http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=400014905</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> College basketball games are 40 minutes long. NBA games are 48 minutes long. If Utah's Morris Almond was able to average 26.4 points per game in his senior year at Rice University (good enough for third in the country), how many will he pour in for the Jazz? Aside from the scoring acumen, another thing the 6-6 guard has going for him is humility. When I interviewed him at the Rookie Photo Shoot in Tarrytown, NY a couple weeks ago the lasting impression I got from him is the thought that, "This guy is an NBA player? Really? He's nicer than a kindergarten teacher!" Here's the transcript from my chat with the No. 25 pick in the draft: NBA.com: Did you watch the Jazz play last year at all? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> Oh yeah, especially during the playoffs when they had that heck of a run. They were definitely at the forefront of everybody's mind, especially during the playoff season. NBA.com: Utah had two All-Stars last year in Carlos and Mehmet plus some young talent in Deron and a well-established coach in Jerry Sloan. For a rookie going into the NBA, that’s got to be a pretty good situation, right? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> I think it’s a perfect fit. I hope it’s not too good to be true. I think there’s space available at the shooting guard position and with the way the franchise is going, I’m happy to be a part of it. NBA.com: What has your summer been like since the draft? Has your life changed now that you’re an NBA player? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> Umm, life hasn’t changed too much. I haven’t moved out there yet and I haven’t been paid so it hasn’t changed too much but I’m sure it will soon once I move in to my apartment out there and start calling Salt Lake home. I’m sure it will hit then. NBA.com: Which teammates have you been in touch with? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> Just the ones I met in summer league so far. Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap, I actually knew them before I went to the Jazz, but you know I reunited with them at summer league and I’ll meet everybody else in a couple weeks. NBA.com: How was the summer league experience for you? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> It was a good experience for me. I played in the Rocky Mountain Revue which is in Salt Lake so for all the games, the fans came out and it was a really dynamic atmosphere for a summer league game. It was like a home game. It was good to get introduced to the city and play in front of a bunch of crazy fans so I look forward to more of it. NBA.com: What are your plans between now and the start of training camp? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> Since I was out there for the last week of summer league in Salt Lake I was able to find a place to stay, a car and kind of get used to the city when I was out there, so I don’t have to do that. My mom got the furniture and everything like that taken care of, so really know I just workout. I’m going to Vegas and going to Santa Barbara for a couple of camps and things like that. I’m just working out and getting ready for training camp. NBA.com: Have you treated yourself to anything? Was there anything like, “When I become an NBA player, I’m getting myself _________”? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> I’m holding up on that. Like I said, I haven’t been paid yet. I think the first installment doesn’t come till mid-August and I don’t want to spend it before I get it. You know, I bought a car and I didn’t have a car in college. That’s probably the biggest purchase I made so far. I bought a Range Rover. The owner of the Jazz owns a bunch of car dealerships out in Utah so you know, they said to keep it in the family and buy from him. So that’s probably the biggest purchase. Other than that, I’ll probably just try to live below my means for the most part, keep it simple and stay low key out there. NBA.com: You played with Josh Smith in high school? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> Yeah, I’m from Atlanta. We’re both from Atlanta. Me and Josh played together in high school, he’s a year under me. It will be good playing against him next year when we play the Hawks. NBA.com: So you have no number on your jersey right now? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> Yeah, I don’t know what that’s all about. I’ve seen a couple other people like that so I’m not the only one. They told me Coach Sloan don’t give rookies numbers before they earn ‘em so we’ll see how that works out, but if I do my job I should be OK. NBA.com: What number do you think you’re going to go with? <span style="color: #e84098 fontweight bold">Morris Almond:</span> I’m going with 22. It’s the same number I wore in high school and college.</p> </div></p> I like Almond, and I think he was an excellent pick at 25. He may not get a whole lot of playing time this year, but in the future, he'll be a nice addition to the team, and he'll give them the shooting they they desperately need.</p>
Morris Almond was a great pick and should fit in nicely.There's no doubthe can shoot and the Jazz lack shooters. They're really only got Giricek who has never been a favourite of Sloan. Okur as well to a lesser extent, buthe is a center after all. The Jazz don't need Almond to be a superstar or one of their go to guys.What they'd want out of Almond is for him is to provide a three pointthreat,get open for shotsand knock them down ifopen. If he can stretch the defense, it should make it easier for the others on court. </p>
