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Friday, February 25, 2011

Getting to know Derrick Favors


Derrick Bernard Favors (born July 15, 1991 in AtlantaGeorgia) is an American basketball player for the Utah Jazz. He is a 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m) power forward who played for Georgia Tech. On June 24, 2010, he was drafted 3rd overall by the New Jersey Nets of the NBA.


High school

Favors, from South Atlanta High School, was ranked as one of the best high school basketball players in the class of 2009. Scout.com rated him the #1 player in the country,[1] #2 in the ESPNU100,[2] and #4 by Rivals.com. On March 14, 2009, he led South Atlanta to the Georgia Class AAA state championship. He scored 38 points and had 21 rebounds in the championship game against Westover High School.[3] He was named to the 2009 McDonald's All-American Team. He led the East to a 113–110 victory and was named the MVP of the game. He scored 19 points and had 8 rebounds.[4] Favors was selected to participate in the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon but pulled out due to personal reasons[5] and he was also selected to play in the 2009 Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden where he scored a game-high 21 points and was named MVP for the black team, while Renardo Sidney was named MVP for the white team.[6] He finished his senior season averaging 28.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.0 blocks, 3.0 steals and 2.0 assists per game and holds the career records in points (2,341), rebounds (1,511) and blocked shots (741).[7][edit]

[edit]College

Favors committed to Georgia Tech in January 2009, which he chose over GeorgiaMemphis and North Carolina State.
Favors played both power forward and center for Paul Hewitt's Yellow Jackets. The front court consisted of a three man rotation of Favors, Gani Lawal and Zach Peacock. In ACC games, he averaged 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and shot 62.5% from the field. He also helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the ACC tournament finals against Duke. During the tournament, he posted 17 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game.
Favors was named ACC Rookie of the Year and to the ACC All-Freshman Team.[8]

NBA

On April 9, 2010, Derrick Favors announced he would forgo his final three years of college eligibility to enter the 2010 NBA Draft.[9] The New Jersey Netsdrafted him 3rd overall.
On February 23, 2011, Favors was traded, along with Devin Harris and two first round draft picks to the Utah Jazz for Deron Williams.[10

Getting to know Devin Harris


Devin Lamar Harris (born February 27, 1983) is an American professional basketball player for theUtah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Harris attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Harris was selected with the fifth pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.

Early life

Harris was born and raised in MilwaukeeWisconsin; the son of Terry and Julie Harris. Throughout high school, Harris was a superior athlete and took up basketball and volleyball at Wauwatosa East High School. He played volleyball for only one season, a season in which he gained all-conference honors, before he set that aside to focus on basketball. Harris was nagged by injuries after hissophomore year of high school and was unable to participate in the summer basketball camps and tournaments that are ever important in the recruiting process.

High School

Harris exploded his senior season at Wauwatosa East, setting school scoring records through an undefeated regular season. Harris was named Wisconsin's "Mr. Basketball" for 2001, edging outTravis Diener of Fond du Lac High School. Harris finally accepted an offer to play for Dick Bennett at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Bennett retired in the midst of the upcoming season and by the time Harris arrived on campus, Bo Ryan was the head coach.

Harris' number 20 jersey was retired by Wauwatosa East at ceremonies held in 2007.[1]

NCAA career

In Harris's freshman season, the 2001–2002 season, Harris was already a starter on a relatively unheralded team. The Badgers came into the season being predicted to finish as low as ninth in theBig Ten Conference (which has eleven teams). On a team led by seniors Charlie Wills and Travon Davis, the Badgers won an unexpected Big Ten Championship (shared with three other teams: IndianaIllinois, and Ohio State University).
Harris' sophomore season was his "breakout" year. Harris, along with senior Kirk Penney and fellow sophomore Mike Wilkinson, led the Badgers to their second consecutive Big Ten Championship, where he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, the Badgers reached the "Sweet 16". In the Sweet 16 game against the University of Kentucky, Harris showcased his skill before a national audience, despite an eventual Badger loss.
The 2003–2004 season saw Harris establish himself as one of the top players in the nation. Harris was the leader on the team and was considered a "coach on the floor" by Bo Ryan.[2] He received Big Ten Player of the Year and the Silver Basketball award, and was named a Second Team All-American. Harris decided to leave college early after his junior year to play in the NBA; however, he is currently taking summer classes to get his degree in sociology.[citation needed]

NBA career

Draft day

Days prior to the draft, the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks consummated a deal that involved the Wizards' 5th overall pick going to the Mavs along with Jerry Stackhouse and Christian Laettner in exchange for Antawn Jamison. NBA rules prevented teams from trading draft picks for two consecutive years (in addition to trade kicker details in Laettner's contract[3]) so the deal was momentarily delayed until the actual draft in which Washington selected Harris and subsequently traded him to the Mavericks to complete the deal. The Mavs' plan was to bring Harris along slowly under the tutelage of all-star point guard Steve Nash but Nash ended up leaving the team through free agency and signing with the Phoenix Suns.[4]

Dallas Mavericks

In Harris' rookie season, he averaged 5.7 ppg and 2.2 apg, but put up a PER of 14.69. He ranked 2nd in the NBA in steals per 48 minutes at 3.15 (behindLarry Hughes), and in November 2004 was named the Rookie of the Month. Although he started for much of the early portion of the season, his playing time dwindled as the season progressed.
Harris showed marked improvement in the early stages of the 2005–06 NBA season, especially when it came to scoring; as a result, his minutes increased and he took more ball-handling responsibilities from Jason Terry. He is known for his exceptional speed, earning comparisons to other NBA guards like the Phoenix SunsLeandro Barbosa and his good friend, the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade.[5] He ended the year with averages of 9.9 ppg and 3.2 apg. He improved his jump-shot and his ability to split defenses and get to the rim. Unfortunately, he sustained a leg injury midway through the year and missed most of the rest of the regular season. Harris returned for the playoffs and played a huge role in toppling the Mavericks' long time rivals, theSan Antonio Spurs. The Spurs had dominated the Mavs in recent playoff history, ending their playoff runs in 6 games in the 2003 Playoffs and 5 games in the 2001 Playoffs. Devin Harris and the Mavericks reached the 2006 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Miami Heat 4 games to 2.
In the 2006–07 season, Harris averaged 10.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. After becoming the starting point guard for the Mavericks in the 2006–07 season, he helped lead the Mavericks to a team record of 67 wins in the regular season only to be upset by the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors in the 2007 Playoffs. Halfway through the 2007–08 season, Harris was averaging career highs with 14.4 points per game and 5.4 assists per game. He was named a co-captain in 2007–08 along with Dirk Nowitzki.

New Jersey Nets


Harris with the Nets
On February 19, 2008, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets with Keith Van HornTrenton HassellDeSagana DiopMaurice Ager, $3 million cash and two first-round draft picks (2008, 2010) in exchange for Jason KiddMalik Allen, and Antoine Wright. In his Nets home game debut against the Milwaukee Bucks, he posted 21 points and five assists in just under 21 minutes.Towards the end of the game he was treated to chants of "Dev-in Harris! Dev-in Harris!", and the first 5,000 attendees received Harris T-shirts in the Nets' next home game versus the San Antonio Spurs.[6] After New Jersey missed the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, he expressed that he was not satisfied with the way he played toward the season's end and he said he would mainly need to work on his assertiveness on offense over the summer.
On November 7, 2008, Harris posted a career-high 38 points against All-Star Allen Iverson, who was making his debut with theDetroit Pistons.[7] He later bettered that mark on November 30 with 47 points, including scoring 21 in both the first half and the fourth quarter, against the Suns in the Nets' first win in Phoenix since 1993.[8] On December 19, in Dallas' first game at the Nets' Izod Center since the trade between the two teams, Harris put on a masterful performance posting 41 points and a season-high 13 assists in a blowout victory against his former team, while outplaying the player he was essentially traded for, Jason Kidd. Towards the end of the game, Nets fans were chanting "Thank you Cuban!" (Mavericks team owner Mark Cubanwas sitting courtside).[9] On January 29, 2009 Harris was named a reserve for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game. It was the first time Harris was named as an All-Star in his career.[10] On February 23, 2009 in a game against the 76ers, Harris converted a half court buzzer beating 47-foot shot, known as "The Harris Heave," to win the game 98–96.[11]
In a cost-cutting move, the Nets traded Vince Carter on the same day of the 2009 NBA Draft, leaving Harris to assume the role of team captain. Harris was out for large portions of the season with shoulder and ankle injuries, including the team's infamous 0–18 start. His personal play, stats, and talent around him were well below the previous year but he managed to bring his averages back up to just under 17 points per game and 6 assists per game. In order to reduce his risk of injury, Harris took part in a weight training program during the summer of 2010 at Nets' head coach (and Harris' former head coach in Dallas) Avery Johnson's request. He managed to add 15 pounds of muscle and also worked on his defense with Tim Grover.

Utah Jazz

On February 23, 2011, Harris was traded along with rookie Derrick Favors, 2 draft picks and $3,000,000 cash to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Deron Williams[12].

Latest on the "new" Jazz

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Jazz vs Mavs recap

Picture of the Day


Utah Jazz HomeUtah Jazz
PLAYERGAME
MinFGM-AFTM-A3PM-AOff
Reb
Def
Reb
Tot
Reb
AsstStlBlkTOPFPts
Paul Millsap, F338-172-30-02791404418
Andrei Kirilenko, F287-101-32-31125202017
Al Jefferson, C3911-148-100-02682210230
Earl Watson, G363-110-01-5101520437
Raja Bell, G301-73-30-4033210325
C.J. Miles252-911-121-40221202216
Gordon Hayward191-60-00-0213210332
Francisco Elson172-20-00-0224000234
Kyrylo Fesenko60-10-00-0000000020
Jeremy Evans20-00-00-0011000010
Ronnie Price00-00-00-0000000000
Derrick Favors00-00-00-0000000000
Mehmet Okur00-00-00-0000000000
Devin Harris00-00-00-0000000000
Totals24035-77
(.455)
25-31
(.806)
4-16
(.250)
10233318141202299
Team Rebounds:Technicals: 1 Player: Jefferson (1)
Ejections: 0DQ's: 0
Points off turnovers:Team Turnovers: 0
Fast Break Points: 16Points in the Paint: 34
Biggest Lead: 7
DNP:

Dallas Mavericks HomeDallas Mavericks
PLAYERGAME
MinFGM-AFTM-A3PM-AOff
Reb
Def
Reb
Tot
Reb
AsstStlBlkTOPFPts
Dirk Nowitzki, F319-154-51-40771102023
Peja Stojakovic, F237-90-04-50220110118
Tyson Chandler, C223-71-20-03710111547
Jason Kidd, G262-30-01-20331220335
Rodrigue Beaubois, G224-60-02-40004102310
Jason Terry264-94-41-30005003313
Brendan Haywood254-74-90-146101001212
Shawn Marion206-94-40-02461001316
J.J. Barea185-82-21-11015001013
Brian Cardinal100-00-00-0022010040
Ian Mahinmi60-11-20-0112000011
DeShawn Stevenson50-20-00-0000000110
Dominique Jones00-00-00-0000000000
Caron Butler00-00-00-0000000000
Totals24044-76
(.579)
20-28
(.714)
10-20
(.500)
11324330721925118
Team Rebounds:Technicals: 1 Player: Terry (1)
Ejections: 0DQ's: 0
Points off turnovers:Team Turnovers: 0
Fast Break Points: 15Points in the Paint: 40
Biggest Lead: 21
DNP: