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Summers not for snoozing

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Mike DeCourcy

For a Division I basketball player, summer vacation is not the same as it is for you, me or the typical poly-sci student. For one, there's a lot more basketball. More to the point, there's a lot less vacation.

Summer is a time for shots to be launched at an unguarded basket, for weights to be pushed toward the ceiling, for miles to be run with no ball in hand. Those who spend the time wisely might develop that one move or burst of energy that will lead to an NCAA Tournament hid, a Final Four trip or hearing one's name called on NBA draft night.

This is what a few key players were working on when they could have been at the beach:

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Maryland PF Travis Garrison: inside scoring. Because he always has had the ability to make long-range shots, some analysts doubted Garrison's taste for contact. He answered those questions last season by grabbing seven or more rebounds in 10 games, not bad for a guy averaging only 21.8 minutes.

But he shot only 41.4 percent as a sophomore, even though only a fraction of those shots were from 3-point range. With Jamar Smith gone, the Terps need another physical presence on offense and cannot afford to have Garrison play so inefficiently.

Garrison needs a post move he can rely upon. He also needs to get more comfortable turning offensive rebounds into baskets and, most important, he must learn to handle the responsibility of being a primary inside target. By adding strength without sacrificing quickness, he now can handle a defender's bump and still finish a play. On the Terps' August tour of Italy, he averaged 16.4 points and produced four double doubles in five games.

Notre Dame SG Chris Quinn: the strength to defend. The Irish's defense has ranked among the Big East's weakest each of the past two years. A lot of those problems developed from point guard Chris Thomas' struggle to pressure the ball. But Quinn must be stronger so he can handle opposing shooting guards.

With more responsibility likely now that elite defender Torrian Jones is gone, Quinn has to be able to use his chest to keep opponents from driving past him and into the lane. The Big East is a physical league; if you're not stopping opponents with muscle, they're certainly stopping you with it.

Quinn has heard enough about his physique that he needed little convincing about the importance of proper training. He attended summer school and demonstrated an unyielding appetite for work: Listed at 6-2, 178 entering last season, he's now on the roster at 185.

Associate head coach Sean Kearney says Quinn now wears his basketball tanks "a little more proudly."

Iowa State SG Curtis Stinson: jump shooting. Stinson has such a gift for penetrating that he hasn't been forced to prove himself as a shooter. That's becoming more important now. As a freshman last season, he averaged 16.2 points but made only 17 3-pointers. Increasingly, college defenses will encourage Stinson to consider shooting by dropping off him.

Stinson spent his offseason making mechanical adjustments to his shot, particularly in getting to the release more quickly. Hesitating to fire not only undermines the integrity of the shot, it also gives defenders more time to react.

When Iowa State practiced for a Labor Day trip to Mexico, the coaches stressed to Stinson the importance of recognizing when he's open. They want him to be able to make intermediate jump shots as well as add 3-pointers to his game.

Becoming more confident as a shooter is the first step. In the second of two games in Mexico, he tried seven 3-pointers. He missed all of them. Becoming more accurate is next.

SPEED READ

* Tickets are moving well for the 2005 NCAA Tournament, so there's still time to abandon the "pod system" that puts teams close to home to boost sales. The system skews the competition by presenting home-crowd advantages to undeserving teams. With four first-round sites sold out, the selection committee should keep teams close to home only if they're No. 1 or No. 2 seeds.

INSIDE DISH

Kansas coach Bill Self has three young big men--Sasha Kaun, C.J. Giles and Darnell Jackson--competing to play next to star PF Wayne Simien. The early returns from KU's Labor Day trip to Vancouver favor Giles. He lost 20 pounds because of an illness during the summer but recovered quickly and excelled during the Canada games. Self says Kaun still needs to build confidence but will become a great player.... In his three months on the job at Ohio State, Thad Matta has made defense a point of emphasis. Last season, the Buckeyes ranked eighth in the Big Ten in opponents' field-goal percentage and ninth in forcing turnovers. Another important item has been getting PG Brandon Fuss-Cheatham to enjoy working on his game again. Frequent injuries had worn away his enthusiasm.... A new proposal to restructure the regular season would allow teams to play 28 regular-season games and one exempt tournament per year (teams now can play in two exempt tournaments every four years). There has been a lot of talk about a straight 29-game season in which the dates could be used however teams want. But this new idea will be more popular among coaches and perhaps with athletic directors. We should know whether it has support by mid-October.... Indiana's need to fill out its schedule turned out nicely for Western Illinois. The Leathernecks will get a handsome check for visiting IU on November 27, but more important, they will get to play Indiana at home during the 2005-06 season.... Freshman wing Courtney Lee could turn out to be a steal for Western Kentucky. Lee probably has the ability to play in a major conference and has stood out in early workouts.--M.D.

Summers not for snoozing

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Mike DeCourcy

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