Congratulations to Ryan Gomes

[Kim Malo]

At 04:34 PM 5/4/2006, keltsfan wrote:
>Yes, Gomes came on strong when he got the opportunity and it was great to
>see him get some pub for it.
>
>Hopefully he stretches the range on that jumpshot, works on his handle and
>lateral quickness on defense this summer so that he can  play the three as
>well as the four next season.  He should watch film of Ron Artest, who
>despite not having exceptional athleticism, plays star caliber basketball on
>both ends of the court.

OK, this is a question I've never understood. Why do people always 
want someone who plays best close to the basket to become a longer 
distance jump shooter. Just as back when Ron Mercer was here, I never 
understood why everyone insisted that someone who had something no 
one else did - a dead reliable sweet mid range jumper - had to become 
a (bad) 3 point shooter. Yes, I understand that Ryan is undersized 
for the 4 so some people seem to think he needs to do that to become 
a big 3, but frankly I don't want him way out away from the basket. I 
want him in there rebounding, getting his hands in on every loose 
ball in traffic (and the traffic tends to be inside) and moving 
without the ball in the high percentage midrange to provide an outlet 
we otherwise don't have. I really really really really don't want him 
out there heaving up long range bombs, even if he gets fairly good at 
it. We have other people who can do that who don't do what Ryan does 
closer to the hoop. I don't mind if he works on his range, I just 
don't see it as the thing I want him most concerned about. Insistence 
on that turned the earlier, less talented version of him - EWill- 
from a wonderful slasher/scorer with a quick first move even after 
the knee problems began, with a real knack for drawing fouls, into a 
poor to medium 3 point shooter who occasionally got hot after-thought 
on offense. Why???

And Al was the one with lateral movement issues. Ryan actually does a 
fairly good job. On this team, a great job, although that's damning 
with faint praise
Kim