If anyone has earned their playing time in the NBA, it is Garrett Temple. The former LSU Tiger went undrafted in last summer's NBA Draft and had to decide whether to play overseas or attempt to make it in the NBA Development League.
Following the draft, the Houston Rockets invited Temple to play in their summer league, where he did not get a lot of playing time. After being cut in the preseason, Temple opted to play for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League.
"I didn't want to play overseas because you got to have a lot of offense to play over there," said Temple. "The D-League gave me a lot of confidence in my offensive game. I didn't score a lot in college, and I really got to work on my game."
Temple averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists with the Vipers. Soon after, the Rockets called him up and signed him to a 10-day contract. He played in three games with the Rockets and was offered a second 10-day contract. But even though he played well, Temple was cut after the contract was up.
"I was on the way to the airport to go back to my D-League team, and the Sacramento Kings called me and said they wanted me to play with them," said Temple. "I jumped right on a plane and flew out there and played another 10-day contract."
The Kings offered Temple another 10-day contract, but that's when he got word that the San Antonio Spurs were interested in him. He knew that with Tony Parker out with injury, he would get a chance to play for a playoff compe or. Temple signed a 10-day contract, before signing with the Spurs for the rest of the season in March.
When guard George Hill went down to injury in April, Temple earned his first start with the Spurs, where he played 27 minutes with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Through the final six games of the season, Temple averaged 22 minutes of play, with 10.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and a steal per game. He said playing among the league's best players was a little intimidating at first.
"When I got my 4th start, I had to go up against (Rookie of the Year ) Tyreke Evans," said Temple. "And then I had to play against Steve Nash and then Chauncey Billups. But when I realized I'm starting with Manu Ginobli and Richard Jefferson, it really sunk in that it was all just crazy."
Temple said he learned a lot from veteran players like Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess. He said having conversations with them about how to play the game really helped him learn how to be a professional basketball player. But Temple said it was Spurs coach Gregg Popovich that taught him the most.
"He's the best coach I've ever had the pleasure to play for," said Temple. "He knows so much about the game of basketball and you're always learning new things when you're around him."
Temple said having an opportunity to play with a playoff team in his rookie season was an awesome experience.
"You can really see how much the intensity increases in the playoffs," said Temple. "We had just played the Dallas Mavericks at the end of the regular season, and when we played them days later in the playoffs, it was a different intensity."
Temple and the Spurs ousted the Mavericks 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs, before being swept in four straight games by the Phoenix Suns in the conference semifinals.
While Temple's season may be done, he is still rooting for his best friend and former teammate Glenn Davis, who plays for the Boston Celtics.
"Glenn has really accepted his role with the Celtics," said Temple. "He thought he might have had a bigger role this year, but how he's bounced back and played in these playoffs is a credit to the kind of person he is. I'm real proud of him."
Temple said he thinks the Celtics will take down the Lakers in the NBA Finals because he thinks Boston is more "battle-tested."
As for Temple, he will be back with the Spurs this summer. He will play for the Spurs Summer League team.
"We started back last week working out in San Antonio and we're getting back into already," said Temple. "I'm just ready to get back out there and prove what I can do again."
http://tigerweekly.com/print/06-09-2...ookie-nba-ride
Don't tell that to Fabbs."He's the best coach I've ever had the pleasure to play for," said Temple. "He knows so much about the game of basketball and you're always learning new things when you're around him."
Temple really surprised me in his first start. Maybe that's because I wasn't expecting much from him, but he served his role perfectly.
I think the kid showed some great poise & did pretty well for us this past season. He's available on the cheap & has a great upside, so I'm OK w/ him if he makes the regular season roster.
I like this guy. He has guts.
I hope he is the next backup PG next year
Temple said he learned a lot from veteran players like Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess. He said having conversations with them about how to play the game really helped him learn how to be a professional basketball player. But Temple said it was Spurs coach Gregg Popovich that taught him the most.
"He's the best coach I've ever had the pleasure to play for," said Temple. "He knows so much about the game of basketball and you're always learning new things when you're around him."
sign him on minimum contract non teed
use picks on long 3 and banger down low
call it a summer
I like the article and was relatively impressed by Temple's limited production for the Spurs. He does seem pretty limited offensively although he's shown he can hit the corner 3 (12-25) and can finish in the lane (24-35 around the rim, 69%). Every other area on the court he struggled however.
As long as he's cheap and a hard worker I can see him sticking around although I can't remember how Temple was defensively.
Last edited by Cane; 06-09-2010 at 02:55 PM.
I really like the idea of being able to pair a bigger PG in the backcourt with Hill at SG - especially defensively. Hopefuly Temple continues his impressive play / growth in the Spurs system.
The guy that gives you your first start is always the greatest coach in the world. That is until you sign on when the next team.
Temple may not be the most athletic or skilled player out there, but he seems to know what he's doing when he's on the court with the Spurs.
Add to that, is that he's got enough length to be effective on defense against point guards.
He just needs to bulk up and improve his long range shot. But given what he's already shown, he definitely should be part of next year's lineup.
I wanna see him play this year
only to look forward to seeing how hes developed the following year. Dude's got potential.
At best, he'll be a solid rotational role player. He could potentially be a Bruce Bowen-type of player, however he needs to show more intensity on the court and commitment in film room. Still though, he has plenty of time to improve.
I liked what I saw in Temple immediately-he just looked like he belonged on the court; never really looked out of place or over-matched.
I really wish Pop had thrown him on Nash just to see if his length would bother Nash.
I think he will earn significant playing time this coming season.
My only question is should he get time at PG our should we develop him as our SG?
You can tell when he plays he lets the game come to him he is not frantic he looks calm and doesn't make to many mistakes. On defense he plays well off the ball but man on man he gets in the grill of the other player and tends to get burned when doing that to opposing point guards.
I would like to see him add about ten pounds of muscle work on his lateral quickness and try him at both position PG and SG.
He looks like he should fit right in with the Spurs. Plays defense, can play multiple positions, and doesn't get easily rattled. In other words, he could be a solid role player for years to come.
I like him on offense at pg, he distributes well. at 6'6"ish he's big enough to guard most 2 guards him and hill would make for an interesting though not really superstar backcourt. He's never going to be a superstar but will likely be a solid rotation player someday. 1 and 2 are fine spurs have that covered for the next 3 years or so. Its 3, 4, and 5 that are problems though if they get splitter and he works out as expected 5 should be covered.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
