"The Kansas Kid" "The Kansas Kid" by James Reman Growing up as a coach?s son it's easy to believe that Kirk Hinrich was destined to lead a team on the hardwood floors of the NBA. With his father being the coach of Kirk's high school team, his father was always there with tips and strategies to better Kirk's knowledge of basketball. Kirk of course being the ideal "coach?s son" took his fathers advice to heart and used it both on and off the court to make him the respectable young man he is today, both inside the game of basketball and out. Hinrich has shown that he is a proven winner on the court when it comes to the game, leading his Kansas Jayhawks team to two consecutive Final Four appearances and one national championship game during his junior and senior seasons. He has become one of the elite few players that decided to hang around college for the full four year term instead of darting to the NBA in search of stardom and a bigger pay salary then $5 a week soda money. There are very few, if any, that can frown upon Hinrich's decision to stay in college instead of making the leap after his junior year. The Sioux City, Iowa born 22 year old has done nothing but polish his game every year at Kansas University. When leaving his high school team, where his father was coach and he lead the way to a state championship title, Kirk stepped into a new role, where he wasn't the star player and needed much to remember those coaching tips passed down with a fatherly gesture. After his freshman season, in which he took home the Clyde Lovellette Most Improved Player award and dished out an impressive single season 123 assists which was fourth most ever by a Kansas freshman, Kirk took very little time to prove he could still be considered a 'go-to' guy and a leader on the court. In his Sophomore season Hinrich ran the show, starting all 33 games he played in and more then doubling his ppg average from 5.5 - 11.5 shooting an impressive .500 even from the field and an eye opening .505 from beyond the arc, which lead the conference that year. Again Kirk was named the recipient of the Clyde Lovellette Most Improved Player of the Year and averaged 6.9 assists a game. During his junior and senior years as a Kansas Jayhawk, Kirk steadily improved his game, bringing his scoring up from 11.5 to 17.3 by the end of his senior year. While ranked second on the team in assists (5.0 apg) and minutes played (30.9) in his junior year, Hinrich scored a career high with 29 points and hit seven threes against Missouri during his senior season. While Hinrich is a general leading his troops to battle on offense and poses a blinding driving ability to the basket, his defensive ability is something not to be overlooked. Being named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team his senior year, the small 6'3 point guard managed to get in 4 boards, 2 steals and just under 1 block a game during his senior season. Growing up with "The Cleavers" type family consisting of his mother Nancy, father Jim, and older sister Jill, Kirk was never one that needed to be explained to stay away from the bad things that can lure a young man growing up in this game of life. ?We?re really proud of Kirk,? Nancy Hinrich says with a loving smile. ?He?s a nice young man. He was easy to raise, and it?s still easy to be his mom.? Kirk has been a striving competitor since he was first introduced to the world of sports. Whether it be shagging fly balls for baseball practice or running hoop drills until dusk on the court. Competitiveness is something that most parents wish for their children to acquire, with Kirk, it was just there naturally. ?If it had to do with competition, he was really into it. If he had a Little League [baseball] game at 8:00 in the evening, he was ready to go to the field at 8:00 in the morning." says Kirk's father Jim. "He?d ask every two or three hours how much time we had before the start of the game." This coming October, Hinrich will take that hunger of competitiveness he so naturally holds to himself and seek the goal every young athlete dreams of having when stepping onto the court their first month of play, a successful NBA rookie start to the season. While Hinrich will just be an echo in the tunneling walls of what is the rookie season of high school phenom Lebron James, he aims to please no one but his teammates, his family and himself. It's questionable that Kirk Hinrich will be able to step into the Bulls roster and fill the void of Jay Williams, who found himself at the unfortunate end of a devastating motorcycle accident this off-season, but he will need every bit of talent he acquires to do so. While some think that it?s a possibility, others think, it?s a probability. Only one question remains in the next few weeks before we see Kirk Hinrich's debut to the NBA league.....will the hair be cut? Until next time -James Reman jamesreman@hotmail.com
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting warez_333:</div><div class="quote_post">"The Kansas Kid" by James Reman Growing up as a coach?s son it's easy to believe that Kirk Hinrich was destined to lead a team on the hardwood floors of the NBA. With his father being the coach of Kirk's high school team, his father was always there with tips and strategies to better Kirk's knowledge of basketball. Kirk of course being the ideal "coach?s son" took his fathers advice to heart and used it both on and off the court to make him the respectable young man he is today, both inside the game of basketball and out. Hinrich has shown that he is a proven winner on the court when it comes to the game, leading his Kansas Jayhawks team to two consecutive Final Four appearances and one national championship game during his junior and senior seasons. He has become one of the elite few players that decided to hang around college for the full four year term instead of darting to the NBA in search of stardom and a bigger pay salary then $5 a week soda money. There are very few, if any, that can frown upon Hinrich's decision to stay in college instead of making the leap after his junior year. The Sioux City, Iowa born 22 year old has done nothing but polish his game every year at Kansas University. When leaving his high school team, where his father was coach and he lead the way to a state championship title, Kirk stepped into a new role, where he wasn't the star player and needed much to remember those coaching tips passed down with a fatherly gesture. After his freshman season, in which he took home the Clyde Lovellette Most Improved Player award and dished out an impressive single season 123 assists which was fourth most ever by a Kansas freshman, Kirk took very little time to prove he could still be considered a 'go-to' guy and a leader on the court. In his Sophomore season Hinrich ran the show, starting all 33 games he played in and more then doubling his ppg average from 5.5 - 11.5 shooting an impressive .500 even from the field and an eye opening .505 from beyond the arc, which lead the conference that year. Again Kirk was named the recipient of the Clyde Lovellette Most Improved Player of the Year and averaged 6.9 assists a game. During his junior and senior years as a Kansas Jayhawk, Kirk steadily improved his game, bringing his scoring up from 11.5 to 17.3 by the end of his senior year. While ranked second on the team in assists (5.0 apg) and minutes played (30.9) in his junior year, Hinrich scored a career high with 29 points and hit seven threes against Missouri during his senior season. While Hinrich is a general leading his troops to battle on offense and poses a blinding driving ability to the basket, his defensive ability is something not to be overlooked. Being named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team his senior year, the small 6'3 point guard managed to get in 4 boards, 2 steals and just under 1 block a game during his senior season. Growing up with "The Cleavers" type family consisting of his mother Nancy, father Jim, and older sister Jill, Kirk was never one that needed to be explained to stay away from the bad things that can lure a young man growing up in this game of life. ?We?re really proud of Kirk,? Nancy Hinrich says with a loving smile. ?He?s a nice young man. He was easy to raise, and it?s still easy to be his mom.? Kirk has been a striving competitor since he was first introduced to the world of sports. Whether it be shagging fly balls for baseball practice or running hoop drills until dusk on the court. Competitiveness is something that most parents wish for their children to acquire, with Kirk, it was just there naturally. ?If it had to do with competition, he was really into it. If he had a Little League [baseball] game at 8:00 in the evening, he was ready to go to the field at 8:00 in the morning." says Kirk's father Jim. "He?d ask every two or three hours how much time we had before the start of the game." This coming October, Hinrich will take that hunger of competitiveness he so naturally holds to himself and seek the goal every young athlete dreams of having when stepping onto the court their first month of play, a successful NBA rookie start to the season. While Hinrich will just be an echo in the tunneling walls of what is the rookie season of high school phenom Lebron James, he aims to please no one but his teammates, his family and himself. It's questionable that Kirk Hinrich will be able to step into the Bulls roster and fill the void of Jay Williams, who found himself at the unfortunate end of a devastating motorcycle accident this off-season, but he will need every bit of talent he acquires to do so. While some think that it?s a possibility, others think, it?s a probability. Only one question remains in the next few weeks before we see Kirk Hinrich's debut to the NBA league.....will the hair be cut? Until next time -James Reman jamesreman@hotmail.com</div> The drafting of Hinrich better not mean they will not resign STAR Jamal Crawford.
No it just means that the Bulls drafted another smart, young, talented, player. This is not a time to be petty or picky as a Bulls fan. Team first!
