Is Josh Smith really a worker?

[Murat]

My working buddy is a good friend of David Fizdale. He asked David Fizdale this ofseason. "Be honest with me is Josh Smith a worker"? and he said NO, we are trying to make him into one. He also said that he gets distraced easily, maybe that's why he is so inconsistent.

[prolific25]

Interesting....but all signs would show that he is working hard. I find it hard to believe that all these off-season stories about him working on his game each summer are fake...I also find it so hard that he has improved so much each season if he doesn't work hard.

[Murat]

Quote:

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Interesting....but all signs would show that he is working hard. I find it hard to believe that all these off-season stories about him working on his game each summer are fake...I also find it so hard that he has improved so much each season if he doesn't work hard.

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That's what i thought especially after working out in Houston with you know who. I mean if his coach says that about him it's a big deal i guess, cause he is always around him.

[thesheedera]

My bet is that it's somewhere in between. Yes, he's a worker, but maybe not to the degree that some posters make him out to be.

An article saying so and so is doing this and that is still just a reporter passing along what someone tells him. It's never a comprehensive account of all the player is/isn't doing, and it isn't always accurate.

On another note my personal feeling is that his "bad attitude" is greatly over exagerated - or at least if he does have a bad attitude, I don't see how it's affecting him or the team in a negative way.

It's very possible that behind the scenes Josh is still more of a kid than a professional, but I'm not worried about it until some red flags arise. right now all I see is a young guy getting better and better with time.

[Packfill]

Quote:

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My bet is that it's somewhere in between. Yes, he's a worker, but maybe not to the degree that some posters make him out to be.

An article saying so and so is doing this and that is still just a reporter passing along what someone tells him. It's never a comprehensive account of all the player is/isn't doing, and it isn't always accurate.

On another note my personal feeling is that his "bad attitude" is greatly over exagerated - or at least if he does have a bad attitude, I don't see how it's affecting him or the team in a negative way.

It's very possible that behind the scenes Josh is still more of a kid than a professional, but I'm not worried about it until some red flags arise. right now all I see is a young guy getting better and better with time.

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I agree on the bad attitude thing. I think much of the blame goes to Woody based on the fact that someone like Shelden has had problems with him. Shelden was accustomed to first rate coaching at Duke and my guess is he has butted heads with Woody because he knows Woody doesn't have the goods.

Pure speculation on my part, but Woody's track record speaks for itself. I guess we will know for sure this season.