but the Cardinals need him to average nine rebounds in Big East play.

Ronald Steele, PG, Alabama: scoring. The Crimson Tide has veterans Jermareo Davidson and Chuck Davis and gifted freshman Richard Hendrix on the inside, but it has few options on the perimeter. Small forward Kennedy Winston and shooter Earnest Shelton are gone, and junior college recruit Ray George did not qualify academically.

That means Steele almost certainly will need to adjust his approach in his second season running Alabama's offense. Steele already has proved to be a valuable playmaker, but he needs to shoot more than 5.3 times per game. It's unlikely he will match last season's shooting accuracy--47.3 percent from the field, 42.7 percent on 3-pointers--but if he becomes a bigger threat as a penetrator and shooter, defenses won't be able to sag back and smother the Tide's big men.

Hassan Adams, SF, Arizona: long-range shooting. Adams has had a curious relationship with the 3-pointer. As a sophomore playing mostly power forward, he made 38.4 percent of his 99 3s. Back on the wing as a junior, Adams attempted only 43 3-pointers in 37 games and made 30.2 percent of them.

Adams' overall production dropped last season as Salim Stoudamire and center Channing Frye became the focus of the offense. Adams, however, showed in brilliant NCAA Tournament performances against Oklahoma State (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Illinois (21 points, five assists) that he is ready to become the primary option.

There are other Wildcats who can make 3s--Chris Rodgers, Mustafa Shakur, freshman Marcus Williams--but Adams needs to regain his touch and confidence to become the dominant wing this team needs.

Matt Sylvester, PF, Ohio State: toughening up. Generously listed at 220 pounds, Sylvester looks like an elongated bantamweight. He never is going to play his position in the same manner as Karl Malone. Sylvester's job is to draw opposing forwards from the goal and to strike with 3-point jumpers or drives.

After he became a 20-minute player early last January, Sylvester was a valuable scorer, with eight double-figure games, including 25 in the Buckeyes' upset of undefeated Illinois. But he reached the five-rebound mark only three times in that period. Because Sylvester usually is positioned away from the goal, it will be difficult for him to be a strong offensive rebounder, but he will have to find a way to consistently grab a few defensive boards every game.

For more insight and analysis from Mike DeCourcy, go to sportingnews.com.

decourcy@sportingnews

speed read

Coaches are figuring how to use the rule change that allows full team practices as well as skill workouts in the offseason. The cap for each player remains two hours per week. Northern Illinois is splitting sessions evenly between small groups and the full squad. Hurray State is using one 40-minute session for team development and two more for small-group instruction. Teams should be sharper in early-season games.

INSIDE DISH

Once again, Washington is trying to fight off an ACC power for an elite local player. They're hoping C Spencer Hawes of Seattle Prep will say no to North Carolina (and UCLA). Hawes rose to No. 2 on several national top 100 lists with his outstanding summer play. Last year, the Huskies kept PF Jon Brockman away from Duke. * Clemson coach Oliver Purnell already has had to deny interest in becoming Cincinnati's coach. He would be a logical candidate given his success in the region at Dayton. But reports of the Bearcats' being interested in Purnell are premature; the school first will choose an A.D. to replace Bob Goin, who is retiring. * Talent scout Van Coleman figures C Derrick Caracter of Elizabeth, N.J., made a sound choice in committing to Louisville because of coach Rick Pitino's conditioning program. Nazr Mohammed and Ellis Myles are examples of players who made dramatic physical improvements under Pitino. * PF Herb Pope of Aliquippa, Pa., now says he's considering other schools after committing to Pitt. But Pope, a 2007 recruit, still has a strong connection to the Panthers. * Connecticut's student disciplinary board will determine whether PGs Marcus Williams and A.J. Price can play this season. Williams applied for accelerated rehabilitation to address four larceny counts against him, which developed from his alleged theft of laptop computers on campus. If Williams' request is granted, his record could be cleared after a year. Price pleaded not guilty to similar charges. The Huskies could have to go with freshmen Craig Austrie and Robert Garrison at point guard; neither was recruited to be an immediate contributor.

Self-improvement goes a long way

Sporting News, The, Sept 16, 2005 by Mike DeCourcy

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