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Thunder's Cole Aldrich knows focus will be defenseBasketball Betting Lines07/13/2010 - OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Cole Aldrich says defense comes naturally to him - a trait made easier by the fact he's always been the biggest guy on the basketball court. The 6-foot-11 Aldrich finished his career at Kansas as one of the school's great shot- blockers, and he hopes to continue focusing on defense now that he's reached the NBA. ``Defensively is, I think, really where I'm going to make an impact,'' Aldrich said Monday. The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Aldrich, the No. 11 pick in this year's draft, and veteran forward Morris Peterson from New Orleans in exchange to the draft rights to Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter. In making the trade, Oklahoma City added a player with a defense-first approach, something general manager Sam Presti said can be rare among rookies. ``Cole really shares the same mentality and approach that we try to embody with our team,'' Presti said. ``He's another hardworking, high-character player.'' Thunder coach Scott Brooks listed Aldrich's positives: ``Defense, protects the basket, rebounds, sets great screens. He's a great outlet passer.'' Notice Brooks didn't say anything about scoring. On a team that already includes the NBA's reigning scoring leader in Kevin Durant and other players capable of big offensive games, ``we're not looking for him to come in here and be a big-time scorer,'' Brooks said. Aldrich, a native of Bloomington, Minn., grew up a Minnesota Timberwolves fan - and defense was an early love. ``I was, I wouldn't say a bully on the court, but I was bigger than everybody so I just loved to block shots and rebound,'' he said. ``If somebody comes in the lane, I don't want them to score. I take real pride in blocking the shot or altering the shot or (making opponents) pass it out. I've always liked to think that the paint is kind of my home and I don't want anybody coming in my home.'' As a sophomore at Kansas, he averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds and recorded the first official triple-double in the history of the Jayhawks' storied program with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a NCAA tournament game against Dayton. Last season as a junior, he set a school record with 125 blocked shots and was named the Big 12 Conference's top defensive player. Favored to make the Final Four, Kansas lost a second-round game to Northern Iowa in the same Oklahoma City arena where Aldrich now will play as a pro. Aldrich finished his Kansas career with 253 blocks, five shy of the school record held by Greg Ostertag. The Thunder's frontcourt, thin when the franchise arrived from Seattle before the 2008-09 season, has become crowded. Nenad Krstic started last season and rookie Serge Ibaka saw his playing time dramatically increase as the season wore on. Another Kansas product, veteran Nick Collison, provides front-line depth, and the Thunder also has been developing a 2009 first-round draft pick, Byron Mullens. At small forward, Jeff Green is entrenched as a starter. Brooks said he prefers a nine-man rotation and everyone in that rotation is returning next season from a team that went 50-32 and pushed the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to six games in the playoffs. That means significant playing time for Aldrich is not guaranteed. ``It's going to be tough,'' Aldrich said. ``They just don't hand out anything. That's been my whole life. I've had to work for everything. I'm just excited to go against those guys and compete with them.'' Whether he's playing a lot or a little, Aldrich is guaranteed $1,772,000 in rookie salary as the No. 11 pick. Brooks had some advice for his newest center if he wants to get on the floor quickly. ``Being a bully is not bad,'' Brooks said. ``Minutes? Who knows. I met the guy four days ago. We'll have to see how he continues to get better the rest of the summer and training camp. I know our guys are going to be ready to compete and he's going to be in there competing with them.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting. "They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over." Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.) According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26. As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines). Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday. Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind. *UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007 New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results. "We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games." While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season." About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Master Card needs. |
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