duncan228
01-06-2011, 09:00 PM
Lots of quotes.
On-the-job training continues for Spurs' Blair (http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/01/06/11/On-the-job-training-continues-for-Spurs-/landing.html?blockID=386382&feedID=3742)
By Steve Hunt
FOXSportsSouthwest.com
All in all, DeJuan Blair’s rookie season went pretty well by all accounts. The 6-7 post man played in all 82 games for San Antonio last year and also got some quality minutes come playoff time.
Now, the ex-Pitt Panther is in year two of his NBA career and his education continues under Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. The San Antonio coach discussed him specifically before a recent game in Dallas and how far he’s come since the Spurs drafted him in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft.
“With DeJuan, it’s just a maturity situation-getting more and more familiar with the league, with the players, with the game, discipline, consistency, the usual things with a young player,” Popovich said.
As a rookie, Blair averaged 7.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in just over 18 minutes a night. This year, he has already logged a number of starts for the Spurs and in 20 minutes per game, is averaging 7.4 points, 6.5 boards and one assist.
But he admits consistency is one thing he continues to struggle with in his sophomore campaign.
“This year, I’ve been up and down. I’m just trying to keep it consistent,” Blair said. “They want me to be more productive. Once I get that in my game, that’s when I’ll get that consistency.”
Like every rookie in the Association, he takes many lessons forward from his first year in the league.
“Just keep learning every day [was the biggest lesson]. It’s a learning process,” Blair said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are and everything like that as long as you get better [that’s what is most important]. With this organization and this team, there’s a lot to learn every day. It’s all about just getting that going.”
And even though he had a solid rookie season, Popovich had plenty he wanted his young post man to work on during the off-season.
“Shooting, dribbling, quickness and all that [is what he wanted me to focus on]. He wanted me to keep it going,” Blair said.
The second-year big man did all that and more back in his hometown of Pittsburgh. While he wouldn’t go so far as to call himself someone who worked out 12 hours a day over the summer, he did call himself a gym rat who definitely put his time in, working out by himself. One thing he didn’t do that many players do over the summer is hire a shooting coach.
“I worked out by myself,” Blair said. “I would work out in the morning.”
Now that he’s no longer a rookie, he does find himself giving some pointers to the team’s three rookies-James Anderson, Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter. Even though Neal is older than the ex-Panther after spending several years playing abroad, Blair couldn’t resist taking a friendly shot at his teammate.
“He’s a lot older than me,” he said. “I told them [the rookies] to roll with the flow.”
After playing for someone who preached the virtues of good defense in Jamie Dixon at Pitt, coming to play for Popovich, who has a similar mindset, was a perfect fit.
“He’s kind of like Coach Dixon, a defensive-minded person. Everything else speaks for itself,” Blair said. “It was great coming to this organization from Pitt. They run a pick-and-roll offense, which is perfect.”
And after questions about his health knocked him from a likely first-round pick into the early stages of the second round in last year’s draft, he admits he continues to play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, adding that such criticism fuels him even more.
“I always did. Of course, I made it to the NBA but I’m not great like I want to be, yet. Once I get great, I’m going to get better than that,” Blair said. “It’s all about having goals, setting them and getting to them. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
He also knows there’s no substitute for playoff experience, something he got a nice batch of last spring.
“It was really good. It was tough. It had its ups and downs but it was a great experience to get ready for this year,” Blair said. “I’ve just got to keep it up. It’s like you’re going to school to get ready for the PSAT.”
http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/01/06/11/On-the-job-training-continues-for-Spurs-/landing.html?blockID=386382&feedID=3742
On-the-job training continues for Spurs' Blair (http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/01/06/11/On-the-job-training-continues-for-Spurs-/landing.html?blockID=386382&feedID=3742)
By Steve Hunt
FOXSportsSouthwest.com
All in all, DeJuan Blair’s rookie season went pretty well by all accounts. The 6-7 post man played in all 82 games for San Antonio last year and also got some quality minutes come playoff time.
Now, the ex-Pitt Panther is in year two of his NBA career and his education continues under Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. The San Antonio coach discussed him specifically before a recent game in Dallas and how far he’s come since the Spurs drafted him in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft.
“With DeJuan, it’s just a maturity situation-getting more and more familiar with the league, with the players, with the game, discipline, consistency, the usual things with a young player,” Popovich said.
As a rookie, Blair averaged 7.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in just over 18 minutes a night. This year, he has already logged a number of starts for the Spurs and in 20 minutes per game, is averaging 7.4 points, 6.5 boards and one assist.
But he admits consistency is one thing he continues to struggle with in his sophomore campaign.
“This year, I’ve been up and down. I’m just trying to keep it consistent,” Blair said. “They want me to be more productive. Once I get that in my game, that’s when I’ll get that consistency.”
Like every rookie in the Association, he takes many lessons forward from his first year in the league.
“Just keep learning every day [was the biggest lesson]. It’s a learning process,” Blair said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are and everything like that as long as you get better [that’s what is most important]. With this organization and this team, there’s a lot to learn every day. It’s all about just getting that going.”
And even though he had a solid rookie season, Popovich had plenty he wanted his young post man to work on during the off-season.
“Shooting, dribbling, quickness and all that [is what he wanted me to focus on]. He wanted me to keep it going,” Blair said.
The second-year big man did all that and more back in his hometown of Pittsburgh. While he wouldn’t go so far as to call himself someone who worked out 12 hours a day over the summer, he did call himself a gym rat who definitely put his time in, working out by himself. One thing he didn’t do that many players do over the summer is hire a shooting coach.
“I worked out by myself,” Blair said. “I would work out in the morning.”
Now that he’s no longer a rookie, he does find himself giving some pointers to the team’s three rookies-James Anderson, Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter. Even though Neal is older than the ex-Panther after spending several years playing abroad, Blair couldn’t resist taking a friendly shot at his teammate.
“He’s a lot older than me,” he said. “I told them [the rookies] to roll with the flow.”
After playing for someone who preached the virtues of good defense in Jamie Dixon at Pitt, coming to play for Popovich, who has a similar mindset, was a perfect fit.
“He’s kind of like Coach Dixon, a defensive-minded person. Everything else speaks for itself,” Blair said. “It was great coming to this organization from Pitt. They run a pick-and-roll offense, which is perfect.”
And after questions about his health knocked him from a likely first-round pick into the early stages of the second round in last year’s draft, he admits he continues to play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, adding that such criticism fuels him even more.
“I always did. Of course, I made it to the NBA but I’m not great like I want to be, yet. Once I get great, I’m going to get better than that,” Blair said. “It’s all about having goals, setting them and getting to them. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
He also knows there’s no substitute for playoff experience, something he got a nice batch of last spring.
“It was really good. It was tough. It had its ups and downs but it was a great experience to get ready for this year,” Blair said. “I’ve just got to keep it up. It’s like you’re going to school to get ready for the PSAT.”
http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/01/06/11/On-the-job-training-continues-for-Spurs-/landing.html?blockID=386382&feedID=3742