by Neil K. Warner
Just a hypothetical question. How many NBA championship banners would be hanging from the Delta Center rafters, if the Utah Jazz would have had a center who could block shots and score? Call KFAN (1320) and get on Jazz Talk. Throw that question at host Mark Armstrong and the coach, Tom Nissalke. While you뭨e on hold consider this. Since Mark Eaton뭩 last season(1992-93), the Jazz have had a revolving door at center. Some of the names might make you cringe and others might leave your self asking 뱖ho??
The Jazz have tried Felton Spencer, James Donaldson, Luther Wright, Walter Bond, Greg Foster, Todd Fuller, Olden Polynice, Greg Ostertag and John Amaechi and that뭩 not including others who were forced to play center like Tom Chambers, Antoine Carr, Thurl Bailey and one who wouldn뭪 play center in Utah - Rony Seikaly.
Oh, what could have been if the Jazz could have found an all-star center. There뭩 no doubt Utah뭩 roster will undergo an off-season makeover, but barring a trade, the center spot isn뭪 likely to change next season.
Here뭩 a look at the future of the center position.
Greg Ostertag
There뭩 been good - this year뭩 playoff series against Sacramento. There뭩 been bad - seven minutes with zero points and one rebound against Denver. And there뭩 been ugly - a one-game suspension after a run-in with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan during the regular season. Cue up the music, da da da da da, dwah, dwah, dwah. If there뭩 one word that comes to mind most often when speaking of Ostertag, it would have to be inconsistency.
밪ometimes Greg has his moments where he is playing well. Then he has the tendency to drop off and not get himself involved and he needs to stay involved all the time,?said Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. 밒t just can뭪 be a sometimes thing. We just have to make substitutions based on what we see on the floor.?p> When Sloan calls Ostertag뭩 number, he never knows if he뭩 going to get Michael Olowokandi or Luther Wright. Dikembe Mutombo or Joe Przybilla.
In his seventh season with Utah, Ostertag bottomed out. He averaged a career low 3.3 points per game and shot a career low .456 from the field. His .485 free-throw percentage was the second worst of his career and during the playoffs, he made Shaquille O묿eal look like Jeff Hornacek at the free-throw line with his 1-for-10 performance. If all those numbers weren뭪 sobering enough, Ostertag뭩 313 rebounds were the lowest since his rookie year when he played in just 57games. But the ultimate tease finished the season on a high note. If you뭨e looking for a trivia question to stump your buddies at work, try this one. Who had the best field-goal percentage in the series against Sacramento? John Stockton? Buzz! Greg Ostertag. That뭩 right. Tag for two! Hugh? Greg Ostertag tips in another one. As Hot Rod Hundley would say, 밬nbelievable.?Ostertag shot .619 percent from the field in the four playoff games against Sacramento. He averaged 6.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, both career highs. In game 4, Ostertag was at his best. He pulled down 15 rebounds in just 22 minutes. When Ostertag was taken out of the game for a rest, many Jazz fans stood on their feet and cheered, but get this, not because he was being taken out of the game, they cheered his effort. Perhaps most is encouraging to Jazz management is Ostertag뭩 current attitude.
When asked if he was satisfied with the way he played this season, Ostertag replied, 밡o, I didn뭪 play worth a damn this year, you saw it, you know it. If I would have showed up during the year like I did in the playoffs, whose to say we뭗 be in the eighth spot?,?he said. 밒뭭e got two more years left on my contract. I뭭e got to bust my ass and get ready for next year.?p> If that뭩 true, that뭩 a good enough reason to buy season tickets. 밒f we got 82 games like he played last night (final game against Sacramento), our center position would be resolved,?said Jazz owner Larry H. Miller. 밐e뭩 acknowledged that. He뭩 said all the right things. He knows he needs to come back in shape next year.?p>
John Amaechi
After being signed to a four-year contract before the 2001-02 season, the Jazz hoped Amaechi would win the starting center spot outright, or at least give the Jazz a scoring presence in the middle. But Amaechi fell out of favor with Sloan early in the season. His playing time evaporated and his confidence was shaken. By season뭩 end, Amaechi was the team뭩 third-string center and he wasn't even used during the Sacramento series.
In Amaechi뭩 first year with the Jazz, he played in just 52 games and averaged 3.2 points her game. He shot a career low .325 from the field and played mostly during mop-up duty when the game was out of reach. Utah is hoping next year Amaechi can get the magic back that he had when he played for Orlando. In the 1999-2000 season, Amaechi got a chance to play and made an impact with Orlando. He averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in an average of 28 minutes per game. But the following season, Amaechi뭩 playing time and production went down. He averaged 7.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game and shot just40 percent from the field.
So now what?
밒 think he뭩 got to get himself in better shape,?said Jazz Vice President of Basketball Operations, Kevin O묬onnor. 밐e came in a little out of shape and never caught up. That뭩 one of the things we will challenge him to do in the off season.?p> When asked what he would be working on over the summer, Amaechi said,?I뭢 just going to work on being the player I was a couple of years ago - hitting my jump shots and finishing in the lane like I used to. A lot of it has to do with confidence. There뭩 no miracle pill to it.?p>
Jarron Collins
As the 53rd overall pick (second round) in last year뭩 draft, Jarron Collins was a long shot to make the team during the Rocky Mountain Revue. How about this, he not only stuck with the Jazz, he started a whopping 68 games and averaged 6.4 points per game. Collins had a field-goal percentage of .461, best of the centers. He averaged 4.2 rebounds per game in 20.5 minutes per game. Collins has turned out to be a steal. He뭩 even out performed twin brother Jason, who was selected by Houston in the first round (18th overall)and traded to New Jersey. Jason Collins played in 77 games for the Nets. He averaged 4.5 points and3.9 rebounds per game while shooting .421 from the field. Wonder if that will come up over the summer? Collins joins teammate Andrei Kirilenko as Jazz rookies who now have a year of playoff experience. It뭩 (the playoffs) a tremendous opportunity for myself. Just the atmosphere of a big game. I'm, gaining a lot of experience, playing and competing in big time big time games," Jarron Collins said.
The Jazz hope this year's experience will pay dividends in the future. "He's surpassed expectations, but there are a lot of things he needs to work on to be better," O'Connor said.