<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">EL SEGUNDO -- Ronny Turiaf is holding a Lakers jersey up for a photo shoot at the team's practice facility and not even for an instant is he attempting to conceal his utter zeal. He holds the No. 17 by its straps, the gold uniform top covering little of his 6-10 frame. "It's just so thrilling to be in this position," he said. "I'm holding a Lakers jersey right now. Nobody can know what I'm feeling." He looks the part of a power forward. His college game screamed out power forward, and if there's anything the Lakers desperately need, it's a power forward. The Lakers can afford to be patient with 17-year-old center Andrew {BYLINE}Bynum. They can't expect their youthful No.1 pick to have any immediate impact. But the one player from the draft with an opportunity to contribute in the coming season, the one the Lakers need production from sooner rather than later, is Turiaf. It's their 37th overall pick that could fill a need, the player with four years of college experience, not their precocious No. 10 overall pick who went straight from high school to the NBA. It is still some leap to go from Gonzaga to this rarified air, from being a dominant player in the West Coast Conference to one in the NBA. Many in the NBA were clearly unconvinced he could make the jump. Thirty-six other players were picked before the 6-10 forward was tabbed by the Lakers. Some may have felt Turiaf failed to grow as a player for the Zags. As a sophomore, his scoring average was 15.6 points per game. As a junior, it was 15.5 and as a senior 15.9. His shooting percentage over his last three seasons went .519, .525 and .508; and his rebounding 6.25, 6.35, and then a leap to 9.52. He was known as a high-energy player who lived under the basket. A strong defender, good leaper and intelligent player, qualities that could blend well with the return of Phil Jackson and the triangle offense. Turiaf (his first name is pronounced Roe-nee) along with Bynum, and guard Von Wafer -- taken two picks after Turiaf -- are scheduled to make their Summer Pro League debuts tonight at Long Beach State's Pyramid.</div> Source
