推 sam369:安安阿 01/15 18:29
Ex-Tech star Millsap adjusting to life in the NBA
January 10, 2007
By Larry Wade
shreveportsports@gannett.com
HOUSTON - With 1:22 left in the first quarter of Friday night's game, Utah
Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan nodded toward the end of his bench.
It was time to make a change.
Paul Millsap sprung to his feet, quickly shed his warmups and stepped onto
the floor to replace Carlos Boozer before a sellout crowd of 18,059 in
Houston's Toyota Center.
Just a few feet away from Millsap stood Tracy McGrady, one of NBA's most
popular stars. Dikembe Mutombo, one best defensive players in the history
of the game, was also nearby.
Paul Millsap has arrived.
A season removed from Louisiana Tech, Millsap now finds himself rubbing
elbows -- literally -- with some of the NBA's biggest stars. He's on
basketball's optimum level. It doesn't get any bigger or better than the NBA.
Millsap, a three-time NCAA rebounding champion, is making the transition from
college star to NBA rookie. And he says it's been challenging at times.
"A lot of things are different," said Millsap, a 6-foot-8, 258-pound forward.
"Guys are a lot stronger and bigger and off the court a lot of things come at
you, so you've got to learn how to deal with them.
"I respect everybody up here. Everybody up here can play. You want to get out
there and be the best&try to guard those guys. That's just the biggest thing
for me - going in and trying to play solid defense."
Millsap isn't the first former Louisiana Tech star Sloan has coached. Karl
Malone, who spent 18 seasons with the Jazz, blossomed into arguably the best
power forward in history under Sloan's tutelage.
Millsap and Malone have yet to get together, but Millsap hopes they can meet
at some point in the near future.
"Not yet," said Millsap. "We're supposed to. (We're) two busy guys."
Sloan is reluctant to compare Millsap, who was selected by Utah in the second
round of the 2006 NBA draft, with Malone, who was selected No. 13 overall by
the Jazz in 1985.
The two, however, are tireless workers, and that's something Sloan admires.
Sloan has also been impressed by Millsap's knowledge of the game.
"He's a young guy and he seems to have a great understanding of the basketball
game for as young as he is," said Sloan. "Obviously experience is a factor
with all young guys. He seems to work hard, and hopefully he can work hard to
make himself a good player every day."
Millsap has played in each of Utah's 34 games. But because of a wealth of
talent in Utah's frontcourt, he's averaging only 15.6 minutes per game.
During that time, he's managed to average 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Despite seeing limited action, Millsap is determined to make the most of his
time.
"I want to continue doing what I'm doing," he said. "Anything to help my team
win, whether it's diving for loose balls &something like that&I'm going to
continue to do that.
"Being a rookie, you don't get many shots. So when you do, you've got to take
advantage of that."
Entering Wednesday, Utah sat atop the Northwest Division, holding a firm 5 1/2
game lead over the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. They're the No.4
seed in the Western Conference, and Millsap is excited about what lies ahead.
"When we play together, we can be unstoppable," he said. "There's a lot of
(good) chemistry; there are a lot of unselfish guys on this team - that's the
biggest thing."
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007301100001
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