Three In Good Company http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/three_roo...re_feature.html The Warriors three rookies of Ike Diogu, Monta Ellis and Chris Taft get ready for their first NBA season with their eyes wide open. Only a year removed from high school, Ellis still looks the part, but has coaches pleased with how far his development is. This is the second in a series of exclusive features on warriors.com leading up to the start of Training Camp on October 4th. Back in the day, Golden State Warriors rookie Monta Ellis could take his long strides up and down the court and seemingly score at will. Like an airline jet, Ellis flew coast-to-coast daily. Trouble is, ?back in the day? was last year and Ellis, 19, was still in high school. Now scoring 72 points in a game is a distant memory and the second-round pick has been scrimmaging and working out with Warriors veterans preparing for training camp next week in Hawaii. Along with first-round pick Ike Diogu and second-rounder Chris Taft, Ellis is punching in and learning how things work in the NBA. The 6-foot-3 guard has already picked up that driving into the lane with reckless abandon will leave you wearing a lot of elbows on your chest. It doesn?t matter how quick you are. ?There are things that I was able to do in high school, that I can?t do now,? Ellis said. ?I have to develop my game. I can?t go all the way (to the basket) anymore. I have to stop in the middle and shoot a pull-up jumper or pass.? Playing against Milwaukee Bucks guard Maurice Williams over the summers in Jackson, Mississippi didn?t prepare him for getting bumped out of the way when he tried to guard new teammates Baron Davis and/or Derek Fisher. ?The biggest thing I need to do is get stronger,? said Ellis, who averaged an impressive 15.8 points for the Warriors? Summer League squad in July. ?I need to be able to defend bigger guards like Baron and Derek.? Speaking of big, the 6-8 Diogu has a chance to contribute immediately off the bench at power forward, center or any other spot he can earn some time. There is a language barrier, as Diogu talks English while the Warriors coaching staff is speaking in a loud, strange tongue of letters and numbers, usually accompanied by a picture of X?s and O?s. The rookie from Arizona State became aware of this less than a week after he was drafted during his brief introduction to the Warriors sets during the Las Vegas Summer League. The terminology had his head spinning. ?You?re expected to learn a lot quickly,? Diogu said. ?There is a different terminology that I am not used to hearing.? That certainly didn?t seem to hamper him too much in Vegas, however. Diogu concluded summer league play averaging 18.4 points and 8.4 rebounds, highlighted by a 37-point/12-rebound performance in the final game. The Warriors Practice Facility has been buzzing with activity over the recent weeks as players have begun to return to Oakland and assembling for daily scrimmages and workouts. Diogu, 22, has had his eyes wide open on the court as he attempts to hold his own against veteran Warriors big men Adonal Foyle, Troy Murphy and Andris Biedrins. ?You can?t expect people to go off what you did in college,? Diogu said. ?This is a man?s league and you have to prove yourself.? Diogu was able to assert himself offensively in the Las Vegas Summer League averaging 18.4 points to lead the Warriors. Warriors coach Mike Montgomery is excited about Diogu?s ability to finish around the rim as well as his overall low-post game. ?(Diogu) can catch the ball with his back to the basket and score,? Montgomery said. ?Now, can he do it against the size that there is in this league ... that remains to be seen.? There have been rumblings about Diogu?s size and that, at 6-8, he won?t be able to get his shots off and control the glass like he did while earning Pac-10 Player of the Year honors at Arizona State. He said it?s the same old song that he heard in high school and college. ?I already know I can play against bigger guys,? said Diogu, who regularly scrimmaged and worked out with Phoenix Suns Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and Tom Gugliotta while at ASU. ?Ben Wallace is one of the best rebounders in the league because of his heart, not his size.? Foyle, for one, is pretty impressed with his new teammate. ?He?s a beast around the basket,? said the Warriors? starting center. Diogu is working this week on his defense and not dribbling so much, and can feed off rookie teammate Taft, who is also a power forward. ?There are a lot of comparisons between Ike and I,? Taft said. ?He?s really good, I?m really good. We?re both trying to learn the ropes, so we help each other out. Both our ears are wide open.? Taft, 20, has learned one lesson weeks before his first preseason game, thanks to professors Foyle, Murphy and Biedrins. ?This is a lot more brutal than college,? he said. ?It is very physical. I also have to learn about defensive positioning. In college, I just stayed in the paint all day.? There will be growing pains, ups and downs, for all three of the new Warriors. That?s just life in the NBA for a rookie. But they expect to leave next week?s training camp prepared for the regular season with their confidence intact. ?The coaches here won?t let us get down,? Ellis said. A little sumpin sumpin from the Warriors site.
I love this forum already. Thanks for the 411. Who would you compare Monta Ellis' game to. Can't wait!!! I'm counting the days til tip off!!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Todd$haw:</div><div class="quote_post">I love this forum already. Thanks for the 411. Who would you compare Monta Ellis' game to. Can't wait!!! I'm counting the days til tip off!! </div> Like most, I've only seen him in the summer league, which is basically poorly played pick up basketball, but his game looks like AI. And I am not just saying that and hyping him up. The first game that was televised he was launching threes, and hitting most, but looking very good on all (except one), but it seemed like he could always get his shot off. Then the next game I think Mario probably told him he wanted to see more of him in the lane, so that's what he did, he took it to the hole a lot, and could really finish around the hoop, like Iverson. He is also very quick and fast. He is very skinny, which you would expect and he doesn't seem like a point, but that could change with experience. I don't think I want to send him to the Dleague, I think I want him to learn from Baron and Fish and have them take him under their wing.
I agree with you Mister Jennings. Monta has the quicks of AI and holds on to the ball a little to long. One thing some of us noticed in the Summer league is that Monta doesn't use his left hand on the dribble. He seems to do everything right handed. Custodianrules2 also wrote about this tendency of Monta's. I keep reading how happy the Warriors are with Monta's advanced offense. He looked pretty good on D in the summer league. I doubt the Warriors will send him to the D league. He'll learn more watching the game with the big boys. On another forum I read an interesting bit about Chris Taft: "I'm from Pittsburgh and have watched Chris Taft play as much as anyone. The rap on him not being "motivated" is not deserved. Taft played in a Pitt offense that featured Chevon Troutman and the 43 year old guard and professional student, Karl Krauser (returning for his 11th year as a starter). Neither will see an NBA game unless they buy a ticket. It is inexplicable that Jamie Dixon did not design an offense more around Taft, once projected to be a lottery pick. Consequently, Taft became more and more disillusioned and his stock dropped. Chris Taft is strong, quick off his feet, has good hands and is an underrated passer. His skills are raw, though, and will need to be developed. But motivation is not a problem. He was a steal where he was drafted and will be a solid NBA player." All three draft picks are raw and seemingly undersized for their respective skill sets. Taft intrigues me the most because of his size and strength. He has never played with someone like Baron who can get him the ball where he likes it. I'm going nuts waiting for the season to start so we can all see how this is gonna play out. Bring on the season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Montay:</div><div class="quote_post"> All three draft picks are raw and seemingly undersized for their respective skill sets.</div> I dunno, Diogu is pretty polished in his position, probably on par with Andrew Bogut. Also Montay looks more nba ready than most high school prospects. Ellis is a good size for a point guard, but he's a lightweight. Taft is pure potential and could he be Amare Stoudamire lite? He's an intimidator, but because of lack of range, he seems more suited for the center position. 6'10, 260 lbs? Close enough to a center. But yeah, I agree more or less with the consensus on our 3 drafts which is why I don't comment much. I'm excited, but I'm not expecting too much from these rookies in their first year. One thing is consistent about Coach Montgomery, he doesn't like rookies unless they play team ball in practice. So if these guys play smart, play defense, and make things happen, they should be seeing some playing time because we don't have a whole lot of other players that can be all three.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Mister Jennings:</div><div class="quote_post">Like most, I've only seen him in the summer league, which is basically poorly played pick up basketball, but his game looks like AI. And I am not just saying that and hyping him up. The first game that was televised he was launching threes, and hitting most, but looking very good on all (except one), but it seemed like he could always get his shot off. Then the next game I think Mario probably told him he wanted to see more of him in the lane, so that's what he did, he took it to the hole a lot, and could really finish around the hoop, like Iverson. He is also very quick and fast. He is very skinny, which you would expect and he doesn't seem like a point, but that could change with experience. I don't think I want to send him to the Dleague, I think I want him to learn from Baron and Fish and have them take him under their wing.</div> I see what you mean, Jennings, about AI. Actually he did remind me more of Gilbert Arenas or another combo guard like a young Nick Van Exel. Arenas/Van Excel are guys that likes to shoot, have decent playmaking ability, although both likes to score/slash their way to the rim, and try to take defenders off the dribble. He's also had some flashes of playing like Tony Parker (gets to the line, quite athletic scorer, can finish plays despite the lack of weight, good defense, energy and quickness, nice running floater, etc.). Montay's looking promising as a combo guard, but I doubt you want this guy as a point guard anytime soon unless there's a secondary playmaker at shooting guard like a Dwayne Wade, a Joe Johnson or a healthy, young Doug Christie. We could say Dunleavy as a point forward/oversized guard with Montay on the court, but that would require off-the-ball movement. Besides how often does Dun create separation when he has the ball right in front of a defender? He can't outquick most players in the half set unless he's got them believing he's going to shoot it. He's only good with the ball when running the break (plenty of floor spacing to take them long strides and he's one of a few warriors that can move fast with the ball in his hands when's already moving (instead of accelerating from a standstill). Anyway, this should be interesting because the more guys that can break down defenses, look to pass, make good decisions and distribute the ball as well as score, the better. I'm hoping also Taft and Diogu are the guys that can really move the ball once they've got double teams drawn in the post. We've got Dunleavy, Fisher, Murphy, and Pietrus who are our most reliable 3-point shooters so the big men can make those guys better. If we want explosive scoring, Pietrus, J-Rich, Baron, and maybe Montay or Diogu? That's plenty right there, now we just need some defense.
I cant wait for the season to start! Can you believe training camp opens on Monday?! Speaking of that CR2, have you had any time to get that sig updated for me?
