Rookies attend KG school abroad

http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20221005rookies_attend_kg_school_abroad/



ISTANBUL — KG University — or maybe it’s KGU — is operating on its Turkish satellite campus this week.

The dean/professor is as vocal as ever, with a typically generous
portion of profanity sprinkled in. If there was a textbook, it would
carry a parental advisory warning.

In terms of style, he’s more of a chatterer than a lecturer. But some
don’t know the difference. As far as this applies to Fab Melo, the
rookie center who has the world to gain from even a few days with Kevin
Garnett, it’s best to simply absorb.





“You just gotta listen to him and do what he says,” said Melo. “Just with his experience you are going to learn a lot more.”

And never mind Garnett’s status as one of the NBA’s most renowned motor-mouths.

“He talks a lot?” asked Melo, too young to know the difference. “No, I
think he talks when he has to talk. If he wants to teach me, I’m going
to ask questions and learn whatever he has to say to me.”

That’s a good thing, because Garnett is encouraged. He had a strong
hand during the 2007-08 season in the development of Glen Davis and Leon Powe — two rookies who actually got an immediate chance under Doc Rivers’ veteran-centric system.

When Garnett looks at rookie big men Melo and Jared Sullinger, and
even wing player Kris Joseph, he gets a similar vibe. In the case of
Sullinger, especially, there might be an opening in the rotation this
season.

“Jared and Melo are very attentive kids, they listen. This is very similar to Baby, very similar to Leon, (Kendrick Perkins [stats]).
Eager to learn, like normal young guys,” said Garnett. “They are very
eager. I’ve been blessed since I’ve been here to be able to give some of
the knowledge I have to the young guys I played with.

“These two are no different,” he said. “They work very, very hard,
they’re very competitive. Naturally they’re very good, and obviously
they come from strong programs in college. Right now they’re kind of
tentative but they want to get better, and that’s what you want in young
guys.”

Both players have occasionally stood out over the last two days of
practice. Sullinger’s post passing, in particular, has been an early
highlight.

Melo’s footwork, hailed by Danny Ainge
on draft night, has been immediately apparent. At one point during
yesterday’s scrimmage, he even stole a pass to Garnett on the right
elbow, put the ball on the floor, and started the break. Of course, his
subsequent pass at midcourt sailed behind the head of Jason Terry and
out of bounds.

But both players appear to be thriving.

Garnett’s lessons, though, aren’t simply for novices. He’s open to veteran instruction. As former Celtics [team stats]
Patrick O’Bryant and Mikki Moore discovered, expulsion from the seminar
is quite possible when Garnett decides that someone either isn’t
listening or quite simply doesn’t get it.

But Darko Milicic, the 27-year-old No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft,
understands that it’s never too late to learn from one of the masters.

“From the first day,” said Milicic. “I met him before training camp
started and I saw that he was that kind of guy. He is not the only one.
He is our leader, but the guys here all trust each other. He cares about
teamwork, and everyone knowing what their job is, and making everyone
better

“You can always learn, as
long as you play,” he said. “When you stop playing, that’s when you stop
learning. You are always going to learn something. I was part of a
championship team my first year in the league (with Detroit), and this
is the first time since then that I can be part of a championship.”

That’s all Milicic has to understand about Garnett’s passionate methods.

“He is 150 percent into every practice,” said Milicic. “He addresses
something if it doesn’t work. He is trying to get everyone on the same
page, because he knows when the season starts that everyone has to be on
the same page. We start the practice and he talks about it. If he sees
something that needs fixing, he fixes the problem. He’s trying to teach
everyone, and everybody takes the compliments and everything else. You
have to take it like a man. He’s not talking to you and yelling because
he hates you. He’s trying to make you better. He’s trying to make you
learn something because a lot of guys here are new guys who are trying
to learn.”





Even Garnett’s volume has purpose.

“He never stops talking but that’s him,” Milicic said with a smile. “It wouldn’t be fun if everyone was the same.”




bob
My Note: I read an article that suggested that KG was molding Darko into an enforcer-type, like he did with Perk. Now THAT would make me think more highly of Darko (and make Cowens fall in love all over again). Nice to see the comments about Sully's post passing. I read that somewhere else too. Sully can hit the jumper, so they can't fall off him to defend the entry pass. Also nice to see that Melo's hanging in there too. Hopefully the footwork that he developed as a soccer player, and is mentioned in this article, will translate into good help defense. Could he be further along than we've given him credit for being? We start to find that out today. I was talking to a buddy of mine, a die-hard Laker fan, last night and said that for the first time in maybe 25-30 years I'm actually excited about the play of our rookies in summer league. Normally, IMO, summer league is worth little in terms of seeing what they can do in the NBA but I like the crop we have in camp this year a lot.



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Video interview with KG. Saying nice things about Sully, Melo.


http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2012/10/some-kg-notes.html


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