RONDO: SULLINGER 'SMARTEST ROOKIE WE'VE HAD'
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RONDO: SULLINGER 'SMARTEST ROOKIE WE'VE HAD'
WEEI
By: Ben Rohrbach
WALTHAM -- Often hesitant to heap praise on a Celtics rookie, both Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett went out of their way to compliment Jared Sullinger after their first practice since returning from Italy.
"He's probably the smartest rookie we've had since I've been here," said Rondo. "He's very intelligent -- high basketball IQ -- and he's very unselfish. He doesn't need a play called for him. He's just been getting his points off the little dirty work."
For those wondering, Rondo excluded himself from that "smartest rookie" conversation. "I think I'm the smartest player ever," he joked. "That's my problem."
This came on the heels of Celtics coach Doc Rivers explaining how he might start Sullinger, Brandon Bass or Darko Milicic, depending on the given matchup. After amassing 16 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench in the C's 97-91 loss to Istanbul Fenerbahce in their preseason opener, Sullinger started against EA Milano and registered another nine points and seven boards in 18 minutes.
"Sully is a very intelligent player," added Garnett. "Very, very high basketball IQ."
112288
By: Ben Rohrbach
WALTHAM -- Often hesitant to heap praise on a Celtics rookie, both Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett went out of their way to compliment Jared Sullinger after their first practice since returning from Italy.
"He's probably the smartest rookie we've had since I've been here," said Rondo. "He's very intelligent -- high basketball IQ -- and he's very unselfish. He doesn't need a play called for him. He's just been getting his points off the little dirty work."
For those wondering, Rondo excluded himself from that "smartest rookie" conversation. "I think I'm the smartest player ever," he joked. "That's my problem."
This came on the heels of Celtics coach Doc Rivers explaining how he might start Sullinger, Brandon Bass or Darko Milicic, depending on the given matchup. After amassing 16 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench in the C's 97-91 loss to Istanbul Fenerbahce in their preseason opener, Sullinger started against EA Milano and registered another nine points and seven boards in 18 minutes.
"Sully is a very intelligent player," added Garnett. "Very, very high basketball IQ."
112288
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Join date : 2009-10-16
Re: RONDO: SULLINGER 'SMARTEST ROOKIE WE'VE HAD'
KG is a basketball genius. Only a fool would underestimate his bball savvy.
Re: RONDO: SULLINGER 'SMARTEST ROOKIE WE'VE HAD'
Here's an article that says that Sully was being taught footwork drills by his father at age 2 and shooting regulation free throws with a regulation men's ball at age 3 (NOT typos). We have ourselves a basketball version of Tiger Woods, a prodigy that was bred almost from the cradle for this. I remember being online on this board on draft night, when we took Jared Sullinger with #21. I remember how we all, virtually without dissent, groaned when the selection was announced. You would have thought our dog just died the way we were in mourning. He was slow, he was only 6'9", we needed a backup center. If we couldn't get a decent center we wanted Perry Jones or Arnett Moultrie. We wanted Danny to trade up for Royce White. Do what it takes, Danny, do what it takes! We wanted an athlete, and Danny picks big, slow Jared Sullinger, a player with the size and agility of a cruise ship with a red-flagged back no less. What the Hell was he thinking!?
Well, now we know. It has been a long, long time since we have had a lottery pick in their prime on this team. Paul Pierce was #10, but that was a long time ago (KG was a lottery pick and Ray was #5, but neither were in their prime when we got them). We now have 26 year old Jeff Green (#5) and a player who, if the back stuff is all just bunk, would probably have gone in the top 10.
First is an article from greenstreet. After, is a 2010 NY Time article that is referenced in the Greenstreet article. If you want to know how Jared Sullinger has turned into a player that is even being considered as a starter on this Celtic team, one that was 12 minutes away from the Finals, with a coach that doesn't usually give rookies much credit, read that article.
http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2012/10/11/irish-coffee-grooming-celtics-rookie-jared-sullinger/
Jared Sullinger isn’t easily fazed. Not even when
they called him and the other Celtics rookies in front of the entire
organization during a team dinner and made him sing his favorite song: Jay-Z‘s “Public Service Announcement.”
Check out my swag’ yo, peep the way I wear it
No matter where you go, you are what you are player
And you can try to change, but that’s just the top layer
Man, you was who you was ‘fore you got here
Fitting. Sullinger isn’t intimidated by a team full of headstrong
veterans whose system has produced one championship, two NBA finals
appearances and three Eastern Conference finals showings in the past
five years, and that’s because his basketball journey started almost
from the day he was born.
Jared Sullinger.
“My dad’s going around Columbus, Ohio, when I was a young little kid,
saying, ‘Yeah, he’s going to be the best. He’s going to be the best,’”
said Sullinger, whose father Satch has coached in and around their hometown for 30 years. “So, I had no choice but to play basketball.”
Sullinger’s father constantly taught him the game — in practice, on
the driveway or while watching TV — stressing footwork, fundamentals and
fortitude. As this great New York Times piece noted, Jared started making regulation free throws at age 3. And if Satch was the general, older brothers J.J. (Ohio State Class of 2006) and Julian (Kent State Class of 2009) were his drill instructors, instilling the game into the 6-foot-9, 260-pound baby of the family.
“I learned the game at an early age,” said the C’s first-round pick,
selected No. 21 overall. “When I was young, they used to beat it into my
head — not my father, but my brothers — so you know how that goes.”
That’s why, when Sullinger arrived early in Boston the first week of September, he was already ahead of the curve.
“He doesn’t think like a rookie,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
“He thinks like a veteran. He plays a great pace. He’s one of our best
rebounders. He can pass the ball. He does a lot of things that help our
team.”
Unlike fellow 2012 NBA draft picks Fab Melo and Kris Joseph,
whose Syracuse squad his Buckeyes ousted on their road to the Final
Four this past spring, Sullinger started learning the game long before
high school.
“He’s probably the smartest rookie we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo,
who’s seen a dozen other rookies drafted in Boston. “He’s very
intelligent — high basketball IQ — and he’s very unselfish. He doesn’t
need a play called for him. He’s just been getting his points off the
little dirty work.”
Perhaps it should have come as no surprise, then, that Sullinger
earned a start in just the C’s second preseason game. After cramming 16
points and eight rebounds into 26 minutes off the bench in the opener of
the two-game Europe trip, Sullinger started over Brandon Bass in Game 2, nearly notching a double-double in 18 minutes.
“As far as personnel, Brandon is more pick-and-pop; Sullinger is
going to dive a little more, going to roll a little more, going to the
basket,” said Kevin Garnett, comparing his two
frontcourt mates. “Obviously, Brandon is a gutty veteran. Sully is a
very intelligent player. Very, very high basketball IQ.”
First, the mere fact Garnett didn’t refer to Sullinger as Rook, Young Fella or Youngin might say more than anything.
And second, It seemed more than coincidental that Garnett kept coming
back to hardwood acumen during his interview after the team’s first
practice since returning from Italy. Take this, for example: “The mental
part of this game is just as hard as the physical.” Or this: “It feels
good to have a lot more guys who are not just talented but have high
basketball IQs — that know how to play basketball. You don’t have to
really point-blank tell them things and say, ‘This is white; this is
black.’ They know how to play the gray areas and respond to just
basketball.”
While Rivers wouldn’t commit to starting Sullinger or Bass, he
admitted his staff has considered starting a committee that also
includes Darko Milicic, depending on matchups, and that
says a lot from a coach who often seems to forget rookies exist on the
end of his bench. The 7-foot, 275-pound Milicic obviously offers size
and Bass brings his trademark midrange jumper (5.1 FGA per game from
16-23 feet last season), but Sullinger provides rebounding and a post
game forged by his father’s dogma of footwork, fundamentals and
fortitude.
“That’s who I want to be,” said Sullinger. “Right now, you’ve got guys like Kevin and Paul [Pierce] and Rajon and Jason [Terry] that are going to be the guy that we’re going to look to for scoring — including Jeff [Green] — so … I’ve got to find other ways to get it done for this basketball team, and that’s rebounding for me.”
As we’ve discussed before,
the Celtics have been a horrible rebounding team, so there’s a niche to
be carved by Sullinger. If he can adjust to playing the 5 as well — a
subject he’s studying but might require a learning curve — he’ll be a
mainstay in the C’s frontcourt. At least we know NBA centers don’t scare
Sullinger.
“Just use your power; use your IQ,” said the 20-year-old, sounding
lightyears beyond his age. “Know what they like. Know what they don’t
like. Most 5’s, when they catch it a little bit off the block, they’re
not comfortable. So, you’ve just got to use your power, you’ve got to
fight them and you’ve just got to play hard.”
So, did Sullinger expect such a rapid rise up the C’s depth chart?
“Not at all,” he said. “All you have to do is come in and learn the
system — and trust the system. Put your all into the system and just
play hard.”
Of course, he’s the first to admit that Rondo, Pierce and Garnett make his job a whole lot simpler.
“It’s easy when you have greats like that playing with you,” said
Sullinger. “They make the game so much easier, so I can’t complain. If
they tell me to do something, I do it. Most of the time, they’re never
going to put me in a position where I’m going to fail. So, it’s easy to
play with those guys.”
Talk about basketball IQ. Nope, not much fazes Jared Sullinger. Not
dropping in the draft. Not playing alongside three potential Hall of
Famers. And not possibly supplanting an established veteran in the
starting lineup.
“When you come to this level, you’ve got to be a pro’s pro, and
you’ve got to let go of your ego,” said the Celtics rookie. “You’ve got
to let go of who you’re sitting beside — who you watched growing up.
You’ve got to understand that those guys are basketball players. They’re
your teammates, and we’re all for the same goal. We’re trying to get
banner 18, and so everybody’s working together as one.”
Sounds like someone who’s been preparing for this moment from Day 1. Satch, J.J. and Julian taught Jared well.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Here's the NY Times Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/sports/ncaabasketball/26buckeyes.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Molded by Father and Brothers, Sullinger Becomes Star at Ohio State
By PETE THAMEL
Published: December 25, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio — When the text messages pop up in Ohio State Coach Thad
Matta’s phone, they always bring a laugh but barely ever a response.
They come from the former Ohio State guard J.J. Sullinger, who simply
types, “You’re welcome.”
Paul Abell/Getty Images
Jared Sullinger and his parents, Satch and Barbara, with his high school Naismith Award in Atlanta.
Terry Gilliam/Associated Press
Jared Sullinger has earned the praise of opposing coaches for his skills and unselfish play.
Courtesy of the Sullinger Family
The Sullinger family. Pictured from left to right are Jared, Julian, Barbara, Satch and J. J.
Ohio State Athletics
J.J. Sullinger’s younger brother, Jared, averages
17.5 points and 10.1 rebounds for No. 2 Ohio State.
Sullinger deserves thanks for a recruiting tip that will long live in
Ohio State lore. In 2006, he said to Matta, “I don’t want to tell you
how to do your job, but you need to offer my brother a scholarship.”
Matta asked if Sullinger was talking about his middle brother, Julian, who ended up playing at Kent State.
“No,” Sullinger responded. “Jared.”
Matta was baffled. “Your big fat little brother?”
By the end of Jared Sullinger’s freshman year of high school, Matta had taken J..J.’s advice.
Sullinger went on to win the Naismith Award as the country’s top high
school player and has emerged as perhaps the best player in the
country.
Jared Sullinger’s averages of 17.5 points and 10.1 rebounds are a big
reason No. 2 Ohio State has emerged as a favorite to win the national
title despite losing the national player of the year Evan Turner to the
N.B.A. draft. Credit an impressive lineage with molding the 6-foot-9,
280-pound Sullinger’s intangibles — crafty game, selfless attitude
and low-post relentlessness. They have allowed him to mesh seamlessly
with four returning starters on the Buckeyes (12-0).
With a father who coaches at two speeds — fast and faster — and two
older brothers who were accomplished college players, Jared Sullinger
was raised on a diet of fundamentals and knuckle sandwiches.
“When it came to basketball, no one ever took it easy on him,” his mother, Barbara, said.
The training began with footwork drills at age 2, as his father, Satch,
threw practice post passes to his son at the foot of his bed and
demanded he step with his inside foot. Satch Sullinger has coached
basketball in and around Columbus since 1983 and believes so strongly
in footwork that he claims to have bought a Pete Newell footwork video
for $300 in 1984.
Satch laughs when people ask how Jared can be as comfortable driving to
the hoop with his left hand as with his right. He chuckles because it
has nothing to do with his hands.
“If you don’t do your footwork, your hands are unemployed,” said Satch,
who now coaches five players with Division I offers at Northland High
School.
With a preacher’s inflection, philosopher’s depth and bouncer’s build,
Satch Sullinger is one of Ohio’s most enduring basketball coaches. His
players can not escape his -isms, fortune cookie-like nuggets of
basketball wisdom that are a big part of his coaching repertory.
None has got more mileage than, “Play the game the way you live your life.”
From the beginning, Jared Sullinger played tough. By age 3, he could
shoot a regulation free throw with a men’s ball. Satch points out that
it was not a granny shot. Jared grew so fast and strong that he could
hold with the proper form and follow through well before kindergarten.
Barbara Sullinger, a stay-at-home mother who raised three children on
Satch’s teacher’s salary, said she made sure that her three boys were
playing ball because they loved it. No threat from Barbara prompted a
clean room or swiftly completed homework like telling her boys they
would not be able to go to basketball practice with their father on
Saturday.
“I bought blocks, trucks, art supplies and dance lessons,” she said,
shaking her head and laughing. “If it didn’t bounce, they didn’t want
anything to do with it.”
At age 6, Jared Sullinger attempted to execute a flashy crossover known
as a Shammgod — named after the former Providence guard God Shammgod —
in a youth game. Julian Sullinger recalls that Jared not only tried
the move, but also used his index finger to call over an opposing
defender, daring him to guard him.
“My dad yelled at him the whole ride home,” Julian Sullinger said with a laugh.
When Satch was not coaching, Julian and J..J. raised him on hard
knocks. J..J. Sullinger jokes that his brother had to fight for
everything from inches on the court to “the last piece of fried chicken
at dinner.”
The Sullingers grew up with an asphalt halfcourt across the street
from their house, and Jared ran home crying countless times after being
beaten or beaten up by his brothers. (Julian will soon become a
varsity assistant for his father, and J..J. is a real estate agent in
Columbus.)
“If you’re going to cry, don’t play,” Satch would say. “If you’re going to play, don’t cry.”
As the baby fat melted off and Jared sprouted into a low-post player,
he emerged as a star. Tommy Amaker, then the coach at Michigan, gave
Sullinger his first scholarship offer as an eighth grader. But Michigan
had no chance.
While in junior high, Jared Sullinger would crash at his brother’s
apartment at Ohio State, and J..J. offered this defining advice minutes
after his career ended with an upset loss to Georgetown in the
N.C.A.A. tournament: “If Coach Matta ever offers you a scholarship,
take it because that’s the best coach in America.”
When Matta did during Jared’s freshman year, he did not take long to accept.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a player that Ohio State means more to,”
Matta said. “This university means a ton to him.”
But perhaps the most important moment of Sullinger’s high school career
came during his sophomore year. Satch suspended Jared for a district
semifinal game against Westerville South for not completing his
homework.
“The worst day of my life,” Jared said.
When Satch caught Jared trying to put on his uniform for the game, Satch would not let him.
“If everyone fouls out,” he told him, “I’d rather play with four than put you in the game.”
Northland lost to Westerville South, and Jared Sullinger still feels
guilty about letting the seniors on that team down. The losses sting
because there are so few. Satch said his son went 98-4 during high
school and 288-15 in his summer basketball career.
“He put life in perspective for me,” Jared said. "He said, 'We can do
this locally or do it at the national level and have ESPN looking at it
with Ohio State.'"
With a 3.0 grade point average at Ohio State, Jared said schoolwork is
second nature to him now. His game is also drawing raves, as when
Oakland Coach Greg Kampe said that Sullinger was a more offensively
developed version of Charles Barkley because “he’s only really 6 foot
7.” Western Carolina Coach Larry Hunter compared Sullinger to the
Boston Celtics great Bill Russell for his attitude and effervescence.
“He’s such a winner, and to think he’s a freshman,” Hunter said. “He gives people such confidence.”
South Carolina Coach Darrin Horn said Sullinger did not have
overwhelming athleticism like the former Kentucky forward DeMarcus
Cousins, nor did Ohio State have the same caliber of talent that
Kentucky did last season with five first-round picks. What Sullinger
does is pass out of the double team, box out with vigor and avoid
freshman mistakes.
“Every dude on that team knows his role and has completely bought in,” Horn said.
Matta said that in Sullinger’s first road game at Florida, he
recommended a play in the huddle that resulted in a layup by the
Buckeyes senior David Lighty. After a practice at Northland on
Thursday, Sullinger drew up a play to help create open looks for his
close friend Trey Burke, a Michigan signee.
“Not once in 70 practices or three months have I ever seen him show one ounce of selfishness,” Matta said.
From hanging around with the former Buckeyes Greg Oden and Mike Conley
Jr., Sullinger said he had learned the N.B.A. was not all fun and
games. Sullinger could easily be a top-10 draft pick next year, but
seems in no hurry to leave a program he has waited a lifetime to join.
Satch said he was certain there was going to be an N.B.A. lockout next
season, and if there was, he did not want Jared entering the draft.
But December conversations do not often meet draft-deadline realities,
and Sullinger will certainly face a decision this spring.
Until then, Matta will enjoy the ride. It could last all the way to the
Final Four. Perhaps by then, Matta could text J..J. Sullinger to
thank him for his recruiting tip.
bob
.
Well, now we know. It has been a long, long time since we have had a lottery pick in their prime on this team. Paul Pierce was #10, but that was a long time ago (KG was a lottery pick and Ray was #5, but neither were in their prime when we got them). We now have 26 year old Jeff Green (#5) and a player who, if the back stuff is all just bunk, would probably have gone in the top 10.
First is an article from greenstreet. After, is a 2010 NY Time article that is referenced in the Greenstreet article. If you want to know how Jared Sullinger has turned into a player that is even being considered as a starter on this Celtic team, one that was 12 minutes away from the Finals, with a coach that doesn't usually give rookies much credit, read that article.
http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2012/10/11/irish-coffee-grooming-celtics-rookie-jared-sullinger/
Jared Sullinger isn’t easily fazed. Not even when
they called him and the other Celtics rookies in front of the entire
organization during a team dinner and made him sing his favorite song: Jay-Z‘s “Public Service Announcement.”
Check out my swag’ yo, peep the way I wear it
No matter where you go, you are what you are player
And you can try to change, but that’s just the top layer
Man, you was who you was ‘fore you got here
Fitting. Sullinger isn’t intimidated by a team full of headstrong
veterans whose system has produced one championship, two NBA finals
appearances and three Eastern Conference finals showings in the past
five years, and that’s because his basketball journey started almost
from the day he was born.
Jared Sullinger.
“My dad’s going around Columbus, Ohio, when I was a young little kid,
saying, ‘Yeah, he’s going to be the best. He’s going to be the best,’”
said Sullinger, whose father Satch has coached in and around their hometown for 30 years. “So, I had no choice but to play basketball.”
Sullinger’s father constantly taught him the game — in practice, on
the driveway or while watching TV — stressing footwork, fundamentals and
fortitude. As this great New York Times piece noted, Jared started making regulation free throws at age 3. And if Satch was the general, older brothers J.J. (Ohio State Class of 2006) and Julian (Kent State Class of 2009) were his drill instructors, instilling the game into the 6-foot-9, 260-pound baby of the family.
“I learned the game at an early age,” said the C’s first-round pick,
selected No. 21 overall. “When I was young, they used to beat it into my
head — not my father, but my brothers — so you know how that goes.”
That’s why, when Sullinger arrived early in Boston the first week of September, he was already ahead of the curve.
“He doesn’t think like a rookie,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
“He thinks like a veteran. He plays a great pace. He’s one of our best
rebounders. He can pass the ball. He does a lot of things that help our
team.”
Unlike fellow 2012 NBA draft picks Fab Melo and Kris Joseph,
whose Syracuse squad his Buckeyes ousted on their road to the Final
Four this past spring, Sullinger started learning the game long before
high school.
“He’s probably the smartest rookie we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo,
who’s seen a dozen other rookies drafted in Boston. “He’s very
intelligent — high basketball IQ — and he’s very unselfish. He doesn’t
need a play called for him. He’s just been getting his points off the
little dirty work.”
Perhaps it should have come as no surprise, then, that Sullinger
earned a start in just the C’s second preseason game. After cramming 16
points and eight rebounds into 26 minutes off the bench in the opener of
the two-game Europe trip, Sullinger started over Brandon Bass in Game 2, nearly notching a double-double in 18 minutes.
“As far as personnel, Brandon is more pick-and-pop; Sullinger is
going to dive a little more, going to roll a little more, going to the
basket,” said Kevin Garnett, comparing his two
frontcourt mates. “Obviously, Brandon is a gutty veteran. Sully is a
very intelligent player. Very, very high basketball IQ.”
First, the mere fact Garnett didn’t refer to Sullinger as Rook, Young Fella or Youngin might say more than anything.
And second, It seemed more than coincidental that Garnett kept coming
back to hardwood acumen during his interview after the team’s first
practice since returning from Italy. Take this, for example: “The mental
part of this game is just as hard as the physical.” Or this: “It feels
good to have a lot more guys who are not just talented but have high
basketball IQs — that know how to play basketball. You don’t have to
really point-blank tell them things and say, ‘This is white; this is
black.’ They know how to play the gray areas and respond to just
basketball.”
While Rivers wouldn’t commit to starting Sullinger or Bass, he
admitted his staff has considered starting a committee that also
includes Darko Milicic, depending on matchups, and that
says a lot from a coach who often seems to forget rookies exist on the
end of his bench. The 7-foot, 275-pound Milicic obviously offers size
and Bass brings his trademark midrange jumper (5.1 FGA per game from
16-23 feet last season), but Sullinger provides rebounding and a post
game forged by his father’s dogma of footwork, fundamentals and
fortitude.
“That’s who I want to be,” said Sullinger. “Right now, you’ve got guys like Kevin and Paul [Pierce] and Rajon and Jason [Terry] that are going to be the guy that we’re going to look to for scoring — including Jeff [Green] — so … I’ve got to find other ways to get it done for this basketball team, and that’s rebounding for me.”
As we’ve discussed before,
the Celtics have been a horrible rebounding team, so there’s a niche to
be carved by Sullinger. If he can adjust to playing the 5 as well — a
subject he’s studying but might require a learning curve — he’ll be a
mainstay in the C’s frontcourt. At least we know NBA centers don’t scare
Sullinger.
“Just use your power; use your IQ,” said the 20-year-old, sounding
lightyears beyond his age. “Know what they like. Know what they don’t
like. Most 5’s, when they catch it a little bit off the block, they’re
not comfortable. So, you’ve just got to use your power, you’ve got to
fight them and you’ve just got to play hard.”
So, did Sullinger expect such a rapid rise up the C’s depth chart?
“Not at all,” he said. “All you have to do is come in and learn the
system — and trust the system. Put your all into the system and just
play hard.”
Of course, he’s the first to admit that Rondo, Pierce and Garnett make his job a whole lot simpler.
“It’s easy when you have greats like that playing with you,” said
Sullinger. “They make the game so much easier, so I can’t complain. If
they tell me to do something, I do it. Most of the time, they’re never
going to put me in a position where I’m going to fail. So, it’s easy to
play with those guys.”
Talk about basketball IQ. Nope, not much fazes Jared Sullinger. Not
dropping in the draft. Not playing alongside three potential Hall of
Famers. And not possibly supplanting an established veteran in the
starting lineup.
“When you come to this level, you’ve got to be a pro’s pro, and
you’ve got to let go of your ego,” said the Celtics rookie. “You’ve got
to let go of who you’re sitting beside — who you watched growing up.
You’ve got to understand that those guys are basketball players. They’re
your teammates, and we’re all for the same goal. We’re trying to get
banner 18, and so everybody’s working together as one.”
Sounds like someone who’s been preparing for this moment from Day 1. Satch, J.J. and Julian taught Jared well.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Here's the NY Times Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/sports/ncaabasketball/26buckeyes.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Molded by Father and Brothers, Sullinger Becomes Star at Ohio State
By PETE THAMEL
Published: December 25, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio — When the text messages pop up in Ohio State Coach Thad
Matta’s phone, they always bring a laugh but barely ever a response.
They come from the former Ohio State guard J.J. Sullinger, who simply
types, “You’re welcome.”
Paul Abell/Getty Images
Jared Sullinger and his parents, Satch and Barbara, with his high school Naismith Award in Atlanta.
Terry Gilliam/Associated Press
Jared Sullinger has earned the praise of opposing coaches for his skills and unselfish play.
Courtesy of the Sullinger Family
The Sullinger family. Pictured from left to right are Jared, Julian, Barbara, Satch and J. J.
Ohio State Athletics
J.J. Sullinger’s younger brother, Jared, averages
17.5 points and 10.1 rebounds for No. 2 Ohio State.
Sullinger deserves thanks for a recruiting tip that will long live in
Ohio State lore. In 2006, he said to Matta, “I don’t want to tell you
how to do your job, but you need to offer my brother a scholarship.”
Matta asked if Sullinger was talking about his middle brother, Julian, who ended up playing at Kent State.
“No,” Sullinger responded. “Jared.”
Matta was baffled. “Your big fat little brother?”
By the end of Jared Sullinger’s freshman year of high school, Matta had taken J..J.’s advice.
Sullinger went on to win the Naismith Award as the country’s top high
school player and has emerged as perhaps the best player in the
country.
Jared Sullinger’s averages of 17.5 points and 10.1 rebounds are a big
reason No. 2 Ohio State has emerged as a favorite to win the national
title despite losing the national player of the year Evan Turner to the
N.B.A. draft. Credit an impressive lineage with molding the 6-foot-9,
280-pound Sullinger’s intangibles — crafty game, selfless attitude
and low-post relentlessness. They have allowed him to mesh seamlessly
with four returning starters on the Buckeyes (12-0).
With a father who coaches at two speeds — fast and faster — and two
older brothers who were accomplished college players, Jared Sullinger
was raised on a diet of fundamentals and knuckle sandwiches.
“When it came to basketball, no one ever took it easy on him,” his mother, Barbara, said.
The training began with footwork drills at age 2, as his father, Satch,
threw practice post passes to his son at the foot of his bed and
demanded he step with his inside foot. Satch Sullinger has coached
basketball in and around Columbus since 1983 and believes so strongly
in footwork that he claims to have bought a Pete Newell footwork video
for $300 in 1984.
Satch laughs when people ask how Jared can be as comfortable driving to
the hoop with his left hand as with his right. He chuckles because it
has nothing to do with his hands.
“If you don’t do your footwork, your hands are unemployed,” said Satch,
who now coaches five players with Division I offers at Northland High
School.
With a preacher’s inflection, philosopher’s depth and bouncer’s build,
Satch Sullinger is one of Ohio’s most enduring basketball coaches. His
players can not escape his -isms, fortune cookie-like nuggets of
basketball wisdom that are a big part of his coaching repertory.
None has got more mileage than, “Play the game the way you live your life.”
From the beginning, Jared Sullinger played tough. By age 3, he could
shoot a regulation free throw with a men’s ball. Satch points out that
it was not a granny shot. Jared grew so fast and strong that he could
hold with the proper form and follow through well before kindergarten.
Barbara Sullinger, a stay-at-home mother who raised three children on
Satch’s teacher’s salary, said she made sure that her three boys were
playing ball because they loved it. No threat from Barbara prompted a
clean room or swiftly completed homework like telling her boys they
would not be able to go to basketball practice with their father on
Saturday.
“I bought blocks, trucks, art supplies and dance lessons,” she said,
shaking her head and laughing. “If it didn’t bounce, they didn’t want
anything to do with it.”
At age 6, Jared Sullinger attempted to execute a flashy crossover known
as a Shammgod — named after the former Providence guard God Shammgod —
in a youth game. Julian Sullinger recalls that Jared not only tried
the move, but also used his index finger to call over an opposing
defender, daring him to guard him.
“My dad yelled at him the whole ride home,” Julian Sullinger said with a laugh.
When Satch was not coaching, Julian and J..J. raised him on hard
knocks. J..J. Sullinger jokes that his brother had to fight for
everything from inches on the court to “the last piece of fried chicken
at dinner.”
The Sullingers grew up with an asphalt halfcourt across the street
from their house, and Jared ran home crying countless times after being
beaten or beaten up by his brothers. (Julian will soon become a
varsity assistant for his father, and J..J. is a real estate agent in
Columbus.)
“If you’re going to cry, don’t play,” Satch would say. “If you’re going to play, don’t cry.”
As the baby fat melted off and Jared sprouted into a low-post player,
he emerged as a star. Tommy Amaker, then the coach at Michigan, gave
Sullinger his first scholarship offer as an eighth grader. But Michigan
had no chance.
While in junior high, Jared Sullinger would crash at his brother’s
apartment at Ohio State, and J..J. offered this defining advice minutes
after his career ended with an upset loss to Georgetown in the
N.C.A.A. tournament: “If Coach Matta ever offers you a scholarship,
take it because that’s the best coach in America.”
When Matta did during Jared’s freshman year, he did not take long to accept.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a player that Ohio State means more to,”
Matta said. “This university means a ton to him.”
But perhaps the most important moment of Sullinger’s high school career
came during his sophomore year. Satch suspended Jared for a district
semifinal game against Westerville South for not completing his
homework.
“The worst day of my life,” Jared said.
When Satch caught Jared trying to put on his uniform for the game, Satch would not let him.
“If everyone fouls out,” he told him, “I’d rather play with four than put you in the game.”
Northland lost to Westerville South, and Jared Sullinger still feels
guilty about letting the seniors on that team down. The losses sting
because there are so few. Satch said his son went 98-4 during high
school and 288-15 in his summer basketball career.
“He put life in perspective for me,” Jared said. "He said, 'We can do
this locally or do it at the national level and have ESPN looking at it
with Ohio State.'"
With a 3.0 grade point average at Ohio State, Jared said schoolwork is
second nature to him now. His game is also drawing raves, as when
Oakland Coach Greg Kampe said that Sullinger was a more offensively
developed version of Charles Barkley because “he’s only really 6 foot
7.” Western Carolina Coach Larry Hunter compared Sullinger to the
Boston Celtics great Bill Russell for his attitude and effervescence.
“He’s such a winner, and to think he’s a freshman,” Hunter said. “He gives people such confidence.”
South Carolina Coach Darrin Horn said Sullinger did not have
overwhelming athleticism like the former Kentucky forward DeMarcus
Cousins, nor did Ohio State have the same caliber of talent that
Kentucky did last season with five first-round picks. What Sullinger
does is pass out of the double team, box out with vigor and avoid
freshman mistakes.
“Every dude on that team knows his role and has completely bought in,” Horn said.
Matta said that in Sullinger’s first road game at Florida, he
recommended a play in the huddle that resulted in a layup by the
Buckeyes senior David Lighty. After a practice at Northland on
Thursday, Sullinger drew up a play to help create open looks for his
close friend Trey Burke, a Michigan signee.
“Not once in 70 practices or three months have I ever seen him show one ounce of selfishness,” Matta said.
From hanging around with the former Buckeyes Greg Oden and Mike Conley
Jr., Sullinger said he had learned the N.B.A. was not all fun and
games. Sullinger could easily be a top-10 draft pick next year, but
seems in no hurry to leave a program he has waited a lifetime to join.
Satch said he was certain there was going to be an N.B.A. lockout next
season, and if there was, he did not want Jared entering the draft.
But December conversations do not often meet draft-deadline realities,
and Sullinger will certainly face a decision this spring.
Until then, Matta will enjoy the ride. It could last all the way to the
Final Four. Perhaps by then, Matta could text J..J. Sullinger to
thank him for his recruiting tip.
bob
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Join date : 2009-10-28
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