The Sloan scale of trust
Before today, I'd never really considered that there's different degrees to which a coach trusts his players. But two things Jerry Sloan said/did on the first day of training camp made it clear he's probably at about an 8 or 9 on the scale of trust.
With some of his players asking if they could go to Wednesday night's Boise State/Louisiana Tech football game, Sloan decided to move up the team's schedule of two-a-days. The Jazz will practice at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., instead of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
(Of course, some players will be a little more appreciative than others. As Andrei Kirilenko, a fan of soccer, not smurf-turf football, put it: "I'll let the other guys go and tell me how it is." Sloan, by the way, also won't be going as he's fighting a cold.)
Sloan additionally said he gave consideration to staying home for training camp altogether, before deciding that the Jazz were just a little too young for that.
It's also clear that Sloan is enthusiastic about the work several of his players put in during the summer. Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles and Kyle Korver stand out most, but Sloan praised Morris Almond's physical improvement Tuesday.
As part of a team meeting before morning practice, the Jazz passed out their rule book, but Sloan also spoke, telling his players how talented a group he thought they were and how far he thought they could go by working hard this season.
* * *
When he accepted a part-time coaching job with the Jazz last season, Jeff Hornacek's initial assignment was helping Kirilenko with his shooting. They worked before practices all season, with Kirilenko enjoying a career-best shooting season.
It's clear that Hornacek is branching out to other players. He shot around with Kyle Korver on game days a couple of times last season and was working with Kyrylo Fesenko before the Jazz's evening practice in Boise on Tuesday.
Fesenko worked on 15-footers from the baseline, wing and foul line, with Hornacek trying to get him not to rush his shot. Kirilenko said Hornacek has started working with Ronnie Brewer and has become more of a shooting coach for the entire team.
* * *
Chatted a little with Fesenko before evening practice. He's up to 300 pounds, though he said his weight can vary by 10 pounds at pretty much any given time. After a disappointing Rocky Mountain Revue, Fesenko opted to skip playing for Ukraine's national team and stayed in Utah to work out. His hair also is only a little blond now, having grown out since his dye job this summer. It'll be interesting to see both Fesenko and Kosta Koufos in the Jazz's first preseason game next week.
* * *
Not sure who wants to listen other than my parents (maybe), but 1280 The Zone has been kind enough to post some of my training camp reports on their site.
--Ross Siler
With some of his players asking if they could go to Wednesday night's Boise State/Louisiana Tech football game, Sloan decided to move up the team's schedule of two-a-days. The Jazz will practice at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., instead of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
(Of course, some players will be a little more appreciative than others. As Andrei Kirilenko, a fan of soccer, not smurf-turf football, put it: "I'll let the other guys go and tell me how it is." Sloan, by the way, also won't be going as he's fighting a cold.)
Sloan additionally said he gave consideration to staying home for training camp altogether, before deciding that the Jazz were just a little too young for that.
It's also clear that Sloan is enthusiastic about the work several of his players put in during the summer. Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles and Kyle Korver stand out most, but Sloan praised Morris Almond's physical improvement Tuesday.
As part of a team meeting before morning practice, the Jazz passed out their rule book, but Sloan also spoke, telling his players how talented a group he thought they were and how far he thought they could go by working hard this season.
* * *
When he accepted a part-time coaching job with the Jazz last season, Jeff Hornacek's initial assignment was helping Kirilenko with his shooting. They worked before practices all season, with Kirilenko enjoying a career-best shooting season.
It's clear that Hornacek is branching out to other players. He shot around with Kyle Korver on game days a couple of times last season and was working with Kyrylo Fesenko before the Jazz's evening practice in Boise on Tuesday.
Fesenko worked on 15-footers from the baseline, wing and foul line, with Hornacek trying to get him not to rush his shot. Kirilenko said Hornacek has started working with Ronnie Brewer and has become more of a shooting coach for the entire team.
* * *
Chatted a little with Fesenko before evening practice. He's up to 300 pounds, though he said his weight can vary by 10 pounds at pretty much any given time. After a disappointing Rocky Mountain Revue, Fesenko opted to skip playing for Ukraine's national team and stayed in Utah to work out. His hair also is only a little blond now, having grown out since his dye job this summer. It'll be interesting to see both Fesenko and Kosta Koufos in the Jazz's first preseason game next week.
* * *
Not sure who wants to listen other than my parents (maybe), but 1280 The Zone has been kind enough to post some of my training camp reports on their site.
--Ross Siler
7:44 PM
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1 Comments:
Ross, you shouldn't have posted the link! You've brought down the 1280 site!
Great report, as always.
Chatelain
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