quote:
Center punch
Athletic Gadzuric polishing his gameImagine a 6-foot-11 wide receiver with big, soft hands who could outrun most defensive backs in the National Football League and out-jump all of them.
He'd make Randy Moss look puny. He'd scare Bill Belichick half to death. He'd catch more passes than Charlize Theron at a frat party.
"Yeah, actually I've thought about that," Dan Gadzuric said, meaning football. "It's just a fantasy, but I've always wanted to play football. It would be fun, definitely."
Athletically, the Milwaukee Bucks' second-year center probably could pull it off. He played on a junior national soccer team in the Netherlands, won a high school state discus title in Massachusetts and goes from baseline to baseline as fast as any big man in the National Basketball Association.
Is he tough enough? You should have seen Tim Duncan's elbow a few weeks ago, after it tangled with Gadzuric's face. The San Antonio Spurs forward had to get X-rays to make sure nothing was broken. Gadzuric escaped with a shiner and four stitches.
"I've got a pretty hard head, I guess," he said with a laugh.
Football is fun to think about, but Gadzuric is still getting on-the-job training in the NBA. Growing up in Den Haag, 40 minutes from Amsterdam, he knew next to nothing about basketball until he was a teenager. He never saw a game on TV and wouldn't have known Julius Erving from Irving Berlin.
The first time Gadzuric held a basketball, he had no idea what to do with it.
"I was horrible," he said. "I didn't know anything about the game. I wasn't really involved in basketball. At first, it was just a hobby. I was tall so I wanted to try it out."
Even though Gadzuric turned 26 on Feb. 2, he's a relative neophyte as a basketball player. He joined the Bucks last year as a second-round draft choice out of UCLA and bounded around the gym like a gazelle on steroids, but he had a lot to learn about the nuances of the game.
This year, some of the rough edges are polished and Gadzuric has helped give the Bucks one of the deepest benches in the league. A Bradley Center crowd favorite, he is averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds and leads the team in blocked shots (1.73) and shooting (52.1%).
"He's progressed so much since last year," guard Michael Redd said. "His knowledge of the game is so much better. Last year he would dribble all the way down the court and try to dunk it. This year, he's stopping, giving the ball to a guard and going to get position in the post."
Still, one would hardly use the words patient or methodical to describe Gadzuric on the court.
He plays the game at full-throttle NASCAR speed. He's what Bucks coach Terry Porter calls "active," which is to say he never stops running and jumping. If he has both feet on the floor, it can mean only one thing: Someone is shooting a free throw.
"I'm mainly a hustle player," Gadzuric said. "I have a defensive mind-set and I'm a hustle player."
Asked whether he knew what his vertical jump was - he can almost touch the top of the backboard - Gadzuric shrugged and said, "No, I don't know. As long as I get up there, it doesn't matter."
He is capable of producing highlight-reel plays, especially around the basket, where he is a frequent flier. On the other hand, his unbridled energy sometimes leads to fumbled passes, awkward shots and unnecessary fouls.
"That's just the way he plays," forward Joe Smith said. "He's not going to be perfect every time but he's going to make up for it."
Said Redd: "We live with (his mistakes). Some things you live with but most of the time you're going to love what he does."
Started in soccer
Gadzuric excelled at soccer as a youth but was always the tallest kid in his class. A club coach recognized his potential in basketball and arranged for him to attend the Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, Mass.Gadzuric knew little English - he still speaks Dutch when he phones his parents and younger sister - and fought homesickness his first year in the United States.
"The transition of being alone and not knowing what was going on, that was tough," he said. "I was in a different country, a huge country. I didn't know how to speak English. I had to really study to get my grammar correct. I mainly just pushed myself to talk."
By the time he was a high school senior, Gadzuric fit in just fine. He averaged 21 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocked shots per game and led Governor Dummer to the Massachusetts Class C state title. He also competed in track and field, where he used his long arms to great advantage, winning the state discus title and finishing second in the shot put.
At UCLA, he was an honorable mention all-Pacific 10 pick as a senior and scored a season-high 26 points in an upset victory over Cincinnati in the NCAA tournament, leading the Bruins to the Sweet 16 in 2002.
The Bucks drafted him in the second round that year and he became the team's first rookie since Ray Allen in 1996 to start on opening day. Then-coach George Karl moved Gadzuric farther down the bench as the season wore on, however, and he didn't play a single minute in six playoff games.
"Toward the end of the year I didn't play a lot," Gadzuric said. "It was just a decision (Karl) made. He went back with the veterans. The time he gave me, I learned a lot and I appreciated it. Given the opportunity to play in the NBA was a tremendous feeling."
A fresh start
When Porter replaced Karl, he wasn't quite sure what he had in Gadzuric. Porter saw a player with potential, but one who would need plenty of refining."I told him, 'We're going to see what you can do to help us. I'm not going to judge you based on what happened last year,' " Porter said. "What I found out was he obviously is very important to us. He changes the pace of the game and the game itself with his ability to block shots and run the floor."
When Gadzuric is on the court, his teammates are secure in the knowledge that if they get beat to the lane by an opposing player, the big guy will be there to alter the shot or swat it into the third row.
"He always has someone's back," Smith said.
On offense, Gadzuric is no Kevin Garnett but has worked hard to improve, adding some moves he didn't have last year.
"When he's got an opportunity to be aggressive offensively, we try to encourage that," Porter said. "I think last year that was not encouraged or even talked about. If he's in a position we think he's comfortable with, I have no problem with him taking those shots."
But Gadzuric is the rare NBA player who truly doesn't care how many points he scores. It doesn't matter to him whether he starts or comes off the bench. He just wants to contribute and continue to improve.
"He brings it every night," Redd said, "and he's getting better and better."
For that, NFL defensive backs can be thankful.
quote:Leuk stukje
Op woensdag 11 februari 2004 23:23 schreef SpankSpankeronie het volgende:
Gadzuric goes NFL ?
[..]
Alleen "He played on a junior national soccer team" vraag ik me toch sterk af. De KNVB heeft alleen teams van onder de 15 (niet zo lang geleden nog onder de 16 volgens mij) en toen Dan 13/14/15 was, was hij toch al wel bezig met basketbal??
quote:Mooi verhaal!
Op woensdag 11 februari 2004 23:23 schreef SpankSpankeronie het volgende:
Gadzuric goes NFL ?
[..]
Denk echt dat als alles een beetje meezit hij een hele goede kan worden!
quote:Volgens mij is hij echt pas op z'n 16de een basketbalveld opgelopen. En zelfs toen was hij meer met auto's aan't sleutelen dan met basketbal heb ik begrepen. Maar inderdaad een leuk verhaal!!
Op woensdag 11 februari 2004 23:32 schreef Kluupkluup het volgende:[..]
Leuk stukje
Alleen "He played on a junior national soccer team" vraag ik me toch sterk af. De KNVB heeft alleen teams van onder de 15 (niet zo lang geleden nog onder de 16 volgens mij) en toen Dan 13/14/15 was, was hij toch al wel bezig met basketbal??
Wat is de bron??
quote:Eigen inbreng!
Op woensdag 11 februari 2004 23:42 schreef Toolmannetje het volgende:[..]
Wat is de bron??
quote:http://www.jsonline.com/sports/buck/feb04/206140.asp
Op woensdag 11 februari 2004 23:56 schreef Zwansen het volgende:[..]
Eigen inbreng!
quote:De ad van Bud Light, official sponsor of the NBA ernaast is op z'n zachtst gezegd curieus
Op donderdag 12 februari 2004 11:02 schreef Zwansen het volgende:
Foei Vin Baker! Meneer is alcoholist en nu mogen de Celtics zijn contract ontbinden! Hierdoor kan ie 35 miljoen dollar mislopen in de komende 2,5 jaar! Man laat je biertje dan ff staan!http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1732998
PSV, de logische kampioen
Proud To Be VBL User
Hiphop Purist
Lenard wint 3 point shootout.
Baron Davis wint 'skill contest'.
Iemand trouwens een idee waar ik bv filpjes kan vinden van de dunk contest?
O ja vannacht live the All Start game.
quote:ESPN heeft wel een paar flitsen van Voshon Lenard en Fred Jones gratis in de aanbieding
Op zondag 15 februari 2004 11:42 schreef F1Bas het volgende:Iemand trouwens een idee waar ik bv filpjes kan vinden van de dunk contest?
NBA.Com heeft veel uitgebreider beeldmateriaal maar daar moet weer voor betaald worden
dan maar hopen dat C+ vannacht wat beelden heeft van bijprogramma van het All-Star weekend
quote:
The New York Knicks have completed a three-way trade involving the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, ESPN's Stephen Smith reports.
Atlanta center Nazr Mohammed and Bucks forward Tim Thomas will go to New York and the Knicks will send Keith Van Horn to Milwaukee. Also, New York's Michael Doleac and Bucks center Joel Przybilla will head to Atlanta as part of the deal.
quote:Joel Przybilla weg uit Milwaukee... Neem aan dat het gunstig is voor Dan's speelminuten!
Op zondag 15 februari 2004 22:10 schreef SpankSpankeronie het volgende:
en weer een Knicks trade
[..]
-edit-
niet echt want zo te zien speelt hij toch al vrijwel niet
[13:57:43] <@Daggla> ik weet ei'k ook niet wie corleone is.. Uit ER ofzo?
en Kobe werd uitgejouwd door het publiek.
Well polish my nuts and serve me a milkshake.
A-one and a-two and a-chicka booma chick!
quote:Goed dat je het zegt, ik ga de video zo eens bekijken. Toen ik hoorde dat het pas om 02.30 zou beginnen maar lekker gaan pitten
Op maandag 16 februari 2004 17:10 schreef mitt het volgende:
iemand nog wat meegemaakt van de All Stars game?
PSV, de logische kampioen
Proud To Be VBL User
Hiphop Purist
Dan Gadzuric, Bucks.
The numbers are modest but he's seventh in the league in rebounding efficiency per minute, fourth in blocked shots per minute played and indispensable for a team with all its talent on the perimeter. His tag-team partner, Brian Skinner, deserves mention for his recent play but missed nearly two months with a knee injury. Watching the rail-thin Gadzuric effectively and stoically do all the dirty work is one of the league's secret pleasures. He's averaging nearly two blocked shots a game and has a positive assist/turnover ratio, all major improvements over last season. You try doing that after wearing wooden clogs your whole life.
Hieruit blijkt dus wel dat ze in de VS hem ook ontdekken.
_o_ Gadzuric _o_
. Het was opvalllend dat Allen Iverson maar 3 punten had gemaakt,maar hij gaf wel hele mooie alley-up(ik hoop dat ik het goed schrijf) assists.
En we lachen met zn allen naar Atlanta!
Je zou zeggen dat ze Jerry Krause hebben aangenomen, de ene domme trade na de andere! 
www.3voor12denhaag.nl
http://www.last.fm/user/Reddiablo
Atlanta acquires Rasheed Wallace and Wesley Person from Portland for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau.
' Sheed for ' Reef.. dat kan... Person is niet slecht, maar Ratliff daarvoor weggooien... tja....
en nu
In a three-team trade, New York acquires Nazr Mohammed and Tim Thomas; Milwaukee acquires Keith Van Horn; and Atlanta acquires Michael Doleac, Joel Przybilla and a 2005 second-round pick (from New York).
Doleac en Przybilla, poe he! New York doet goede zaken
www.3voor12denhaag.nl
http://www.last.fm/user/Reddiablo
Ze hebben eigenlijk dezelfde tactiek als Phoenix, ze weten zeker dat er niks meer gewonnen gaat worden dit seizoen, en daarom ruimen ze alvast wat op.
www.3voor12denhaag.nl
http://www.last.fm/user/Reddiablo
quote:T-Mac en Carter moeten nou gewoon eens naar een team met iets meer potentie. Haal ze allebei maar naar Charlotte voor het volgende seizoen.
Op dinsdag 17 februari 2004 11:50 schreef Reddiablo het volgende:
maar geeft dan gratis weg ipv crap binnenhalen. Nou ja, Doleac en Person zijn nog wel ok vanaf de bank... maar ze moeten echt T-Mac of Carter of Kobe halen wil het nog wat worden
quote:Dat zouden ze waarschijnlijk wel willen, maar dat mag nou eenmaal niet.. bij een trade mogen de salarissen van de geruilde spelers maximaal 10% afwijken, vandaar dat je nooit een dure speler voor een goedkope speler kan ruilen.
Op dinsdag 17 februari 2004 11:50 schreef Reddiablo het volgende:
maar geeft dan gratis weg ipv crap binnenhalen.
De trade van Shareef voor Rasheed is voor Atlanta erg gunstig omdat Wallace na dit seizoen transfervrij is, en dat geeft dus ruimte in de boeken voor die spreekwoordelijke grote vis.
www.3voor12denhaag.nl
http://www.last.fm/user/Reddiablo
