Re: Story on Baby Shaq

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Schortsanitis, nah can't be a player. Sounds like an ailment. We have enough
of them. Besides he's not 6'9" nor 287lbs., according to Espn article. So
his nickname will be *Shorty*

DanF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 1:18 PM
Subject: Story on Baby Shaq


> Here's a story on Baby Shaq from the NY Times (so you know it must be true
> :-) ). He just doesn't sound like the answer to me. There are a lot of
> strong guys out there. What else does this guy bring?
>
> There are a few wild cards in the draft leading up to the Celtics' pick.
> Washington and Golden State, at 10 and 11, are a mystery. If, as expected,
> Lebron, Darko, Melo, Bosh, Lampe, Ford, Pietrus, Hinrich and Kaman are the
> first nine picks, then Wade would appear to be the highest ranked player
> left on the board. Golden State likely would snatch him up to replace
> Arenas, but what if Washington takes him? What does Golden State do? The
> highest ranked players on the board at that point are Collison and
Sweetney,
> but they have power forwards. Do they go for Gaines, Banks or Ridnour?
> Maybe. If that happens, then Seattle probably jumps at Collison. Then the
> Grizzlies are up. They don't need Sweetney or any of the PGs, so give them
> Pavlovic or Hayes. Then Seattle takes Banks, then Orlando takes Gaines
> (unless Golden St. took him already). Suddenly Sweetney is there for the
> Celts. And we haven't even mentioned Cook. Sweetney is a power forward I
can
> get behind. He has the kind of size and strength you see in Sofo, but with
> soft hands and a developed offensive game. I could work up some excitement
> for that pick.
>
> As I'm watching the draft Thursday, I'm going to be rooting for these
names
> to come off the board in the first 15 picks: Ridnour, Gaines, Collison,
> Cook. If those three are gone, that boosts the Celts' chances of getting a
> good player at 16-either Pavlovic, Hayes, Banks or Sweetney.
>
> Mark
>
>
> REENBURGH, N.Y., June 23 - Sofoklis Schortsanitis leaves major impressions
> wherever he goes.
> In Memphis, a Grizzlies assistant coach used a blocking pad to simulate
post
> resistance and was knocked around like a piqata. In Boston, Danny Ainge,
the
> Celtics' executive director of basketball operations, wondered aloud if
the
> 6-foot-9, 310-pound Schortsanitis would leave teammates hurt and bloodied
> after a few practices. In Greece, they call him Baby Shaq.
> Schortsanitis, an 18-year-old forward/center who has played in the Greek
> league for three years, is one of the more intriguing prospects heading
into
> Thursday's N.B.A. draft.
> Some scouts have compared him to Elton Brand, others to Karl Malone.
> Schortsanitis believes he plays like Eddy Curry, the young center for the
> Chicago Bulls.
> But no one thinks Schortsanitis is another Shaquille O'Neal, least of all
> himself.
> "He doesn't like to be called Baby Shaq," said Marc Fleisher,
> Schortsanitis's agent. "He wants to be his own person. He thinks Shaq is
one
> of the greatest players ever and until he earns his keep, he doesn't want
to
> be referred to in that way. His nickname is Sofo, or Sof."
> Although it does not have the same ring to it as Baby Shaq, Sofo is
probably
> more appropriate. Whatever team selects him will have a project - a
> potentially rewarding one - on its hands.
> Schortsanitis has worked out for more than a dozen teams and is projected
to
> be drafted from No. 12 to No. 20.
> "This is a big guy and very strong," the Knicks' president and general
> manager, Scott Layden, said today after the Knicks worked out
Schortsanitis
> for the second time.
> "Picture going into a high school game this past year and looking out on
the
> court and saying: 'There's Sofoklis. What a great prospect.' He's a young
> guy with tremendous potential and his size is going to benefit him. In the
> N.B.A., he's very, very strong. He runs well and has good footwork for a
guy
> at that size and at that experience level."
> Schortsanitis's size was a mystery for much of last season. Rumors about
him
> spread throughout the league as general managers dreamed of landing the
next
> O'Neal.
> But as the draft approached, the excitement waned as league executives
> feared that Schortsanitis was only about 6-8.
> Today, the Knicks measured him at 6-foot-8< without shoes. Official N.B.A.
> measurements are recorded with players wearing their sneakers, so for
league
> purposes, Schortsanitis stands about 6-foot-9=. Not short, but not Yao
Ming,
> either. Though he has the height of a forward, Schortsanitis plays a
> center's game.
> In the Greek League, where the players are not as big, Schortsanitis's
> coaches did not allow him to shoot from the outside. They wanted him on
the
> low block, where he could use his bruising strength and impressive baby
hook
> shot. But at 6-9, he will probably have to develop a better outside shot
if
> he wants to succeed in the N.B.A. Schortsanitis, who said he was
comfortable
> shooting out to 12 feet, had a horrible shooting day in his Knicks
workout.
> "My low-post game is my strength," said Schortsanitis, who speaks English.
> "My weakness is my outside shot. I'm not used to taking those kinds of
> shots. But I want to play inside and outside. On my former club team, I
> wasn't able to develop my outside skills because in Greece there's a lack
of
> big guys, and I was able to be kind of dominant there.
> "It's different here. You have physical players who are fast, and I
> understood the first week that I would have to adjust my game to be a
little
> bit faster and stronger. Here, the players are more complete. In Greece,
> they're either physical or athletic. They're not both things."
> Schortsanitis was born in Tiko, Cameroon. His mother is a native of
> Cameroon, and his father is a civil engineer from Greece. His parents met
> while his father was in Africa helping build a road.
> The family moved to Greece when Schortsanitis was a baby.
> He began playing professional basketball in the Greek League when he was
15.
> Last season, his third in the league but the first in which he had
> significant playing time, he averaged 11 points and 6.2 rebounds in 22
> minutes a game.
> Efficient around the basket, Schortsanitis is also known as a relentless
> rebounder.
> Many scouts have told him he should lose 15 to 20 pounds to become a
better
> leaper and an established N.B.A. player. Schortsanitis sounds as if he is
> willing to put in the work.
> He knows he's not going to step right in and be a star, no matter what his
> nickname implies.
> "I don't think I'm going to be able to contribute scoring right away, but
I
> like playing defense," Schortsanitis said. "I think the only thing I'll
> contribute my first year is playing defense. Not everyone's LeBron James,
> you know."