EN/Ludden: Marks earns cheers after leading them

[boutons]

Marks earns cheers after leading them

Web Posted: 04/01/2005 12:00 AM CST

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

SeanSean Marks watched his 19-foot shot settle through the net in the closing seconds of Wednesday's first quarter, then looked up at the heavens. His teammates leaped from their seats on the bench.

Dion Glover gave Marks a chest bump. Manu Ginobili patted him on the back.

The basket increased the Spurs' lead over Seattle to 13 points. Marks' coaches and teammates saw it as a watershed moment in their season for other reasons.

"Before that went in," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, "I think he was 0 for 94."

Marks may need some time to knock the rust from his jump shot, but the Spurs — who face the charging Nuggets tonight in Denver — have no reason to doubt his perseverance. In the past week, he has gone from being the self-described "practice dummy" for Tim Duncan to one of Duncan's part-time replacements.

"That's why you put in the hours when everybody else is going home," Marks said. "You get in the extra conditioning, the extra shots up, so you're ready just in case there is an injury.

"It's just too bad it's our MVP, maybe the league's MVP."

For much of his two seasons with the Spurs, Marks has been more commonly affiliated with the letters DNP. He did not play in a single game last season and only seven in the first 4 1/2 months of this one.

His court time in practice, however, has not been limited. Nicknamed Kiwi because of his New Zealand heritage, Marks has worked dutifully to prepare not only himself but his teammates. The Spurs have appreciated his enthusiasm.

"Sean is the best teammate I think I've ever had," Bruce Bowen said. "He's been on the injured list, but he's the first guy to jump up when somebody scores.

"When guys like that get an opportunity, you're so happy for them because you know they have your back."

Marks' most recent chance came after Duncan sprained his right ankle. Used to spell Robert Horry in the first quarter of each of the past three games, Marks responded against Seattle with season highs of nine points and five rebounds.

"We think Sean has a lot of skills," Popovich said, "and we want to give him an opportunity to show those skills."

Marks didn't need long to put his athleticism on display. Last week against Atlanta, he drove 18 feet, hard, to the rim. Though Tony Delk interrupted Marks' dunk attempt by fouling him, the play put a charge into the Spurs and their fans.

"Sometimes you're just going to have an off night," Marks said. "That happens to anyone who plays the game. But the one thing you can control is your energy."

While Marks' spiritedness has led to the occasional turnover or foul, it also has earned him 17 trips to the free-throw line in only 98 minutes. Rasho Nesterovic, by comparison, has attempted 28 foul shots in 1,658 minutes.

The Spurs' coaches would like to see Marks extend his range to the 3-point line so he can better space the floor. For now, he would be happy to consistently knock down an 18-footer.

After going 0 for 6 against Atlanta and Houston, he missed three jumpers Wednesday before his drought-ending shot found the net.

"I was more relieved than surprised," Marks said.

"It's hard when you didn't play for almost two years to come in and have a rhythm," Tony Parker said. "In practice he makes that shot every time. It's just a matter of time before he makes it in games. I like how he's not afraid to take it."

Marks hasn't hesitated to pull the trigger when open. His hope is to reward the team's confidence in him more often.

"The coaches have been so good in telling me to keep shooting, so that's what I'm going to do," he said. "It's a better situation to be in than them saying don't shoot."

[san antonio spurs]

is this guy goin' to be a fan favorite like malik
or matt bonner here in toronto?
________
Depakote Lawsuit Settlements

[nzkickass]

"Sean is the best teammate I think I've ever had," Bruce Bowen said. "He's been on the injured list, but he's the first guy to jump up when somebody scores

While Marks' spiritedness has led to the occasional turnover or foul, it also has earned him 17 trips to the free-throw line in only 98 minutes. Rasho Nesterovic, by comparison, has attempted 28 foul shots in 1,658 minutes.

That says it all, He's a great teammate to have and he's aggresive and comes with massive energy every night.

Spurs would be stupid to let him go..

[NZHayden]

Spurs would be stupid to let him go..

Kia ora to that

[Solid D]

It was good to see Pop bring Sean in early and play meaningful minutes against Seattle. It looked like he got pretty winded during one stretch there. Denver may be a challenge for Sean. Playing there is a challenge for lots of players, though.

[Blazer16]

That says it all, He's a great teammate to have and he's aggresive and comes with massive energy every night.

Spurs would be stupid to let him go..

Fortunately, I don't think there's many other teams bright enough to see the guy's talent. Spurs can probably secure his services pretty cheap, don't you think?

[boutons]

"talent"

I wouldn't call Sean a talent player, (any noteworthy talent would have been spotted well before age 29), but a hustle player, "not that there's anything wrong with that". NBA has too many talent players who don't hustle, so don't contribute at the level their talents permit.

I hope one of the benefits of Tim's injury is that Sean gets enough PT to start clicking a bit more on offense to complement his hustle work.

It's great that Pop can joke about Sean being "0 for 94" before hitting a jumper vs Sonics.

[Solid D]

The great thing about Sean is he's such "good people", a great teammate on the bench and in the room and he brings a talent level that extends beyond the usual Gerard King/Felton Spencer/Shawnelle Scott/Amal McCaskill/Mengke Bateer.

[Gerryatrics]

Marks has looked pretty good out there the past couple of games. He isn't racking up monster points or shutting down the paint or anything, but he does play with energy and is a big spark to the Spurs when he's on the floor.

I would also think he has benefitted from Brent Barry being on the team, not only because of Brent's veteranship and just being a nice guy, but because the games I saw where Barry and Marks were in during garbage time. Brent made a big effort to get Marks touches, often leading a pass when Sean was in the post towards the basket so Sean could try to lay it up or get to the freethrow line. Keep in mind I only get to watch nationally broadcasted and vs. Sonics games, so that might not be a trend. Just something I noticed in a couple of the games I watched.

If Marks can start hitting those open jumpers on a consistent basis an opposing big would have to stay with him near the perimeter to keep him honest, which could open up the paint for Manu and Tony. I don't know that I'd encourage him to start jacking up threes at this point though. Hope he gets some decent minutes against Denver, I'd like to see some more of him.

[exstatic]

Somehow, this just HAD to turn into a Barry thread.

[spurster]

It all comes down to

Kiwi = Championships

The biggest mistake of the Spurs last playoffs was not playing the big Kiwi.

[whottt]

Gerry, Barry was the guy getting Marks all those touches...he usually does try to play that way, not just with Marks but period. He plays like a PG a lot of the time and I think that's why he's gotten the rep of being afraid to shoot...even though he hasn't passed up a truly big shot all season.

I think Barry and Marks' are friends or something too and Marks played a role in recruiting Barry to SA...when Barry signed with SA he said that Marks told him the only negative about SA was the humidity...he said that before he actually got here so they had to have talked on the phone or something...Maybe they played together once or were in a training camp or something(Miami maybe?)

[boutons]

"HAD to turn into a Barry thread."

... gratuitous, extraneous, repe ve SJax posts are also coming back from the dead to pop up like mushrooms.

[whottt]

And boutons and exstatic up another thread by bringing nothing to the thread except chiding...

Are you guys going to at least talk about Marks? Or just critique what others posters are talking about?

[ChumpDumper]

Just wondering what you feel about all those jumpers and if you can do so without turning it into a Nazr-bashing thread.

I think if he's open he should take them.

[Gerryatrics]

Somehow, this just HAD to turn into a Barry thread.

Feel free to add an actual take to the conversation and stop ing because I choose to focus on Brent Barry's positive additions to the team instead of calling him the worst player in NBA history and questioning his manhood because his 3pt% is down.

Gerry, Barry was the guy getting Marks all those touches...he usually does try to play that way, not just with Marks but period.

Brent was known in Seattle not only for getting other players involved who were usually burried on the bench (rookies usually, sometimes just benchwarmers) but for taking them under his wing so to speak, showing them the ropes, teaching them about life in the NBA, working with them on their game and making them feel comfortable with the Sonics. I could drag up some quotes from last year by Luke Ridnour and Nick Colison talking about that. Heck, I could get quotes from Ray Allen saying that his transistion to the Sonics was as smooth as it was because of Brent Barry. I just noticed Barry trying to get Marks involved during garbage time and thought that maybe he carried the same concept over to the Spurs, just a little more subtly since he's actually the new guy on the team.

But enough about Bones, this is a Marks thread and I for one don't want to hijack it to start another Brent Barry debate.

Marks=energy. Give him some minutes and let's see if he can have a positive affect on the rest of the team. And like I said, if he can start hitting those jumpers consistently, that could open up the paint for Manu and Tony, assuming he sees any time with them on the floor.

[Solid D]

..when Barry signed with SA he said that Marks told him the only negative about SA was the humidity...he said that before he actually got here so they had to have talked on the phone or something...Maybe they played together once or were in a training camp or something(Miami maybe?)

Or maybe the Spurs' Front Office had Sean answering the phones that day Brent called 210-554-SPUR.

[whottt]

Dump, since the other teams weren't respecting that 17 footer at all, and probably won't until he starts to hit it consistently...I think he needs to keep shooting it.


Otherwise he's just gonna be an extra defender on Parker or Duncan...

You can tell he's got a J and is used to shooting that shot just by the way he shoots it...he shoots it like it is a weapon.

If he hits it enough to earn the respect of the scouts and coaches of other teams...it'll be that much easier for Duncan to post up or for Parker or Manu to penetrate in the playoffs.

Nazr's J will never get respect for his J and since all he does otherwise is hangout in the paint...he will clog it for everyone on our team by keeping an extra defender in there with him.

If Marks doesn't start to hit that shot consistently...he will be as much of a liability as you know who will surely be as far as clogging...but I do believe after 2 years on the IR we can give the guy a little time to find out if he's just rusty about shooting in games(which I think he is).

I know giving a guy time to get his shot in order isn't one of your favorite things to do...but I can see the benefits of doing that with Marks....