Department of Defense

The NBA, despite some reports to the contrary, is a scorer’s league.

Scoring is why Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady have the big shoe contracts, why Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal are considered the most important parts of the Lakers’ championship teams and why No. 23 has a statue of himself outside of the United Center.

Defense? Well, it does have its place in the league, with players like Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo making their names on that end of the floor, but in order to get a lot of attention in the NBA, you’ve got to put up a lot of crooked numbers on the offensive end.

But despite a lack of public recognition, a solid defensive player is invaluable to a team, which is why the Bulls, to a man, recognize the contributions of shooting guard Trenton Hassell.

Hassell, a 6’5”, 200-pounder in his second season out of Austin Peay, has earned himself a prominent roster spot thanks to his hard work on the defensive end of the floor, where he usually draws the opponent’s top threat.

“That’s why he’s here,” says Head Coach Bill Cartwright. “He has that ability— as well as the willingness— to leave everything on the floor at the defensive end. Sometimes he gives so much effort on that end he doesn’t have anything left to give on the offensive side.

Nearly every night, Hassell deals with the opposing team’s top offensive threat. One evening he’s guarding Pacers All-Star Reggie Miller…

“The thing about being a team is that everybody has to play a role in order for the team to be successful,” team captain Jalen Rose adds. “And the role that Trenton plays is definitely one that we need. He’s the guy that draws the toughest defensive assignments. He’s the guy that’s willing to sacrifice his game for the betterment of the team in that he lets other guys like me have success. He’s definitely a big part of our team, and we really need his contribution if we’re going someday win.”

Hassell doesn’t get the headlines that many of his teammates do, but he doesn’t mind a bit.

“I get a little bit [of media attention] every now and then,” he says sheepishly. “Not much, but I like it that way. Jalen [Rose], Jay [Williams], Eddy [Curry] and Tyson [Chandler], that’s who the franchise is built around; those are the guys that people love. They’re the media darlings. I understand that. I’m not one of the players that’s all that advertisable because I don’t do anything spectacular. I just go to work every day.”

Hassell has been a hard worker for a while now, but he really felt the need to turn it up on the defensive end when he fell to the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft. After a solid college career with the Governors in which he was a three-time first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference pick, Hassell was a borderline first round selection.

The Bulls didn’t expect him to be available when it was their turn to choose with the 30th overall pick, but when he was, Chicago didn’t hesitate to pounce.

“I knew I had first round capability, but being from a small school and nobody really knowing much about me, I knew going in the second round was more likely,” Hassell says. “For the [pre-Draft] workouts, you mainly just visit a team; throw up a few jumpers and talk. I seem to play better in game situations. So I when I didn’t show very well, I knew I was most likely going to go in the second round.”

Of course, dropping into the second round also meant no guaranteed contract and no guaranteed space on the roster. For Hassell, a guy who was used to being the big fish in a little pond, the move to the pros forced him to move to a new mindset.

… while when the Raptors visit town, he guards superstar Vince Carter…

Hassell has proven himself to the Bulls coaching staff, earning 100 starts among his 160 appearances. He's had some decent offensive showings too, finishing his first season with an 8.7 ppg average and tying Ron Artest’s team record of 50 three-pointers by a rookie and finishing this year with a 4.2 ppg average.

But it was his play on the defensive end that made him often stand out, even if the national media didn’t notice. Hassell, despite ranking 10th among all rookies in scoring, 13th in steals and third in three-point shooting, somehow was left off the league’s two All-Rookie squads. Once again, he wasn’t worried about his lack of recognition.

“Sometimes that’s the way it goes because a lot of people don’t know about me,” Hassell explains. “And the way the team was going, maybe that had something to do with it too, but I don’t really know and I can’t really get caught up it because that’s just one honor. The main thing is for us to improve as a team and one day get to a championship level.”

Hassell’s play last season didn’t show a rookie’s game. Instead, he went out and matched up with anyone the coaches told him to, even if they had great scoring credentials.

“Last year, when he got inserted into the starting lineup, he wasn’t intimidated,” guard Fred Hoiberg says. “He went out there in I think his first game, and guarded [Latrell] Sprewell for about 35 minutes and did a great job of shutting him down. He’s got to be on every night. He gets Paul Pierce one night, then Kobe Bryant the next, then Tracy McGrady. They just keep coming. He’s guarding the best athletes in the world, night in and night out. It takes a special person to do that.”

… and when the Bulls take on Boston, he’s defending either Antoine Walker (above) or Paul Pierce.

So how does he get ready to tip-off with the league’s greatest players, night in and night out?

“For one thing, you watch them on TV whenever you can,” Hassell says. “[At home] I have the NBA League Pass, so I like to watch certain players and see what they do. [Assistant Coach] Pete [Myers] helps a lot too. I talk to him about [players] all the time. Every game, we’ve got a different strategy on guarding certain people. I try to stay within that strategy, but you also need to know if a guy likes to go left or likes to use pump fakes, or whatever. You’ve got to know all that stuff in order to be a good defensive player. I’m not a great one, but I always try to give effort.

“I don’t have fun doing it. It’s just something that I’ve got to do. I take pride in [playing defense] because I don’t ever want to be embarrassed. I know I’m guarding the best, and it’s being writing about in the newspaper or it’s on SportsCenter, especially when a guy scores 40 [points], and everyone knows that he was my man. You’ve got to have pride and the toughness to go out and do it night in and night out, knowing that you’re not going to get a shot up sometimes or even touch the ball [on offense]. You’ve got to understand your role and try to help the team. Defense is my role right now.”

So what about adding some scoring to his game? After all, Hassell was no slouch in that department at Austin Peay, averaging 19.4 points over his career, including a 21.7 ppg average as a junior. For all the work he does on the defensive end, you’d think he would have earned a few more shots from Coach Cartwright, right?

“Not right now,” Hassell says emphatically, cutting off any talk of a desired increase in his offensive role. “I believe I can be a decent scorer in this league if I was put in that situation, but that’s not my job right now. We’ve got great scorers on our team in Jalen [Rose], Donyell [Marshall], Jay Williams.… Jamal [Crawford] can score too, and we’ve got Eddy [Curry] and Tyson [Chandler], so I know I’m not the number one option. I’m cool with that as long as we continue to improve and get better. I know there are going to be certain situations where I might get a few touches, but right now I’m fine with what I’m getting.”

What the Bulls are getting is some of the better perimeter defense in the league. Hassell is starting to garner a reputation as a top defender, and he should only get more ink as the Bulls build on their win total.

For Hassell, there’s nothing to prove other than to himself and his teammates. And if you listen to his teammates, he’s already won them over.

“In this league, you’ve got guys who have strengths and weaknesses in their games, and his strength is being a good defender and accepting the challenge of shutting down a guy,” says Rose, who admits he makes sure he’s on Hassell’s team in practice in order to avoid his defense. “That’s the strength of Trenton’s game and that’s what we ask him to do. That’s what he’s willing to do, so it works out well for everybody involved.”

“I don’t know if I really have a defensive reputation around the league, but I have one with the Bulls as the best one on the team,” Hassell says. “I don’t know how much that carries across the league, but it really doesn’t matter to me as long as my team knows that I’m going to go out there every night and guard the best I can.”

- by Mark Rich