Suns Off Center After Williams’ Injury
By Steven Koek, Suns.com
Posted: Oct. 4, 2003
Suns Head Coach Frank Johnson and his staff went into training camp with the notion that they would be employing a center by committee philosophy for 2003-04. That committee is getting smaller by that day after big man Scott Williams suffered an injury Friday that required Saturday afternoon surgery to repair ulnar collateral ligament damage in his left thumb. The 14-year veteran is expected to miss approximately six weeks, putting his return two weeks into the regular season schedule.
“These things do happen,” Johnson said. “We just have to continue to move forward. We can’t stop and feel sorry for (ourselves) because of the injuries that we’ve just incurred. We have to keep working.”
Williams was going for a loose ball in Friday evening’s workout when he lost his balance and used his hand to break his fall. The injury is similar to Penny Hardaway’s of a year ago, which necessitated mid-season surgery causing Hardaway to miss 24 games in 2002-03.
“(Williams) thinks he can dive on the floor and take guys one-on-one, “Johnson chided. “He can’t do that. He’s what, 35, 36 (turned 36 this summer)? All the guys were saying Scott was having flashbacks. He thought he was young again.”
With this week’s trade that sent Jake Tsakalidis and Bo Outlaw to the Grizzlies, the purple and orange gang is running a little thin at the center position right now, and with Jake Voskuhl still slowed by an Achilles strain, the team will be looking to some of their young free agents to fill the void in the paint.
“We’ll figure it out,” assured assistant coach Marc Iavaroni. “It’s early in the camp process. We want to see what the new guys can do. We all agree as a staff that we like the potential of (Robert) Archibald and (Cezary) Trybanski, it’s just a question of picking up the system that we’re putting in for everyone. We’ll see what they can do and what they need to work on.”
Both Archibald and Trybanski came over from Memphis in the five-player deal early this week and now have a chance to make their mark with the dearth of big men able to participate in workouts at the moment.
“I’m certainly impressed with Trybanski’s length and how he runs,” Johnson said. “Inside, he keeps the ball up high, he catches the ball well. His shot is not a bad shot. As far as reacting to things, he’s a little slow right now, but I think he’s just trying to feel his way around his surroundings right now.
Archibald understands how to play. He’s a big bruising guy. He shoots the ball better than even he thinks. Sometimes he’s reluctant to take it. He’s a bruiser, he’s not afraid to mix it up. The one thing you certainly have to be careful with young players who like to mix it up is dependant upon who they like to mix it up with. If they’re mixing up with the stars, he’ll be sitting over there (on the bench) next to me. We can use him at center sometimes in situations. The thing about it is, he’s a space-eater. He’s not a big athlete but he knows how to use his body to keep guys off and go after the ball.”
Assistant general manager and former Suns center Mark West was on hand for Saturday morning’s session of Camp Coliseum, and despite being back at the Madhouse on McDowell with a limited depth chart at center, “Big Daddy” is not tempted to extend his current playing status beyond winning the employee basketball tournament.
“No,” he emphatically said about suiting up in his old number 41 for the good of the team. “No, no, no, no (laughs). They’ll just keep bringing them in. It’s not anything serious. It’s just something, like Zarko, that you want to take care of right away. Eliminate the problem now so it doesn’t become a bigger problem later.”
With rookie forward Zarko Cabarkapa recovering after Friday’s successful hernia surgery, Johnson can at least have the consolation that his team’s recent rash of injuries is happening now, rather than in the heart of the season.
“Maybe we’re just getting them out of the way now, I hope,” the third year head coach said, who then got down on all fours to vehemently knock on the Coliseum’s wood floor to ward off any injuries to his main stars.
By Steven Koek, Suns.com
Posted: Oct. 4, 2003
Suns Head Coach Frank Johnson and his staff went into training camp with the notion that they would be employing a center by committee philosophy for 2003-04. That committee is getting smaller by that day after big man Scott Williams suffered an injury Friday that required Saturday afternoon surgery to repair ulnar collateral ligament damage in his left thumb. The 14-year veteran is expected to miss approximately six weeks, putting his return two weeks into the regular season schedule.
“These things do happen,” Johnson said. “We just have to continue to move forward. We can’t stop and feel sorry for (ourselves) because of the injuries that we’ve just incurred. We have to keep working.”
Williams was going for a loose ball in Friday evening’s workout when he lost his balance and used his hand to break his fall. The injury is similar to Penny Hardaway’s of a year ago, which necessitated mid-season surgery causing Hardaway to miss 24 games in 2002-03.
“(Williams) thinks he can dive on the floor and take guys one-on-one, “Johnson chided. “He can’t do that. He’s what, 35, 36 (turned 36 this summer)? All the guys were saying Scott was having flashbacks. He thought he was young again.”
With this week’s trade that sent Jake Tsakalidis and Bo Outlaw to the Grizzlies, the purple and orange gang is running a little thin at the center position right now, and with Jake Voskuhl still slowed by an Achilles strain, the team will be looking to some of their young free agents to fill the void in the paint.
“We’ll figure it out,” assured assistant coach Marc Iavaroni. “It’s early in the camp process. We want to see what the new guys can do. We all agree as a staff that we like the potential of (Robert) Archibald and (Cezary) Trybanski, it’s just a question of picking up the system that we’re putting in for everyone. We’ll see what they can do and what they need to work on.”
Both Archibald and Trybanski came over from Memphis in the five-player deal early this week and now have a chance to make their mark with the dearth of big men able to participate in workouts at the moment.
“I’m certainly impressed with Trybanski’s length and how he runs,” Johnson said. “Inside, he keeps the ball up high, he catches the ball well. His shot is not a bad shot. As far as reacting to things, he’s a little slow right now, but I think he’s just trying to feel his way around his surroundings right now.
Archibald understands how to play. He’s a big bruising guy. He shoots the ball better than even he thinks. Sometimes he’s reluctant to take it. He’s a bruiser, he’s not afraid to mix it up. The one thing you certainly have to be careful with young players who like to mix it up is dependant upon who they like to mix it up with. If they’re mixing up with the stars, he’ll be sitting over there (on the bench) next to me. We can use him at center sometimes in situations. The thing about it is, he’s a space-eater. He’s not a big athlete but he knows how to use his body to keep guys off and go after the ball.”
Assistant general manager and former Suns center Mark West was on hand for Saturday morning’s session of Camp Coliseum, and despite being back at the Madhouse on McDowell with a limited depth chart at center, “Big Daddy” is not tempted to extend his current playing status beyond winning the employee basketball tournament.
“No,” he emphatically said about suiting up in his old number 41 for the good of the team. “No, no, no, no (laughs). They’ll just keep bringing them in. It’s not anything serious. It’s just something, like Zarko, that you want to take care of right away. Eliminate the problem now so it doesn’t become a bigger problem later.”
With rookie forward Zarko Cabarkapa recovering after Friday’s successful hernia surgery, Johnson can at least have the consolation that his team’s recent rash of injuries is happening now, rather than in the heart of the season.
“Maybe we’re just getting them out of the way now, I hope,” the third year head coach said, who then got down on all fours to vehemently knock on the Coliseum’s wood floor to ward off any injuries to his main stars.
