Thunder's Cole Aldrich knows focus will be defense

Basketball Betting Lines

07/13/2010 -

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Cole Aldrich says defense comes naturally to him - a trait made easier by the fact he's always been the biggest guy on the basketball court.

The 6-foot-11 Aldrich finished his career at Kansas as one of the school's great shot- blockers, and he hopes to continue focusing on defense now that he's reached the NBA.

``Defensively is, I think, really where I'm going to make an impact,'' Aldrich said Monday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Aldrich, the No. 11 pick in this year's draft, and veteran forward Morris Peterson from New Orleans in exchange to the draft rights to Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter. In making the trade, Oklahoma City added a player with a defense-first approach, something general manager Sam Presti said can be rare among rookies.

``Cole really shares the same mentality and approach that we try to embody with our team,'' Presti said. ``He's another hardworking, high-character player.''

Thunder coach Scott Brooks listed Aldrich's positives: ``Defense, protects the basket, rebounds, sets great screens. He's a great outlet passer.''

Notice Brooks didn't say anything about scoring. On a team that already includes the NBA's reigning scoring leader in Kevin Durant and other players capable of big offensive games, ``we're not looking for him to come in here and be a big-time scorer,'' Brooks said.

Aldrich, a native of Bloomington, Minn., grew up a Minnesota Timberwolves fan - and defense was an early love.

``I was, I wouldn't say a bully on the court, but I was bigger than everybody so I just loved to block shots and rebound,'' he said. ``If somebody comes in the lane, I don't want them to score. I take real pride in blocking the shot or altering the shot or (making opponents) pass it out. I've always liked to think that the paint is kind of my home and I don't want anybody coming in my home.''

As a sophomore at Kansas, he averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds and recorded the first official triple-double in the history of the Jayhawks' storied program with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a NCAA tournament game against Dayton.

Last season as a junior, he set a school record with 125 blocked shots and was named the Big 12 Conference's top defensive player. Favored to make the Final Four, Kansas lost a second-round game to Northern Iowa in the same Oklahoma City arena where Aldrich now will play as a pro.

Aldrich finished his Kansas career with 253 blocks, five shy of the school record held by Greg Ostertag.

The Thunder's frontcourt, thin when the franchise arrived from Seattle before the 2008-09 season, has become crowded. Nenad Krstic started last season and rookie Serge Ibaka saw his playing time dramatically increase as the season wore on.

Another Kansas product, veteran Nick Collison, provides front-line depth, and the Thunder also has been developing a 2009 first-round draft pick, Byron Mullens. At small forward, Jeff Green is entrenched as a starter.

Brooks said he prefers a nine-man rotation and everyone in that rotation is returning next season from a team that went 50-32 and pushed the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to six games in the playoffs. That means significant playing time for Aldrich is not guaranteed.

``It's going to be tough,'' Aldrich said. ``They just don't hand out anything. That's been my whole life. I've had to work for everything. I'm just excited to go against those guys and compete with them.''

Whether he's playing a lot or a little, Aldrich is guaranteed $1,772,000 in rookie salary as the No. 11 pick.

Brooks had some advice for his newest center if he wants to get on the floor quickly.

``Being a bully is not bad,'' Brooks said. ``Minutes? Who knows. I met the guy four days ago. We'll have to see how he continues to get better the rest of the summer and training camp. I know our guys are going to be ready to compete and he's going to be in there competing with them.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.