It's Hoopsworld, I posted it for the quotes from Hill.
Vegas: A New George Hill
By: Yannis Koutroupis
When Tim Duncan played in his first summer league he was far from impressive, getting outplayed by Greg Ostertag and thoroughly dominated by Jermaine O'Neal. That was 12 years ago and since then all Duncan has done is win four championships and establish himself as the best power forward to ever play the game. Tim's summer league struggles prove that while the experience players gain during the time is invaluable, it's not a true indicator as to how successful they're going to be as professionals.
Duncan's teammate George Hill had a forgetful summer league debut as well. Last year in Las Vegas there were already a lot of questions surrounding the selection of Hill, who played his college basketball at IUPUI in a mediocre conference. Hill did very little to prove that he belongs, showing major issues with handling point guard duties and hitting open shots.
While Hill looked out of place then, he didn't during the regular season and now in his second go-around in Las Vegas he's looking like one of the best players in attendance.
"I think it's more confidence and experience," said Hill about his improved play. "Last year I was coming into summer league trying to get my feet wet, learn the point guard position, and be perfect. I didn't play me, I wasn't me. This year my coaches and teammates told me to just play my game and that's what I did."
Hill's 25 points, four rebounds, and three assists helped the Spurs get off to a 1-0 start with a 92-86 defeat of the New Orleans Hornets. Last year Hill had a lot of trouble dwelling on his mistakes and worrying about the previous play more than the next one. It's still something that Hill battles today, although his teammates have helped him improve drastically in that aspect.
"I think sometimes that just comes with being a player that's so compe ive," explained Hill. "You get mad at yourself when you know you should have made the great play or the great pass. Things like that kill you sometimes if you start thinking of the other things but I think today I took it the right way. If I made a mistake I made a mistake, I didn't worry about it I just tried to make up for it on the next play. My teammates did a great job of telling me 'it's ok, we'll get them on the next one'."
Only recently have the Spurs made habit of sending their actual coaching staff to summer league to watch their young players. In the past there was very little incentive to do so because they had a veteran-laden squad that didn't present much of an opportunity for young players to play. However, youth is no longer absent in San Antonio and they are now well represented because the development of Hill is vital to the team's future success. They've laid out what they want to see from Hill very clearly and so far he has delivered.
"Just leadership," revealed Hill. "There are a couple of guys who played on our team last year that got drafted last year and we're all back. We just try to help young people learn the ropes like we just did. They also want me telling people where to go and being an overall point guard."
Hill's strong play fits perfectly with the offseason the Spurs have had so far. They had a spectacular draft and signed an ideal fit to play alongside Duncan in Antonio McDyess. Their best move by far though was acquiring Richard Jefferson in exchange for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, and Kurt Thomas. Hill was sad to see three of his teammates go but he's excited about playing with Jefferson, who he has some familiarity with.
"You're always sad to see some of your teammates leave especially the ones who you were close to on the court," admitted Hill."At the same time though you're bringing in a great player in Richard Jefferson. It's funny, he was my coach at the Jordan Camp in 8th grade. I don't want to tell him that because I don't want him to feel old. Just bringing him in though is going to be a great addition to our team."
Jefferson may be old in comparison to Hill, but by Spurs' standards he's actually young. The Spurs will certainly miss the contributions of Bowen, Thomas, and Oberto. However, they were eliminated in the first round last year and changes had to be made. They are now right back in contention status with the team they've assembled and it has Hill already anxious to get the season underway.
"I think we're going to be up there (in the West)," said Hill. "The team we had last year was great, we won our division but we got put out in the first round and I think that's something that's unacceptable. We're always in the championship game. The moves we made are great moves. They help us out on both ends of the floor. We've got athleticism, some more youth, and I'm just ready to get started."
Duncan:When Tim Duncan played in his first summer league he was far from impressive, getting outplayed by Greg Ostertag and thoroughly dominated by Jermaine O'Neal.
"Jermaine (O'Neal) destroyed me. He was with Portland, was real young ... and Tag threw my stuff into the first couple of rows a few times."
Greg Ostertag's Legendary Domination of Tim Duncan
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/...im-Duncan.html
Both of those games were proven to be real exaggerations, but the point still holds - one bad SL doesnt make or break a player.
I think they first came up after Greg Oden struggled in his first SL. Dont think he got the memo though.
I refuse to believe Tim Duncan got owned by Ostertag.
George just looks so much more mature this year. Mentally, the way he speaks plus his play on the court - but also physically he looks like hes gotten a little stronger but also quicker.
When Tim Duncan played in his first summer league he was far from impressive, getting outplayed by Greg Ostertag and thoroughly dominated by Jermaine O'Neal.That's all you ever need to know with regards to putting summer league in proper perspective.
Let's hope: Summer League: Greg Ostertag is to Tim Duncan as Summer league: Thornton is to Jack McClinton.
this means only one thing for Ian;he will go on to dominate the league
Jermaine had a big game against him though, i think he went for 20+, while Duncan had about 15.
I think it was TrueHoop who released the box scores, i cand find them now though.
Nice. Hill is still a rookie though because you know after a few years playing together, he's going to use that to rib Jefferson.
The lines:
Tim Duncan 14 points/6 of 10 FG/8 rebs/3 assists/2 blocks
Greg Ostertag 21 points/7 of 12 FG/10 rebs/0 assists/5 blocks
Yeah, like the article says, you can hardly call 60% FG an horrible outing, but it is Ostertag.
My bad i didnt realise it was in the link you gave.
I hate when articles lead you to believe they did an interview, when, in fact, they didn't. This looks to be an amalgamation of quotes from different places, unless Hill is repeating them. The Jefferson quote (Jordan Camp, 8th Grade) was off of the Spurs.com interview before McDyess was even signed, and I don't recall all the others.
Oligarcy, I just touched down from Las Vegas this morning. I sat down with Hill and Mahinmi after yesterday's game, so everything in the articles were given to me straigth from the players' mouthes yesterday - not plucked from elsewhere. They're both great kids, Ian I talked to at length after conducting the interview. He's very determined to make good on the faith the Spurs have placed in him. I walked away very impressed, but rest assured actual interviews were done to put together the two articles.Look out for a DeJuan Blair one soon!
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