Jones, Massenburg

[Chris Littlefield <chris@mjr.com>]

I apologize if I'm redundant with my responses, but I get the digest
version so am not entirely sure if these questions have been answered.

With regard to Massenburg, it appears that Otis Thorpe is out.  He has not
played the last couple games and Massenburg has started in his place.
Massenburg is not that bad of a player.  He did some real good work with
New Jersey last year, and I think will be worth his 3 year, roughly $3 mil
contract from the C's.  But like Chris Mills, his skillset did not really
match what Pitino wanted.  Thus he is gone, and we have Roy Rogers on IR,
though he admittedly does not take up the cap space or time (2 years left
on contract instead of 3) that Tony does.


Theresa was asking about Dontae Jones:

"Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 13:33:42 -0500
From: Theresa Lee <tjoyce@mit.edu>
Subject: Re: Dontae's jump

What is Jones' background? Tommy H. was talking about what a great
offensive threat he is. I'm not sure we want him to be Rodman if he can
score. This team needs offense right now.

Theresa"



	Theresa, Jones came out of Mississippi State 2 years ago and was
the primary reason that that team went to the Final Four.  That was the
same year that Kentucky with McCarty, Walker and Mercer won it all, yet
Mississippi State was the last team to beat Kentucky that year, punching
them out pretty badly in the SEC Tournament Finals.  Jones rang up
something like 28 points, 11 rebounds.  They were calling him Dontae's
Inferno.

	He's got all the tools.  He a strong 6'8" with, as has been said,
formidable athleticism.  He's also an extremely gifted offensive player
from what I've been able to tell.  What's impressed me more than his
leaping has been his speed down the court and what moves we've seen.  I've
seen some real nice composure.  One play against Philly he came off a curl
through the middle, received the pass from Thomas.  Then, noticing that the
path to the hoop was blocked, he stopped, dribbled, stepped _back_ one step
and popped off a soft 8-footer.  Nothing but net.

	That said and done, he's not known for his defense, though the
tools are there.  Additionally, he does not seem to have a conscience.  No
shots he's not willing to take.  He's also got to fight for minutes not
only with McCarty, Mercer, and Bowen, but also at this point Greg Minor and
Dee Brown.  He's buried.

	My thought when the trade with New York went down was that Jones
would be the key, not McCarty.  I think that if he got significant time, he
has the most potential.  I hope he gets that time, or at least a chance.

	Have a good weekend, C's fans.  Here's to .500 on Sunday after the
Clippers!!

Chris

PS. What's up with that Stackhouse Trade?