Before there was John Stockton there was Rickey Green. No, no not Power Roping extraordinaire Rickey Green (http://powerteamroping.org/) but Rickey Green the American basketball player.
Due to the longevity of the careers of John Stockton, Karl Malone and Jerry Sloan, the Jazz hold many records in the archives of the NBA. We know Stockon's all-time leading assists and steals records, Malone's scoring and free-throws records and of course Sloan's coaching records (wins and time with the same franchise).
What Jazz fans may not know is that Rickey Green holds a very special place in the history of the NBA:
On this date in 1988 Utah guard Rickey Green scored the NBA's 5,000,000th point as the Jazz beat Cleveland 119-96
-The Associated Press
Rickey Green like the point guard who followed him with the Jazz was taken 16th in the NBA Draft. Green was selected in 1977 by the Golden State Warriors. Green played 14 years in the NBA for eight different teams. Green's greatest season was the 1982-1983 season and followed that by representing the Jazz in the 1984 NBA All-Star Game.
Thanks to Scratonicity (now seanp33) for the heads up on this great article on Grantland ranking the top ten rookies. Our very own Alec Burks came in at #8:
Coming into the season, Burks was touted as a talented offensive player who struggled on defense. Burks' offense has been average so far this season, but he earned his first ranking here because of his defense. According to Synergy Sports, Burks has been holding the players he guards to 0.717 points per possession. That places him in the top 16 percent of all NBA players. Burks is particularly adept at chasing defenders around screens away from the basketball. In these situations, Burks holds opponents to 0.583 points per possession on 33.3 percent shooting. He uses his speed and size to stick close to his man and challenge shots. It has been impressive to watch Burks commit himself on defense, especially after being criticized before the draft for a lack of effort defensively. If his offense picks up, Burks should become a mainstay in these rankings.
by: Sebastian Pruiti
Can I be totally honest here, OK here is goes. I was NOT excited about the Jazz drafting Alec Burks. I remember telling Lou the day I came home from the Pre-Draft workout that included Alec Burks that if there was one player that I didn't want the Jazz to draft it would be Alec Burks. I was not impressed during the interview, he couldn't even remember Coach Corbin's name,he had such a cocky attitude in my mind. (I am pretty sure I emailed Moni all about it because it bugged me so badly).
I have never been so happy to be so wrong. (here is my a post about my excitement of Burks over the summer) I couldn't be more excited to have him on our team. I love that he plays defense, as evidenced by Pruiti's article, I love that attitude now, he's not afraid of anyone and will do what he wants on the court. I am excited to see his offensive development to go along with his stellar defense (that we never EVER would have gotten from Jimmer).
One rookie that was not mentioned in Pruiti's article was Enes Kanter. I see Kanter doing well and growing within himself, the kind of growth that only us Jazz fans can see. I love Kanter's rebounding and his effort, however, I sigh every time he dribbles the ball after he gets an offensive rebound. Well it caught me eye when I saw on twitter yesterday someone else talking about Kanter's habit of dribbling:
I laughed and laughed when I saw this tweet, I cannot tell you how many times my dad and I would scream at the TV "Mark, go up go up, don't dribble the stupid ball, just go up! "
I do love that Eaton is involved with the team, its nice to see old Jazz players helping the new guys. I am ecstatic that Eaton is talking to Kanter about defense.
We finally have a game tonight, after a long three day layoff. We take on the Toronto Raptors (328 of you feel like we will win, compared to 8 of you who said we would lose)
Josh Howard is listed as probable (an upgrade from day-to-day). I was pretty excited about the signing though it was more of a "we're signing who, um OK". I did however, fall in love with Josh quite quickly after he got his rust off. Now the question is, CJ Miles is playing well (unlike when Josh was in the lineup), Burks is developing we already see his defense, Raja is playing how we always wanted him to and well Hayward is doing his thing. So if Josh plays tonight, where does he fit in? Who's minutes will Josh get?
Lastly, the Jazz had their player autograph party for season ticket holders. I heard great things about this party from @fingersone. Fingersone (Debbie) reported that all the players genuinely seemed excited to be there, that Paul Millsap's line was the longest of the bunch, that Earl Watson was surprisingly kind of shy. She also commented how Millsap was much more animated than she has ever see him. I just love how Millsap is coming into his own this season.
CJ tweeted out his favorite thing to sign during the event.. see it here
Did any of you go to the autograph party, if so please share your experience with us in the comments!
0 recs | 42 comments
It makes me happy to know I was right in giving (Dirty) Diana the coveted Hump-Day Downbeat
great job all around!
AllThatJazzBasketball - January 25, 2012
1. I remember there were lots of doubts about Stockton, Dave Checketts (you know, the dude who broke the lockout ending about 3 weeks too soon) openly questioned if he would be good enough to replace Rickey Green. (U of M’s Rickey Green, I should point out) Of course, I only know about that because I read the archives for all SLC news papers as soon as they were put online sometime back in the AOL days.
2. Also it should be noted that (A)MarShon Brooks is #3 according to S.Pruiti. That may be because Pruiti is a Nets fan, or perhaps because MarShon just shoots and shoots all day and has a green light.
3. A-ha. So THIS is what you were talking about. I totally missed it. (My twitter TL goes really fast) Glad to see Eaton get involved now. He did nothing for Fesenko or Koufos. (you know, two real 7 footers)
4. Josh may be what I feared — a middle of the road vet who does well enough to predate upon the limited development minutes for younger guys (Hayward and Burks and Evans). My fears of him were not unfounded, check out his last year’s numbers in Synergy. Horrible on defense and offense. This year, so far in limited games, he has bounced back quite nicely. But i’m still going to hold off on championing him.
So shut up.
5. Burks will probably lose the most minutes, but I think it may affect CJ the most.
AllThatJazzBasketball - January 25, 2012
Burks will lose the most minutes %-wise. He might cause a divide by zero error.
JazzHype - January 25, 2012
hundleys game call on ricky green still makes me smile
something to the effect of “the fastest of them all”
utahcoyote - January 25, 2012
CJ and Burks will be the most affected
He loves Raja too much, and Hayward is still the starter. Miles’ play will decline as a result of this(he sucks when he doesn’t get enough minutes) and Burks’ development will be slowed again. The only reason why this might be a good signing is that, by the final month of the season, if the Jazz are pushing for the playoffs, Howard will probably be injured and the young guys, who will be very well rested, will get to try to take the team to the postseason.
AirPascual - January 25, 2012
Poll: I chose the last one.
Thanks to our deep and talented bench, there’s really no reason to rush bringing back anyone from injury before they’re more than ready. Why not just save Howard for the road stretches coming up?
SurlyMae - January 25, 2012
thats the one I voted for too
thats how I think it should happen but I tend to agree with Amar, Burks minutes will be cut but CJ will be most affected. CJ needs consistency in minutes to play well and if his mins get cut or he is used differently I see it disrupting his game and him not playing as well.
dianaallen - January 25, 2012
CJ does not need minutes to be consistent
His minutes should depend on how well he plays. When he plays good he gets minutes, when he’s out there chucking up shots, and not driving to the rim he gets pulled
EcERyda69 - January 25, 2012
Okay, but why should that only be a statement of fact for CJ?
Is there anyone one the team that mantra shouldn’t apply to?
clarkpojo - January 25, 2012
Seconded.
CJ gets alot more grief than anyone else for his production. I admit back in the day I was guilty of this but he shouldn’t be held to a standard that we don’t hold others too. Miles may go 2 for 8 one night and everyone is ticked but if all goes 4 for 15 we all just kinda overlook it.
ForTheLove - January 25, 2012
It should apply to everyone, except Big Al and Sap
To be clear I’m not bashing on him, just stating what I’m seeing with the way Corbin has him playing. CJ is much more effective when hes driving in the lane, and being aggressive to the rim. His weight loss this season seems to have helped him on the offensive end.
EcERyda69 - January 25, 2012 via mobile
competition is good.....
Work Howard back in and probably cut Burks minutes for now. Let CJ and Hayward fight for floor time. I am getting a little tired of Haywards lack of toughness. C.J. seemed to get the message and has stepped up. Ideally Howard won’t be playing more than 20 min a game unless the games close and he’s playing well. He’s a great second unit glue guy for us but we probably need to keep his minutes down in order to keep him healthy enough to play consistently. If everyone (Hayward, Howard, and C.J) start playing great then you have an attractive piece to combine with Harris for an improved starting PG.
JazzMT - January 25, 2012
yes to all you said!
dianaallen - January 26, 2012
Jeremy Evans at Autograph Party
We were able to get tickets to the autograph party through an online friend. He couldn’t make it, and gave the tickets to us. The tickets didn’t come until the day of the event.
So when they came my wife went to the local Wal-mart to get a ball. She was lucky, and picked up the last one. When she got to check out, the lines were all too long. She decided to try and check out at customer service.
When she got in line she was standing behind a tall man with his black hoodie up trying to be all incognito. She joked to the girl behind her “I bet he plays for the Utah Jazz”.
He turns around, and she instantly recognizes him (Jeremy is her favorite player). She blurts out “Jeremy Evans!” They had a good talk and he even let her take a picture.
He recognized her and talked to us a bit at the party as well. I told him he needs to make us a viral video to start his campaign for dunk contest champ. It’s funny because he really doesn’t know how to respond to such things. He really comes across to me as someone that is still blown away by the opportunities. He doesn’t really understand what is happening to him, and is just happy to be there.
Seth Ellis - January 25, 2012 via Android app
That's awesome.
My man always sees him & chats with him at Wal-Mart too.
SurlyMae - January 25, 2012
all you Salt Lake tweeps are so lucky
in Provo its like um I saw Noah Hartsock at the Bookstore, yay?
I love that Evans shops at Walmart. A lot of the Flash players shopped at the Orem Walmart regularly.
Just curious how did Jeremy recognize your wife?
dianaallen - January 25, 2012
I believe that sentence structure should read:
At the party, he recognized her and talked to us a bit as well.
JazzHype - January 25, 2012
Autograph party = My favorite day of the year!
6th signed ball. I’m becoming a Jazz Autograph day expect!
Millsap always seems grouchy during these. I was the very last in his line and who could blame him after signing 5000 autographs?
CJ is always the most talkative but all of the players were genuine and fun to be around!
adijacjak - January 25, 2012
that is an awesome collection!
So Milsap was grumpy with you? My friend was surprised with how friendly he was because he usually is so quiet. I am guessing just because you caught him at the end?
dianaallen - January 25, 2012
I've been around him a few times...
I think he has a hard time being personable with the fans which comes off as grumpy. You can tell he’s a good guy that will do what he is told even if it’s not something that he enjoys. I don’t think many noticed but he started signing with his left hand. Once I got up to his table, he started signing right handed again. Thought that was strange. Hand must have been hurting. Writer’s cramp.
adijacjak - January 25, 2012
Interesting piece on Ricky Green
I had never heard of the guy. He was quite impressive. It’s hard to think that there was a guy before Stockton.
Jeffrey Thompson - January 25, 2012
Autograph Party
I asked Jeremy if he thought he could jump over my wife and he didn’t even have to think about it. CJ and Devin were talking crap on Melo and the Knicks. My wife asked CJ if he would rap for her and he said “umm no”. My favorite was how Burks was trying to convince everyone that he was older than 17 (Horny was telling everyone he and Kanter were 16 and 17). The party was so much fun.
BigGreen - January 25, 2012 via mobile
it sounds like so much fun.
thats hilarious that they were talking crap on the knicks.
dianaallen - January 25, 2012
I like Pruiti a lot better than most sportswriters.
Seems to have a much better feel for the different teams than other guys. His insights into Burks could never have come from any of the ESPN loudmouths. I read that article yesterday and most of the little blurbs for the other rookies seemed spot on too. No coddling or hype involved. In fact, most of them seemed like they pointed out more faults than strengths. Very refreshing to read.
JazzHype - January 25, 2012
well, he's not a "journalist"
he was a blogger / nba fan who watched a lot of games while going through school. now it’s his job, as he is getting paid by an nba-dl team to scout other teams.
it’s a fantastic story. and he’s a great guy. locke butchered his name on the radio once, when he interviewed him.
AllThatJazzBasketball - January 25, 2012
i reason i mention he's not a journalist
is to highlight WHY he’s more objective and sees values in non-big market teams and their players.
AllThatJazzBasketball - January 25, 2012
i didn't know Pruiti's story, thanks for sharing!
dianaallen - January 25, 2012
Is he getting paid by Grantland too?
I actually caught that article on the rookies because I was on the site reading something about the NFL playoffs. He also had a breakdown of a Spurs play on there that looked like the kind of stuff he used to run on nbaplaybook too, so I was assuming that he only posts stuff on Grantland now, but didn’t verify that.
I was actually thinking when I was reading that article that it’s bad to have guys like Pruiti publishing that kind of analysis because strategy-challenged coaches like Mark Jackson might start to understand how to coach. I guess really it’d be good for the Jazz for Mark Jackson to learn how to coach for this year though.
JazzHype - January 25, 2012
He's part of the regular Grantland staff now.
Yucca Man - January 25, 2012
1. I really liked "The Fastest of them All"
I love watching highlights of that guy in the open floor. Man he could move.
Ricky was great. Those early Utah Jazz teams of Dantley, Griffith, Mark Eaton, and Big T, often get overlooked in Jazz history, but they were good teams and paved the way for Stockton and Malone.
BobbyD31 - January 25, 2012
there was a point back then where it was a real question if the jazz would survive in salt lake
players like green, dantley and the others you mentioned all helped surviving and then thriving become a reality.
they actually had promos in the old salt palace where you bought tickets and got more than one free for a short time.
utahcoyote - January 25, 2012
Which lead to one of my all time favorite Frank Layden quotes;
What time’s the game to night Frank?
“What time can you be here?”
LP Jazz - January 25, 2012
i never heard that, thats so funny!
dianaallen - January 25, 2012
Frank was sports writers dream
I lived in So. California back when the Jazz got blown out by the Lakers in the first game of the 88 WC semifinals. Frank worked the post game press like a stand up comic on a roll. He had the the whole press cracking up and the sound bites made it onto all the morning radio shows the next day.
Frank was suckering them all though. He got all the press and probably the Lakers also to believe that the series was going to be a Laker sweep. The Jazz promptly stole the next game in LA and pushed the Lakers to 7 games. That’s when I beame a Jazz fan.
LP Jazz - January 25, 2012
About Enes and dribbling
I think in certain situations 1-dribble is okay.
1-dribble pivot
1 hard-dribble gather
1 dribble hook
1 dribble pivot-fake then hook
simple moves like that
Bryan Chang - January 25, 2012
i just sigh when he is right near the basket and no one is close and he still chooses to dribble
dianaallen - January 25, 2012
I've got a special bottle of Martinelli that I'm planning to pop open the day he goes up after an offensive rebounding and doesn't take a dribble.
Yucca Man - January 25, 2012
He's already had a put back slam.
I think you missed your chance.
ForTheLove - January 25, 2012
Very Rarely is it OK
after a rebound though, which is what he has been doing.
Daniel Smith - January 25, 2012
Kanter needs to learn just one move
THE DREAM SHAKE. That would make me smile
sean5962 - January 25, 2012
Burks'
defense and kanters have been a pleasent surprise this year. All the reading up on them I did pre-draft and post draft talked about their offensive skills. I think their defense abilities were greatly overlooked basedo n the fact they were so good in other areas like scoring/freethrows and rebounding.
ForTheLove - January 25, 2012
I've said this before, but Millsap drives me nuts when he takes a dribble after a defensive rebound.
A lot of the time, he slows the break because of it or shortens the shot clock. Seems like a reflexive thing at this point, but it’s annoying and a really bad habit. Not sure how many times a game it happens. I’m sure it sticks out more in my mind when he does it than when he doesn’t.
JazzHype - January 25, 2012
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