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Smith gets a mixed review
Bobcats prospect rates high for athleticism, not-so-high for effort
RICK BONNELL
Staff Writer
FORT MILL - Josh Smith is a tease.
Great physique, great size, great quickness, decent jump shot ... and spotty work habits.
Smith, one of 13 high school players turning pro this spring, worked out for the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday morning. He showed all that he is, and all that he isn't, in those two hours.
"He is the epitome of athleticism," said Bernie Bickerstaff, Bobcats coach/general manager.
But what about Smith jogging, rather than sprinting, through drills late in Thursday's workout?
"If you say, `Are you pleased with the consistent effort?' I would say no, in that situation -- not at all," Bickerstaff replied.
"In terms of just athletic ability and talent, he can be anywhere from 3 to 10 (in the June 24 draft). When you start talking about the intangibles, it may be different."
Smith, a 6-foot-8 small forward, has heard this before. He looked bored through much of his senior season at Oak Hill Academy. Then various NBA scouts questioned his effort in some practices leading up to the high school all-star games.
"I'm trying to work hard, and I'm ready for the challenge," said Smith, who's being trained by former NBA coach John Lucas. "They have high expectations for me and I'll try to fulfill that. I'm going to the gym working early and going at it."
Gifted and quick as he is on offense, Smith was slow to react on defense Thursday, playing two-on-two with Rutgers senior Herve Lamizana and Bobcats officials Sam Mitchell and Dell Curry.
Bickerstaff hopes for Smith's sake that expending more effort is just a matter of growing up.
"I don't know whether it's unique to Josh. I don't know whether any of the young guys understand," Bickerstaff said. "You play 82 games and you get a check on the first and the 15th (of the month), so (teams) expect performance."
UConn's Gordon does guard duty
The Bobcats worked out Connecticut guard Ben Gordon Thursday afternoon. The question: Is he a point guard or a shooting guard?
Bickerstaff says Gordon is some of both, which would be essential for Gordon at 6-foot-3 -- a 'tweener size in an NBA backcourt. Primarily a scorer for the Huskies, Gordon would have to become more of a distributor to be a starting point guard in the NBA.
"In college, my coach had to kind of force me to shoot more because I was always looking for my teammates. I think that's more my natural role -- distributing the ball," Gordon said.
Bickerstaff said the way to play Gordon at shooting guard is pairing him with a tall point guard, the way Philadelphia does with Allen Iverson and Eric Snow.
Deng has promise from NBA team?
Bickerstaff suspects that some team in the top five of the draft -- not the Bobcats -- has already promised to select Duke freshman Luol Deng.
"He said that when he was pretty much sure he was in the top five or six, then he would make a decision" on whether to stay in the draft, Bickerstaff said. "So apparently somebody said something."
Duke confirmed Wednesday that Deng is hiring an agent, meaning he won't have the option of pulling out of the draft and returning to college basketball. Two other top-10 underclassmen -- Stanford's Josh Childress and Wisconsin's Devin Harris -- are also committed to staying in the draft, according to various news reports.
The Bobcats previously said they wouldn't attend a group workout for Deng at Duke. Duke's student newspaper reported that was a factor in Deng's decision to sign with an agent and proceed with individual workouts.
Bobcats prospect rates high for athleticism, not-so-high for effort
RICK BONNELL
Staff Writer
FORT MILL - Josh Smith is a tease.
Great physique, great size, great quickness, decent jump shot ... and spotty work habits.
Smith, one of 13 high school players turning pro this spring, worked out for the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday morning. He showed all that he is, and all that he isn't, in those two hours.
"He is the epitome of athleticism," said Bernie Bickerstaff, Bobcats coach/general manager.
But what about Smith jogging, rather than sprinting, through drills late in Thursday's workout?
"If you say, `Are you pleased with the consistent effort?' I would say no, in that situation -- not at all," Bickerstaff replied.
"In terms of just athletic ability and talent, he can be anywhere from 3 to 10 (in the June 24 draft). When you start talking about the intangibles, it may be different."
Smith, a 6-foot-8 small forward, has heard this before. He looked bored through much of his senior season at Oak Hill Academy. Then various NBA scouts questioned his effort in some practices leading up to the high school all-star games.
"I'm trying to work hard, and I'm ready for the challenge," said Smith, who's being trained by former NBA coach John Lucas. "They have high expectations for me and I'll try to fulfill that. I'm going to the gym working early and going at it."
Gifted and quick as he is on offense, Smith was slow to react on defense Thursday, playing two-on-two with Rutgers senior Herve Lamizana and Bobcats officials Sam Mitchell and Dell Curry.
Bickerstaff hopes for Smith's sake that expending more effort is just a matter of growing up.
"I don't know whether it's unique to Josh. I don't know whether any of the young guys understand," Bickerstaff said. "You play 82 games and you get a check on the first and the 15th (of the month), so (teams) expect performance."
UConn's Gordon does guard duty
The Bobcats worked out Connecticut guard Ben Gordon Thursday afternoon. The question: Is he a point guard or a shooting guard?
Bickerstaff says Gordon is some of both, which would be essential for Gordon at 6-foot-3 -- a 'tweener size in an NBA backcourt. Primarily a scorer for the Huskies, Gordon would have to become more of a distributor to be a starting point guard in the NBA.
"In college, my coach had to kind of force me to shoot more because I was always looking for my teammates. I think that's more my natural role -- distributing the ball," Gordon said.
Bickerstaff said the way to play Gordon at shooting guard is pairing him with a tall point guard, the way Philadelphia does with Allen Iverson and Eric Snow.
Deng has promise from NBA team?
Bickerstaff suspects that some team in the top five of the draft -- not the Bobcats -- has already promised to select Duke freshman Luol Deng.
"He said that when he was pretty much sure he was in the top five or six, then he would make a decision" on whether to stay in the draft, Bickerstaff said. "So apparently somebody said something."
Duke confirmed Wednesday that Deng is hiring an agent, meaning he won't have the option of pulling out of the draft and returning to college basketball. Two other top-10 underclassmen -- Stanford's Josh Childress and Wisconsin's Devin Harris -- are also committed to staying in the draft, according to various news reports.
The Bobcats previously said they wouldn't attend a group workout for Deng at Duke. Duke's student newspaper reported that was a factor in Deng's decision to sign with an agent and proceed with individual workouts.
