Powerful play has turned Alaska's Boozer into a star

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Powerful play has turned Alaska's Boozer into a star
ALASKA'S NBA ALL-STAR: Former Juneau standout has Jazz deep in the playoffs.
By VAN WILLIAMS
Anchorage Daily News
Published: May 20, 2007
Last Modified: May 20, 2007 at 03:41 AM

Eight years have passed since Carlos Boozer lived in Juneau, yet his presence
still remains.

He still holds Alaska close to his heart, his high school coach said, which
is why the NBA All-Star has tattooed a grizzly bear on his chiseled left
shoulder.

"He hasn't forgotten where he came from," said retired Juneau-Douglas coach
George Houston. "He's trying to get it to the point where he can make it back
every summer."

The 25-year-old Boozer probably won't make it back to the capital city
anytime soon -- he's too busy trying to win an NBA championship.

Boozer is a big reason his Utah Jazz have marched to the Western Conference
Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The yoked-out 270-pound, 6-foot-9 power
forward has been instrumental in Utah's playoff run, proving his first
All-Star nod in five seasons was no fluke.

Boozer is averaging a team-best 24.4 points and 12.3 rebounds in 12
postseason games, an increase from the all-star totals of 20.9 and 11.7
he averaged during 74 regular-season games. That's second best in both
categories among players still in playoffs.

He's larger than life in Utah, so much so that a giant, 100-foot mural of
him hangs from the team's home at EnergySolutions Arena. But Boozer's image
extends beyond Salt Lake City, reaching all the way to Alaska.

"I can't go anywhere without people telling me that they're watching him,"
Houston said. "It's pretty crazy. People tell me, 'I don't normally even
watch pro basketball but I'm watching now because of 'Los.' "

What's crazy is how fast Boozer blossomed from a second-round draft pick
into a bona fide superstar. Not only is he the greatest basketball player
ever from Alaska, he's a household name nationwide.

Boozer has recently been featured in Sports Illustrated and on ESPN's Pardon
the Interruption. He's scheduled to be a radio guest Monday on the Jim Rome
Show. Attempts by the Daily News to reach him were unsuccessful.

Standing between Boozer and a trip to the NBA Finals is perennial all-star
Tim Duncan, arguably the league's best power forward.

"Tim Duncan is probably the best back-to-the-basket player in the world,"
Boozer told PTI. "He has every move in the book -- right hook, left hook,
he can face you up and go off the backboard."

Boozer has been a champion at every level of basketball -- leading Juneau to
back-to-back Class 4A state championships in 1997 and 1998 and helping Duke
win a NCAA championship in 2002 -- except the NBA.

This is Boozer's first taste of the NBA playoffs and the first time Utah has
advanced to the Western Conference Finals since 1998. He hasn't wilted under
the bright lights, looking more and more like a re-incarnated Karl "Mailman"
Malone.

Boozer wasn't projected as the next Mailman out of college. Coming out
of Duke as an All-American after forgoing his senior season, Boozer was
considered a tweaner of sorts --stuck somewhere between center and power
forward.

Pegged as a middle to late first-rounder by draft experts in 2002, Boozer
slipped into the second round before Cleveland nabbed him at No. 35. Even
Utah passed on him in the draft.

"For the whole career, that's going to be motivation for him," Houston said.
"He uses that."

Boozer was considered a steal that late, although the slide cost him millions
because second-round draft picks do not receive guaranteed contracts.

Boozer would eventually get paid, though.

After starting two seasons for the Cavs and averaging 15.5 points and 11.5
rebounds his second season, Boozer tested the free-agent market in 2004 and
wound up signing a six-year deal with Utah for $68 million. That made him the
richest athlete ever from Alaska.

The move stirred up controversy in the NBA because Cleveland thought it had
reached a gentleman's agreement with Boozer to return to the Cavs, where he
would have teamed with teenage phenom LeBron James and established center
Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

But Boozer denied it and instead signed with the Jazz as a restricted free
agent for about $28 million more than what Cleveland had offered.

"There was no commitment," Boozer said at the time. "I'm not a guy that
gives my word and then takes it away."

In high school, Boozer battled the perception that Alaska couldn't produce
top-notch basketball players. The first big name to come out of Alaska was
Anchorage's Trajan Langdon. The second was Boozer, although he has since
surpassed Langdon as the state's most successful NBA player.

Both were highly touted out of high school and recruited by major colleges
across the country. Both ended up as All-Americans at Duke.

At Juneau, Boozer compiled a 95-12 career record and won two state titles. He
was a two-time Parade All-American and Alaska player of the year. He shined
in the McDonald's All-American game with 22 points and a game-high 11
rebounds and dunked on people at the select Adidas ABCD Camp.

"He's the most gifted player I've ever coached." Houston said.

He was courted by Duke, UCLA and Georgetown and had coaches like Mike
Krzyzewski, Steve Lavin and John Thompson visit.

Houston knew Boozer would excel at the college level. But he had no idea his
prized pupil would evolve into an All-American who finished his career as
Duke's No. 1 and the ACC's No. 3 all-time leader in field-goal percentage
(.631).

Coach K knew, though.

"I didn't know at the time how far he could go but one of the things that
gave me an inkling was the first time Krzyzewski was here for the home
visit," Houston said.

"I'm driving him out to 'Los' parents house and he turns to me and says,
'You know, this kid should be a pro,' and I kind of go, 'Oh, OK.' "

Since Boozer left Alaska, he has won an Olympic bronze medal with Team USA,
played a season with King James in Cleveland and signed a $68 million
free-agent contract in Utah.

Through it all, Houston said, Boozer remains the same down-to-earth person
he was as a teenager in Juneau.

"He's still 'Los," he said.

The former Juneau coach flew to the Lower 48 to watch Boozer in action during
the regular season, going to a game in Seattle and a separate two-game
homestand in Utah. He visited Boozer, his wife, CeCe, and the couple's first
child. She is expecting twin boys this summer, Houston said.

With his old coach in the stands on Nov. 20, Boozer scored a season-high 35
points on his 25th birthday to rally Utah past Toronto 101-96 and give the
Jazz their best start in franchise history at 10-1.

Boozer's big night was one rebound shy of a double-double. He had failed to
hustle for a loose ball late in the game, something that didn't go unnoticed
by Houston.

Afterward, though, Boozer beat his coach to the punch.

"The first thing he said was, 'I know coach. I know. I only got nine
rebounds,' " Houston said with a laugh. "He knew that would be the first
thing I'd give him (a hard time) about.

"He's pretty humble off the court. He's not brash or outspoken. He's just a
really good guy."


                      http://www.adn.com/sports/story/8903039p-8802982c.html 

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