A summer spent wisely should pay off in the winter

Sporting News, The, Oct 2, 2000 by Mike DeCourcy

Of all the arcane rules NCAA members have inflicted upon themselves, perhaps none is more pointless and wasteful than the one denying athletes access to hands-on coaching during the offseason from men and women who, in many cases, are handsomely paid to be hands-on coaches.

A basketball coach may tell his point guard the skills he needs to improve during the offseason and present him a plan for how to do it But the coach cannot supervise the implementation of that plan. The point guard is on his own.

This does not make sense, but this is the system, and so the roughly 4,000 players in Division I basketball are beginning a new school year fresh from summer workouts that were largely independent

At least four of those players, all essential to their teams' success this winter, had time to address specific weaknesses in their games. Here's hoping they spent it wisely.

* SG Ray Young, UCLA junior: Jump shooting.

Young became a McDonald's All-American because of his superior athletic ability and potential as a defender, but he also brought a nice little jumper to the Bruins in 1998. And, after shooting .408 on 3-pointers as a freshman, he lost that touch.

UCLA coaches think Young misplaced his confidence last season because he was uncomfortable in the Bruins' structured offense. Young is more of an open-court player and was thinking his way through sets instead of playing instinctively. After hitting 5-of-6 on 3-pointers in a late-January win at Oregon State, he shot 4-of-33 from long range in the final 16 games.

With the experience he gained last year, Young should be more comfortable whether the Bruins run sets or motion. Most important, though, was that the Bay Area native spent hours in the gym working on his jump shot.

* SG Albert Mouring, Connecticut senior: Attacking the defense.

Like so many college shooting guards, Mouring allowed himself to be trapped into reliance on the 3-point shot, and that stifled his threat as a penetrator.

Mouring certainly can get the ball from the wing to the goal. He showed that with a beautiful drive against Duke in the 1999 NCAA title game. Although he's a fine 3-point shooter and led the Big East with a .478 3-point percentage last season, he's more valuable to the Huskies as a multiple threat.

He was much more aggressive as a sophomore reserve than as a junior starter. Getting to the line is important for Mouring because he's an .801 career foul shooter. But last season he attempted a free throw every 13.9 minutes compared to one every 11.9 minutes in 1998-99. Former Huskies All-American Richard Hamilton took one foul shot every 5.4 minutes in his final year. Mouring might not match that, but it presents a nice target to shoot--or drive--toward.

* C Ken Johnson, Ohio State senior: Ball skills.

Because they operate on the quarter system, the Buckeyes had more time for postseason individual workouts than most teams. Johnson's coaches worked to make him comfortable as a target on offense, which means catching the ball in the post, becoming adept at inside scoring moves and recognizing double-teams to avoid turnovers and create baskets for teammates.

Johnson, who also worked on his strength and conditioning in Columbus this summer, averaged 7.8 points last season and passed for only nine assists in 30 games. With power forward George Reese and star guards Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd gone, Johnson has no choice but to be a focus of the offense as well as a shot-blocking fulcrum on defense.

* C Carlos Boozer, Duke sophomore: Intensity.

Being cut from the U.S. young men's team after training camp should have sent Boozer the message his current approach is not working. Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski has made the point often enough, but getting booted in favor of DePaul's Bobby Simmons and Kansas big men Drew Gooden and Nick Collison--both outplayed by Boozer in their NCAA Tournament game--had to be embarrassing.

Consistently playing hard has been a problem for Boozer since he arrived at the adidas ABCD Camp in July 1998. Physically, he's the most imposing and gifted player in his class, but even Coach K has yet to convince him that's not enough. Boozer's inattention to proper defensive techniques landed him in consistent foul trouble last March; he averaged 3.2 fouls and just 25.2 minutes in ACC and NCAA Tournament play.

What Boozer needs more than the development of any physical skill is to go through each open-gym game and each Duke practice as though it really matters. Because it does.

RELATED ARTICLE: inside dish

Of the players we did not include among the top 20 players at each position in the TSN College Basketball yearbook, the most glaring omission may be Wake Forest PF Darius Songaila. His penchant for accumulating fouls almost as rapidly as rebounds worked against his inclusion, but he made TSN's decision--and the NBA stars on the U.S. team-look bad with his 16-point, eight-rebound effort for Lithuania in a closer-than-expected Olympic matchup last week. Songaila was 6-of-10 from the field in 24 minutes; that he picked up four fouls probably had a little to do with the level of opposition.... Utah coach Rick Majerus had to postpone some recruiting visits because of knee surgery to repair torn cartilage. He was down for about a week but is moving comfortably again and was back on the road last week.... NCAA insiders suggest UNLV might not be hit too hard when the results of its infractions case--involving former recruit Lamar Odom--are released this fall. Many of the violations allegedly found are said to be secondary in nature.... Cedric Bozeman, a 6-4 point guard from Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif., committed to UCLA as the second piece in what could become a blockbuster class. C Michael Fey of Olympia, Wash., chose UCLA in July.... Recruiting analyst Dave Telep still is crowing about Kentucky recruit Rashaad Carruth's performance in the Southern Invitational. Carruth, a 6-2 shooting guard at Oak Hill Academy, left no doubts regarding his shooting range and ability to fire off the dribble.... New Indiana assistant Dan Panaggio, who will direct IU's offense, says he would prefer an up-tempo style rather than continue Bob Knight's motion attack. He admits the Hoosiers need proficient point guard play to make an all-out running game work but says, "We'll find plays that will suit the players." ... C Eddy Curry of South Holland, Ill., widely regarded as the top prospect in the 2001 recruiting class, has expressed greater interest in bypassing the NBA draft and playing in college. DePaul, Cincinnati, Illinois and Memphis are contenders to sign him.