Is J-Chill ready?

[OGRat]

I don't want to sound like an alarmist or anything and I know that this is the Summer league and does not mean much, but J-Chill has not shown much yet. It may be too soon to say, but is he ready to start in the NBA as many of us have projected him?

Has anyone out there been able to catch any of the games to see what's going on with Chill? It's hard to guage by box scores alone. Maybe he (or the team) is struggling with the offense, or allowing everyone else to shine or even setting everyone else up.

Anyone have a good read on him? Does he show to be a leader on the court? What's going on? Should we sign Sura as backup?

[swolehawk2]

Of course he is not ready. Just like D. Howard is not ready. But if yor are rebuilding you put your top pick out there with the starters and let him develop. We are not competing for a championship, so as long as J is working hard and playing D you let him play all the minutes he can handle and support him.

[OGRat]

I am asking this question because my read on the expectations of this board was that J Chill was ready to be a major contributor. It seemed as if he was "the given."

Sure you put him out there and let him develop, but how many minutes is he ready for? This may impact his development as well. I believe for some there can be too many minutes. Also, it is not like we have a solid cast of other starters that can show him the ropes.

Again, I think it is too soon to say, but was wondering if anyone could give first hand observations of his performance on the court. The reports coming out of the Summer league do not give us much on his performance.

[Buzzard]

I see J-Chill going fot 10-12 pts, 5-6 boards, and hopefully 3-4 assist. That is what I am hoping for. I see him more as a Doug Christie type (good numbers across the board, including steals and blks) than a George Gervin (great scorer).

If he outperforms those numbers, that's great, if not that is a decent rookie year. He was not a great scorer in college and other than him being thin, I have no idea why people are comparing him to Gervin.

[OGRat]

He's very close to those numbers in the Revue, but I guess those numbers would go down a little in the NBA

[Blunt91]

I read that J-Chill was asked to refine his game in college. He was asked to be more of a team player than the type to be the #1man. I don't think Childress displayed the kind of offensive game he really has in college. He was a far better offensive threat in highschool. I will see if I can find that article and post it later.

[Buzzard]

Quote:

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He was a far better offensive threat in highschool. I will see if I can find that article and post it later.

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I would like to read that. Always looking for good reads on our players. Thanks, James

[Blunt91]

Well I couldn't find the orginal article but I found another one which suggest he is a better player than the 15ppg he average his last year in college.

March 18, 2004

SEATTLE – The first clue that Josh Childress is not your ordinary basketball superstar comes in the Stanford media guide, under the heading of "athlete I admire most."

While several of his teammates selected Michael Jordan, not surprising given who ruled the game when they were growing up, Childress had a surprisingly different answer. Especially for someone with his talents.

Scottie Pippen.

A sidekick.

"I just felt like Scottie was a great all-around player," Childress said last week at the Pac-10 Tournament in Los Angeles. "He defended well, he rebounded, he scored, he handled (the ball). He was a little more like me."

In one respect, that's true. Childress is an all-around threat. But as the best player on the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and the first Stanford player to be named Pac-10 Player of the Year, he probably could be more.

In fact, history is filled with players who carried their teams to NCAA titles. It happened just a year ago when a versatile 6-foot-8 swingman took over the NCAA Tournament and seemingly willed Syracuse to the national championship. Just like that, America was introduced to Carmelo Anthony.

PAUL SANCYA / Associated Press

Childress is the Pac-10's Player of the Year, averaging 15.3 points per game.

Childress, also 6-8, also capable of playing either forward or guard, might not be at Anthony's level, but the junior definitely could do more than average 15.3 points, as he did this season.

"Stanford has a player in Josh Childress who is one of those kind of guys, someone who can pick the opportune time to take over a game, as necessary," said ESPN analyst Steve Lavin, the former UCLA coach.

Stanford – which plays its first tournament game today in Seattle against Texas-San Antonio – is just as happy Childress does it only when necessary, and not as a habit.

"I've known a lot of All-Americans, and Josh is different," Stanford center Rob Little said. "He's got a different attitude. He's very unselfish ... It permeates throughout the team.

"It's easy for a guy who's as good as he is to really take advantage of his role on the team, but he doesn't. He still passes, he still rebounds, he still gets after it on defense. It's very important he does that because not every good player like him would do that."

Of course, not every great player has the luxury of playing on a team that goes eight-deep with athletes all capable of scoring in double figures.

"I think our team's style is to be balanced," said Childress, who missed this season's first nine games with a stress reaction in his left foot. "That's what's won for us all year. When you have (balance), you're hard to stop and defenses don't know who to key in on."

Cal coach Ben Braun made that point earlier this season, but also said nearly every Cardinal player could be stopped. Except one.

"Childress is probably the one guy, even if you want to take him out, I don't know if you can," Braun said. "He's long, he's athletic, he's competitive."

Childress is capable of scoring inside and out, off the dribble and via a pass. He can run the floor and has the ability to create shots for himself outside the offense. He improved his shooting percentage from .427 last season to .495 and made more than 40 percent of his attempts from three-point range.

And – here's that unselfishness again – he averaged only 10.6 shots and 4.2 free throws, far fewer than other Pac-10 stars such as USC's Desmon Farmer (15.6, 5.7), Oregon's Luke Jackson (14.0, 6.0) and Arizona State's Ike Diogu (12.5, 11.0).

"I think that me being selfish would really hurt my game, No. 1, because that's not the type of player I am, and also hurt us," said Childress, who was a McDonald's All-American at Mayfair High in Lakewood, where he had unstarlike scoring averages of 22-24 points in each of his three seasons.

"I don't really see him as that kind of player, although against USC he did (take over, with a career-high 36 points)," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "I don't think we'd want him to do that. He needs to be a major focus of our offense, and he not only needs to make plays but he needs to make other players better."

If anything, Montgomery has been after Childress to stay aggressive. In fact, that was Childress' No. 1 goal to improve himself as a player this season.

"I've been assertive," Childress said, "but also play within myself and play within the offense. And being assertive doesn't necessarily mean jacking up a bunch of shots or playing selfishly. It just means being aggressive and making people better."

The only question now is whether this tournament will be Childress' Stanford farewell, or if he'll return for his senior season. If he decides to turn pro, he would be a certain NBA first-round pick and a possible lottery selection.

"I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about it, but who doesn't?" Childress said, laughing. "I'm going to make sure I put myself in the right position to do well. If that means staying another year, then that's fine. If it doesn't, then fine, too. It's not something that I've lost sleep over."

Said Little: "He was an NBA player before he got here. It's just a matter of time."

[Buzzard]

That is a great article. I like the fact he can shoot the three and he does have the ability to score when he wants to. Cool, and Thanks.

[OGRat]

Thanks for the article. It really helps my understanding of his game. Maybe this year someone will establish themselves as the team's Batman and Chill will be Robin.

[Packfill]

If nothing else, Childress comes across in interviews as someone with his head on straight, the type of guy you want on your team. Great attitude.

[GameBreaker]

I hope hes the next Scottie P