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Sloan likes what he sees of former Ohio State, GlenOak High player
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Sunday, Nov 16, 2008
CLEVELAND: Utah Jazz center Kosta Koufos is no longer the lanky man-child who left Ohio State after his first season of college basketball.
He has bulked up by 10 pounds of muscle, and he looks like he belongs in the NBA. It helps that Koufos, a GlenOak High graduate, has opened the eyes of his coach, Jerry Sloan.
Forced into duty this week because of the injuries and personal issues of other players, Koufos delivered a performance against the Charlotte Bobcats that included five blocked shots.
''He's come a long way from when we started out the season,'' Sloan said. ''He needed a chance to play, and it's unfortunate that we don't have our players here, but he was ready to step up when he got the chance to show that he wanted to play.''
Sloan mentioned Koufos' intelligence when asked about why he has been able to fill a role at the age of 19. It's something that teammates have noticed, too. Although he would go into the lane with the Buckeyes, more often than not, Koufos took his shots from the outside.
Teammate Jarron Collins said that the Jazz's system is so complicated that he has been impressed by how Koufos has performed.
''In our offense, there are times you can shoot the ball from the perimeter,'' he said. ''We need an inside presence, and he's done a great job of that, especially on the defensive end. On the offense, that will come along as his comfort level and experience in the system develop.''
Koufos, who had a reputation of being humble while in college and high school, looks at what's happening as just being part of the game.
''I'm living my dream. It's good to play in front of the home crowd. The game's the game,'' he said. ''You've got to come in and play hard and hopefully come out with a victory.''
It's that kind of attitude that Sloan appreciates.
''I'll break them in if they're willing to work. You can't break them in if they're not willing to work. He came in and worked hard,'' he said. ''Made some mistakes and didn't feel sorry for himself and didn't pout around. He just stepped out there and acted the way a pro should act and consequently, he's gotten a chance to play.''
On their toes
Cavs coach Mike Brown cautioned his team against taking the Jazz, who were undermanned with injuries to guard Deron Williams, forwards Matt Harpring and Andrei Kirilenko and the loss of Mehmet Okur, who is away on personal business, lightly.
''We should play the right way, and sometimes if you play the right way, it doesn't work out. . . . As long as our focus is here tonight, which I guess you could say is kind of sort of a test, I'll be happy,'' he said. ''It doesn't matter who's in uniform, we need to understand that we've got to come out and we need to play the right way.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
CLEVELAND: Utah Jazz center Kosta Koufos is no longer the lanky man-child who left Ohio State after his first season of college basketball.
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