Big hands = bad shooter is a myth.
If you ask me, having big hands is a huge advantage as you have more surface area that can control the ball before release.
I don't know where all this is coming from. He's not the first kid with a large hand size. Julius Erving and Michael Jordan were notorious for their unusually "HUGE" hands, and that didn't seem to hinder their evolution from being questionable shooters to good midranger shooters.
Besides, the kid didn't appear to be a bad midrange shooter in the college clips I saw. No big deal.
If any of you visit the NBA Store on 5th Ave in NYC, they have some cement basketballs with hands from players imprinted on them. There's some really cool ones, like Timmy, and Shaq. But one that stands out is Allen Iverson. He has huge hands for his small frame.
We go from discussing Kawhi Leonard to mentioning cement basketballs.
Gotta love the morph...
Idk if they want him to be a shooter but rather a rebound/defender...if he is anything like rodman like some say ,I want him on the boards ...I would take him getting 20 rebs a game rather than scoring
Let me get back on topic by saying I hope he doesn't have cement hands (a la Nazr)
With his length, size and motor, he could easily and very quickly emerge as one of the top defensive SFs very soon. With some extensive work on his offensive game, he could, over the course of time, become one of premeire SFs in the NBA.
I've been seeing this term a lot wrt Leonard.... Here is my ignorance... What are we referring to when we say "motor"?
Thanks!
The term "motor", when attached to any athlete, simply means that the guy is never stops hustling, never takes plays off and fights tooth and nail on every play.
In a basketball sense, it ususally means that a guy "crashes the glass" with reckless abandon on every single possession, contests every shot, tracks down every loose ball, and defends his man with a consistently high-level level of aggression. Loosely translated, that's what it means.
Ahhhhhh! Thanks SenorSpur! The comments using that word now make much more sense. It's also no wonder I haven't heard it much, it's a word associated w Manu-like hustle which is too rare in the league.
That's a huge compliment to Leonard. Hope the lockout is short, now I'm really excited to see him play.
Yeah, it really is a huge compliment to him, but it speaks more to his natural desire and intensity, as a player. It's really about a player naturally putting forth high energy output every time, all the time. It's not something you train for. You either have it or you don't.
Some current players, who could be described as having high motors are Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Tony Allen, Zach Randolph, and of course, our very own Manu Ginobili.
The level of intensity and the type high motor they play with is usually quite hard to sustain over the grind of the regular season and because of the superior level of skill at the professional level. Therefore, it's a very common practice for a lot of players to take plays off, even take games off. When players are younger, they may take plays and games off by choice. As players get older and the body fails to bounce back as quickly, they take plays and games off out of necessity. However for these unique "high-motor"-type of players, it's the only way they know how to play. That's what makes them special.
As a young pup coming out of college, and only having experienced a 30+ game schedule, maintaining a consistent level of play will be his true test and his challenge. Fortunately for him, he's coming to an organization where he will get great coaching, strength training and team support. I believe he will be just fine and I believe we're all in for a treat - uh whenever the NBA decides to open for business.
I like guys described as having a motor because it means they have heart and desire...
Every coach knows, rebounding and defense are about 15% knowledge, 25% athleticism and 60% will and determination. There are lots of guys who are shorter relatively (like Blair) who have average jumping ability and above average instincts. But they have heart and determination that makes them want to stop the offense and grab rebounds. That aggressiveness and spirit often fires up the team and inspires the fans.
Every coach knows that they can yell, scream, plead, talk calmly or even cry but there really isn't anything they can do to motivate another player to play defense and want to bang down low on the boards. And, for Popovich, there really isn't a player on the Spurs team that has the athleticism and will besides Manu.
I don't care if Leonard scores as few as 7 ppg as long as he can hold Kevin Durant, Wilson Chandler, Lebron, Melo and Rudy Gay to under 35% shooting from the field when he's in the game.
Spurs' Leonard working out in Vegas
With the NBA lockout in full effect, many NBA players and soon-to-be rookies have either been playing summer ball in Pro-Am leagues, gearing up for the FIBA summer games, or talking with their agents about the possibility of playing overseas.
However, San Antonio Spurs rookie Kawhi Leonard has been relatively quiet during this lockout.
Leonard was acquired in a deal on draft night that sent fan favorite George Hill to Indiana. And although Hill is thinking about taking his talents overseas during the lockout, Leonard (via The Salt Lake Tribune) has kept himself in the states working out in of all places, Las Vegas.
Since the season ended, Wesley moved to Las Vegas for 10 weeks for a stint with Impact Training that included a number of high profile stars including Jacob Pullen of Kansas State, Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State and Alec Burks of Colorodo.
It's great to know Leonard has been quietly working out stateside and no news has yet to surface of him talking with teams overseas. So far, Leonard and rookie Cory Joespeh have yet to sign rookie contracts, so if they were to go overseas, I'm sure an opt-out clause will be in order.
http://projectspurs.com/2011-article...-in-vegas.html
Him and James Anderson are on the same team playing at impact basketball league.http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/69...sters-schedule
Anyone know where we can find boxscores or watch it streaming?
Apparently they are not streaming today. Hopefully in a day or two, but I have no idea and there is no true info. Kawhi is only playing the first week.
Found the info here: http://twitter.com/#!/impactbball
Boxscore:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...hl=en_US#gid=0
Think this is it. Not bad numbers from anderson and leonard. Doesnt look like much defense was played.
Unraveling the Kawhi Leonard mystery
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...onard-mystery/Anderson’s take on Leonard, a the 6-foot-7 small forward: ”He’ll definitely add more energy and youth to our team. He has a lot of defensive skills. He can also get out and run the floor, and help us bring in more rebounds. He’ll help us out on both ends.”
Leonard’s offensive game remains a work in progress, according to those who have seen him this summer, but he did use a rebuilt shooting stroke to hit two of the four 3-pointers he attempted in a limited engagement at the Impact Basketball Compe ive Training series in Las Vegas. Then, like Bigfoot, he disappeared into the mist (or home to San Diego) before most of the gathered media had descended on Sin City.
Spurs' Kawhi Leonard turns off arena lights for NBA lockout workouts
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsja...-ball.html.cspSan Diego State coach Steve Fisher discusses a story about San Antonio/ex-Aztecs forward Kawhi Leonard during a press conference Wednesday in Provo.
Fisher: … Nobody is in the gym more than Kawhi. People said, 'Well, can he shoot the ball?' He can shoot the ball at the NBA level. No one's worked harder on his shot than Kawhi. He's living in San Diego still. I had our AD call me up a couple weeks ago when I was gone. He said, 'Coach, we've got an issue with Kawhi in the arena. Event management called and the lights are not on, and Kawhi's in the arena for two straight days at 6:30 in the morning. And he brought two lamps from home, and he put them up in the arena and shot.' And that is a true story.
Great at ude.
Article from Bleacherreport:
5 Reasons Kawhi Leonard can win ROY:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/9...ie-of-the-year
As well as a breakdown of Kawhi's strengths and weaknesses:
http://nbaplaybook.com/2011/10/17/dr...kawhi-leonard/
Harder to slash when you're playing the 4...
Leonard has been drafted as a SF. If you doubt it, check RC post draft interview.
On reason Kawhi cannot win ROY:
decertification
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...rs_call_111611
Kawhi already showing his tenacity! Press them owners!!!
Carmelo Anthony(notes), Kevin Durant(notes), Chauncey Billups(notes), Kawhi Leonard(notes) and Leon Powe(notes) were listed as plaintiffs in the suit filed in Oakland, Calif. The initial case management conference for the suit is scheduled for Feb. 29, 2012, but can be moved up, court officials said.
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