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By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Thursday, Jul 24, 2008
The Browns opened training camp Wednesday, so it's a good time to catch up on the Cavs . . .
First-round draft choice J.J. Hickson made quite an impression during the Cavs' summer league games in Las Vegas, which ended this week.
''Wow,'' wrote ESPN.com. ''He did everything that can be asked of him, within a flow that resembles what he'll face during the regular season. Hickson has a monster body, good activity and a mature face-up game — pretty special for a soon-to-be 20-year-old.''
The Charlotte Observer had a headline that read: ''Cavs find gem in Wolfpack's Hickson.''
''Hickson is a low-post, back-to-the-basket scorer, and those are rare these days with every 6-foot-10 forward seemingly living to take 20-foot jump shots,'' the Observer wrote. ''Hickson did most of his scoring off bank shots, baby hooks and put-backs (he had seven offensive rebounds). The Cavaliers knew he had moves, but they were surprised just how explosive he was heading to the rim.''
This is all well and good. Nobody would have wanted people to be ripping Hickson after summer league. But let's recall that summer league is five games and it's not exactly full-tilt NBA caliber. Heck, it's not even a glorified preseason.
That being said, it is a higher level of competition than Hickson faced in college, and the fact he averaged 19.4 points and 7.8 rebounds and shot 53 percent is very good.
The Cavs basically let Hickson play. They did not want to overcoach him, so they let him play to see what would happen.
Now that the Cavs have seen him, the next step is to start teaching. The team's assistant coaches will meet with Hickson to discuss ways he can improve.
He showed in the summer league that he can do the things the team thought he could: score with his back to the basket, work hard and rebound.
Best evidence of the hard work and rebounding: Twenty of his 39 rebounds came on the offensive end.
Where will Hickson need to improve? Every young NBA player needs to improve defensively. That's a safe bet.
In five games Hickson had 18 turnovers, which seems high. Looking purely at numbers, Hickson's 18-turnover, zero-assist ratio is a bit out of whack.
Last season, only two NBA players averaged more than Hickson's 3.6 turnovers per game: Dwyane Wade (4.4) and Gilbert Arenas (3.8).
• Former University of Akron standouts Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce did not get a lot of playing time in the summer league. Joyce averaged eight minutes per game, Travis 10.5. But the Cavs feel the exposure will help their professional chances in Europe.
Tractor Traylor got a chance to audition for all the NBA teams. He averaged 14 minutes and 5.3 points per game.
• One never wants the words ''sprained ankle'' and ''LeBron James'' used in the same sentence, but that happened Tuesday after James landed on Kevin Durant's foot during a practice with the Olympic team.
James was back shooting on his own Wednesday, and reports were that the injury was minor.
Which leaves Cavs fans saying, ''Whew.''
This situation illustrates perfectly the risk of a player taking part in the Olympics, and it's why Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is so vociferous in his complaints about the Olympics.
Cuban says it's about money, not patriotism, and says the ones taking the risk are the NBA teams and their fans.
He's right, of course.
With guys like James and Kobe Bryant taking part, NBC and the Olympics make a ton of money from the names and images of the NBA players.
Let's face it, a businessman like James can see the money to be made via marketing deals in China. He's not exactly naive.
So while it might be nice, as Cavs GM Danny Ferry said, to put James in a bubble, he's going to do what he does, and that's play basketball and burnish his earnings while doing so.
James could get hurt practicing in the team's facility.
The competitiveness that drives James in the NBA is the same thing that drives him in the offseason to improve — or to play for a gold medal.
Which leads to him also following Hal Holbrook's advice in All the President's Men.
Follow the money.
Read Pat McManamon's blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/
The Browns opened training camp Wednesday, so it's a good time to catch up on the Cavs . . .
Get the full article here.
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