Sophomore Season: LaMarcus Aldridge
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HOOPSWORLD Magazine
Last Updated: 3/9/08 9:43 PM ET
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The following is from HOOPSWORLD Magazine's All-Star issue, published the beginning of February 2008. HOOPSWORLD Magazine brings together some of the best independent basketball voices in the business and is published three times a year. Keep an eye out for the NBA Draft Preview issue, hitting news stands in early June 2008.
Sophomore Season – LaMarcus Aldridge
Wendell Maxey
Five minutes - that's how long it took for General Manager Kevin Pritchard to realize LaMarcus Aldridge was worth it. It was at Aldridge's solo workout in Portland weeks before the 2006 NBA Draft, and within those fleeting minutes Pritchard just knew. The kid had personality. The kid could play. He was someone you could build a franchise with and around.
"It's kind of like that book, Blink. Either you know or you don't and I had a really good feel for him," Pritchard said of the second-overall pick in 2006.
"With him it was crystal clear."
Now a year later, Aldridge - along with Brandon Roy and the 2007 number one pick Greg Oden - is one of the cornerstones of the new-look Portland Trail Blazers. And while Roy attempts to justify his NBA Rookie of the Year honors and Oden sits out the season after microfracture surgery, Aldridge is replacing Zach Randolph, a double-double machine dealt to the New York Knicks back on draft night.
"I've been through everything. It's exciting for me," Aldridge admits. "Before when I was watching, I couldn't be mad at Zach (Randolph) because he's a great player. And now that I'm out there, I'm excited."
While Aldridge eagerly embraces his new starting role, Brandon Roy knows certain expectations are sure to follow.
"He has big shoes to fill. Greg's not playing, Zach Randolph is gone…" Roy explained.
For head coach Nate McMillan the pressure comes with the territory, a rough terrain the 6-11 post player is learning to navigate.
"He's been thrown into it. There was a lot of unknowns to start the season, and then giving up Zach and placing a second-year player in that position. The fact he's without Greg puts more pressure on him and Brandon. He could have been in the shadow of Brandon and Greg this season."
Then again, a little anxiety is nothing new.
Aldridge, 22, certainly had his share of rookie season hardships, missing his first seven games after offseason shoulder surgery and was Randolph's understudy upon his return. But despite averaging 8.4 points in his first 14 games for the Blazers, Aldridge wasn't voted to participate in the NBA All-Star Rookie-Sophomore Game in Las Vegas.
It's still a touchy subject.
"I wanted to be in that game," Aldridge confessed. "I was disappointed last year and used it as motivation to come back after the All-Star Game and play better."
It worked. After starting center Joel Przybilla went down with season-ending knee surgery, Aldridge filled in with 14.7 points and eight rebounds per game in March. Then life changed drastically for Aldridge. He was rushed to a Portland-area hospital with an irregular heartbeat during a game and was diagnosed with Wolf Parkinson-White Syndrome. He missed the final eight games of the season.
"That helped them find what I had," Aldridge remembers. "You're always going to be scared when it's your heart, but once I got through my procedures I was good. But that doesn't play a part now. I feel good and can run all day."
Now with his dramatic rookie season behind him, Aldridge isn't intimidated by replacing Portland's former leading scorer and rebounder in Zach Randolph this year.
"If you start to put pressure on yourself then you aren't going to play well. You just have to go out and play basketball. I went harder this summer knowing I was going to have bigger shoes to fill. I'm more confident this year because I'm not a rookie and all that plays a part in it. So I just go out and try and do the things that I know how to do."
All Aldridge has done this season is alternate with Brandon Roy as the Blazers' leading scorer while leading the team in rebounds - despite missing five games during Portland's 13-game win streak in December. It's no wonder some experts and coaches around the league believe Aldridge can be a future Western Conference All-Star.
"I think he can become a double-double guy," says a confident McMillan. "He should be a Garnett. We've made the decision to make him our power forward of the future. What we've seen so far has led us to believe that was the right move (trading Randolph) because the potential is there."
"I think it's incredible," stated Roy. "You ask any coach in this league, who the best second-year player is and LaMarcus is that guy. I'm happy we were in the same draft class and to know that I will be on this guy's team for plenty of years."
High praise indeed from both his head coach and the defending Rookie of the Year - and high expectations Aldridge is starting to fulfill.
Wendell Maxey covers the Portland Trail Blazers on HOOPSWORLD. Reach him at wmaxey@hoopsworld.com.
About the Author: HOOPSWORLD MAGAZINE
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HOOPSWORLD Magazine is published three times a year and brings together some of the best independent basketball voices in the business. Look for the NBA Draft preview on newsstands in early June 2008.
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Comments (2 posted)
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posted By Blazermark, 10 March 2008 11:54:07 AM
Beautiful article. Couldn't agree more!
posted By wmaxey, 12 March 2008 7:45:00 PM
thanks blazermark....much appreciated.
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