On J.J. Redick
The following is qouted from Whit Watson's blog on J.J. Redick:
"On a basketball note - met J.J. Redick for the first time today. We shot an interview on the Magic's practice court for the upcoming Magic season preview show on Sun Sports. Nice guy. The idea behind the interview, which you'll see on that preview show next month, was to get him talking about shooting, and the mentality of a "gunner."At one point, I asked if he considered himself the "most hated player in the ACC" while at Duke. He replied that he was probably the most hated player in America while at Duke, which was a good point. The look on his face when he said it, however, gave me pause. Redick went on to say that he's a different person off the floor than on it, and that the venom directed at him over the course of his Duke career snowballed, took on a life of its own. I got the sense that he wouldn't mind being liked, for a change. I almost felt sorry for him, and immediately regretted asking the question.The point of the question, by the way, was to get him to this one: "Would you mind being hated in the NBA, if it meant being hated the way Reggie Miller was hated - despised by opposing fans, but adored by home fans for his willingness and unprecedented skill at making big shots at key moments?"That prompted a smile. "If I get the ball in that situation, sure," he said, "but I'm just a rookie. I'm not sure how many chances I'll get as a rookie."They grow 'em pretty smart up at Duke. Defer to the veterans, play it cool, wait your turn. I'm starting to like him already. And in case you're wondering - Redick's range extends a good five feet beyond the three-point line. It's all about the lift, people."
"On a basketball note - met J.J. Redick for the first time today. We shot an interview on the Magic's practice court for the upcoming Magic season preview show on Sun Sports. Nice guy. The idea behind the interview, which you'll see on that preview show next month, was to get him talking about shooting, and the mentality of a "gunner."At one point, I asked if he considered himself the "most hated player in the ACC" while at Duke. He replied that he was probably the most hated player in America while at Duke, which was a good point. The look on his face when he said it, however, gave me pause. Redick went on to say that he's a different person off the floor than on it, and that the venom directed at him over the course of his Duke career snowballed, took on a life of its own. I got the sense that he wouldn't mind being liked, for a change. I almost felt sorry for him, and immediately regretted asking the question.The point of the question, by the way, was to get him to this one: "Would you mind being hated in the NBA, if it meant being hated the way Reggie Miller was hated - despised by opposing fans, but adored by home fans for his willingness and unprecedented skill at making big shots at key moments?"That prompted a smile. "If I get the ball in that situation, sure," he said, "but I'm just a rookie. I'm not sure how many chances I'll get as a rookie."They grow 'em pretty smart up at Duke. Defer to the veterans, play it cool, wait your turn. I'm starting to like him already. And in case you're wondering - Redick's range extends a good five feet beyond the three-point line. It's all about the lift, people."
posted by Matt @ 4:46 PM
10 Comments:
At 5:53 PM,
OVERWADED said…
I think I'm just as excited to watch J.J. in the lineup as anyone. Over the summer, I went back and watched a few Duke games. He is REDICKULOUS' when it comes to scoring. He really reminded me of Reggie Miller how he kept moving and running off of screens. The most impressive thing about it was that he wasn't just a spot up guy like Garrity for instance. He can shoot off balance, fade aways, you name it. He'll fill a nice role on the team no matter what.
At 4:14 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I think the only thing that J.J. needs to work on is his stamina, because the final 3 or so weeks of the NCAA season, he had a couple of really bad games where his shot just would not go in.
But I think he'll be fine, as he won't be playing as many minutes a game as he was in college, and that should keep him fresh for the 82 game season (and playoffs).
Yeah, when his shot is falling, it's really amazing to watch.
At 12:15 PM,
Big Figure said…
I like the fact that JJ was hated in college and he was able to produce some of his better performances on the opponents home floor,that usually translates to him being able to be productive on the road in the NBA or at least not real start struck when we take road trips,at home with our fans i beleive he'll be fine,but on the road is where he can have his biggest impact,when we go out west we usually struggle,even against the bad teams out there,but with guys like redick & bogans,two new guys to the team who will make their man stay with them making it easier for dwight and darko on the block,we should be much better,i love keyon & loved deshawn,but neither actually helped us on the road offensively at the two position,teams were able to sag on defense,that shouldnt be the case this year,keith has experience,and JJ was the best college scorer no matter where he played! Also did anyone else see that e-mail otis received on the magic home site,a fan ripped into him about carlos arroyo,first thing i thought was "boy this guy aint holding nothing back,and its funny to see otis get challenged like that",then otis's response to the guy was even funnier,guys check it out!
At 1:42 PM,
Matt said…
Did Smith have a comment that Carlos could be traded at any time? If he did, since he did not deny, then he should have explained in which context the comment had been made.
At 1:46 PM,
OVERWADED said…
Bigfigure, I read that last night. I was like, woah, this guy is really pushing it. But Smith's response was pretty classic and I couldn't help but laugh. It's not the first time Otis has responded in a way like that though. You can tell the guy has a good sense of humor and handles dealings with people pretty well.
At 1:51 PM,
OVERWADED said…
I saw the comment Otis made. He was asked if he was worried about Darko, Dwight, and Carlos having played over the whole summer. He responded by saying something to the effect that you always want young guys playing basketball(Darko and Dwight). But if he was concerned about anyone, it would be Carlos being that he's approaching 30. I guess it was kind of a misquote, but I didn't think anything of it. Then he went on to talk how Carlos plays, and that was that.
At 2:06 PM,
Matt said…
The age was an honest mistake, but did he have any comment about trading Carlos, and if he did in which context? He should be able to explain that since nobody is thinking about trading anybody at this time, yet business is business, and there is always a trade that is too hard to refuse.
At 3:03 PM,
OVERWADED said…
I've never heard or read of Otis talking about trading Carlos. If he did, I'm sure one of us on here would have caught it by now. So if something like that was said, it's news to me.
At 4:06 PM,
Big Figure said…
Yeah i'd have to agree,keyon is the only one i've heard of possibly being moved,and that would be for a veteran banger/back-up center type,i dont beleive otis would get rid of his back-up point guard coming off so much summer success,but just like matt said,business is business,if we trade carlos for a "GOOD" big-man in return then cool,because we still have keyon and trav,but i personally like carlos though and would look to move keyon first,i'd even throw in pat to sweet'en the deal,hahahahahahah!!!!
At 12:52 AM,
Matt said…
Pat's expiring contract might make him attractive to some teams who are looking for salary dump.
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