ARTICLE:"Star Rookie Leading Nuggets Turnaround" http://www.tribnet.com/sports/basketball/s...p-4506671c.html Star rookie leading way in Nuggets' turnaround DAVE BOLING; The News Tribune Carmelo Anthony, young gun, vanguard of the NBA's new breed, was dressed and taped for action before Wednesday's game in KeyArena. He then turned toward his locker cubicle and emitted a long, weary groan. He's 19, and a scant 25 games into his NBA career, but sounded like an old man reluctant to head off to work at the mill. A little different than college, eh? "Playing almost every night in a different time zone, that's hard to adjust to,'' Anthony said. "At first I was really tired, it was a lot to deal with. I'm still fighting it.'' He's clearly winning the battle, give or take a groan or two. Wednesday, he looked fatigued, especially late in the game as his Denver Nuggets surrendered a lead. But with 6 seconds remaining in the game, he took the ball, flew up the right side of the lane and banked in the basket that gave the Nuggets a 99-98 win over the Seattle SuperSonics. Anthony, the highest-scoring rookie in the NBA (yes, outscoring even the Anointed One in Cleveland), put in a modest 14 points, with six assists and six rebounds. With the win, the surprising Nuggets are already one victory from their entire total last year (17). Anthony is one of the reasons. Having led Syracuse to an NCAA tournament title, and earning Most Outstanding Player honors as just a freshman, he turned pro and has hardly slowed down. Anthony averaged 22.2 points a game at Syracuse, and has started off at 18.7 with the Nuggets. Mostly, he's smooth. And it looks as if there's nothing he can't do. Within the first 20 seconds of the game Wednesday, he had a steal, an assist and a driving dunk. He later showed some savvy under the basket, moves in the open floor, uncanny vision and awareness. And, perhaps most importantly, he's got an admirable attitude. If Anthony's arrival caused any shocks for Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik, it was his absence of "star'' attitude. "Surprises ... yeah, it's been a pleasant surprise,'' Bzdelik said. "He's so receptive to learning and improving his game. "He's all about the right things. He asks questions, he's very coachable, very concerned about developing his total game. He's very concerned about being a good teammate.'' A 19-year-old star, a kid whose jersey has already become the second-leading seller in the nation, being worried about how to be a good teammate? "He's wise beyond his years,'' Bzdelik said. Bzdelik tried to lessen the weight of expectations on Anthony, and tried to prepare him for the difficult challenge ahead for any rookie ... let alone one of such a high profile. "I actually made a statement that I think he could be a low double-digit scorer,'' Bzdelik said. "Only from the standpoint that I know how tough this league is on younger players, how tough this league is on players, period. This is a league of men, and yet ... " And yet ... Anthony recently led the team on a three-game sweep in one week in which he pumped in 26, 26, and 28 points while being targeted by every veteran on the floor. "The first conversation I had with him prior to the draft, when we thought there was a chance we could get him, I said, 'Look, you are going to be the target of bringing out the very best in your opponent. 'Veteran players are going to make a statement every time you step on the court, you can't even imagine how hard you are going to have to work just to get the basketball.'" If it's bothering him, he hasn't shown it. He's already rung up six double-doubles, and needed a total of six games in his career to get to his first 30-point output. Probably for the rest of his career, Anthony's success will be measured in tandem with that of top draft choice LeBron James, of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Anthony not only has superior numbers at this point, his team also is winning, whereas the James gang has one of the worst records in the NBA. Anthony said he stays in touch with James, but has enough empathy to never bring up the topic of losing. "I try not to talk to him about that because I know that's tough,'' Anthony said. "I mean, we've lost nine games and that's been a tough nine games for me. We lost only four (five, actually) last year. I've never dealt with losing.'' He's also never dealt with the physical drain of playing 25 games in 50 days ... and still having 57 games stretching out ahead of him. "I would say I haven't had to change, I've just had to work harder day in and day out,'' he said. He's still getting a feel for how many steps they allow in this league, and he looked a little weary at times. But he does things that rookies so young don't often do. He kicks it out of double teams, he fights through screens, he moves without the ball. And here's the thing that should make opponents do some groaning. When Bzdelik finished his assessment of his young star, he added an ominous note: "... and he's just getting better.'' Dave Boling: 253-597-8440 dave.boling@mail.tribnet.com
