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this is great news, obviously.“I can hit an open shot if I have to,” Bogans said, “but I'm a defender first.”
Keith Bogans has assumed Bruce Bowen's old role.
Spurs' Bogans relishing his role
Jeff McDonald
Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. has watched teammate Keith Bogans grapple with an All-Star ballot of NBA scorers this season. He's seen Bogans claw with Carmelo Anthony, harass Baron Davis, lay into the likes of Jason Terry, Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson.
On nights like these, Mason says he barely recognizes his old friend.
“I didn't know he was a defender until he came here,” said Mason, who has known Bogans since they were 9-year-olds growing up in the Washington D.C. area. “I always thought of him as a scorer first.”
Bogans, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, built his six-season NBA career by being a bulldog of a defender, but he wasn't always this way. In college at Kentucky, he was a bona fide point-producer — so good at putting the ball in the hole that he still ranks fourth on the school's blue-blooded all-time scoring list.
It was a conversation with his old coach at Kentucky, Tubby Smith, that Bogans says changed the course of his career, transforming him from prolific scorer to, as Spurs teammate Manu Ginobili calls him, “a pain in the butt” defender.
“In this league, everybody's a scorer,” Bogans said. “I had to find something to do that other guys didn't do. Not too many guys in this league play defense.”
Even after three consecutive double-digit outings, Bogans is averaging 5.4 points — a paltry number at a position often dominated by point-a-minute scorers.
As far as the Spurs are concerned, any offense Bogans supplies is superfluous. Signed just eight days before the start of training camp, Bogans has earned a starting role based on his ability to defend people.
“There's a lot to be said for one of the starters not really needing the ball,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “In this league, you can use that. It's difficult to guard people the way the rules are, especially perimeter-type people.
“Come playoff time, you have to be able to make those stops.”
The Portland Trail Blazers, the Spurs' opponent tonight at the AT&T Center, are partially responsible for turning Bogans into a starter. He earned his first nod of the season at Portland on Nov. 6, as a counter to Nate McMillian's decision to start Andre Miller alongside Brandon Roy and Steve Blake.
Save for one night in Dallas, when Popovich opted to start Ginobili instead, Bogans has been a fixture in the first five ever since. In games in which Bogans has started and logged at least 20 minutes, opposing guards are shooting 39.8 percent.
It is not often a team will find its starting shooting guard on the free agency scrap heap. That's where the Spurs discovered Bogans, signing him to a minimum deal on Sept. 21 after Milwaukee declined to retain him.
“I didn't think we were going to lose anything by giving him a shot,” Popovich said. “Because when I looked out there in the world, I didn't think there was anybody else that had the potential to take on that role like Bruce Bowen had, and relish doing it night after night.”
One of the players Bogans studied over the years was Bowen, the former Spur and an eight-time member of the NBA's All-Defense team.
Bogans is two inches shorter than Bowen, and stockier. Where Bowen used his quickness and footwork to smother opponents, Bogans uses his strength to knock them out of their preferred spots.
“He grabs you, holds you,” Ginobili said. “He takes defense very seriously, even in practice.”
Sometimes, however, Bogans can't help but have flashbacks to his sweet-shooting days in Kentucky blue. The ball will swing to him in the corner, and he will remember the scorer he once was.
This is the Bogans that Mason remembers from their days in D.C. It is not who Bogans is now.
“I can hit an open shot if I have to,” Bogans said, “but I'm a defender first.”
Last edited by duncan228; 12-23-2009 at 02:23 AM.
this is great news, obviously.“I can hit an open shot if I have to,” Bogans said, “but I'm a defender first.”
All I know is if Bogans keeps hitting the three like he has been lately, we're going to be pretty good.
At that time I just get it that no one else in the league wanted him.
And he is shooting 50% 2pts and 40% 3pts this season, very impressive.
what i like about bogans is that he can take the ball to the hole with confidence. in that sense, he's a more versatile offensive player than bowen.
Yes he is, but the Defender Bowen was could not be replaced, he could shut down Nash and whoever in a series (Billups too) and get us the victory in a hard faught series, period. Bogans is a good defender, but not the lockdown stud Brucey was.
yet....
This guy was born to be a Spur.
I know our dream has been to find somebody at the 3 position who can defend above and below his position, but Bogans truly plays bigger than he is. It's easy to get excited about his performance.
Im seriously considering a Bogans Jersey for Christmas instead of a Beast one
bogans has a long way to go to even approach bowen
He can be compared to Raja Bell more than Brucie, but at a cheaper price. He will be a Spur for a long time as long as he doesn't demand 4M a year.
Keif may even have some potential to up his defense. Success and acclaim as a defender should Spur him on to greater defensive effort and prowess. Virtuous cycle.
He seems very relaxed, often smiling for no apparent reason.
Bogans is a good defender but nowhere near Bruce especially at 6.5'
I can't help but wonder how good our D would had been had we had them both for the vet's minimum. We can't get near the elites playing D like we do now. Bogans is not enough.
If Bogans turn out to be half as good a defender as Bowen was, our defense will look 10 times better than it did last season...
Bogans has been a very pleasant surprise for someone who was signed at the last minute. He is no Bruce, but a good defensive player who may be even better at offense. I like that, like Bruce, he hangs his hat on his defense.
I wish more of the guys on the team would do this. (Ok, just Tony).
So if he keeps this up all year what kinda deal are we looking at to keep him?
the biggest and best surprise of the Spurs so far this season
let's see how he does vs. Roy. Roy was dismantling the Dallas D last night.
Nothing mind blowing...as it is doubtful any other team will give him anything substantial even if he has a good year.
If I had to shoot in the dark I'd say something like 3yrs/8 million.
I should bump some of the threads with all the Bogans hate in them.
I've loved what he has been able to do this year even if he will never be Bruce he can still bring that tough, gritty defense while still hitting those corner 3s.
Best surprise of the season. Jefferson = worst surprise.
Called it in the offseason. There's a reason he was a starter for the Magic not that long ago. He plays great D and shoots the 3
And hes doing just fine too.
Actually, the people that were skeptical about Bogans had good reason to assume the worst, myself included..you had to consider Hairston's emergence and the fact that Bogans has been a below average offensive player his entire career..
This Keith Bogans we're getting right now is NOWHERE NEAR the same guy that has been in the NBA this entire time..
his previous career high in FG% for a season was 41%..this year he's shooting 49.5%, which is a MONSTROUS increase..he's shooting 40% from 3s, his highest ever, and this was with a massive slump that he went through for a few weeks..his TS% is almost 10% higher than his previous high..
this is the best Orating he's had WHILE having the best Drating he's ever had..
Who knows how the season will turn out, but I can say that nobody expected Bogans to be this good, not even the Spurs front office..it wouldn't have made any sense for anybody to believe he could be this good for us, nothing in the past indicated it..
It's kind of scary that he might just have found a perfect spot for himself in the NBA..
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