Re: Chiquita Boy

[krai@gis.net]

At 21:53 +0200 8/28/98, Joe Hironaka wrote:
>I sense how  passionately Celts list-members dislike "Chiquita Boy"

for a good reason, I might add...He showed me all I needed to see last season.
.....
>For all we know, Travis might develop into the intense Celtics player we
>ALL want him to be once he reaches a comfort zone in terms of technique
>and strength. Then again, maybe not, but we shouldn't treat the big
>white kid like some throw-away salary-cap refuse after just one season.

No, we should find some team foolish enough to give up a decent player for
him by going for his "upside" (which we'will never see, IMO).

>After all, it's easy for even pretty intense guys (and women) to lose
>intensity and "game face" when you're thinking too hard about new
>techniques or feel a bit overmatched physically.

You're right about his *other* developmental needs. However, the biggest
problem with Travis, IMO, is not the lack of strength and skill (although
he does lack both), but the complete absence of guts. He could have
Malone's body and Bird's skill, and would still suck. His ideal future in
the NBA would be roaming the weak side while paired with Shaq or some other
monster,  under whose wing he could take cover if things got nasty. This is
not new, of course, and I'm sure Pitino's been shopping him around saying
the same things about him that you said, Joe.
I think that DeClercq, while raw, has a better chance of developing the
skills he needs to become the complete player (though probably not a shot
blocker) than Boy Travis does of developing the necessary mentality.
When you think about it, Brett Szabo could've been developed into a
shotblocker with a soft shooting touch. He wouldn't've done worse than
Travis last season, don't you think? For the NBA minimum, too.

K. Kveraga