duncan228
03-10-2010, 02:47 AM
The DeJuan Blair Project (http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1424/2010/march/09/the-dejuan-blair-project.html)
By: Chuck Curti
Beaver County Times
CLEVELAND — With family members and friends watching from the crowd at Quicken Loans Arena, San Antonio Spurs rookie and former Pitt star DeJuan Blair was hoping to put on a show. He barely got put on the floor. His first appearance off the bench lasted only 90 seconds.
After getting beaten down court for a layup by Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao, Spurs coach Greg Popovich removed Blair from the game and gave him an earful as he left the floor.
In his less-than-11 minutes of action, Blair missed all three of his field goal attempts and collected almost as many fouls (3) as rebounds (4). Blair has learned that this is the life of a rookie in the NBA.
“You can have 20 and 20 (points and rebounds) one day and have four and six the next,” said Blair prior to Monday night’s game, a 97-95 Cleveland win.
Blair in fact did have a 20-20 game this season, going for 28 points and 21 rebounds in a January win over Oklahoma City when he started for Tim Duncan, who was given the night off.
That performance and Monday’s have been extreme cases for the 6-foot-7 reserve from Schenley High School. For the most part, Blair has been a consistent contributor, averaging 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 18 minutes per game. He’s even started 22 games.
Though a bit undersized for a power forward/center, Blair immediately won over Popovich with his energy and work ethic.
“DeJuan has done a great job, being such a young guy and having such limited college experience,” said Popovich. “It became pretty obvious quickly that he has a natural inclination for the game. He has great energy and it makes him like a human stat machine.
“I haven’t coached him a lick. I don’t know what moves he has. I don’t know how he gets it done. I just throw him out there and he plays his (butt) off.”
“I think I’ve been doing good,” said Blair. “I’ve been bringing energy off the bench and just having fun. That’s just how I’ve been my whole life.”
Blair drew national attention during All-Star Weekend when he declared prior to the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge that he would get every rebound. He nearly did, getting 23 of them, and scoring 22 points on top of it.
Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans was declared the game’s MVP, but he offered to share his award with Blair.
Blair said he has long gotten over the disappointment to sliding down the draft board back in June. Many anticipated that Blair, who shared 2009 Big East Player of the Year honors with UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet, would go as high as the middle of the first round. Instead, Blair slipped to No. 37, one pick behind Pitt teammate Sam Young.
The drop turned out to be a blessing in disguise. His fall landed him in the lap of one of the most dominant NBA franchises of the last decade and under the wing of players like Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
“It’s good for the team to have the experience for me to come in here and start to learn from all these guys,” said Blair. “I’m in a perfect situation.”
Unlike seasons past, the Spurs’ situation is not so perfect. They are clinging to the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference and are just one game ahead of No. 8 Portland and four ahead of No. 9 Memphis with 21 games to play.
Blair is hoping he can have an impact down the stretch and turn in more performances closer to his 20-20 night and fewer like Monday’s. If Blair has learned anything in his few months with San Antonio, it is simply to keep on playing.
“If you have one bad game, there’s always a tomorrow,” he said. “I’m just trying to take everything in and just trying to keep playing the same level every time.”
By: Chuck Curti
Beaver County Times
CLEVELAND — With family members and friends watching from the crowd at Quicken Loans Arena, San Antonio Spurs rookie and former Pitt star DeJuan Blair was hoping to put on a show. He barely got put on the floor. His first appearance off the bench lasted only 90 seconds.
After getting beaten down court for a layup by Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao, Spurs coach Greg Popovich removed Blair from the game and gave him an earful as he left the floor.
In his less-than-11 minutes of action, Blair missed all three of his field goal attempts and collected almost as many fouls (3) as rebounds (4). Blair has learned that this is the life of a rookie in the NBA.
“You can have 20 and 20 (points and rebounds) one day and have four and six the next,” said Blair prior to Monday night’s game, a 97-95 Cleveland win.
Blair in fact did have a 20-20 game this season, going for 28 points and 21 rebounds in a January win over Oklahoma City when he started for Tim Duncan, who was given the night off.
That performance and Monday’s have been extreme cases for the 6-foot-7 reserve from Schenley High School. For the most part, Blair has been a consistent contributor, averaging 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 18 minutes per game. He’s even started 22 games.
Though a bit undersized for a power forward/center, Blair immediately won over Popovich with his energy and work ethic.
“DeJuan has done a great job, being such a young guy and having such limited college experience,” said Popovich. “It became pretty obvious quickly that he has a natural inclination for the game. He has great energy and it makes him like a human stat machine.
“I haven’t coached him a lick. I don’t know what moves he has. I don’t know how he gets it done. I just throw him out there and he plays his (butt) off.”
“I think I’ve been doing good,” said Blair. “I’ve been bringing energy off the bench and just having fun. That’s just how I’ve been my whole life.”
Blair drew national attention during All-Star Weekend when he declared prior to the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge that he would get every rebound. He nearly did, getting 23 of them, and scoring 22 points on top of it.
Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans was declared the game’s MVP, but he offered to share his award with Blair.
Blair said he has long gotten over the disappointment to sliding down the draft board back in June. Many anticipated that Blair, who shared 2009 Big East Player of the Year honors with UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet, would go as high as the middle of the first round. Instead, Blair slipped to No. 37, one pick behind Pitt teammate Sam Young.
The drop turned out to be a blessing in disguise. His fall landed him in the lap of one of the most dominant NBA franchises of the last decade and under the wing of players like Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
“It’s good for the team to have the experience for me to come in here and start to learn from all these guys,” said Blair. “I’m in a perfect situation.”
Unlike seasons past, the Spurs’ situation is not so perfect. They are clinging to the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference and are just one game ahead of No. 8 Portland and four ahead of No. 9 Memphis with 21 games to play.
Blair is hoping he can have an impact down the stretch and turn in more performances closer to his 20-20 night and fewer like Monday’s. If Blair has learned anything in his few months with San Antonio, it is simply to keep on playing.
“If you have one bad game, there’s always a tomorrow,” he said. “I’m just trying to take everything in and just trying to keep playing the same level every time.”