BosHerald: "Unleash the Poodle"

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Good news on Poodle Boy.

---------
Moiso pounds away: Works hard at physique
by Steve Bulpett
http://www2.bostonherald.com/sport/basketball/cs07182001.htm

``Shaun Brown (C's strength and conditioning coach) gave us a great report 
card on Jerome's physical progress,'' said player personnel director Leo 
Papile. ``He's a lot more than you think. He's up to 248 (pounds) now and 
that's pretty good. That doesn't just happen. He's not fat, so he's 
probably put on 15 or 18 pounds of muscle since he came into the league. 
That's a good start. He's still got work to do, but there's time to do it 
and it could mean a lot for him and the franchise.''
Wanting to get past a year in which he played in just 24 games (5.6 minute 
average), Moiso has taken his career by the horns.
``I've been spending a lot of time in the weight room,'' he said. ``That's 
definitely one of the things I need to work on. I'm also doing the 
basketball workouts and working on staying low. I guess that's why people 
think I'm soft, because I can get pushed around when I stand up straight. 
That's one thing I've always been criticized about. So I've worked on my 
power base, staying low.
``And I'm making some changes in my approach to the game, so I know I'm 
going to be ready to play and not let anything take me away from that.''
One gets the impression Moiso will do anything to avoid a repeat of last 
season.
``If I go through this two years in a row,'' he said, employing his dry 
wit, ``I may just become a model.''
Turning more serious regarding his summer work, he said: ``I think that's 
the best thing to do. Anyone who really wants to be in this league and play 
would do the same thing.''
While the growing pains of his rookie year did not wear well on Moiso, 
O'Brien knew it was something a lot of people go through.
``I know that Jerome wants it, but I think last year was probably a very 
painful learning experience that the NBA is a tough league,'' said the 
coach. ``I'm stating the obvious, but all rookies need some time to mature 
and understand that. Jerome's not there yet totally, but he needs time 
because he just does not have enough basketball experience. That's why this 
(summer league) is so important to him. He's the focus of our team right 
here and he's one of the people that we're really zeroed in on. We had 
three days of long practices and every morning we're having a full two-hour 
practice during this week. So over a 10-day period of time this is a good 
experience for everybody.''
Papile echoed the sentiments.
``Jerome's got a whole lot of talent, he's just raw,'' Papile said. ``I 
don't think he's a loafer or a guy who doesn't want to play, he's just raw 
mentally about the NBA. He just has to understand what a competitive person 
you've got to be to compete in this every day in practice and the weight 
room. This is not for guys who are slight of heart. You've got to be a 
workaholic. You've got to work every day at your job.
``I don't think it's that he's soft physically or soft mentally. He just 
has to adjust himself mentally to what it takes to be a real player in the 
NBA. And getting to 248 is a good start. He's not going to get bounced 
around as much as he did last year. He's going to bounce some guys back.''