Steven Adams: ouch

[TIGER-PAUL]

I hated how he was used, especially the second half of that year when they new he was gone.
Anyway...

In reality, I my freshman college season was pretty good. I put up decent numbers and didn’t show any major weaknesses. But because I hadn’t enjoyed it, I finished our final game just relieved to be getting a break,” Adams wrote with co-author Madeleine Chapman.

“I had complained to Kenny [McFadden] a lot during that season, and he promised he would start looking for other college options after I told him there was no way I could play four years being so restricted. Since then I’ve heard that some top coaches will restrict a potential draft pick in their freshman year because it forces them to return to school the following year.”

“To Coach Dixon, I was a big man for rebounds and dunks and nothing else,” he wrote. “Kenny had spent countless hours drilling into me that no matter what position you play, you should have a full skillset. But pretty quickly I found my skillset diminishing as the bigs only worked on ‘big’ stuff and had no time for shooting or ball handling. If I shot a mid-range floater — my new favorite shot — during a game, I’d be told off and benched. … That wasn’t the game I wanted to play; it was the game I was forced to play.”


http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...ie-dixon-pitt-basketball/stories/201810180121

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

give

me

a

break

 

[ScrantonicityIII]

A college coach has limited time with the kids, and his goal is to win games. They don't have the luxury of letting the bigs pretend they are guards for part of the practice. His "new" favorite shot...only took him how long in the NBA, practicing every day without any class and homework restrictions, to develop it, and Pitt was supposed to do what?

I'm fine if in hindsight he didn't like Pitt or Dixon, but it seems a bit naïve to think that college coaches can handle kids the same way NBA coaches will.

You also have to look at what the team needed. Sometimes what the player wants to do comes secondary to what the team needs. If they needed a big for rebounds and dunks, an he was that guy, then it is what it is.

 

[str61166]

Conflicts of interest... I can see the frustrations from both sides.

Even if the guy didn't really enjoy his time here, he did wear a Pitt jersey regardless and has a unique personality that I find hilarious.

So not being a fan of any team in particular, I find myself rooting for him to succeed more than any other individual NBA player, the other Pitt guys aside... Wanamaker buried in Boston's depth chart, Artis bouncing around trying to find a place for himself somewhere.

 

[Delpanther]

“Sounds about right to me”...Jamie “Medicine Ball” Dixon

 

[thebadby2]

“To Coach Dixon, I was a big man for rebounds and dunks and nothing else,”

Apparently that's what Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan think he's for as well.

 

[wbrpanther]

“Sounds about right to me”...Jamie “Medicine Ball” Dixon

I have no idea what went on behind the scene. All I know is what I saw. Most of what Adams did was run past the circle to set a screen or disrupt an offensive set.

I spent more than one game waiting to see him start posting up and getting the ball. Never happened. He was misused terribly.

 

[Pittnerski]

And yet this will have no detrimental effect on dixon’s All of a sudden stellar recruiting at TCU.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

i'm pretty sure every basketball team, from 4th grade hoops in beaver county to a Y league in LA to the NBA finals has a big man that thinks the coach doesnt use him properly.

 

[thebadby2]

i'm pretty sure every basketball team, from 4th grade hoops in beaver county to a Y league in LA to the NBA finals has a big man that thinks the coach doesnt use him properly.

The guy still can't execute a foul shot after 6 years in the NBA but he's bitching because Dixon didn't let him show off his awesome face-up game? His "mid-range floater"? Sheeeeeeeeeeeit............

 

[thom67]

I have no idea what went on behind the scene. All I know is what I saw. Most of what Adams did was run past the circle to set a screen or disrupt an offensive set.

I spent more than one game waiting to see him start posting up and getting the ball. Never happened. He was misused terribly.

Then he was also misused for several years in the NBA.

 

[Ski11585]

The guy still can't execute a foul shot after 6 years in the NBA but he's bitching because Dixon didn't let him show off his awesome face-up game? His "mid-range floater"? Sheeeeeeeeeeeit............

I love Adams and he’s a big reason I root for OKC (let’s be honest, it’s mostly Russ). But this is an absurd take he’s putting out here. Dude makes it seem like he’s Karl Anthony Towns and was shooting 50-40-90 before Dixon handcuffed him.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Watching him play at Greentree vs during the season was as different as night and day . The athletic ability at that size was breathtaking .
Comparing how he's used playing with the absolute best ballplayers on earth and with Pitt is also different as night and day .
It's doubtful he'd of returned no matter what so it's really a moot point especially since JD isn't the coach at Pitt .

 

[CaptainMurphy]

Doesn't matter to me given that neither is here anymore. Its pretty clear Adams was a bad fit in JDs system.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Wow. A coach wanted a 7 footer to play like a big man. What a scandal.

 

[thebadby2]

I love Adams and he’s a big reason I root for OKC (let’s be honest, it’s mostly Russ). But this is an absurd take he’s putting out here. Dude makes it seem like he’s Karl Anthony Towns and was shooting 50-40-90 before Dixon handcuffed him.

I like him too, and I also don’t think Dixon was perfect, but this whole thing just caught me the wrong way. The idea that Dixon throttled Adams down to keep him around an extra year, as opposed to trying to win with him now, is just too much.

 

[thebadby2]

Watching him play at Greentree vs during the season was as different as night and day . The athletic ability at that size was breathtaking .
Comparing how he's used playing with the absolute best ballplayers on earth and with Pitt is also different as night and day .
It's doubtful he'd of returned no matter what so it's really a moot point especially since JD isn't the coach at Pitt .

Greentree-isn’t that the magical mystical gym where Cam Wright dropped like 45 ppg? Pitt should play all of its home games there.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Greentree-isn’t that the magical mystical gym where Cam Wright dropped like 45 ppg? Pitt should play all of its home games there.

Running and gunning in a playground game isn't quiet the same as watching an athletically built 7 footer make other large athletically gifted ballplayers seem insignificant !

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Comparing how he's used playing with the absolute best ballplayers on earth and with Pitt is also different as night and day .

The funny thing about this is that he spent years at OKC playing exactly the same way that he did at Pitt. And that extended to last season. We'll see if they use him differently this year, but Adams most certainly was not shooting mid-range floaters while on the court at OKC at any point in the past.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

“To Coach Dixon, I was a big man for rebounds and dunks and nothing else,”

Apparently that's what Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan think he's for as well.

Funny Thing, eh?

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

In fact, last season Adams scored 83.9% of his point in the paint, which was the highest of his career. He wasn't shooting mid-range floaters five years into his pro career, but he thinks he should have been shooting them in college?

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

In fact, last season Adams scored 83.9% of his point in the paint, which was the highest of his career. He wasn't shooting mid-range floaters five years into his pro career, but he thinks he should have been shooting them in college?

Hell he should have been jacking 3s. He was a regular Kevin Pittsnogle. Unfortunately nobody even knew until now.

 

[cease10]

Thank you Steven for confirming what many of us had been saying about Dixon for years. He underutilized many players over the years. Sam Young said something to the same effect cause Dixon had Levon Kendall playing ahead of him.....Mr 40pts against Team USA.....lol.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Thank you Steven for confirming what many of us had been saying about Dixon for years. He underutilized many players over the years. Sam Young said something to the same effect cause Dixon had Levon Kendall playing ahead of him.....Mr 40pts against Team USA.....lol.

Dixon did more with less overall talent than the vast majority of college coaches. The team concept and winning games always came first just as it is supposed to for any good coach. An individual player's personal development belongs on the practice court and should never be allowed to be a priority above overall team success.

 

[Ski11585]

Thank you Steven for confirming what many of us had been saying about Dixon for years. He underutilized many players over the years. Sam Young said something to the same effect cause Dixon had Levon Kendall playing ahead of him.....Mr 40pts against Team USA.....lol.

Have you seen anything in Adams’ NBA career to suggest he was capable of regularly making midrange shots?

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

Running and gunning in a playground game isn't quiet the same as watching an athletically built 7 footer make other large athletically gifted ballplayers seem insignificant !

Uh, no.

Open ended question for the board.....w what is the more insignificanat achievement: winning the ed Conway award or putting up lots of points at green tree?

 

[H2P 2003]

Adams would have loved playing for stallings...he would have let him play like a two guard.

Anyone who thinks things should work how Adams wanted...all you have to look at stallings’ team with young and Artis. Went from 9-9 to 4-14, and mainly you can attribute it to letting the player play their way.

Finally, I saw Adams here...there were times he had trouble catching the ball. Is he going to blame Dixon for not developing a post game or face up jumper yet?

 

[DT_PITT]

I have no idea what went on behind the scene. All I know is what I saw. Most of what Adams did was run past the circle to set a screen or disrupt an offensive set.

I spent more than one game waiting to see him start posting up and getting the ball. Never happened. He was misused terribly.

Funny thing is that I was watching the OKC game on Tuesday. The announcers were really singing Adams' praises, saying they expect to see him play in an All-Star game soon.

But this was after one part of the game when Steve tried to post up quite awkwardly. Both announcers agreed that they loved watching him play, but trying to play a post up game was absolutely something that Steve should NOT do.

 

[mo cheeks]

I really like Adams, but as they say, he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. great guy, love to have a beer with him. Dixon used him right. through his freshman year, he got more PT and was at his best at the end of the season. he would have had a huge sophemore year.

 

[DT_PITT]

I really like Adams, but as they say, he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. great guy, love to have a beer with him. Dixon used him right. through his freshman year, he got more PT and was at his best at the end of the season. he would have had a huge sophemore year.

This is how I see it as well. If DIxon was using Adams the same way in his second, third or forth year the same way as he was used as a freshman, I'd be much more inclined to share Steve's views.

 

[DT_PITT]

Running and gunning in a playground game isn't quiet the same as watching an athletically built 7 footer make other large athletically gifted ballplayers seem insignificant !

As you may know, I kept all of the stats for all of the Green Tree games. So I was there for every moment of every game. And because of that, I have to wonder what you saw in his offensive game that I missed. First, Steve averaged something like 13-14 points, which isn't stellar for that league. He never utilized a face up jumper to any consistent affect. He rarely posted up and got his points effectively cleaning up the garbage.

A favorite play I recall very well was once when he cut to right under the basket and one of his teammates passed him the ball under the basket with one 6-4ish guy guarding him, but absolutely no one else around him. But Steve had no idea what to do with it, and then finally instead passed out to the perimeter to a wide open Lamar Patterson. Lamar who canned the three. We gave the assist to Steve while laughing that we couldn't believe Steve passed up a shot attempt under the basket to pass the ball all the way back out to the perimeter.

Steve's athleticism was certainly very evident. But it was equally evident to he had a great deal of work to do to develop an offensive game. And after 5 years in the NBA, that offensive game is still very much a work in progress.

Nonetheless, I still greatly enjoy watching Steve with OKC absolutely every chance I get. Most importantly, I will always be grateful that Steve personally enabled my then 7 year old son's first slam dunk -- he picked him up and held him next to the hoop so he could dunk a ball.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

As you may know, I kept all of the stats for all of the Green Tree games. So I was there for every moment of every game. And because of that, I have to wonder what you saw in his offensive game that I missed. First, Steve averaged something like 13-14 points, which isn't stellar for that league. He never utilized a face up jumper to any consistent affect. He rarely posted up and got his points effectively cleaning up the garbage.

A favorite play I recall very well was once when he cut to right under the basket and one of his teammates passed him the ball under the basket with one 6-4ish guy guarding him, but absolutely no one else around him. But Steve had no idea what to do with it, and then finally instead passed out to the perimeter to a wide open Lamar Patterson. Lamar who canned the three. We gave the assist to Steve while laughing that we couldn't believe Steve passed up a shot attempt under the basket to pass the ball all the way back out to the perimeter.

Steve's athleticism was certainly very evident. But it was equally evident to he had a great deal of work to do to develop an offensive game. And after 5 years in the NBA, that offensive game is still very much a work in progress.

Nonetheless, I still greatly enjoy watching Steve with OKC absolutely every chance I get. Most importantly, I will always be grateful that Steve personally enabled my then 7 year old son's first slam dunk -- he picked him up and held him next to the hoop so he could dunk a ball.

Yeah, FS has a completely different recollection of what happened at Green Tree than pretty much everyone else who was there.

 

[freddietee511]

Steve could barley catch a pass, and plays the same way, this is much about nothing tbh

 

[thebadby2]

Yeah, FS has a completely different recollection of what happened at Green Tree than pretty much everyone else who was there.

I think all he’s trying to say is that at Greentree Adams showed that he was an incredibly fluid athlete for his size-And he certainly is that. He runs the floor like a wing player, and he is a strong and explosive player with a lot of bounce. In short, athletically, he’s a freak at his size. However, his basketball skill set was and is very limited. He was as raw as they come at Pitt-but he was such a good athlete at his size he played all the minutes JD could give him without fouling him out.

I still believe that Adams’ athleticism alone combined with maybe a go-to post move or two and he would have been a monster as a soph, and defensively he would have become a dominant, game-changing player.

 

[Thee Jackie Treehorn]

The idea that Dixon throttled Adams down to keep him around an extra year, as opposed to trying to win with him now, is just too much.

Yeah, the notion that Adams was going to be sinking mid-range floaters in 2012 is ridiculous enough. The suggestion that any college coach would attempt to hide a 7-foot lottery pick by focusing on their big man skills is just total madness.

 

[DT_PITT]

Thank you Steven for confirming what many of us had been saying about Dixon for years. He underutilized many players over the years. Sam Young said something to the same effect cause Dixon had Levon Kendall playing ahead of him.....Mr 40pts against Team USA.....lol.

I'm never a big fan of inaccurate and/or revisionist history. Sam played behind Kendall when Sam was a freshman simply because Kendall was better in total, on both ends of the court. When Sam was a soph, for the better part of the season, he actually played behind Mike Cook at the three. And Sam struggled as a soph a great deal as well, largely because he was fighting tendonitis. And for the first half of the season, Mike was the team's second best offensive player by far.

Beyond that, Sam wanted to play the three (not the four) and he simply did not have enough of a developed perimeter game to play effectively as a three.

So as the season went on, Sam was moved to play the four (he actually was playing more minutes at the four than Kendall by year end -- Kendall was getting additional minutes backing up Gray and Biggs' role was largely removed).

But Sam was ready to play a whole new role as junior after really working on his three point shot, along with greatly improving his handle (he had none as a fresh and soph) and adding his ridiculous but effective exaggerated up fake. He also played most of his junior year at the four. As a senior, Young played much more at the three as his perimeter game continued to develop.

But Sam as a freshman and sophomore was a very far cry from the All-American he became as a junior and senior.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Steve developed enough to be great on pick and roll by the end of his freshman year.

Which was essentially preparing him for the nba.

If that upset him- he’s dumb

 

[cease10]

I'm never a big fan of inaccurate and/or revisionist history. Sam played behind Kendall when Sam was a freshman simply because Kendall was better in total, on both ends of the court. When Sam was a soph, for the better part of the season, he actually played behind Mike Cook at the three. And Sam struggled as a soph a great deal as well, largely because he was fighting tendonitis. And for the first half of the season, Mike was the team's second best offensive player by far.

Beyond that, Sam wanted to play the three (not the four) and he simply did not have enough of a developed perimeter game to play effectively as a three.

So as the season went on, Sam was moved to play the four (he actually was playing more minutes at the four than Kendall by year end -- Kendall was getting additional minutes backing up Gray and Biggs' role was largely removed).

But Sam was ready to play a whole new role as junior after really working on his three point shot, along with greatly improving his handle (he had none as a fresh and soph) and adding his ridiculous but effective exaggerated up fake. He also played most of his junior year at the four. As a senior, Young played much more at the three as his perimeter game continued to develop.

But Sam as a freshman and sophomore was a very far cry from the All-American he became as a junior and senior.

I'll go with Sam's take rather than yours. He said that he was killing these guys in practice and couldn't understand why they were playing over him.

Another example, there was a guy that Dixon insisted on starting that made no sense. I can't even remember his name now. I believe he wore a headband and played 3. Not Gilbert or his "twin" or Page. I believe this guy might've transferred in. He always started but ended up only playing like 9mins a game. That type of Dixon move will piss off the more deserving player.

 

[Ski11585]

I'll go with Sam's take rather than yours. He said that he was killing these guys in practice and couldn't understand why they were playing over him.

Another example, there was a guy that Dixon insisted on starting that made no sense. I can't even remember his name now. I believe he wore a headband and played 3. Not Gilbert or his "twin" or Page. I believe this guy might've transferred in. He always started but ended up only playing like 9mins a game. That type of Dixon move will piss off the more deserving player.

What specifically did you or have you seen from Adams that would suggest he was capable of playing the way he is describing here?

 

[4Mark_Marty]

Dixon did more with less overall talent than the vast majority of college coaches. The team concept and winning games always came first just as it is supposed to for any good coach. An individual player's personal development belongs on the practice court and should never be allowed to be a priority above overall team success.

Why did he always have less talent? Because he couldn’t handle superior talented players at Pitt, and the kids he recruited, as well as the coaches he recruited against, knew then too.