Even talented freshmen must endure growing pains

Sporting News, The, Nov 29, 1999 by Mike DeCourcy

A few of them make it look so easy, and they ruin it for everyone else. Chris Jackson. Larry Hughes. Quentin Richardson. Now, Casey Jacobsen. It's hard to be patient with freshmen in general when some dominate as though they're still in high school. Hughes scored 16 points in his first game for Saint Louis three seasons ago. Jackson averaged 30 in his first season at LSU in 1988-89. If Casey Jacobsen is going to score 17 in his second game at Stanford, why can't Nick Jacobson do something of the sort for Utah?

The coaches know it isn't automatic, which is why Rick Majerus is considering redshirting his Jacobson. Practice begins in mid-October, and some coaches don't get three full weeks installing their systems before sending their guys to play real games.

If you wonder how Duke can start 0-2 with six McDonald's All-Americans on its roster, consider four of them still are young enough to order Happy Meals. The Blue Devils' four top freshmen (Casey Sanders, Michael Dunleavy, Jason Williams and Carlos Boozer) shot a combined 7-of-29 from the field in their opening loss to Stanford.

"I really believe no matter how talented you are, the transition from high school to college at this level is significant," NC State coach Herb Sendek says. "It's a great challenge. I think the key word, from my standpoint, is patience. Teach, and be patient."

In building the NC State program, Sendek is in his third consecutive season of blending a significant number of freshmen into his rotation--this time, it is guards Marshall Williams, Damien Wilkins and Cliff Crawford.

"There are very few substitutes for experience," Sendek says. "Guys that have been through it bring things to the table that are invaluable."

Most freshmen arrive in college having played competitively for at least a half-dozen years. The best of them were nationally known throughout high school, played on network television in All-Star games and traveled across the country to face the best competition possible.

In that environment, it's natural to assume all of them show up ready-made to jump on stage and perform. That seriously underestimates the game's cerebral demands.

It is not merely about dribbling, passing, shooting and dunking. It's about when and where to do all those things.

Defense at the college level involves not only defending a single player, but blending into a team concept that requires helping and communicating. Offense demands an understanding of shot selection and the process of creating shots in a team atmosphere.

The more freshmen a team tries to incorporate into its operation, the more difficult the process. If it's just one on the court at a given time, it's a little more obvious where the freshman should be if he's paying any attention at all. And if he's not, there are four veterans to jog his memory.

"Am I surprised Duke lost two? Not at all. It's hard," Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins says. "You're running around as a coach trying to fix all these things. And you think you've got one fixed and move on, and they forget about the thing that was fixed. So you go back to that. It takes time. Some guys get better than others quicker."

Cincinnati inherited the No. 1 Associated Press poll ranking after Connecticut's loss to Iowa, but the Bearcats haven't appeared dominant as they introduce freshman guards DerMarr Johnson, Kenny Satterfield and Leonard Stokes to the demands of the college game.

There are many times their individual talents are obvious and suggestive of excellence in the immediate future. Much of the time, they are restrained by their learning curves. They need to reach the point when they can begin playing without hesitance, without wondering if every move is the proper move.

"I know where the coaches want me to be, but sometimes on the court, it's different," says Cincinnati's Johnson, Parade's prep player of the year last season. "You can't be exactly where they want you; somebody on the other team might do something different, or somebody on our team that's been around knows you can cheat a little bit or loosen up. I've got to get comfortable with that."

In his senior year at Maine Central Institute, Johnson averaged 26.1 points. He was coached to recognize a quality shot but understood his status as a senior star gave him a degree of freedom.

Playing with seniors Kenyon Martin and Pete Mickeal, Johnson isn't the No. 1 option. "I'm playing a role," he says. "I can't come down and shoot when I want to shoot, do the things I want to do. We've got a good team. I don't need to do all that, but I'm trying to adjust to it."

Most likely, it will happen soon, but not immediately. Johnson is gifted enough to score 20 points in any number of games before he makes himself completely at home.

He is not allowing the transition to defeat him, though. It was only last week he asked Mickeal to stay after practice to help him with suggestions on getting open against college defenses.

"That's a sign of maturity," Mickeal says.

When the word "maturity" pops up in conversation about a freshman, it's a sign he won't be a freshman for long.