Its just a one page story...
Here I'll type it up for y'all
FAST LEARNER
TREVOR ARIZA
He wasn't the first and he certainly won't be the last, but more than anyone, Carmelo Anthony made the one-and-done option look nice as hell: Lead your team in scoring wire-to-wire; guide it into the TOurney and bend six straight opponents to your will; cut down the nets, collect your ring and bolt for the Lottery paper three months later. Simple, right? Well, maybe for Melo, but as a rule, he's the exception.
Trevor Ariza's experience is a bit more realistic. A year behind Carmelo, he was a SLAM honorable mention All-American in 2003, good enough to have flirted with the NBA jump but smart enough to have backed away frmo the ledge. Instead, the 6-7 wing from L.A.'s Westchester High stayed close to home and signed on with UCLA, hoping to lead the Bruins back to glory. He started 23 games as a rook, but glory wasn't in the plans; Ariza averaged a decent 11.6 points and 6.5 boards per, while the Bruins went 11-17 and lost in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament.
"I think I could've done more than what I did in college," Ariza says. "But I can't really talk on the past, 'cause what's done is done. Going into college, my goal was to get better as a player, and I felt I did that."
Like we said, he's not stupid - smart enough not to dwell on disappointment, and to know that despite a somewhat underwhelming freshman campaign, he was ready for the jump. Though given no promises about his status - "Everything was up in the air," he says now - Ariza declared for the '04 Draft, busted his tail in pre-Draft workouts, then waited a round and a half before hearing the Knicks call his name at No. 43. It wasn't the Lottery, not even a first-round guarantee, but the door was open, and Ariza made sure not to let it shut. Back on his home turf in July, he averaged 14 and 7 for the Knicks' squad in the Long Becah Summer Pro League, and in early August, the 'Bockers rewarded him with a contract.
Of course, a roster spot is one thing; actually getting NBA burn is another. Ariza played 34 minutes a game for the Knicks' summer league enytry, but with veterans like Allan Houston, Jamal Crawford, Penny Hardaway, and Shandon Anderson fighting for minutes at thet two and three, the rook will probably average closer to 3.4 mpg once the games count. Ariza promises he won't sweat it. "I look at the veterans as teachers, because they've been through what I'm getting read to go through," he says. "I think I can learn something from everybody." Smart kid.-RYAN JONES.
NBA|SG/SF|no. 21
Phew! That was some typing exercise!
10/25/2004 6:01 PM