Schoening - Jacque's Professionalism Shines Through

[Spurs Brazil]

http://www.nba.com/spurs/timeout/20secondto.html

Jacque's Professionalism Shines Through
by Bill Schoening | December 17, 2007

When you look up the word professionalism in the dictionary, there's not a photo of Spurs point guard Jacque Vaughn, but if there was, Merriam Webster would get no argument from me.

The definition of the word, "conduct, aims and qualities that mark a professional person" fits Vaughn perfectly. Vaughn shows up on time, is always prepared, stays in top shape, and is a great fit in the Spurs locker room. As a point guard, he knows his strengths and limitations. You rarely see him take a bad shot or throw the ball away. HIs coaches and teammates speak highly of him.

When he missed the preseason and the start of the regular season with a strained calf muscle, it was difficult on him because he's not used to missing any time on the floor with his teammates. One of Vaughn's strengths is getting the ball to his mates in their "comfort zones". The eleven year vet recently told me, "When I come in, I try to not only get the ball to a player who may be hot at the time, but also to a guy who may have missed a couple of shots and might need a good look to get his confidence going a little bit."

Spoken like a true professional.

[duncan228]

Basketbawful's blog about the game last night, Vaughn included. Love the "You cannot trust teams..." line.

http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/

Phoenix Suns defense: They won a hotly contested game with the world champs, and they became the first team to beat the Spurs in San Antonio this season. I'm sure you sense there's a "but" coming, and that "but" is the Suns' crummy defense. Amare Stoudemire basically shrunk away in fear as Tim Duncan ate his lunch (season-high 36 points, 15-25 shooting, season-high 17 rebounds). But even more disturbing was the fact that Jacque Vaughn looked positively Tony Parker-esque (14 points, 7-10 shoting, 4 assists). You cannot trust teams that make Jacque Vaughn look good. Also troubling is that, not only did the Suns get killed on the boards (again), Steve Nash actually led them in rebounding with 8. That should really never happen. Think the Suns miss Kurt Thomas? Think they aren't secretly wishing Steve Kerr had pulled the trigger on that Stoudemire-for-Garnett trade?

Robert Horry: Another rough outing for Ben-Gay Bob: Zero points (0-1), 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 foul in 13 minutes. However, he did find time to thug Steve Nash again.

[m33p0]

... Amare Stoudemire basically shrunk away in fear as Tim Duncan ate his lunch ...