Jake Voskhul, reserve extrordinaire

[ASUCHRIS]

When Voskhul played at Conneticut, being a Notre Dame fan, I hated him, and his goofy hair. However, behind Marbury, he may be my favorite player on the team. He has no qualms about shooting or trying to be an offensive threat. He just goes out there, sets picks, and tries to follow missed shots....every time. It's funny, every time Marbury goes diving to the basket, you see little Jake right behind him. Anytime there is a loose ball, he is on the floor, and is the consumate team player. Sure, he makes some stupid fouls, but they are always agressive fouls, not lazy ones. They really need to get this guy signed to an extension, he is an excellent role player.

 

[Goldfield]

He reminds me of that guy on the Kings.... Man I am having a brain fart... The white guy with the side burns...


Every team needs the trash guys to clean up the dirty stuff and just flat out hustle...

 

[Goldfield]

Scott Pollard thats it!

 

[Chaplin]

Scott Pollard's a jerk though...

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Scott Pollard's a jerk though...

Whether he's a jerk or not I would love it if he was on the Phoenix Suns.

Joe Mama

 

[JJ Slim]

The Suns have an anti-jerk policy.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Originally posted by BEERZ
Scott Pollard thats it!

i've been saying for months that he reminds me of a less-talented scott pollard! he is a worthwhile reserve. he needs to be retained. we still need more big, athletic help down low.

 

[Gorilla]

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/notes_030502.html
-------------------------------

Marbury Campaigning for Voskuhl

Suns guard Stephon Marbury said he would be more than willing to do some recruiting this summer in hopes of bringing in a free agent or two to help out next season. But less than 24 hours after the Suns’ playoff exit at the hands (and three-pointers) of the Spurs, he’s already begun campaigning for teammate Jake Voskuhl, who will become a restricted free agent this offseason.

“We’ve got to have Jake Voskuhl back,” Marbury said Friday, after cleaning out his locker in the Suns’ Clubhouse. “That’s a must. That’s mandatory. I’m definitely lobbying for that.”

Apparently, the All-Star guard won’t have to lobby too hard. Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo said a new contract offer is already on the “To Do” list for the third-year center.

“It’s amazing,” said Colangelo. “From the start of the season to the end of the season, he is our Most Improved Player, in terms of the progress that he’s made.”

Although Voskuh’s progress is not apparent when simply looking at his season stats, which were actually down from last year, his overall confidence, aggressiveness on defense and growing understanding of the game made him a key contributor to the Suns’ late season surge.

The 26-year-old, who the Suns acquired from the Chicago Bulls on the eve of the 2001-02 season, also played an important role in the playoffs, often defending the Spurs’ big men, Tim Duncan and David Robinson. And then, of course, there was his shot in Game 4 of the series, when he hit a baby hook over Duncan’s outstretched arm with 2.3 seconds to play to give the Suns a huge win and even the series at two games apiece.

“He’s entering his fourth year in the league next year,” said Colangelo. “A lot of big men take anywhere from four to six, seven years. All you have to do is go back and look at the impact of young big guys. Sometimes it takes them a while to figure out what it takes to be successful.”

 

[JJ Slim]

Originally posted by Gorilla
“A lot of big men take anywhere from four to six, seven years. All you have to do is go back and look at the impact of young big guys. Sometimes it takes them a while to figure out what it takes to be successful.”

So does this mean they haven't given up on Big Jake yet?

Nice to see they are going to keep Voskhul around.

 

[Joe Mama]

When the Suns traded for Jake Voskuhl just before last season started there were more than a few members of this message board who did not like the move (Eric ). Do any of you still feel that way?

I love hindsight.

Joe Mama

 

[JS22]

I forgot who the players were in that trade. Didnt we get him for a second round pick?

 

[jbeecham]

A 2nd rd pick and Soumalia Samake (who the bulls waived).

 

[elindholm]

When the Suns traded for Jake Voskuhl just before last season started there were more than a few members of this message board who did not like the move (Eric).

Not exactly. I didn't see what difference it made one way or another, and I interpreted the trade as a "color change," motivated by the Suns' historic preference for white players. So you could definitely say I was skeptical about the trade, but I don't think I was strongly against it.

However, I've been pretty high on Voskuhl ever since he started showing what he could do, a year and a half ago. I'm happy to admit that I underestimated him.

I will also say I was skeptical about Marbury. I never bought into the nonsense about how he was "selfish," but I was worried about the salary. Even though it looks like he's a better fit on these Suns than Kidd was, he has been a lot more expensive during the past two years, and that has hampered the franchise in other ways. With Kidd likely demanding the max from someone after this season, at least now the money issue is equal.

The only recent trade I have hated all along was the one where the Suns gave up Clifford Robinson for a small pile of magic beans. I still think that was a blunder, motivated by anger toward Robinson after his marijuana charge. The Suns were somehow able to turn Buechler into Outlaw, so it worked out okay, but that doesn't justify the original deal. Imagine Robinson on this year's team instead of Outlaw. That could have really been something.

I liked the Joe Johnson trade from the beginning, because I hated Delk. I still like Rogers, but replacing Kidd's salary with Marbury's made it impossible to keep Rogers. Even if Joe Johnson never gets any better -- and he will, of course -- he's still a better player than Delk. I think that was a great trade for the Suns.

 

[elindholm]

A 2nd rd pick and Soumalia Samake (who the bulls waived).

And who was the "starting center" for the Lakers at the beginning of this season, with laughable fanfare. Everyone in Lakerville thought they had really found something. I remember on the ESPN board, Laker trolls were posting all of this trash about what morons the Suns were for letting him go. That lasted about two games.

 

[elindholm]

Voskuhl is one of the better centers from his draft class, as it turns out. Centers drafted in 2000:

#2 Stromile Swift (if you consider him a center)
#7 Chris Mihm
#9 Joel Przybilla
#15 Jason Collier
#25 Jake Tsakalidis
#26 Mamadou N'Diaye
#27 Primoz Brezec
#33 Jake Voskuhl
#36 Soumaila Samake
#45 Jabari Smith
#52 Ernest Brown
#53 Dan McClintock

The only players on that list better than Voskuhl are Swift and Mihm. Not bad!

 

[slinslin]

Imagine Swift playing center for the Suns and Amare and Marion at the 2 forward spots. That would be some athletes...

 

[KloD]

"The only recent trade I have hated all along was the one where the Suns gave up Clifford Robinson for a small pile of magic beans. I still think that was a blunder, motivated by anger toward Robinson after his marijuana charge. The Suns were somehow able to turn Buechler into Outlaw, so it worked out okay, but that doesn't justify the original deal. Imagine Robinson on this year's team instead of Outlaw. That could have really been something."

Not to butt it, but didn't that then lead to us getting Amare with the pick we stole back from the Magic? If I'm wrong on this, sorry. If I'm not then it goes to show that some deals take time to produce results. Not all, Charles coming to Phoenix was instant...but, some trades like that one turned out to be what may be our best in Suns history depending on Amare.

 

[jbeecham]

It was never really clear to me if the pick we got back from Orlando was last years pick or this years pick. I think the pick we got back from Orlando is actually this years pick becausewe did not have a 1st rd pick in the 2001 draft (we got Ford in the 2nd) so we could not go without a 1st rd pick last year.

 

[elindholm]

It was never really clear to me if the pick we got back from Orlando was last years pick or this years pick.

It has never been clear, because the Suns have deliberately kept it from being clear. On this board, we have speculated endlessly about what the exact terms of Phoenix's debt to Orlando was, but the bottom line is we just don't know. Someone with the Suns, I think it was Bryan Colangelo, did at one point claim that Stoudemire was selected with the pick that otherwise would have gone to Orlando. But no evidence was used to back this up, and my hunch that it was more PR than fact.

If the Suns got Outlaw and Stoudemire from Orlando for Buechler and Del Negro, then obviously that is a major-league heist. But even so, that doesn't negate how bad the trade with Detroit was. However, if the point is that the Suns could never have had "Robinson on this year's team instead of Outlaw," as I wrote in my earlier post, then yes, that was most likely a misstatement.

 

[Charles V]

Not that this article makes it any clearer (it could be misinformation), but this is one of several reports that claim that Amare was selected with Orlando's pick from the Penny deal.

Magic not imagining life with Stoudemire

Magic coach Doc Rivers says he refuses to look at Suns rookie Amare Stoudemire and wonder, "What if?"

"I don't do that," he said. "That would drive you nuts."

The Suns owed the Magic a first-round pick from the Penny Hardaway deal until early last season, when the Magic forfeited the pick in a deal that sent Bo Outlaw to Phoenix.

The Suns ended up in the draft lottery with the No. 9 pick, which became Stoudemire.

 

[JJ Slim]

I didn't like the Voskhul trade because I thought Soumalia Samake had potential. But that was based entirely on seeing him play in the summer leagues. I had never heard of Voskhul and thought it was a silly trade. It turns out I was very wrong and I couldn't be happier about it. I'm glad he got out of Chicago because he would have just set on the bench and probably would have ended up being waived.

 

[S_Nash]

Originally posted by JJ Slim
I'm glad he got out of Chicago because he would have just set on the bench and probably would have ended up being waived.

Memo to Lonny Baxter: GET OUT!