Setä Koponen
Vs: Petteri Koposen tie kohti NBA:ta
Suns work out Strawberry
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 8, 2007 10:14 PM
Many players come to NBA draft workouts trying to prove something they are not. A shooter tries to be a point guard. A post player wants to look like a wing. A scorer tries harder than ever defensively.
D.J. Strawberry knows who he is and it is much more than Darryl Strawberry's son. The Maryland senior may be the top defensive guard taken in the June 28 draft. If his perimeter shot or point skills were better, he would be a surefire first-round pick.
But in workouts this week at Miami, Chicago and Phoenix, Strawberry stuck to his strength - the intense defense he models after Bruce Bowen.
"That's what teams want me for and that's how I'm going to make it in the NBA," Strawberry said after his workout with the Suns on Friday. "First of all, playing defense and then working on other things to stay in."
He may be a stretch for the Suns' 24th or 29th picks and gone by their 59th pick. He is a combo guard but his shooting stroke is not as sweet as his dad's hitting stroke. He can guard points and wings, as he showed Friday in dogging 19-year-old Finnish point guard Petteri Koponen.
Like the "Dar-ryl" chants he heard in ACC gyms, Strawberry is linked to his father for better or worse. Scouts love the athletic pedigree but worry about baggage because of his father's cocaine troubles.
"People think I'm going to have problems just like my dad, but I'm my own person," he said. "I just have to show people I'm my own person. They'll ask my about my relationship with my dad, which is good."
Koponen broke out at April's Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis, Tenn., where top teens face off annually in a U.S. vs. the world format.
"I held my own against them so I noticed I have a chance to play in the NBA someday if I just work hard," Koponen said.
His stock is rising but he likely needs a year at a higher level in Europe. He played in Finland's top league for the Honka Playboys this past season.
The Suns also worked out 7-foot-2 Russian Artem Zabelin, who showed a long-distance shooting touch that has some placing him on the first round's bubble despite a 200-pound body and low-level experience.
Suns work out Strawberry
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 8, 2007 10:14 PM
Many players come to NBA draft workouts trying to prove something they are not. A shooter tries to be a point guard. A post player wants to look like a wing. A scorer tries harder than ever defensively.
D.J. Strawberry knows who he is and it is much more than Darryl Strawberry's son. The Maryland senior may be the top defensive guard taken in the June 28 draft. If his perimeter shot or point skills were better, he would be a surefire first-round pick.
But in workouts this week at Miami, Chicago and Phoenix, Strawberry stuck to his strength - the intense defense he models after Bruce Bowen.
"That's what teams want me for and that's how I'm going to make it in the NBA," Strawberry said after his workout with the Suns on Friday. "First of all, playing defense and then working on other things to stay in."
He may be a stretch for the Suns' 24th or 29th picks and gone by their 59th pick. He is a combo guard but his shooting stroke is not as sweet as his dad's hitting stroke. He can guard points and wings, as he showed Friday in dogging 19-year-old Finnish point guard Petteri Koponen.
Like the "Dar-ryl" chants he heard in ACC gyms, Strawberry is linked to his father for better or worse. Scouts love the athletic pedigree but worry about baggage because of his father's cocaine troubles.
"People think I'm going to have problems just like my dad, but I'm my own person," he said. "I just have to show people I'm my own person. They'll ask my about my relationship with my dad, which is good."
Koponen broke out at April's Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis, Tenn., where top teens face off annually in a U.S. vs. the world format.
"I held my own against them so I noticed I have a chance to play in the NBA someday if I just work hard," Koponen said.
His stock is rising but he likely needs a year at a higher level in Europe. He played in Finland's top league for the Honka Playboys this past season.
The Suns also worked out 7-foot-2 Russian Artem Zabelin, who showed a long-distance shooting touch that has some placing him on the first round's bubble despite a 200-pound body and low-level experience.
