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As a rookie last season, Paul Pierce made a name for himself as one of
the NBA's brightest young stars. Lately, the Celtics swingman has been
making a name for himself far away from the bright lights of NBA
arenas.
Pierce joined Vancouver star Shareef Abdur-Rahim in conducting a youth
clinic recently in Taipei, Taiwan. Both players flew to Japan last
week to take part in the weeklong Nike All-Asia Clinic in Tokyo. Now
he's in Korea for the last leg of the tour.
The three-day Taiwan event, which combined basketball training with
educational workshops and recreational activities, was part of the
NBA's Summer JamVan Program. It marked the first clinic staged by the
league in the Far East.
``It was a great experience to be in Taiwan and to see a different
culture,'' Pierce said before beginning the second leg of his trip to
Japan. ``It's great to know kids here love basketball and the NBA.
``There was so much enthusiasm. I was also highly impressed with the
level of their basketball skills.''
Sounds familiar. The Celtics were highly impressed with the level of
Pierce's skills last season, during which he averaged 16.5 points, 6.4
rebounds and 1.71 steals per game while ranking 10th in the league in
3-point shots (84) and accuracy (.412). They were further impressed by
his diligence this offseason in developing greater ballhandling and
perimeter skills.
So impressed, in fact, they dealt talented off-guard Ron Mercer to
Denver last week in a six-player trade. Celtics coach Rick Pitino and
general manager Chris Wallace would not have pulled the trigger on
that deal had they harbored any doubt Pierce could flourish in
Mercer's old spot.
``One of the great things we saw in Long Beach was how hard Paul
Pierce was working to improve his game,'' said Pitino, referring to
the Fila Pro Summer League last month. ``He was coming in every
morning to work out and then worked out with a friend on his own each
and every night - and I mean every night. That was in addition to our
team workout.
``We also found out Paul had improved his ballhandling dramatically
and could make the transition from (small forward) to (off-guard). We
feel very comfortable moving him back there.''
For his part, the 6-foot-6 former Kansas star feels equally
comfortable with the move to the backcourt, though it comes at the
expense of Mercer's departure. The two had become friends during their
one season together with the Celtics.
``I think in our system the (small forward) and (off-guard) are doing
a lot of the same things on offense,'' said Pierce.
``The biggest change is probably defensively, where you're going to be
defending (off-guards). But I don't think that will be a big problem
for me.
``I've worked hard to improve my all-around skills. Right now I'm just
looking forward to coming back for my second season.''
He's coming off of a strong first one in which he finished second to
Toronto's Vince Carter in Rookie of the Year balloting.
Pierce has enjoyed a fruitful offseason as well. He led the Fila Pro
Summer League in scoring for the Celtics (23.6 points per game),
participated in Alonzo Mourning's benefit game in Miami, conducted his
inaugural basketball school in Brookline last week and then embarked
on his journey to the Far East.
``He's a terrific young man,'' said Pitino. ``He has a tremendous
passion and love for the game, which drives him to constantly work to
improve himself as a player.
``He's not satisfied to simply be good. He's hungry to get better.
That's refreshing to see in a young athlete.''