Javier Morales took first place in the 2010 Arizona Press Club’s Metro Sports Reporting category. For a different look at University of Arizona sports, check out Javier’s unique Web site: WILDABOUTAZCATS.net

Former Arizona forward Derrick Williams has trimmed down from 248 to 232 pounds to be more agile on the wing for Minnesota (US Presswire photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

LAS VEGAS — When Derrick Williams was preparing to play his first season at Arizona in 2009, he was asked during Media Day what position he expected to play the most for the Wildcats and new coach Sean Miller.

“I want to play out on the wing,” Williams said. “I feel like I can play the best out there, because I can shoot it from outside, but I will do whatever Coach Miller needs me to do.”

The Wildcats, strapped for frontcourt players, needed Williams to fill the role as a power forward and he gained weight accordingly, listed as high as 245 pounds. Williams, who stands at 6-foot-8, played as a power forward with a small-forward mindset in most of his two years at Arizona.

Now, entering his second season in the NBA, Williams is trying to reverse what his role became at Arizona. Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman and his staff want Williams to play more in the open court, handle the ball at the wing and make things happen by playing aggressively with the shot and the pass.

“I do want to dominate, but it’s not really about scoring 30 points,” Williams said after playing an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Arena with the Timberwolves. “I just want to stay efficient, making shots I know I can make and just really stay consistent.

“I’m trying to get my assists up too. I’m trying to do a little more of everything and be more complete.”

More assists? Williams had 65 of those in 69 games in his two years with Arizona. In 66 games last season with Minnesota — almost equaling his total with the Wildcats — Williams only had 35 assists.

(more…)

Former Arizona guard Kyle Fogg has yet to play in Houston’s three games of the NBA Summer League but he is maintaining a positive outlook (TucsonCitizen.com photo/Javier Morales)

LAS VEGAS — His last name is Fogg, but his head is not in a fog when it comes to his future, even under what some would consider trying circumstances.

Houston has played three games in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas since Friday, and the Rockets only have two left. Kyle Fogg’s playing time: Zero minutes. Monday afternoon, with the same fervor he showed at Arizona, Fogg went through the daily routine of a shootaround and a pregame warmup before the Rockets played Jimmer Fredette and Sacramento at the Thomas & Mack Arena.

Fogg, an undrafted guard trying to embark on a professional career either in the NBA, the NBA’s Developmental League or overseas, faces the daily grind and playing uncertainty with a positive outlook. He joked with teammates during the warmup drills. He remained in good spirits on the Houston bench throughout the Rockets’ 113-91 win over the Kings.

Not even in a rout did Fogg get time on the court. A lesser person, thinking playing time is owed to him since he is on the roster, would start to sulk or become frustrated.

“They’ve had an opportunity to see me play (in practice),” Fogg reasoned. “They like me as a player. It’s just about getting better in practice every day.

“I want to show them that I can be an even better player down the road … I just have to be ready for when my time comes and show people that I can play.”

A consolation: Five other players on the roster have yet to play and four others have played in only one of the three games.

Houston’s coach in the summer league J.B. Bickerstaff — the former Oregon State player and son of ex-NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff — is utilizing the personnel to the command of head coach Kevin McHale (who sits courtside here).

“You look at our roster, and we’ve got a lot of youth and there’s a lot of opportunity for them,” J.B. Bickerstaff said in terms of drafted players, returners and acquisitions under contract.

(more…)

Javier Morales took first place in the 2010 Arizona Press Club’s Metro Sports Reporting category. For a different look at University of Arizona sports, check out Javier’s unique Web site: WILDABOUTAZCATS.net

Former Arizona center Sean Rooks, who went from being a redshirt player in Lute Olson’s program to a 12-year NBA veteran, knows what it takes to work from the ground up.

Former Arizona point guard Josiah Turner will attempt to play next season either in the NBA’s Developmental League or overseas (US Presswire photo/Chris Morrison )

After learning Wednesday about former Arizona guard Josiah Turner’s decision to turn pro instead of transferring to SMU, Rooks believes today’s young players dangerously believe they can shoot right to the top. Turner told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday that he wants to pursue his dream of a pro career — starting in either the NBA’s Developmental League or overseas — rather than continue his collegiate career.

“(It’s) sad where sports has gone,” Rooks wrote on a thread on my Facebook page. “Kids have the 40-inch vertical (leap), the killer cross over … Everybody wants to be a PRO for all the wrong reasons but yet can’t make it through a year of school … (they) think it’s that easy to adapt to a professional life.”

Rooks not only survived but flourished in the NBA despite a second-round selection in the 1992 draft. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Rooks earned $17.2 million for seven different NBA teams. And that does not include the two years (2005 and 2006) in Spain that concluded his career.

He went from averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds as a redshirt freshman in 1988-89 — Sean Elliott’s senior season — to posting 16.3 points and 6.9 rebounds a game as a senior in 1991-92. A four-year college career is becoming the exception rather than the norm for NBA-bound players these days.

(more…)