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06-04-2008, 07:22 AM
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080603/COLUMNISTS01/806030458/1002/SPORTS
Rajon Rondo proving many of us wrong
June 3, 2008
I was wrong about Rajon Rondo.
I thought he was a first-round defender with a 10th-round jump shot. I was convinced his inability to make free throws would make it impossible to play him in the last two minutes of an important pro basketball game.
I didn't believe he could start at point guard for a team that is four victories from winning the NBA title. I wondered if he could start every day for a losing NBA team.
I was wrong about Rajon Rondo.
He can start for any team. He is starting -- and playing poised and dynamic basketball -- for a Boston Celtics team that is playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Of course, I think Rick Pitino was also wrong about Rajon Rondo. He could have recruited Rondo to the University of Louisville five years ago, locking him up before Rondo left Eastern High School to play at Oak Hill Academy.
Rondo would have been a lethal defensive presence in Pitino's full-court press. The arms that stretch from baseline to baseline. The remarkable gift to knife into the passing lanes. The temperament tilted more toward defense than scoring.
But Pitino always loved Sebastian Telfair more than the hometown kid -- so Rondo landed at the University of Kentucky.
And the more I think about it, Tubby Smith was wrong about Rajon Rondo. Or, more precisely, Smith was the wrong coach for Rondo.
Rondo played like a guy uncertain that he had the complete support of his coach. Offensively, Rondo excels in the open court. You can't keep him out of the lane. Smith was never comfortable giving Rondo the freedom to work his open-court magic. It showed.
Rondo stayed two seasons at UK, leaving in 2006. His second season produced a storyline that reads like fiction today: He went to the bench for a six-game stretch in February. Rondo was replaced by Brandon Stockton.
The change came on Feb. 15, 2006, after UK lost to Vanderbilt 84-81. Kentucky had lost consecutive games to Florida, Tennessee and Vandy. Rondo was not the reason for those defeats. He averaged 14 points and better than three steals in those games.
But Smith pulled Rondo and Randolph Morris from the lineup. The Wildcats won four of their next six.
Rondo started the final five games of the season, but he didn't look like a guy who could thrive in Smith's system. He finished the season missing 28 of his final 41 shots. He was ready to leave -- and Smith appeared ready for Rondo to leave, too.
Maybe that explains why the NBA was wrong about Rondo, too. He slid to the 21st pick, behind J. J. Redick of Duke, Quincy Douby of Rutgers and Renaldo Balkman of South Carolina.
Rondo has scored 210 points while leading the Celtics to three playoff series victories. The other three guys have scored zero points this postseason.
Of course, even the Celtics have been wrong about Rondo. In case you missed it, Boston made a move to fine-tune its playoff roster. On March 4 the Celtics signed Sam Cassell after he was waived by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Cassell is a 15-year veteran with extensive playoff experience. He plays point guard. The wise guys thought Cassell would get the important playoff minutes.
Rondo is averaging 33 minutes per game in the playoffs, 20 more than Cassell. Rajon Rondo has proved me, and a few other people, wrong.
Reach Rick Bozich at (502) 582-4650 or rbozich@courier-journal.com. Comment on this column, and read his blog and previous columns, at www.courier-journal.com/bozich.
Rajon Rondo proving many of us wrong
June 3, 2008
I was wrong about Rajon Rondo.
I thought he was a first-round defender with a 10th-round jump shot. I was convinced his inability to make free throws would make it impossible to play him in the last two minutes of an important pro basketball game.
I didn't believe he could start at point guard for a team that is four victories from winning the NBA title. I wondered if he could start every day for a losing NBA team.
I was wrong about Rajon Rondo.
He can start for any team. He is starting -- and playing poised and dynamic basketball -- for a Boston Celtics team that is playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Of course, I think Rick Pitino was also wrong about Rajon Rondo. He could have recruited Rondo to the University of Louisville five years ago, locking him up before Rondo left Eastern High School to play at Oak Hill Academy.
Rondo would have been a lethal defensive presence in Pitino's full-court press. The arms that stretch from baseline to baseline. The remarkable gift to knife into the passing lanes. The temperament tilted more toward defense than scoring.
But Pitino always loved Sebastian Telfair more than the hometown kid -- so Rondo landed at the University of Kentucky.
And the more I think about it, Tubby Smith was wrong about Rajon Rondo. Or, more precisely, Smith was the wrong coach for Rondo.
Rondo played like a guy uncertain that he had the complete support of his coach. Offensively, Rondo excels in the open court. You can't keep him out of the lane. Smith was never comfortable giving Rondo the freedom to work his open-court magic. It showed.
Rondo stayed two seasons at UK, leaving in 2006. His second season produced a storyline that reads like fiction today: He went to the bench for a six-game stretch in February. Rondo was replaced by Brandon Stockton.
The change came on Feb. 15, 2006, after UK lost to Vanderbilt 84-81. Kentucky had lost consecutive games to Florida, Tennessee and Vandy. Rondo was not the reason for those defeats. He averaged 14 points and better than three steals in those games.
But Smith pulled Rondo and Randolph Morris from the lineup. The Wildcats won four of their next six.
Rondo started the final five games of the season, but he didn't look like a guy who could thrive in Smith's system. He finished the season missing 28 of his final 41 shots. He was ready to leave -- and Smith appeared ready for Rondo to leave, too.
Maybe that explains why the NBA was wrong about Rondo, too. He slid to the 21st pick, behind J. J. Redick of Duke, Quincy Douby of Rutgers and Renaldo Balkman of South Carolina.
Rondo has scored 210 points while leading the Celtics to three playoff series victories. The other three guys have scored zero points this postseason.
Of course, even the Celtics have been wrong about Rondo. In case you missed it, Boston made a move to fine-tune its playoff roster. On March 4 the Celtics signed Sam Cassell after he was waived by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Cassell is a 15-year veteran with extensive playoff experience. He plays point guard. The wise guys thought Cassell would get the important playoff minutes.
Rondo is averaging 33 minutes per game in the playoffs, 20 more than Cassell. Rajon Rondo has proved me, and a few other people, wrong.
Reach Rick Bozich at (502) 582-4650 or rbozich@courier-journal.com. Comment on this column, and read his blog and previous columns, at www.courier-journal.com/bozich.