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03-20-2003, 01:24 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Banned
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: I AM THE GREATEST BBB.NET POSTER EVER!!!
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Mehmet Okur
Here is one great article about him
Link
Quote:
Joe Dumars understands the importance of having frontcourt depth. His Pistons teams that won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990 featured an abundance of quality big men -- James Edwards, Bill Laimbeer, John Salley and Rick Mahorn -- sharing minutes and subjugating egos in pursuit of championships.
So when asked about the emergence of Mehmet Okur and how the team planned to integrate the 6-11 rookie from Turkey with Zeljko Rebraca, sidelined since Dec. 21 with an irregular heartbeat but hopefully returning soon, his answer was pretty simple.
“There's not a lot of teams with an overabundance of seven-footers who can play,” said Dumars, the Pistons’ President of Basketball Operations. “It's not an either-or situation. I don't think we have to pit one against the other. Having two seven-foot guys like that gives you tremendous depth on the front line. It's a good situation to be in.”
In 41 games since becoming a part of the regular rotation Dec. 21, Okur is averaging 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds. On March 12 against the Lakers and Shaquille O’Neal, Okur scored a season-high 22 points, a performance that opened more eyes to a player Detroit has had high hopes for since Dumars made him the 38th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft.
“Mehmet is getting better and better as he adjusts to this league,” Coach Rick Carlisle said. "He's been used to the trapezoidal lane in Europe, but he's getting his low-post game together over here and he complements it with a nice outside touch.”
Over the first 16 games of the season, Okur averaged 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8.3 minutes, playing behind Rebraca, Cliff Robinson and Ben Wallace. He became the first big man off the bench when Rebraca went down in December. Carlisle credits Wallace and Robinson for aiding Okur’s development.
“They like him, they encourage him, they share their knowledge, and they hold him accountable when he doesn't play well,” Carlisle said. “They've helped him develop quicker than he would have.”
Like Robinson, a 14-year veteran who’s averaged 15.8 points during his career, Okur can be an effective scorer in the post and from the perimeter. Like Wallace, who leads the NBA in rebounding and ranks second in blocks, Okur isn’t afraid to get a little physical.
“We saw that when we scouted him in Turkey,” said Dumars. “He's not your prototypical soft European type. He's going to throw his body around.”
Which fits right in with how the Pistons like to do things.
“We're depending on him to come in and be solid,” Wallace said. “We know what he's capable of doing. I think it's just a matter of time for him to get comfortable with his role. He's starting to find his shots and he's knocking them down. He's definitely a big key for us.”
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03-21-2003, 08:02 AM
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#2 (permalink)
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-PREMIUM MEMBER-
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: D town
Age: 27
Posts: 5,181
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Its great that memo is getting some recognition. He needs to work on his low post game a little and maybe put on some weight but memo has a chance to be a solid starter in the league.
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03-21-2003, 08:05 AM
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#3 (permalink)
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Support our troops
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Cincinnati
Age: 40
Posts: 15,024
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Quote:
Originally posted by <b>Brian</b>!
Its great that memo is getting some recognition. He needs to work on his low post game a little and maybe put on some weight but memo has a chance to be a solid starter in the league.
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Strength seems to be his only enemy
__________________
Obama, “we have moral issues at stake.” Of course the United States must act to stop genocide, he said. “When genocide is happening, when ethnic cleansing is happening . . . and we stand idly by, that diminishes us.”
But that wasn’t how Obama sounded last year, when he was competing for the Democratic nomination and was unbending in his demand for an American retreat from Iraq. Back then, he dismissed fears that a US’t a good enough reason to keep US forces there,” the AP reported on July 20, 2007 (my italics). withdrawal would unleash a massive Iraqi bloodbath. “Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday the United States cannot use its military to solve humanitarian problems and that preventing a potential genocide in Iraq isn’t a good enough reason to keep US forces there,” the AP reported on July 20, 2007 (my italics).
Little punk
Petraeus recently said: "There has to be absolute unity of purpose, unity of effort, even if there cannot be and will not be unity of command."
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03-21-2003, 09:44 AM
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#4 (permalink)
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HoopsAddict.com
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,359
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I love watching Okur because he is just a big fat white guy taken' it to the rim, crammen' it on Shaq. He has one of the sweetest strokes for a big man in the league. If he could post up and score at will (which I haven't seen yet) then he will be a huge part of our team.
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03-21-2003, 05:57 PM
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#5 (permalink)
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Basketballboards Benchwarmer
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Detroit
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He not fat. He has potential. Is the first euro guy that I have seen that can rebound well in a while.
__________________
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03-22-2003, 11:50 AM
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#6 (permalink)
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HoopsAddict.com
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,359
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It sounds funnier that way. This way when other teams get toasted by him it sounds even worse for them.
Geez what are you thinking! 
Just kidding man. |
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Mehmet Okur
