Kori Ellis
10-24-2004, 12:13 AM
Smelling like a Rose again in San Antonio
BY JOE JULIANO
Knight Ridder Newspapers
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/9998778.htm
PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - The images remain fresh in the mind.
Drexel, a school that few knew on a national basis when it came to basketball, shocked mighty Memphis in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., behind a hustling center named Malik Rose.
It seems like only yesterday, but it was actually 1996. And now Rose, the former tuba player turned basketball star at Philadelphia's Overbrook High, is preparing for his ninth NBA season, his eighth with the San Antonio Spurs.
"Who would have thought nine years coming out of Drexel?" Rose said Thursday night before the Spurs met the 76ers in a preseason game. "But it's been a blessing. It's been great."
Rose, who turns 30 next month, has gotten two NBA championship rings with San Antonio. But the Spurs were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs last season by the Los Angeles Lakers to cap a frustrating season.
It was especially frustrating for Rose, who was at odds with coach Gregg Popovich about his role on the team. However, player and coach cleared the air in their postseason meeting, and they now see eye-to-eye, according to Rose.
"Things are cool," he said. "I'll bring to the games what I normally bring, and that's just bringing Malik to the games. That could change from game to game. What we need, that's what I'll try to bring, whether it's energy, hustle, great defense or offense. Whatever it is, I'll try to bring it."
"(Rose) is doing a great job," Popovich said. "I think he understands, if he fills a certain role for us, he can be really valuable. That role is rebounding at both ends, running the floor, playing defense, shooting the mid-range jumper off the pick-and-roll.
"If he does these things, he's a hell of a player for us. When he tries to be Tracy McGrady, he has problems."
Popovich said Rose did a great job of dropping weight in the off-season and has worked hard in training camp.
"He's a really conscientious guy," the coach said. "He's highly intelligent. He wants to be better all the time. But on teams, everybody serves certain roles. He's not going to be the one-on-one guy or the isolated guy on the wing. He's going to be a `blend' guy. When he does that for us, he's fantastic."
Rose returned to Philadelphia for a while over the summer to work on his shooting with Herb Magee, the longtime Philadelphia University coach, and he also worked out with local coach John Hartnett.
Rose, who is signed through the 2007-08 season, working on a contract that will pay him $5.46 million this season, has found a home in San Antonio. He is active in charities there and has his own restaurant there. The restaurant is called Malik's Philly's Phamous, and it features cheesesteaks and water ice among other Philadelphia delicacies.
Rose is ready to help the Spurs to another run deep into the playoffs, with the goal being his and their third NBA championship.
"Last year was a difficult year, but it's behind us," he said. "We didn't win a championship like we had set out to do, so that made it even more frustrating. Hopefully, we won't go through that again and we can win the championship this year."
Pop-a-shot
Popovich believes the Spurs have as good a chance to win it all as five or six other teams, but he concedes that it will be difficult unless they shoot better than they did last season.
The Spurs were knocked out of the Western Conference semifinals in six games by the Los Angeles Lakers. They shot 30.2 percent from the field in Game 6 - a performance that pretty much summed things up.
Particularly painful to Popovich was the fact that the Spurs shot just 68.1 percent from the free-throw line last season, with Tim Duncan at less than 60 percent.
"We were in the 29th spot out of 29 teams in free-throw percentage," Popovich said. "You usually can't win a championship when you're the worst at something. It might not be your strong suit, but being the worst is kind of scary.
"We can improve execution. We can get up on defense and still be one of the best defensive teams in the league. But shooting is a little bit more dicey, a little bit more subjective. I can't go out there and analytically devise something and guarantee we're going to be better at it."
BY JOE JULIANO
Knight Ridder Newspapers
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/9998778.htm
PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - The images remain fresh in the mind.
Drexel, a school that few knew on a national basis when it came to basketball, shocked mighty Memphis in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., behind a hustling center named Malik Rose.
It seems like only yesterday, but it was actually 1996. And now Rose, the former tuba player turned basketball star at Philadelphia's Overbrook High, is preparing for his ninth NBA season, his eighth with the San Antonio Spurs.
"Who would have thought nine years coming out of Drexel?" Rose said Thursday night before the Spurs met the 76ers in a preseason game. "But it's been a blessing. It's been great."
Rose, who turns 30 next month, has gotten two NBA championship rings with San Antonio. But the Spurs were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs last season by the Los Angeles Lakers to cap a frustrating season.
It was especially frustrating for Rose, who was at odds with coach Gregg Popovich about his role on the team. However, player and coach cleared the air in their postseason meeting, and they now see eye-to-eye, according to Rose.
"Things are cool," he said. "I'll bring to the games what I normally bring, and that's just bringing Malik to the games. That could change from game to game. What we need, that's what I'll try to bring, whether it's energy, hustle, great defense or offense. Whatever it is, I'll try to bring it."
"(Rose) is doing a great job," Popovich said. "I think he understands, if he fills a certain role for us, he can be really valuable. That role is rebounding at both ends, running the floor, playing defense, shooting the mid-range jumper off the pick-and-roll.
"If he does these things, he's a hell of a player for us. When he tries to be Tracy McGrady, he has problems."
Popovich said Rose did a great job of dropping weight in the off-season and has worked hard in training camp.
"He's a really conscientious guy," the coach said. "He's highly intelligent. He wants to be better all the time. But on teams, everybody serves certain roles. He's not going to be the one-on-one guy or the isolated guy on the wing. He's going to be a `blend' guy. When he does that for us, he's fantastic."
Rose returned to Philadelphia for a while over the summer to work on his shooting with Herb Magee, the longtime Philadelphia University coach, and he also worked out with local coach John Hartnett.
Rose, who is signed through the 2007-08 season, working on a contract that will pay him $5.46 million this season, has found a home in San Antonio. He is active in charities there and has his own restaurant there. The restaurant is called Malik's Philly's Phamous, and it features cheesesteaks and water ice among other Philadelphia delicacies.
Rose is ready to help the Spurs to another run deep into the playoffs, with the goal being his and their third NBA championship.
"Last year was a difficult year, but it's behind us," he said. "We didn't win a championship like we had set out to do, so that made it even more frustrating. Hopefully, we won't go through that again and we can win the championship this year."
Pop-a-shot
Popovich believes the Spurs have as good a chance to win it all as five or six other teams, but he concedes that it will be difficult unless they shoot better than they did last season.
The Spurs were knocked out of the Western Conference semifinals in six games by the Los Angeles Lakers. They shot 30.2 percent from the field in Game 6 - a performance that pretty much summed things up.
Particularly painful to Popovich was the fact that the Spurs shot just 68.1 percent from the free-throw line last season, with Tim Duncan at less than 60 percent.
"We were in the 29th spot out of 29 teams in free-throw percentage," Popovich said. "You usually can't win a championship when you're the worst at something. It might not be your strong suit, but being the worst is kind of scary.
"We can improve execution. We can get up on defense and still be one of the best defensive teams in the league. But shooting is a little bit more dicey, a little bit more subjective. I can't go out there and analytically devise something and guarantee we're going to be better at it."