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Gottamnit, October cannot get here soon enough.
DeJuan DeMan: Beyond his talent
Buck Harvey
Hasheem Thabeet stretched and blocked the shot. He does that. He's 7-foot-3.
But then DeJuan Blair retrieved the basketball. This was in February, when Pitt met UConn in a Big East showdown, and Blair quickly powered back to wow America.
“I felt like an animal at that point,” Blair said then. “I felt like I wanted to kill.”
Blair paused and shrugged. “So I killed.”
Blair ended with 22 points and 23 rebounds, and the UConn coach, Jim Calhoun, called Blair “a man.” Weeks later, when penciling Pittsburgh into a tournament bracket in front of a TV camera, President Obama used the same, exact phrase.
This is why the Spurs suddenly feel blessed again, and this is why the Spurs are as optimistic as they've been about a rookie since Manu Ginobili showed a few things during the 2002 World Championships.
Blair will not be as ready as Ginobili was, and his knees will always be an issue. The Spurs have looked at the X-rays and, yes, he's ACL-less.
He also played only two years at Pitt, and rookies need some time. No one is certain his skill set and height will transition to the NBA, another reason he fell in the draft.
Then there are Gregg Popovich's demands: Blair will have to show a few things no one has seen, because Spurs scouts say Blair was not a good college defender.
Still, one staffer in the draft room Thursday said there were “cartwheels and high-fives,” and R.C. Buford later gushed as he rarely does about any draft pick.
An especially daring prediction: Blair will play 20 minutes a night.
The Spurs had tried to trade up into the middle of the first round, but Blair wasn't the target. Like everyone else, they worry about his health.
From what the Spurs know thus far, his knees are not demonstrating instability. His function is not affected as long as this is the case, though the length of his career is in doubt. That's why Blair left Pitt early, and it's why the Spurs, like other teams, didn't want to commit to a first-round contract.
So they mostly watched Thursday night as general manager after general manager talked himself out of Blair. When he dropped to the second round, the Spurs started making calls, looking to deal, but the Rockets escalated the bidding by buying picks.
Then Blair fell to No. 37. Not only did the Spurs change, so did the perception of them.
Analysts linked this to the Parker/Ginobili drafts, as if this franchise is magic. The media in Dallas and Houston asked why their teams couldn't do these things.
In truth, as it was with Tony Parker, all the Spurs did was wait.
Now they can't wait to see Blair on the court. One on the staff thinks Blair is clearly better than, say, Tyler Hansbrough, who went at No. 13. Others wonder, after what Blair did to Thabeet, if only Blake Griffin is better.
In some areas, Blair is actually better. Numbers suggest Blair wasn't the best offensive rebounder in the draft — he might be the best in college basketball in the decade.
“Great passer and wingspan,” said one Spurs scout, “and he has hands like (Tim) Duncan's. He has unbelievable feel and timing.”
Just as 6-foot-5 Chuck Hayes proved to be effective rooting Pau Gasol, the Spurs think Blair could, too. But he's not Charles Barkley, as some have compared him to. Blair doesn't have the same explosion.
Still, what sets Blair apart is something else entirely. It's “the man” factor, and the Spurs saw that when they talked to him. They say it was one of the most impressive interviews they've had.
It's a personality that wins. It's a personality that doesn't care how much work is required, or about the size of the stage, or if the opponent is 8 inches taller and has just blocked his shot.
As it was in February.
Gottamnit, October cannot get here soon enough.
Chuck Hayes on steroids.
I like...
Why wait till October.Gottamnit, October cannot get here soon enough.
Summer league starts in a couple weeks
Nice.“I felt like an animal at that point,” Blair said then. “I felt like I wanted to kill.”
Blair paused and shrugged. “So I killed.”
Not too daring considering that's how many minutes Buford said he'd play.An especially daring prediction: Blair will play 20 minutes a night.
I wonder who it was. I'm guessing Casspi.The Spurs had tried to trade up into the middle of the first round, but Blair wasn't the target.
MB with some pubOthers wonder, after what Blair did to Thabeet, if only Blake Griffin is better.
On paper, he passing stats are actually pretty good. Decent amount of assists and not too many turnovers.“Great passer and wingspan,” said one Spurs scout, “and he has hands like (Tim) Duncan's. He has unbelievable feel and timing.”
In games I've seen him in, I wouldn't call him a "great passer" ... but hopefully I'm wrong and that's another trait he'll bring to the table.
Good point. Do they broadcast Summer League games online? Or is it only like...NBATV, etc?Why wait till October.
Summer league starts in a couple weeks
Last year they were all available live and free online.
Yeah, but only a few. It's a good time to go to Vegas. Southwest Airlines fares are dirt cheap right about now so you could book it and catch some games. Thomas & Mack Center is right by the strip.
I've already been to Vegas once this year.
Last year's broadcast schedule:
http://www.nba.com/summerleague2008/...chedule08.html
Damn, I love this guy.“I felt like an animal at that point,” Blair said then. “I felt like I wanted to kill.”
Blair paused and shrugged. “So I killed.”
He's got a great personality and one that is definitely going to be a departure from the norm for Pop, so that's going to be another interesting dynamic to see played out.
I've got a question, though...
If he's left school early on any account of his knees and the Spurs are going to be doing everything in their power to make sure he lasts long enough to help them for more than a year, should he really be playing in the S.L.? (Honest question...)
How's the sun burn healed? Still pissed at your boys for living you on the roof?I've already been to Vegas once this year.
I think that was just Harvey's way of attributing that to Buford, who he describes as gushing over him in the previous sentence. I don't think that's Harvey's prediction, he just worded it strangely with the paragraph breaks.
There's a prominent play in some of the youtube videos where he does a touch pass back to the baseline inbounder for an uncontested layup. It's a really impressive pass that shows a lot of awareness. I don't think he's a spectacular passer, but it shows a lot of floor IQ and a player more than just a brute rebounder.
Yeah, you gotta play him. It's too valuable for all parties involved. Blair gets an early jump on the Spurs' system prior to training camp and the Spurs get a better understanding of whether or not he can help right away. If he can't, then they probably need to sign an additional big.
That said, you probably want to play him about 25-30 minutes per game. It'd be pretty dumb to play him close to 40.
It was cooler there then than it is here now.How's the sun burn healed? Still pissed at your boys for living you on the roof?
He should come off the bench like a pitbull who's been released off his chain, and go to work on weak rotation bigs.
He'll be splitting time with Mahinmi and Gist at the least, and the games are only 40 minutes long. I don't think there's much of a chance he'd play more than 25 mpg.
I agree, but damn, these stories/reports about his knees are seeming so grim.
Before I started reading all these stories and medical reports, I thought the questions of an early demise were pretty over-exaggerated/overly-cautious, so I'm hoping I was right the first time.
It's just hard to imagine this kind of outlook after seeing him play the last two years, and to the best of my recollection, without any crazy knee-braces.
It's a win-now mode for sure, so I guess you've got to throw caution to the wind and see what you've got, but I'd be lying if I didn't say part of me was thinking we should all be holding our breath.
I still don't understand this. How is it possible to play basketball with no ACLs?
How can you not love his at ude and desire? Can you imagine that energy off the bench unleashed along with Ginobli's?
How the should we know, you're the one who does it...I still don't understand this. How is it possible to play basketball with no ACLs?
Touche.
That's an aspect that shouldn't be overlooked with some of these potential additions.
Energy.
If Spurs fans get a chance to see the likes of McClinton and Gist out there, they're not going to know what to do with themselves. These guys have motors that seemingly never stop.
Throw Blair into the equation (Holt Cat's newest earth-mover) and guys like Hill, and of course Manu, and you've got more game-changing energy than this team has had in... Well, maybe ever...
Why are you asking us?I still don't understand this. How is it possible to play basketball with no ACLs?
The ACLs were repaired, but the fixed job was absorbed into the scar tissue. This happens sometimes. So technically there are no ACLs and so it is up to the hamstring and quad muscles to do the job they would have done, and to do it in a balanced fashion.
Anyone know who the Spurs were targeting in their failed attempt to move up into the 1st round?
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