Andrei Kirilenko spent the offseason training to ..

[RonnieBrewer (Ronnie Brewer)]

Andrei Kirilenko spent the offseason training to get bigger, stronger, faster
. . . Better?
Utah Jazz: Andrei Kirilenko says he dedicated himself to nutrition, exercise
and basketball in the offseason.
By Phil Miller
The Salt Lake Tribune

Andrei Kirilenko tries to act enthused about following the advice of his
newly hired nutritionist, but he can't keep up the illusion for long. He's
eating healthier, he said Monday, trying to cut down on fats, drinking more
water, choosing organic foods, blah blah blah.

That last part - his exact words - comes accompanied with hand gestures like
mouths talking to him, and an exaggerated roll of the eyes. Kirilenko isn't
crazy about being coached.

Jerry Sloan has known this for several years. He has lectured his Russian
star about sticking to the offense, gambling less on defense, and, every
spring, devoting himself to improving his game. Blah blah blah.

Something strange seems to have happened over the summer, however.
Kirilenko listened.

He spent a couple of months in Los Angeles, running through shooting drills
for 90 minutes every morning, lifting weights every afternoon. Eating right
at every meal. Well, mostly.

And the difference is already apparent, Kirilenko said.

"I feel much more confident with my shot. This is important," Kirilenko said
on the eve of training camp, which opens today in Boise. "My feelings is like,
I'm improved. I can feel it good."

He's even tested his new midrange jump shot against all-star competition.
Kirilenko headed to Las Vegas for a week to take part in daily pickup games
against the likes of Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups and Baron Davis. The
drills, conducted by a personal trainer provided by his agent, had paid off.

Adding a reliable outside jumper would make a big difference for a former
all-star whose shooting percentage dropped to 46 percent last season. Making
a few more free throws (he was at 69.9 percent last year) wouldn't be bad,
either, Sloan pointed out.

But the coach said Monday he is even more impressed with the work Kirilenko
did on his body. The scrawny-looking Russian hasn't had the muscle, Sloan
said, to post up reliably, or to guard strong interior players such as
Sacramento's Ron Artest.

"There are times he has a mismatch inside, where we like for him to be because
of his height, but he wasn't able to deliver the ball [to the basket] because
of his lack of strength," Sloan said. "He's got to be able to use his height
and use his strength - now that he has some - to better play those guys." 

Now that he has some? Yes, Sloan said, this has been a recurring theme. Now
it appears Kirilenko, whose weight remains around 230 but whose body fat has
declined, is listening, too.

"How many times has he worked this hard during the summer? This is one of the
things we've been trying to sell to him - get your body stronger," Sloan said.

Conditioning coach Mark McKown "said he thought Andrei was much, much better.
That's huge for him," Sloan said.

How huge will be determined once the season starts - this is a player who
averaged 15.3 points and 8.0 rebounds anyway, after all - but his teammates
are optimistic, too. "Andrei looks [like a] tough guy, doesn't he?" joked
forward Mehmet Okur. "I think those might be muscles."

They are, Kirilenko confirmed, and well-earned, too. "I never did chin-ups
before. Now I can do like 17 chin-ups," he bragged. "Of course, it takes like
two months."

[e-mail]

http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_4434787

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