推 CarlosBoozer:不要相信XX接班人 06/16 14:17
Believe and achieve: Millsap embraces underdog role in professional career
By T. Scott Boatright
sboatright@thenewsstar.com
Paul Millsap believed in his ability from the beginning.
The Louisiana Tech product from Grambling Lab says that's the reason he's
been surprising people throughout his basketball career.
"The big thing I had going for me is I felt like I belonged all along,"
Millsap said. "Sometimes being an underdog isn't a bad thing. There were
people who believed I wasn't strong or big enough, but I knew I was and
always believed."
The second-round draft selection of the Utah Jazz earned NBA All-Rookie
second-team accolades this season while helping lead his squad to the Western
Conference Finals.
Millsap averaged 6.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game in his
first NBA campaign, turning in a season-high 20-point performance in a home
win over Toronto. He averaged 5.9 points and 4.4 points per game during
Utah's playoff run.
Not bad for a 6-8, 245-pound forward some doubted would make it in the NBA
─ even after he became the first player to lead the NCAA in rebounding for
three straight years.
"Being a rookie, I had to take on all of those duties I was asked to take
on, and a lot of that was defending some big, tough guys," Millsap said.
"Especially being a little undersized, it was hard to guard those guys. But I
knew size didn't matter as I long as I believed in myself. I'm big enough and
knew I was good enough to go out and compete with those guys, so that's what
I did."
Millsap, who will play summer league ball for Utah beginning in a couple of
weeks, admitted the adjustment to professional basketball wasn't easy.
"You can't really explain in words unless you're out there experiencing it
for yourself, but it's a whole lot more difficult (in the NBA)," Millsap said.
"You just have to make the adjustment, and you do have a lot of help from
coaches and teammates."
Millsap carried his knack for hustle plays and rebounding to the next level.
"I think it's a mental thing," he said. "I don't really think about being a
little undersized and how good the guys I'm going up against are. I just go
out and do what I do best ─ play basketball."
Following in the footsteps of Louisiana Tech standout Karl Malone made things
interesting for Millsap in Utah.
"People compare us all the time," Millsap said. "He's one of the best ever,
so I'm honored to even be compared with him.
"Our styles of play are different, but I think that because we're both
forwards who played at Louisiana Tech, at first some of the Utah fans
expected the same style of play from me they saw from him. But they started
appreciating me for some of the things I do and the way I play. But if you're
a forward from Louisiana Tech playing for the Utah Jazz, you're going to be
in Karl Malone's shadow."
"We were so close to getting into the Finals ─ one game," Millsap said.
"That's something we're not going to forget because this time next year, we
want to still be playing. That's my first priority ─ helping the Jazz win
the championship. I want to take my game up a level and keep improving and
help win the title."
http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706130342
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