Look out for these rookies
Posted: Sunday February 07, 1999 09:20 AM
With the NBA season finally getting underway, let me point out some rookies that I expect to make a major impact on the league.
First, keep an eye on Philadelphia's 20-year old phenom Larry Hughes who looks polished for a player with only one year of college experience at St. Louis. I spoke with T.R. Dunn -- a former assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets who got a chance to visit the Sixers training camp. He said Hughes was the best looking player there ... and that included Tim Thomas and Allen Iverson. Hughes reminds me a lot of Vancouver's Sharif Abdur-Rahim who also left college after just one year and then went on to average nearly 19 points a game his first season.
In Vancouver, I expect Mike Bibby to provide the consistency and leadership the Grizzlies have sorely been lacking. The former Arizona guard has plenty of court savvy and he reminds me of Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas -- guys who immediately took control of their team's offense. Bibby also has the perfect coach to work with in Brian Hill who helped Penny Hardaway blossom.
Another guy to watch is Denver's Keon Clark who was the 13th pick in the draft out of UNLV. The Nuggets lost shot blockers Tony Battie and Dean Garrett and they'll count on Clark to pick up some of that defensive slack. He's agile, mobile, and has already demonstrated that he can force opponents to change their shots.
Finally, a long term project to keep track of is Indiana's Al Harrington. He won't play much this season because he's just out of high school. But Harrington has a great work ethic and he's going to learn the basics of the game from veteran teammates who are expected to make the NBA finals.
I spent much of my first year on the bench and absorbed all I could from teammates like Junior Bridgeman, Bobby Dandridge and Dave Meyers on how to play the game. Harrington may not become a starter by his third season like I did. But, over time he's going to be a very good player.
Alex English, an eight-time All-Star with the Denver Nuggets, is the NBA analyst for CNN/SI, the 24-hour sports news network from CNN and Sports Illustrated. Be sure to catch English on CNN/SI.
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