Pumped Up In Portland
By Paulie Knep
Love of Sports Correspondent
The NBA regular season is just weeks away, and fans in numerous cities are excited to see their team’s rookies in action.
Michael Beasley is expected to turn up the Heat in Miami. Memphis believes O.J. Mayo will add a little flavor to a dry Grizzlies squad. And fans in Minnesota hope all the Timberwolves need is Love; Kevin that is.
Still, no fan base is more pumped about their rookies than the city of Portland.
An NBA team is fortunate to add one potentially high impact rookie to its roster. The Trailblazers enter this season with three immensely talented ones: Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless, all of whom are ready to contribute immediately.
Oden’s the type of franchise center who comes along once every 10-15 years. The seven footer is the perfect fit for a Blazers team that includes several perimeter scorers, but lacked an imposing interior presence. He alters games defensively by blocking shots and controlling the boards, and he also has a nice touch around the basket which will be nearly impossible to stop once he refines his low post moves.
The big man’s career got off to a rocky start after Portland selected him first overall in the 2007 draft. He sat out all last season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee. Oden had also missed half of his lone season at Ohio State with a broken wrist, leading Portland fans to worry he may follow in the footsteps of injury-riddled big men Bill Walton and Sam Bowie.
Oden’s knee is reportedly fully recovered and he’s appeared healthy while logging substantial minutes in preseason games. If he can stay that way, the Blazers will be a perennial powerhouse in the Western Conference over the next decade. That would obviously make Portland fans very excited.
Oden will entertain the city of Portland off the court as well, with his wacky personality and dry sense of humor. Rather than providing cliché answers to questions from the media, he speaks his mind and often interjects comical, even nonsensical remarks. He may also show up for an interview sporting a mohawk, wearing oversized toy glasses or styling a bright orange pair of pants. For a true sense of the big fella’s playful nature, check out his karaoke performance of N’Sync’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.”
The Blazers also landed one of the best players in Europe last summer when they purchased the rights to Fernandez from Phoenix after the Suns selected him with the 24th pick in the 2007 draft. The 23-year-old played professionally in Spain for seven years and is ready to contribute in the NBA immediately. He provided Portland fans with a glimpse of his talent at the Beijing Games, when he more than held his own against some of the NBA’s best players as a member of the Spanish national team.
Fernandez is a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, who, like his new teammate Brandon Roy, possesses the intelligence and ball handling skills to play point guard as well. The Spaniard’s drawn comparisons to Manu Ginobili, because of his quick first step and creative finishes around the basket. He has a smooth jump shot with a quick release and an innate ability to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.
Blazers coach Nate McMillan was an assistant coach for the U.S. Redeem Team in Beijing and admitted it was hard not to smile as he watched Fernandez knock down shots and fire beautiful passes. Hundreds of Blazers fans greeted their new guard at the airport with chants of “Rudy, Rudy” upon his arrival in Portland.
Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard acquired another talented guard in June, former Arizona Wildcat point guard Jerryd Bayless. He was projected by some scouts to be a Top 5 pick, but fell to the Pacers at #11. Indiana then traded his draft rights, and Ike Diogu, to Portland for the rights to 13th pick Brandon Rush, along with Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts.
Bayless is very athletic and lighting quick to the basket. The big question is whether he can play the point in the NBA. He possesses the requisite ball handling skills and has the quickness to break down a defense, but his first instinct is to shoot. The Blazers have several scoring options and need a point guard who’ll distribute the ball.
Bayless tore up the Las Vegas Summer League to the tune of 30 points per game. The rookie penetrated at will and knocked down jumpers in bunches on his way to earning league MVP honors. His explosive play will bring the Rose Garden crowds to their feet this season.
Trailblazer fans were already flying high after the Blazers vastly exceeded expectations last season by finishing at .500 in the brutal Western Conference. They witnessed the emergence of youngsters Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster. Now add Oden, Fernandez and Bayless to the mix, and it’s going to be one exciting season in Portland. Jump on that Bandwagon now, before it’s too late!
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