ROCKETS.COM BLOG SQUAD

Dennis Lindsey
Rockets Vice President of Basketball Operations/Player Personnel

-I’m very proud to be a Rocket and to work here on a day-to-day basis for a team that I grew up with. Rudy, Calvin (Murphy), Hakeem, and Clyde, were why I started playing basketball. The day that I leave this job, I’ll always be a Rocket.

4.11.06

2006 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament

We are currently at the historic PIT showcase for college seniors in Portsmouth, Virginia. The tournament has been held now for over 30 years for players who have completed their college eligibility. Some NBA greats such as John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, and Charles Oakley among others have played in this tournament. The quality of talent of the PIT event has changed in the past 15 years with early entry players not invited, and the better seniors skipping all pre-draft play based upon agent advice. Now one of the major themes of the PIT Camp is who is not playing as much as who is participating at this tournament.

Even with the changes in the PIT event, there are many examples of players who have played who have gone on to have significant NBA careers, and in my opinion that will continue. Cuttino Mobley is the Rockets’ best example in the last few years of why it is important to scout the PIT. I had Cuttino as a first-round pick on my board going into the tournament, and Brent Johnson, one of our personnel scouts, was high on Mobley as well. So we had Carroll [Dawson] focus on him specifically. The bad news for Cuttino was that he played just average at the PIT, and his team was eliminated in the first two games of the tournament. Fortunately, we did not overreact to just two games, and we came to the conclusion that he would be a great pick for us if available. That was my second year with the Rockets, and it was the first time I felt like I made a significant contribution to the cause. Cuttino has been important to us in many ways since his acquisition allowed us to parlay Michael Dickerson into Steve Francis, and later Steve and Cat into Tracy McGrady. On a personal level, Cuttino remains one of our favorite players with his energetic personality and for his natural love of basketball.

Chuck Hayes is the latest example of the PIT working to provide the NBA with good, solid role players. We, like every other team in the NBA, had Chuck way down the priority list when we worked our draft rankings in April. Dean Cooper is a big proponent of overall team winning percentage for all draft prospects, and Chuck Hayes led all prospects in that one measure; we took note, but no question in hindsight we underestimated Chuck’s positive impact on the scoreboard when he plays. Chuck went on to become MVP of the PIT, leading his team to the championship of the tournament. It was then that we decided that we should bring him in for an individual workout. Measuring at 6-6 is typically a kiss of death for a power forward that has NBA aspirations (outside of Charles Barkley) if you study the history of the NBA, but looking back Chuck had some unique qualities that have allowed him to overcome his height at this stage of his young career. Chuck has what we call a “unique combination” of traits – he is very strong, fast, quick, has great hands, possess elite toughness, and he is a player who is both instinctive and smart. With all that information we still did not see him as draft-able since only one other team brought him in for a workout. Hayes then went on to play well at the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp, and would you believe his team went on to be undefeated? We brought Chuck in for a second workout thinking that he would provide good competition for other “priority big men;” needless to say, he did very well again. We then decided Chuck would be a good rookie free agent since we felt like he was going to be un-drafted; so we decided to bring him to summer league and possibly Veteran’s Camp since he is smart and competitive. He helped our summer league entry go undefeated, and we brought him to Veteran’s Camp in October. He stood out during the camp and in short minutes he received in preseason games.

Protrade.com did some interesting statistical work on this year’s NBA Rookies using different measures, and minute per ratios; currently both of our rookies (Head & Hayes) rank high in Protrade’s overall rookie evaluations. In addition, Chuck has our third best plus/minus score output for our team behind Tracy and Yao. Lastly, for you John Hollinger/PER (Player Efficiency Rating) fans, Chuck has hovered around 17.00, which is a very solid PER for most players, and an especially good number for a rookie power forward. Remember that Chuck has a relatively small number of minutes played, so one has to be cautious about future predictions/forecasts, but certainly Chuck’s early returns on our investment in scouting him have been solid.

These are some of the reasons why we see the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament as an important scouting event going forward. We are not going to be able to pull players out of the PIT event year in and year out; because the probability numbers in studying the past success rates at the PIT do not support it, which is similar in results to other single scouting events. Rather, if we can use the PIT as one measure in a prospect’s body of work it can become an invaluable event to help mine some good prospects from the rest of the pack. Looking toward the future, if the PIT can just eliminate players for us, and occasionally expose us to a player that we have not seen much to date, the event will justify the time and money spent to cover it by our organization.

Dennis Lindsey

3.01.06

The following submission is from Sam Hinkie. Sam has joined us this year in basketball operations. Sam has significant experience in managerial positions, and we are glad to have his expertise in our organization. He has already made important contributions in how we run our basketball operations day to day. I have learned many things from Leslie, Rudy, Carroll, and Jeff, but one thing that each guy has been consistent on is that you have to have a good idea on how to improve your operation/product and that you should embrace change and look forward to it. Sam has not been on the job long, but he has brought some good concepts that we have adopted, and it has helped us become a more efficient department.

Like each person Leslie, Carroll, and Jeff have hired in Basketball Operations for the Houston Rockets, Sam has a passion for basketball and competition. Jeff Van Gundy competes hard at his job every day, and it has been my goal to match his level of intensity and focus on our end of the business, which may sound silly because we as a management team do not get on the court on a nightly basis. However, many times a front office is just like a basketball team in terms of complementing skills and characteristics, and Sam has been a good complement to our current staff. It is people like him that can help us move forward in the highly competitive world of professional basketball.

Dennis Lindsey

Sam Hinkie

Special Assistant to the General Manager

-Sam advises the General Manager on player personnel moves including the draft, free agency and trades while managing the Rockets’ salary cap. Sam evaluates personnel through both scouting and statistical analysis. Sam’s experience outside the NBA includes strategy consulting, venture capital, and the National Football League.

Dennis Lindsey is leading our blogging efforts this season, but he asked many of us to chip in with a few brief entries. I have been asked to write about my experiences outside of basketball and how those lessons are useful for us as basketball decision makers. Below are a few principles that apply to our basketball operations.

Long-term planning is critical. Any business requires planning to be able to correctly allocate resources, and our basketball team is no different. In fact, the Salary Cap only magnifies the importance of planning. The Salary Cap limits a team’s options when signing players—but we still have options. Overaggressive spending can be painful for us just as it is for you at home. You can use your credit cards to effectively borrow from the future and receive the benefits today. Unfortunately, that credit card bill eventually comes due. In some ways, teams can do the same. Just like you and your credit card debt, teams have to be careful not to overindulge. In the NFL, a team can exceed the Salary Cap by using large signing bonuses. If the player’s career with the team is cut short…the “bill” comes due, their Salary Cap takes a hit, which then limits the number of players they can sign. In the NBA, our player contracts are often guaranteed. If a team is so desperate to sign a player for this year that they give him a 5-year deal—yet he’s only effective for 3 more years—then the “bill” comes due. Our flexibility is limited in those last 2 years because some of our Cap is tied up in a player who may not be helping the team. In our business, mistakes have long tails; they often don’t appear until a few years down the road.

You have to find the right mix. Like other businesses, it’s important for us to strike the balance between assets that will appreciate over time and those assets that are on the decline. The NBA is a talent-driven league, and our core assets are some of the world’s greatest athletes—our players. When we screen, select, recruit, and sign players we are always mindful of the player’s contributions both today and tomorrow (this season and future seasons). In an effort to predict how a player will impact our team, we try to bring as much data to bear on that decision as we can. What are the best indicators of a player’s future performance? Should we expect this player to get better or worse? How can we measure a player’s true impact?

As an example, before actuarial tables were invented, few people would have believed a few simple questions to be so useful. Today, no life insurance company will even give you a quote until you answer the basics: What is your date of birth? What is your height and weight? Do you smoke? Are these simple questions foolproof? No, they are only indicators. Do these answers allow the insurance company to take better risks? Definitely.

Once you have the information, listen to your gut. While our basketball staff scours the globe to try to find all the information we can on the next great player, that information won’t lead us to the right player. In fact, many of the most important questions are impossible to quantify. What is the player’s character? How will he fit into our system/style of play? How will he impact our other players on the practice floor? In the locker room? Judgment rules the day when attempting to decide on not one of these questions, but all of them. An interesting book by Malcolm Gladwell entitled Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking discusses just how important—and complex—judgment can be. That feeling in your gut is often right because it’s really just your brain’s way of pushing the most relevant info through a screen you developed from your own experiences. Accordingly, we try to be conscious of the fact that our analysis needs to be balanced with our intuition.

2.01.06

The following Blog comes to us from Gianluca Pascucci. Gianluca is a valued member of our basketball operations department, who has been with us since the Yao Ming draft in 2002. Gianluca currently is an international scouting consultant for us who spearheads our European Scouting. He has a tireless work ethic and is very detailed in his preparations for his job. International travel can be very difficult, especially when you have multiple deadlines to make (games, practices, meetings, etc.); Gianluca coordinates all of our travel when Dean Cooper, Carroll Dawson, and I get to Europe. It is amazing how few problems we have had in our travels, which allows us to do our job better. A large measure of the credit is due to Gianluca’s effort.

Many times in scouting when a team has a person scouting a region/area, that scout can develop a regional bias toward players in his area. Much of this is due to that scout wanting "his players” to be procured in some way, which as you can imagine is human nature. The problem is that practice is myopic, and can lead to poor decisions for an organization, so we take measures to prevent that dangerous practice from occurring. One of the many things I have grown to appreciate about Gianluca is that I have never felt any "regional bias” from him, and he works very hard at evaluating all the prospects, even the players he does not get to see live.

Dennis Lindsey

One of funniest things while surfing the web is reading Blogs on basketball or on whatever else, so when I was asked to write my own Blog for the Rockets website, I felt really, really excited. So, here I am and let me experience my first Blog and hopefully you will enjoy it.

First of all, let me introduce myself – my name is Gianluca Pascucci. I’m from Italy, and my responsibility inside the organization is to provide international scouting and to assist Coach Van Gundy, Carroll Dawson and Dennis Lindsey in every facet of international basketball. I’m from Pesaro, a small town on the Italian coast known along Europe for its basketball team (Scavolini Pesaro), and that’s why and when I started getting involved with basketball, initially coaching the young kids and eventually becoming assistant coach of the Professional team in the Italian Division I. During one of my scouting trips for Scavolini, I got to know Dennis Lindsey and [former Rockets scout] Joe Ash, and after a while I was asked to join the organization in the International Department. You cannot imagine how I felt at that time and still now, very fortunate to be part of such a historic and prestigious organization.

My role inside the Scouting Department is to cover the international scenes obviously, focusing in Europe. We know that the game of basketball has grown everywhere in the world, and we all know that good basketball players can be born not only in the USA but also in Europe, Brazil, China (well … we know this!), so it’s very important for NBA teams to not miss anybody. I basically travel in every European country and also outside Europe to see games of youngsters who are NBA Draft prospects or free agents for the summer market. One of my other responsibilities is also to assist Rockets staff (mainly Carroll Dawson, Dennis Lindsey and Dean Cooper) when they come over on scouting trips. I take care of their travel itineraries, hotels, flights, and credentials, and I can guarantee you that travelling in Europe is not as easy as in the USA, because you will jump from country to country always finding different cultures, languages, rules, etc.

The International basketball season is basically divided into two different segments: the first one takes place during winter and spring months and the second one only during the summer. The first segment features competitions for club teams, and you will be able to see those teams playing during the weekend in their respective country leagues (for example, all the Italian Club Teams in Italy, all the Spanish ones in Spain and so on) while the best teams of each country will battle each other during the weekdays in competitions called Euroleague and ULEB Cup. The Euroleague winner is decided usually in late April/early May of every year with a NCAA-style Final Four, and the team that will emerge with the trophy is the European Champion.

In Europe the season is longer than in the NBA with most teams having training camp in August and with the best club teams finishing playing for the Local Championship in early June. The best teams playing in both competitions can collect 80-90 games a season.

The second segment of the European schedule features competitions for National Teams such as the European Championship for senior players that took place this past September in Belgrade ( Serbia and Montenegro). Greece won it all, and our Vassilis Spanoulis was one of the players to celebrate the second win in Greece history. But the summer is also very important to scout young players since there are always European Championships for U20, U18 and U16. These are key events to see the new generations with the chance to scout a lot of players playing in the same arena for several days.

Finally, and briefly, let me say hello to our players currently in Europe: Vassilis Spanoulis playing for powerhouse Panathinaikos Athens and Malick Badiane playing for Skyliners Frankfurt.

1.03.06

The following Blog was written by Gersson Rosas. Gersson is a personnel scout in our basketball operations department; he is a valued member of our organization due to his hard work, loyalty, and versatility. When we hired Gersson we needed to improve our department on several different fronts: 1) We needed someone with a South American background (Gersson was born in Colombia, South America), 2) We wanted someone who had experience with video editing (Gersson had been a video coordinator for men’s basketball at the University of Houston), 3) We like to hire scouts with previous coaching experience, which helps with a transition to full time scouting (Gersson has coached at the high school and college levels in addition to his individual work with professional players). Gersson, who was raised in Houston, has a passion for basketball and especially for the Houston Rockets since this is his home team. As a young scout, Gersson is already a respected member of the NBA scouting community, and we think he has a bright future in the league.

Dennis Lindsey

The game of basketball has tremendously developed throughout the world, and the Olympics of 2004 were a perfect example of that. Argentina’s Olympic championship let the world know that basketball in Latin America is alive and thriving. This was an exciting accomplishment, not only for Argentina and Latin America, but also for basketball as a whole. Over the past two decades Latin America has gradually left an imprint on the NBA and basketball in general. Argentinean Manu Ginobili followed up his Olympic gold by leading the San Antonio Spurs to a victory over the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals, thus becoming an NBA champion. Going into this season there will be 16 players from Latin America playing in the NBA. (Argentina = 5, Belize = 1, Brazil = 5, Dominican Republic = 1, Mexico = 1, Puerto Rico = 2, Uruguay = 1) A majority of Latin American countries have followed the lead of Argentina, Brazil and Puerto Rico and produced solid basketball federations with the focus on fundamental skill development in structured basketball environments. Argentina’s rise to basketball power has given life to Latin American basketball, as now these countries have a desire to compete on an international stage. A region that has been dominated by its fascination for soccer has suddenly become a hotbed for hoops and the next basketball frontier.

As a native of Colombia, South America, I utilized my culture and ability to speak Spanish to develop a background in Latin American basketball through various means. Growing up in Houston, I was fortunate to have been exposed to some good University of Houston teams during the 1980’s that consisted of a number of players from Latin American countries, including Brazil (Rolando Ferreira), Colombia (Alvaro Teheran, Rafael Carrasco, Angel Sanz) and Venezuela (Carl Herrera, David Diaz), which piqued my interest regarding the impact of Latin American basketball players in the United States. Throughout college, I partnered with various sports agents on projects that consisted of placing undrafted or free agent players in South American professional leagues. In addition, some of my other responsibilities with these projects included individual basketball development, draft preparation and player relations. These experiences were beneficial, as I was able to build up deliberate relationships with basketball personnel throughout Latin America, which in turn led to more opportunities. One of which was working with Oscar Torres of Venezuela during his tenure with the Houston Rockets, on a wide range of tasks that included everything from individual basketball workouts to English classes. As a result of this experience, I assisted the Venezuelan basketball federation, which Torres was a member of, at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.

My experiences and background in Latin American basketball has granted me the opportunity to become a scout/video coordinator for the Houston Rockets. As a result, one of my primary responsibilities is Latin American scouting, which has been an exciting endeavor. One of our first initiatives was to execute a thorough campaign targeting all Latin American federations, pro leagues and teams in order to develop fundamental relationships with credible and knowledgeable basketball personnel. We have also established a presence in Latin American basketball, by our live scouting efforts and active involvement in programs like the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders Americas, FIBA competitions and professional league play. Our personnel video department is one of our strongest advantages, as we place a major emphasis on international game footage to identify and analyze future professional prospects. Latin America is in an exciting stage of its basketball progression and we are keeping pace through our concentrated efforts throughout all of Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

The Houston Rockets are a basketball organization that prides itself on a rich international history and appreciates diversity in the game of basketball. From Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) to Carlos Herrera (Venezuela) to Yao Ming (China), our team has had a definite international flair. The organization’s global focus has resulted in a thorough player personnel system that encompasses international scouting, strategic relationships with international federations/professional leagues/international teams, involvement in NBA/FIBA international events and intense game film evaluation. We have found that not only is it important to identify international prospects, but it is extremely vital to track and obtain comprehensive information regarding those prospects from trusted sources, in order to make an informed decision. We make sure as a whole that we operate in a professional and positive manner with Latin American basketball organizations, in order to uphold the strong international reputation that the Houston Rockets have long been known for.

12.01.05

Dean Cooper wrote the following blog that will give you some thumbnail information on how we cover the NBA Draft. Dean started with us as a scout, and then after the first two years with the Rockets became an assistant coach. After Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down as our head coach due to health concerns, Dean joined us again in the personnel department; his last two years with the Rockets has been as Director of Scouting.

Dean has gained a reputation around the NBA as a hard working and organized person who can work effectively with many types of people. The NBA rewarded him for his hard work this past summer when Dean directed the Basketball Without Borders, China Basketball Camp. He was in charge of setting up the basketball portion of the camp, which included the practice schedule, playing schedule, draft of players, and the coordination of the coaches.

Dean sets our scouting schedule for each scout on the road; he does a great job of prioritizing which prospects are most important for us to see, which dictates our schedules as we go forward into our scouting seasons. We are fortunate to have Dean for several reasons: 1) He has a passion and loyalty for the Rockets, 2) he has developed good contacts at all levels (college, minor leagues, internationally, and NBA), 3) his coaching background gives him a solid point of view on what a coach is looking for in a player, 4) he loves studying basketball in various ways, and 5) he also enjoys to travel, which is a main function of the job.

Dennis Lindsey

The EVOLUTION/CHANGING of the NBA Draft has changed the method(s) we use to prepare, year to year. In fact, we have an additional ruling. I am referring to the "…19 years old and 1 year out of High School…” rule.

First, with the number of "EARLY ENTRIES” (players not 4-year college seniors or born in the 22nd year prior to draft year; these players automatically become eligible) we must assume that all players will "declare” for the NBA Draft. We will begin to compile our data and analysis of players as quickly as they become "blips” on our radar screen. The more information over a given period of time…the better and more informed judgment and decision we will be able to make.

The "candidate pool” itself has grown over the past several seasons. Our game has become very global and the NBA is the place that the vast majority of the basketball population aspires to play. The insurgence of international players has widened the scope of candidates. There has been and will continue to be players from all parts of the globe making the migration to our league…we must have those players evaluated fairly, thoroughly and most importantly, accurately. As this expansion of our game takes place…we must extend and develop our contact list around the globe.

Some of the methods that we use on a day-to-day basis have changed slightly but remain the core functions of our duties and source of evaluation. They include:

1) In Person Evaluation: We must see a prospect live so that we are able to assess true size, speed, quickness, strength, etc. Also, when we evaluate a player in person, we are able to see aspects that tape evaluation does not allow. For instance, how a player acts/reacts in the huddle during timeouts, with teammates…and so on.

2) Tape Evaluation: Using video tape allows us to further evaluate a player’s game and his playing tendencies. We are able to have more "mass” production of evaluation. We are able to stop and start the tape so that we can be more critical of their individual playing habits.

3) Statistical Evaluation: The study of a player’s statistics allows us to see how he does the things that appear "within the game.” Also, it allows us to compare, contrast and average players across a timeline, with other players of similar positions, age, size, body type, style of game, etc.

4) Background Evaluation: We must look into the playing habits, personnel habits and social habits of our candidate pool. How a player is with his teammates, what he does off the court, etc., is vital information. Locker-room chemistry is a very important piece of the "winning” puzzle.

The use of each method listed above is vital. We use each of these methods and measurements in different settings. We believe that we should evaluate players in as many different situations as possible. See a player with his college team, all-star teams, USA teams, pick-up games, etc. As each team changes for a player, often their role changes as well. This allows us to see players in different environments, playing styles, coaching styles and the like.

These are some of the staples and changes that go into our scouting process. We like to think that we try to learn and improve each season. Like the team itself, we are always looking to upgrade and keep competitive in our process. There are many ways to accomplish success in this league…we feel that these things have worked well for us and provide a solid foundation for helping us move forward, alongside, an "ever changing” NBA.

11.02.05

It has only taken my 2nd blog to get on one of my "soapbox” basketball issues. After going thru several basketball topics on my mind, I want to give basketball fans something to think about regarding the State of Texas, and it’s men’s basketball past, present, and future. Texas has been underappreciated as a strong basketball hotbed for as long as I can remember in my 36 years. I do have to admit a couple of things before going forward with my points:

1) I am a proud Texan, born and raised with all the positive and negative attributes
2) Ever since middle school (when I first fell in love with hoops), I quickly realized this is a football state, and other sport athletes are treated as 2nd class citizens (e.g., I have been locked out of many gyms due to football coaches)
3) Due to my realization I have a "basketball chip” on my shoulder
4) I married into a "football family” on my own doing; and am treated with the status of a house pet with an affectionate name to go with it…”the thump-baller”
5) I have a fondness for Texas basketball people, and especially Houston-area born and/or raised basketball players, coaches, media, and fans
6) I love to needle my East Coast Basketball friends about the merits of Texas basketball at all levels

Joe Ash, a former scout of ours, who now works for the Indiana Pacers in management, and I would debate which of our home states had the better men players. Joe is from New Jersey, so I would go straight for the jugular with a line-up such as Slater Martin, Clyde Drexler, Larry Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon (yes, he is a Texan, under the Raised a Texan Rule), and Shaq O’Neal. Not a bad line-up, I did not hit him bench (Ford, Rodman, Lewis, Mason, Sharman, etc.) because he would have been overwhelmed. With that he would just mumble something about Rick Barry, but I digress.

When Andy Katz of ESPN did an excellent article on Texas Schoolboy basketball several years ago, which hit on the importance of recruiting Texas well by the top basketball universities in the country, I got a little photocopy-happy and several of my east coast basketball associates got the articles in their lockers and offices (not to name the names, but Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau, and Steve Clifford were exposed to my propaganda). Since Patrick Ewing crushed my teenage years with him leading Georgetown over University of Houston in the 1984 NCAA Championship Men’s Game, he got a few extra copies and a big fat picture in our player’s lounge of Olajuwon scoring over him in the 1994 NBA Finals!! That should be a lesson to him, "he who laughs last, laughs best.”

On a more serious note, I have been to several men’s high school state championships all over the country as a player, coach, and scout. I may be biased, but the State of Texas with its fan support, facilities, coaches, and players are right at the top of the list. For example, many people do not realize it, but Texas has the nation’s all time leader in basketball coaching victories in Robert Hughes of Fort Worth Dunbar High School. He has not only been a leader of the basketball team, but in the community of Fort Worth as well.

As a player, coach, and scout I have crossed paths with some great basketball men in Texas, who have chosen in my opinion a very noble profession of middle school or high school basketball coach, because they love the game, and to teach young men. Men like Jack Kern and Bob Cook, both of whom who taught us basketball, and who were like second fathers to me, and my teammates at the time. Also, like the "basketball” State of Indiana, Texas has storied programs such as FW Dunbar, Troup, Buna, Clear Lake, Duncanville, and Willowridge of Fort Bend. I have left out many historic programs as you can imagine, but also with the population growth in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio, there are also several new schools that are emerging basketball powerhouses with fine young coaches.

As I travel around the world scouting basketball players, a couple of common denominators stand out inside certain areas of "basketball infrastructure”: 1) facilities, 2) media coverage/exposure, 3) summer playing opportunities, 4) coaching at each level (middle school, high school, junior college, university programs, and on the international front there are club level programs). Most good basketball regions have most, if not all, of these basketball building blocks to help develop the basketball players from immediate areas. The regions and countries that do not have the proper basketball support systems often see their own talented players die on the vine, or never fully develop their full potential. It happens in many places and it is sad to witness.

Texas is a leader in the facilities front – the finest high school gyms I have been in are in Texas. As I already stated, the middle school and high school coaches are some of the best in the country. Also, Texas has some of the greatest junior college coaches in the country in Scott Gernander of San Jacinto in Pasadena, and last year’s men’s national champion Bill Foy of Paris Junior College among others. Texas also has past college coaching legends such as Guy V. Lewis, Abe Lemons, and Don Haskins. Currently, Bobby Knight, Billy Tubbs, Tom Penders, and Rick Barnes all have great accomplishments as men’s collegiate coaches in the State of Texas. In addition, the State of Texas also has a good share of young rising coaches such as Billy Gillispie, Scott Drew, Doc Sadler, Willis Wilson, Danny Kaspar and Ron Cottrell, to name a few. Lastly, nobody has done a better job in the country with fewer resources than Bob Marlin of Sam Houston State, who has turned around the Bearkat Basketball Program that never had a winning season in Division I basketball before he got to the school. All of these coaches and many others have helped develop the basketball talent in this region. I would need 10 pages to list all the great basketball players developed by junior colleges, colleges, and universities in the State of Texas.

A couple of factors have set men’s basketball back in Texas in my opinion over the years. One of the largest obstacles was the UIL of Texas, which governs high school athletics in Texas. For many years the UIL did not allow or severely limited summer basketball opportunities for basketball players in the state during the 1970s and 1980s. Greg Kite, from Memorial High School, first brought national attention to this by suing the UIL so he could play in the summer, which was one of the first steps to lifting these restrictions. When I played for the Houston BCI Summer League in 1986 for Jack Thompson, we were strictly limited by the number of games we could play, but it was this little bit of exposure for me and countless other players that allowed us to get to colleges and universities. Since the late 1980s restrictions on summer play have been lifted, and Texas high school basketball has been a hotbed for basketball recruiting at all levels and luckily has caught up with the top states in the country in developing basketball talent. Also, for many years men’s basketball in my state has been underexposed for various reasons at every level, but thankfully the newspapers, radio stations, Internet, and television outlets have caught on to the basketball quality, and the interest level has risen over the last decade. We have some talented and entertaining local journalists who have helped increase our exposure over the last 15 years, and we thank them for their work that helps keep us in business.

Now with the quality of players and coaches that the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Dallas Mavericks have, the State of Texas is poised to experience some great basketball over the next couple of years. The thing I find during the upswings of the basketball pendulum that players like Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Dirk Nowitzki create is that it reminds me of past greats such as Moses Malone, Calvin Murphy, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, George Gervin, David Robinson, Rolando Blackman, and Mark Aguirre. Those active players along with the leadership of current coaches, Jeff Van Gundy, Gregg Popovich, and Avery Johnson have the NBA section of Texas basketball poised to build on the past successes of Rudy Tomjanovich, Bill Fitch, Bob Bass, Doug Moe, Don Nelson, and Dick Motta.

09.06.05

Welcome to my first blog for the 2005-2006 season. We will be writing on several basketball topics - most of our topics will be closely related to the Rockets, but at times we may be blogging (not sure if that is a word yet) on basketball in general. My blog will at times have some guests writers, most of whom work for the Houston Rockets in various capacities in basketball operations. We look forward to sharing some of our thoughts on basketball as the season goes on, and we hope that you find the blog informative and enjoyable to read. We have pre-set some of our topics to start the blog, but we will also let the topics vary as the season and our work within basketball operations take shape.

Currently, we are in the middle of training camp, which is taking place in the beautiful Toyota Center. Carroll and I were talking yesterday about how great it is to come to work in such a great building. It gives us a great sense of pride to be working in a state of the art building that gives us a competitive advantage in several areas. Many things go into having a successful training camp; one of the most important of which is to give our coaches the right kind of players to move forward with in training camp, which is the springboard for the season. Obviously, teams like to have centerpiece players like Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, but you also want to surround them with players of the right complementary characteristics. Some traits we are looking for are basketball smarts; on-time, on-target passers; good shooting from 3-point range; toughness; and ability to move quickly on defense. We want players who are confident, but who are humble in accepting whatever role given to them. For example, one of our non-guaranteed contract players is Chuck Hayes. He is a player who has many of the listed traits above. It took four years of college scouting, a couple of pre-draft camps, several individual workouts, multiple mini-camps, and a summer league to identify him as being the right kind of player who can fit into our preseason program.

Each person in basketball operations performs key roles to make our training camp and preseason work as seamlessly as possible. Carroll and Jeff head the process and direction of the camp, but many people work behind the scenes to make the camp function effectively. For example, Jay Namoc is our equipment manger who is constantly meeting the needs of the trainers, coaches, and players. It is amazing to watch Jay and his staff meet the special needs of the players; each player has his own tastes regarding his shoes, shirts, socks, shorts, sweat bands, drinks, and training aids. On a continual basis Jay has to meet these needs on time with no excuses so the players can perform without distraction. Keith Jones, Missy Leget, Bill Amonette, and David Macha each perform very important roles in getting and keeping our players healthy, in shape, and strong. It takes a lot of coordination of Keith’s staff to make sure each player is getting the right type of athletic training and conditioning. Some players need to get healthy, others need to increase their strength, and many need to reduce body fat to compete effectively. Keith and his staff should be proud that our team is in great shape heading into the preseason. Coach Van Gundy had a great quote the other day to the media: "Your players being in shape before training camp starts will not guarantee success, but if they are not in shape it guarantees you will not have success.” So it goes without saying that when all the players are healthy and in shape Keith does not hear many "Good jobs,” but he and his staff get a lot of pressure and questions when Yao Ming goes into surgery and rehab on his ankle like he did this summer.

Due to time and space restraints, there are many things and people that I did not mention that go into having a productive training camp and preseason, but their efforts are no less appreciated. It is great to experience the teamwork to make a great training camp happen, so we can give you a great product to watch in the end. I was talking with Bobby Sura a couple of days ago about his surgery, rehab, and the state of the team. Many times players who are hurt can give interesting perspectives on what is happening because they are part of the team, but they cannot participate in the drills because they are hurt; therefore, they can observe what is happening. I don’t remember the exact statement, but he said that before he got with the Houston Rockets he had no idea how much it took to win. This is coming from a guy who has always prepared well, competed hard, and whose toughness is appreciated throughout the league even before he became a Rocket. I think what he was speaking to was the direction that Les, Jeff, Carroll, and George give us, but also the "little touches” of details that may give us an advantage on the court, and help build a team spirit as we move forward as One Team.