Marcus Smart Is On the Rise
The Boston Celtics current roster has as average age of 24 years old, with more than half of that roster having been in the league for less than four seasons. It’s safe to say the Celtics are teeming with youth and energy. Leading this group of young guns is a tenacious 21 year old point guard entering his second season with the C’s.
Marcus Smart may be young and slightly rough around the edges, but this six-foot-four, 225 pound sophomore plays with heart and grit in every aspect of his game.
Smart struggled through a rough childhood where illness and drug addiction encapsulated his older brothers. He retaliated against the misfortunes in his life by acting out in ways that landed him in deep trouble. It seemed
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He’s a walking Swiss Army Knife that can do a little bit of everything when it’s time to suit up.
Danny Ainge saw the potential in this kid to stuff stat sheets and give his all on every play, ultimately deciding he was worth choosing with the Celtics lottery pick. Smart finished out his rookie year averaging 7.8 points, 3.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds. He also earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie second team despite missing ten consecutive games due to an ankle injury.
But perhaps the biggest takeaway Smart received from his rookie year with the Celtics was playoff experience. Albeit, a four game sweep doesn’t count for a ton of postseason experience, but playing against arguably the greatest player in the world and the eventual Eastern Conference Champions is valuable for any young player, but especially for one as competitive and eager to grow as Marcus Smart.
Growing up in a tough and taxing environment forced Smart to mature at a ripe age. That maturation carried into his professional basketball career and helped him adjust to being a floor general in a point-guard dominated league. His grit and undeniable toughness are principal qualities that will help elevate his team to the next level of
In the course of competing in the NBA Jordan, preformed consistently. Once Jordan’s team made it to the finals, his team dominated, specifically him. On the website “Michealjordansworld.com”, a site dedicated to sharing accurate information about Jordan, the chart listed shows that in the course of six years Jordan has averaged 33.6 points per final game. This demonstrates Jordan’s elite abilities on the court.
A player needs to have a basic understanding of how the sport works in order to even play. IQ is not the reason why people were amazed and in awe with Jordan. His skills were enough to be above the rest.
He had began to get scouted by top colleges since his Junior year in high school. After high school he was awarded a scholarship to play for the UCLA Bruins. During his freshman year of college he only started one game, but played in 36 games. He was more of defensive and energizing player in his first year, not yet a dominating force, but in his second year he was named a starter for UCLA. He started and played in 34 games. In his first year he scored 122 points, but in his second year he scored an impressive 493 points, and that adds up to a grand total of 615 points. The amount of games that he played in college added up to a total of 70. (“Russell Westbrook
The Boston Celtics had 29 wins the season before they drafted Bird. The team improved by 32 games to go 61-21 in Bird's first season. The main reason they won so many more games was because of Larry Bird. Bird was not just a shooter, he was also a great passer and rebounder too, which in turn made his teammates better as a whole. In his second year in the NBA, Bird and Celtics won the NBA Championship against the Houston Rockets. Larry Bird would go on to win two more championships with the Celtics. He would also win the Most Valuable Player award three times. This is what Larry Bird said after his second Most Valuable Player award, "While I was still trying to figure out how I could improve my game for the next season, I was notified that I had been selected as the league MVP for the second year in a row"(Bird and Ryan 153). Larry Bird after being in the league for seven years and winning two straight MVPs was still trying to find ways to get better. Bird proved that perseverance and dedication to the sport he loved would lead to a successful and rewarding
Drafted by the NBA at the age of 19, many critics wondered if he would last. Not many kids know how to handle fame, most end up on the never-ending road of drugs and rehab...a cycle that never ends.
In spite of these players’ efforts, this year was the first time that a player straight out of high school has won the NBA MVP award. Kevin Garnett may have won the MVP award this year, but he has been in the league for nine seasons, which makes him a veteran player. Therefore, instead of spending his first four seasons in the NBA, he could have spent them in college, and then he could have come to the NBA and won the MVP award. By going to college he could have still kept improving as a player, but he could have also gotten the college experience and could have become a more educated person.
Next, by an athlete staying and completing their education teaches the athlete maturity levels and raises maturity levels of an athlete. By staying in college an athlete can grow, develop, and mature throughout the course of their years in college. The athletes brain is more developed. The athlete has a more mature, developed mindset that benefits the athlete by allowing them to see game plans in a different perspective and allows the athlete to face challenges with a clearer mind, because college has equipped them with more experience in tough situations. For example, Michael Jordan, also known as MJ, received a full athletic scholarship to North Carolina University in 1981. Jordan played for the North Carolina Tar Heels for 3 years. Although Jordan was drafted in the 1984 NBA draft, he was only a junior in college.
After a great collegiate career Derrick Rose got selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the NBA Draft. Derrick won rookie of the year honors and lead the struggling Bulls back into the playoffs. The next 3 season Derrick would play great and earn the most valuable player honors for 2010-2011 season.
Michael Thomas a 23-year old, 6’3, 209 pound dynamic wide receiver out of Ohio State. Look at any mock draft, any big board, or any prospect rankings and look for Thomas. What do you see? I looked at a combination of over 100 different mock drafts, big boards, and player rankings, and much to my surprise, on average Thomas was rated as the sixth best receiver in the draft.
In his first three seasons in the NBA, Rose had massive success. He earned the honor of being Rookie of the Year and led his team to the playoffs for 4 straight
First game of the season he had the Boston Celtics and they had Bill Russell with the number two pick of the draft. In this game he had to be focused and ready to come play , he had a chance to show everyone what he got and he know the whole world be watching this one. Had all off-season to get ready and he feel like this time he is.
Derrick Rose is at the center of the basketball universe. It's a few days before Christmas in 2011, and the shy, 23-year-old point guard finds himself in the middle of a suburban Chicago shopping mall as throngs of fans scream for his attention. A few hours earlier, the Chicago Bulls formally announced that they have signed the reigning MVP to a max extension worth close to $100 million. The future was bright for one of the NBA's most prominent
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound sophomore was forced into the starter role with Butler last season. He threw for 1,841 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Many people believe Iverson shouldn’t be in the top-10 due to not winning a championship, but Iverson always wanted to be the best he could be. Allen stole the spotlight from many big stars such as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’neal, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash and many, many more. The altercation at the bowling alley may have ruined his career, if he wasn’t given a second chance he would not have inspired many future stars such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry, Carmelo Anthony and more. Players continue to praise The Answer to this day and remind us of his unforgettable legacy he has left behind. Due to Iverson earning a second chance by the Georgetown coach John Thompson. Iverson and Michael Jordan were the only two players ever to lead the league in scoring and steals in the same season, and they did so multiple times. Allen also set a record of most consecutive games with scoring 40 or more points. Iverson still holds these records even though he set them 20 years
Jordan's presence on the Chicago Bulls immediately woke up the interest of the fans. The entire franchise was very enthusiastic and felt very positive about their future. He was such a great player that on his first season he won the rookie of the year award with 28.2 points per game. The Bulls had a losing record before they had Jordan. After the Bulls had Jordan, nothing else but good things began to happen for this franchise. He took the Bulls to the playoffs for five straight years in a row. But they would always loose to the Detroit Pistons or Boston Celtics. "One problem was that Jordan sometimes played at a level so above his teammates that the Bulls failed to function as a team" (Greene 8-9).