Interesting article found on the Warriors newsgroup. Warwick
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- Subject: Chron/Ratto: Drafting Battier Could Be Mystique or Mistake
- From: Allen L <alzawyn@uclink4.berkeley.edu>
- Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 12:29:21 -0700
- Newsgroups: alt.sports.basketball.nba.gs-warriors
- Organization: University of California at Berkeley
- Reply-To: alzawyn@yahoo.com
- Xref: news.tig.com.au alt.sports.basketball.nba.gs-warriors:25887
San Francisco Chronicle Drafting Battier Could Be Mystique or Mistake RAY RATTO Wednesday, April 4, 2001 URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2001/04/04/SP106835.DTL Minneapolis -- THE PROBLEM with discussing the Duke Mystique is finding out fairly quickly that there is almost nothing mystical about it. Superb players, already competitive by nature, trained well and ridden hard by an occasionally charming but still unforgiving coach tend to win more than what might otherwise be considered their share. Yet, to those who find the easy answers hard to digest, another puzzler is about to present itself, namely: Whither Shane Battier? The senior forward and central nervous system of the freshly crowned national champions is about to become a pro, an NBA-endorsed millionaire bringing with him all the competitive urges, the skills, the well-honed basketball intellect and the willingness to buy completely into the team concept. That last skill, you might be surprised to know, runs in short supply on your lesser NBA teams. Battier's intangibles-enriched game was not only perfect for Duke in general, it was absolutely vital to the Blue Devils' interests in the NCAA Tournament. Who else, after all, could tip in an errant shot while almost entirely turned away from the basket, and run down the court like it was no more difficult than picking the paper off your porch? That's just part of the issue. NBA scouts watched Battier make the Final Four his own, and stayed up all Monday night trying to puzzle out his place in the upcoming draft. They are probably more confused than ever. On the twin assumptions that (a) teammate Jason Williams is not going to declare for the draft and (b) Chinese center Yao Ming is, the trick for those teams likely to draft early is how much Battier's heart and soul and brain compensate for the lack of jaw-dropping amazement in his game. NBA-speaking-wise, that is. His work at Duke in the last year was beyond exemplary, as anyone will tell you. It seems he never met a loose ball he couldn't talk into his arms, he never faced an important possession he couldn't finish with a basket and a foul, and he never met a game he couldn't subtly turn into his own. But he doesn't have that eye-popping, he-didn't-do-that-did-he-Thelma game that teams drafting early normally need. He is not a great natural shooter, a great leaper, an extraordinary body-mover. He can do these things, but not in a way that would make a general manager slap his face in wonderment. He is an excellent defender at two positions, to be sure; that is how he began his career at Duke. Indeed, his defense served as the springboard for his becoming the collegiate Player of the Year. Battier is, most of all, a perfect complement for a team already well- stocked with players, with enough game to be respected by his peers without the troublesome chunks of ego that go along with it. But what if your favorite NBA team isn't very well stocked at all (and no, we're not just singling out The Little Engine That Won't)? Oh, let's ask the question anyway and get on with it. Can Shane Battier make the Warriors legitimate non-failures? That's not an easy call. The Warriors have talent enough for maybe 30 wins, and based on their recent works, desire enough for about 10. Split the difference, allow for the remaining schedule, and you pretty much get their final record -- 20-62. In a word, feh. But without knowing where the Warriors will end up in the draft order (and knowing their luck, it will probably be 19th), it is hard to know where, or if, Battier fits. If they go in the top three, they can (a) go big and go Asian with Yao, the 7-foot-5 center whose talent is downright curative. They can go persuasive and try to talk Williams into being their point guard, although all signs point to him staying in school. They can go mercurial and take a flyer on Arizona's Loren Woods, although Woods doesn't seem a great fit for a team in search of direction. They can go prom date and grab any one of four high school players who either are coming out or flirting with the idea. The Warriors can go any number of ways, but the question remains: Can they go Battier? Being a Dukie works against him with present linchpin and North Carolina product Antawn Jamison, for Tar Heels regard Blue Devils as blood-drinking fiends from the doghouse of Cerberus, Canine Guardian of Hell. And, it should be added, vice versa. Being a Dukie also creates some doubt in the eyes of pro-only enthusiasts. Only Hill of that group of players of the year have made a sizable dent in the game; Ferry and Laettner are competent journeymen, Hurley's career ended almost before it began, and Brand is just now getting started in Chicago, which is of course its own punishment. Battier being a tweener, half-shooting guard, half-small forward, also should make the Warriors pause. They seem to need a point guard most of all, followed by a shooting guard and then maybe a center. Oh, look, let's not be cute here with position this and draft-to-specific- need that. They need a heart, and they need talent to house that heart. Battier has all-day heart. What he might not have is the kind of talent a bad team like, well, you know, seems to ache for year after year. This one's a poser, because a lot of odd things happen before a draft like this one, with an intriguing big man, a guard who may or may not come out, and then a lot of head-scratching and beats-me-Ollie. Williams is still the most coveted collegian of all, despite his apparent disinterest in the quick payday, leaving everyone else to drum their fingers over their slackened lips in bewilderment. So Battier becomes the intriguing piece in a draft that frankly gets to the high school players and internationals quicker than your average deep draft. Thus, the question sits there for NBA teams from positions one through six, the ones who need answers more than anyone else: Is Shane Battier is, or is Shane Battier ain't, their baby? There truly is no telling. Why? Maybe it's that wacky Duke Mystique again. After all, when the obvious answers won't suffice. . . . E-mail Ray Ratto at rratto@sfchronicle.com. -- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ *Remove the z to send me email
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