CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK: SIMMONS NOW KNOWS HIS ROLE.Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer SANTA BARBARA Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. - A year ago, Bobby Simmons Bobby Simmons (born June 2 1980 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. College career Simmons played three years of college basketball for DePaul University. came to the Clippers training camp without a well-defined role as a castaway Castaway Arden, Enoch shipwrecked sailor; lost for eleven years. [Br. Lit.: “Enoch Arden” in Benét, 316] Bligh, Captain commander of H.M.S. Bounty who was cast adrift by mutinous crew. [Am. Lit. from the Washington Wizards. He was one of the most obscure players on the roster, yet his intense style of play landed him a spot in the team's rotation. This season, Simmons still might not a household name, but he is one of just six returning Clippers. His role is more defined as a defensive specialist who can play anywhere from shooting guard The Shooting guard (SG), also known as the two or off guard,[1] is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. to power forward. As he learned last season, he is one of coach Mike Dunleavy's favorite players because of his hard-nosed work ethic work ethic n. A set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. work ethic Noun a belief in the moral value of work and commitment to defense. Dunleavy is never short on compliments for the hard worker, and Simmons understands why the coach likes him. ``I think I'm a good guy, first of all,'' Simmons said. ``Not only that, he likes guys that work hard on the court. And pretty much any coach is going to like guys who work hard on the court and keep their nose clean off the court.'' In each coaching stop he has made, Dunleavy has had a defensive-first hard worker like Simmons. In Portland, it was Stacey Augmon Stacey Orlando Augmon (born August 1 1968 in Pasadena, California) is an American professional basketball player who plays in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets. He gained the nickname "Plastic Man" early in his career for his long arms, defensive play and offensive fluidity. . In Milwaukee, he had several players like that, including Blue Edwards Theodore "Blue" Edwards (born October 31 1965 in Washington, D.C.) is a former professional basketball player who played in the NBA. Biography Edwards' hometown was Walstonburg North Carolina, and was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 21st overall pick of the 1989 NBA . Less than one week into training camp, Dunleavy has noticed Simmons' improvement. ``He's shooting the ball better, handling the ball better, and he's better on the boards,'' Dunleavy said. --For love, not money: The Clippers have a glut of backup centers in camp with Zeljko Rebraca, Mikki Moore Clinton Renard "Mikki" Moore[1] (pronounced "Mikey") (born November 4, 1975 in Orangeburg, South Carolina) is an American professional basketball player, currently with the NBA's Sacramento Kings. and Mamadou N'Diaye. Dunleavy said it is not yet determined which 7-footer will get the most playing time behind Chris Kaman. But if a free-agent signing had gone the Clippers' way, someone else would have been backing up Kaman - Vlade Divac, who signed with the Lakers. ``It wasn't financial because we offered him more money than the Lakers,'' Dunleavy said. ``For us, he would be used to back up Kaman, and I thought his career would last longer. There, he's going in as a starter, and maybe the starting position meant more to him.'' --Free-throw fever: The Clippers went from making 75 percent of their free throws in 2002-03 to 78.5 percent last season. They also went to the free-throw line more often and averaged 2.1 more points per game at the line, a significant change. Part of the reason why the change came, in addition to Corey Maggette's style of play which let him lead the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= in free throws made, is dedication. As is part of his modus operandi [Latin, Method of working.] A term used by law enforcement authorities to describe the particular manner in which a crime is committed. The term modus operandi is most commonly used in criminal cases. It is sometimes referred to by its initials, M.O. , Dunleavy again focuses his team on free throws. When he was a kid and a player, Dunleavy said he often stayed in gyms until he made 100 free throws in a row. He said his record for consecutive free throws is about 130. --If it ain't broke ...: Marko Jaric said that the left thumb the Clippers have listed as broken is not as bad as the team has said. ``It's not broken,'' he said. ``It's only a chip, and I should be able to play soon.'' Jaric, Maggette (sprained finger), Kerry Kittles (knee therapy) and Zeljko Rebraca (strained quadriceps) were all held out of contact drills Saturday. Joe Stevens, (562) 499-1338 joe.stevens(at)presstelegram.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: BOBBY SIMMONS Versatile player fits in with coach Mike Dunleavy's defense-first attitude. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion