4B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DABY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2007
ONE LOVE
Lack of position could cripple Julian's career
Analysts, commentators use terms such as 'tremendous upside potential,''wing span'
BY MARK DENT
mdent@kansan.com
The newest version of the dictionary includes words such as "crunk" and "ginormous". Strange? Yes. But NBA-types speak a language twice as exotic. Scouts, executives, GM's, broadcasters, janitors and popcorn guys all use some of the strangest, most nonsensical terms you will ever hear.
"Tremendous upside potential," "physical specimen" and "wingspan" are just a few examples.
Use of them reaches a crescendo during the summer. They come out of the mouths of draft analysts and summer league
commentators as often as Paris Hilton similes come from the pens of journalists.
Julian Wright is the perfect example of a tweener. And odds are, that status is going to limit him in his NBA career.
It can be overwhelming for those familiar only with college ball. That's why I will make it simple — the only term Kansas fans really need to know is this: "twener."
Julian Wright, who was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets 14th in June's NBA draft, is the perfect example of a tweener. And odds are, that status is going to limit him in his NBA career.
If you don't know, a tweener is a player who doesn't have a position. Several factors can cause tweenerism: height, ball-handling ability (or lack thereof), strength, etc.
Being a tweener isn't necessarily a bad thing. All kinds of tweeners have been successful in the NBA. Washington's Antawn Jamison is one.
At 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, he's not a prototypical power forward. He doesn't have the game of a small forward either. Still, Jamison has skillful post moves to make up for his lack of size in the paint, and he's improved his outside shot — he shoots abo
- he shoots about
40 percent from three-point land — enough to average 19.4 points per game during his nine-year career.
But more often than not, being a tweener is a bad thing. Final Four hero Ed O'Bannon of UCLA is the
poster child of these never-weres.
He averaged about five points a game during three NBA seasons before being cut. At 6-foot-8 and 222 pounds, he could never adjust to life on the wing.
O'Bannon is eerily similar to Wright. Wright is 6-foot-10 and 225 pounds. That means he's too small to play in the post like he did at KU and will likely struggle as O'Bannon did.
Wright's shortcomings are obvious. He doesn't have a good enough outside shot to be a threat on the perimeter. He struggles guarding smaller, quicker players. And let's face it, Wright handles the ball like he has flippers. Every time he
dribbled it during a fast break last season you were more frightened than the American public when it found out Rosie O'Donnell was a candidate to host "The Price is Right."
So why did he get drafted in the letters?
Like most other tweeners, Wright is an athletic "physical specimen" with a long "wingspan" and "tremendous upside potential." He could develop into a special player. Could.
The conditions have to be just right for a tweener to succeed. Jamison needed two years before he really found his niche. The Detroit Pistons' Chauncey Billups, who many viewed as a shooting guard in a point guard's body, didn't find success until he landed with the perfect team, the Detroit Pistons.
During summer league sessions, Wright played exactly like what he is — a classic inconsistent tweener. One game he scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. That came one night after he didn't make a field goal. It's obvious that Wright is going to be a work in progress for at least a couple of seasons. Nobody knows how he'll do in the NBA. Nobody.
The only certainty about his future is this: He'll always be a tweener. It's up to Wright to find a way to contribute in this league and turn into an Antawn instead of an O'Bannon.
Edited by Erick R. Schmidt
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Kansas basketball player Julian Wright has been described as a "twoner," a player without a position. This description of Wright, who was drafted by the New Orleans Homets, could be detrimental to his success in the NBA.
>> FOOTBALL
Anna Faltermieer/KANSAN
Jayhawk linebackers Mike Rivera and Joe Mortensen are featured together in defensive packages this season. The new packages showcase Rivera and Mortensen's talent as middle linebacker. Last season the team's 4-3 defense only utilized one middle linebacker.
Defensive schemes use two top linebackers
This past spring, Kansas football faced a problem: It had too much of a good thing.
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
This good thing was the play of junior linebackers Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera. Though each linebacker showed the talent to flourish as a starter, coach Mark Mangino and his staff had trouble finding room on the field for both players.
Mortensen and Rivera are both prototypical middle linebacker. At 235 and 255 pounds, respectively, each packs enough weight to effectively shed blockers and track down running backs. Unfortunately for Kansas, the team's 4-3 defensive scheme calls for only one middle linebacker. Last season, the coaching staff left Rivera in the middle and plugged Mortensen in on the outside. Mortensen was less suited for this role and had difficulty covering quicker receivers.
"Last year we had Joe Mortensen out playing in space, and that's not his forte," Mangino said. "He's a player who needs to be inside the box."
Last spring, Mortensen moved to linebacker and played well enough to carr a start in the spring game. This left Rivera, one of the team's most talented players, on the bench.
The easy answer to the jayhawks' problem? More packages.
At an open practice held earlier this month, the Kansas defense looked like a machine full of cogs and gears. After every play, coaches shouted the name of a particular package and players hustled on and off the field in a hurry. Mortensen said defensive packages such as "bandit" and "base two" would allow the Jayhawks to swap personnel on the fly and better adjust to offenses.
"I don't even know if I know how many schemes we have." Mortensen said. "But we have a lot. We're just rotating around and trying to show offenses some different stuff."
In early fall practices, Kansas' base defense featured Rivera playing outside linebacker alongside Mortensen in the middle with junior James Holt at the other outside position. The move illustrated the confidence of the coaching staff in regard to Mortensen and Rivera.
"With the way those guys have developed we're always just trying to mix and match to find where they fit best," Mangino said. "And I think Mike Rivera may have found a comfort zone."
Rivera said his comfort zone was anywhere on the football field. He stood out last season at middle linebacker, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recognition; and has played well in the early going this fall. Rivera made several big tackles in an early-August practice and looked quick enough to fall back into pass coverage.
"Wherever they put me, I'm going to play hard," Rivera said. "My role is going wherever they need me and getting the job done."
Although the Jayhawks are just a few days into fall practices, Mortensen he and Rivera had picked up their new positions fairly well.
"We've been playing really good and hard," Mortensen said. "We've just been whoopin' up on the offense."
- Edited by Dianne Smith
WEDNESDAYS: Enjoy the best special in town
$1
TUESDAYS
ALMOST ANYTHING
$1.75 Domestic Bottles $1.50 Wells
...only at THE HAWK
FRIDAYS
$3.50 Double Bacardi Drinks
$2.50 Domestic Bottles
$2.75 Corona & Pacifico SATURDAYS
We're open seven days a week during the school year!
$3.50 Double Admiral Nelson, Beam & Skyy Drinks $2 Big Beers
WWW.JAYHAWKCAFE.COM
Call us today to reserve a room
for your events!
1340 Ohio 843-8273
1340 Ohio • 843-9273
804 Massachusetts St. *Downtown Lawrence*
(785) 843-5000 *www.sunflowerdoorandbike.com*