NY Times: Bulls Can See the Beauty in Hinrich

**Lzen** · 01-19-2005, 08:50 AM

Bulls Can See the Beauty in Hinrich

January 17, 2005
By IRA BERKOW

The first time he saw Kirk Hinrich in person, as a shaggy-haired,
limber-limbed, fresh-from-milking-the-cows rookie, Johnny Kerr
thought, "Hmm, not put together all that well."

Kerr, a former star player and coach in the N.B.A. and the longtime
Bulls television analyst, has seen guards come and go in Chicago. At
first blush, he was not all that impressed with Hinrich, who played
point and shooting guard with the Chicago Bulls last season.

"Here was the team's first-round draft pick, seventh over
all - and I wondered," he said. "You know, I saw a
bobblehead of him and I thought it looked like him, everything moved,
loosey-goosey."

Linton Johnson - a Bulls forward last season who is now
with San Antonio - said in an article in Dime Magazine, a basketball
publication, that his first impression of Hinrich was that he was
"soft" and "breakable."

"But that was before we played," Johnson said.

And when Hinrich, at 6 feet 3 inches and 190 pounds, had an early-season game with more points and more assists than Jamal Crawford, then the Bulls' starting point guard, Crawford was asked if he was being outplayed by Hinrich. Crawford laughed sarcastically. "You trying to be funny?" he said.

Crawford, who had moved to shooting guard with Hinrich starting at the point, was traded to the Knicks after last season. Hinrich, averaging 12 points and 6.8 assists a game, went on to make the all-rookie team, along with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

This season, Hinrich is up to 16 points and 7 assists a game.
He is the driving force behind a resurgent, improbable
Bulls team that, if the season ended today, would be in the playoffs
for the first time since the spring of 1998, when Michael Jordan
played the position Hinrich now occupies.

This is a Bulls franchise that, as the team's second-year coach Scott
Skiles said, went "from one of the best teams> to one of the worst in
a matter of months" after the departure of Jordan, Scottie Pippen and
Coach Phil Jackson. (The Bulls went from 62 victories in 82 games, to
13 victories in 50 games the next season, to 17, 15, 21, 30 and, last
season, 23.)

On Saturday afternoon, the Bulls beat the Knicks at the United Center, 86-84, with Hinrich scoring 15 points, getting 7 rebounds and adding 11 assists. It was the Bulls' sixth straight victory and 12th in 15 games, and they are 16-18 over all. This after an 0-9 start.

Last Wednesday, the Bulls walloped Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia
76ers, 110-78. "Coming into the game," Iverson said, "you don't expect those guys to beat you by 30 points." But there it was, like turning a corner and walking into a wall, with Hinrich scoring 16 points and adding 9 assists, playing his routinely tough defense. The Bulls lead the N.B.A. in lowest shooting percentage by opponents, at 41 percent, and Hinrich has controlled the team with a mastery that has been compared to Steve Nash, John Stockton and Jerry Sloan.

The Knicks have an opportunity to test Hinrich and the Bulls again this afternoon when they meet at Madison Square Garden.
"He's fearless, and he's smart," Kerr said. "He's quick to penetrate
into the paint and in traffic and looks around, and if he sees nothing
there, he'll dribble out of traffic without taking a crazy shot."

On Wednesday night, Hinrich made two remarkable shots
around the basket over big frontcourt players, and he hit
his teammates - like the rookie guard Ben Gordon, who
scored 31 points, and center Eddy Curry, who had 24 - with in-rhythm passes that were, as Kerr said, "right on the money."

As for being "breakable," Skiles said of Hinrich: "He can take
contact. He's played through everything - hands cut, ankle sprain, big
thigh bruises, charley horses. The only time he sits down is when I
tell him to."

As for soft, Hinrich read Johnson's remarks, and what
Johnson added: "Once we started playing, he was a master of that
pick-and-roll, man. I had respect for him after that. He's a white guy
on the court, so people go after him. He's got a lot of guts, a lot of
heart."

Hinrich smiled after a recent Bulls practice as he recalled Johnson's
remarks. "As a point guard, I've been going through that all my life,"
he said. He was an all-star high school player in Sioux City, Iowa,
leading his team to the state championship with his father, Jim, as
the coach. He was a star at the University of Kansas, leading the
Jayhawks in his senior year to the N.C.A.A. tournament final, where
they lost to Syracuse.

"When I played A.A.U. ball," Hinrich said, "and every other team had
maybe one white guy, and so I'd hear: 'He's a shooter! Take him, take
him!' It's a stereotype.

"And I always got extra physical pressure, to see if I
could take it. It was true in the N.B.A., as well, but
then, I think it happens to all rookies."

Roy Williams, the coach at North Carolina, was Hinrich's coach for
four years at Kansas. "He's one of my all-time favorite people,"
Williams said. "He's one of the most self-disciplined players I've
ever coached."

Williams added: "I was an assistant coach at North Carolina when
Jordan played there. I think Kirk is in the same ballpark with Michael
as far as competitiveness is concerned. He's also a better athlete
than people might initially think. He's fast, and he can dunk with two
hands."

Jim O'Brien, coach of the 76ers, said that Hinrich "is very similar to
Steve Nash in his ability to be aware of all his teammates while
attacking the basket."

"And he can hurt you with 3's," O'Brien said.

Sloan, coach of the Utah Jazz, said Hinrich reminded him of Stockton.
"He's not muscular, as John wasn't, but he plays hard-nosed, and when something goes wrong, he keeps playing," Sloan said. "He doesn't have to stop to figure out what's going on. Very intelligent court sense."

As for those who say Hinrich is reminiscent of the player Sloan, who
was a Bulls guard in the 1960's and 70's and known for his in-your-mug defense, Sloan said: "Hinrich's a much better player than I was. He's a much better offensive player."

The current success of the Bulls is done, inevitably, in
the shadow of Jordan. "We have players who know about the past but weren't here to be affected by it," Hinrich said. "I think we've done a good job of putting it behind us."

With regard to the team's turnaround after last season and its
melancholy beginning this season, Hinrich said: "It's night and day
compared to last season. We just feel more like a team."

Curry is playing the best basketball of his mercurial four-year
career. Two rookies from Duke, forward Luol Deng and the backup point guard Chris Duhon, are having good years. So are Gordon and Andres Nocioni, a first-year player from Argentina, as well as the fourth-year forward Tyson Chandler and the veterans Antonio Davis and Othella Harrington.

"We can't get carried away," Hinrich said. "It's a long season, but I know we're headed in the right direction."

ROYC75 · 01-19-2005, 08:58 AM

Nice read...... he was always a tough kid, tougher than most gave him credit for.

KCFalcon59 · 01-19-2005, 08:58 AM

He's been doing real well. Good for him.

Ebolapox · 01-19-2005, 10:50 AM

eh, the bulls SHOULD be good--they've been drafting in the 'lottery' for the last five years

-EB-...still a bulls fan, but a bulls fan with no expectations

**ptlyon** · 01-19-2005, 10:52 AM

Atta boy Kirk - he's from my alma mater!

teedubya · 01-19-2005, 10:57 AM

gosh, that hinrich kid...

Mr. Laz · 01-19-2005, 11:34 AM

keep fuckin doubtin' Zoom-Zoom!!

Spicy McHaggis · 01-19-2005, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazarus

keep fuckin doubtin' Zoom-Zoom!!

Remember the game when the crowd started chanting "Harry Potter!" I think it was at KSU. Even I had to crack a smile about that. I'm glad to see Hinrich doing well, they show the Chi-town games on my cable so I get to watch him quite a bit.

Eleazar · 01-19-2005, 11:38 AM

That guy looks like a bag of azzholes

**Lzen** · 01-19-2005, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

That guy looks like a bag of azzholes

Watch it, pal, or I might just post another 10

articles.

Mr. Laz · 01-19-2005, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

That guy looks like a bag of azzholes

go back to your trailer and have sex with your sister AGAIN or sumthin'

_

SCTrojan · 01-19-2005, 12:09 PM

I've watched him a few times on WGN in the last two years. He plays tough D, distributes the ball and is one of a dying breed who makes the mid-range jumper.

Deberg_1990 · 01-19-2005, 12:11 PM

SO how has Nick Collison been doing?? Hes sort of dissappeared??

SBK · 01-19-2005, 12:11 PM

Best thing about Heinrich and Collison was they turned down Iowa State, then didn't beat them until their senior year. Oh, those were the days.

**Lzen** · 01-19-2005, 12:28 PM

It's Hinrich, not Heinrich.

Collison got injured early in his rookie season last year and was out for the whole year. He's doing alright in Seattle this year. Not spectacular but he is helping his team win games. The Sonics have one of the best records in the NBA.

01-19-2005, 08:50 AM	Topic Starter
Lzen Banded Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Oz Casino cash: $-519308	NY Times: Bulls Can See the Beauty in Hinrich Bulls Can See the Beauty in Hinrich January 17, 2005 By IRA BERKOW The first time he saw Kirk Hinrich in person, as a shaggy-haired, limber-limbed, fresh-from-milking-the-cows rookie, Johnny Kerr thought, "Hmm, not put together all that well." Kerr, a former star player and coach in the N.B.A. and the longtime Bulls television analyst, has seen guards come and go in Chicago. At first blush, he was not all that impressed with Hinrich, who played point and shooting guard with the Chicago Bulls last season. "Here was the team's first-round draft pick, seventh over all - and I wondered," he said. "You know, I saw a bobblehead of him and I thought it looked like him, everything moved, loosey-goosey." Linton Johnson - a Bulls forward last season who is now with San Antonio - said in an article in Dime Magazine, a basketball publication, that his first impression of Hinrich was that he was "soft" and "breakable." "But that was before we played," Johnson said. And when Hinrich, at 6 feet 3 inches and 190 pounds, had an early-season game with more points and more assists than Jamal Crawford, then the Bulls' starting point guard, Crawford was asked if he was being outplayed by Hinrich. Crawford laughed sarcastically. "You trying to be funny?" he said. Crawford, who had moved to shooting guard with Hinrich starting at the point, was traded to the Knicks after last season. Hinrich, averaging 12 points and 6.8 assists a game, went on to make the all-rookie team, along with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. This season, Hinrich is up to 16 points and 7 assists a game. He is the driving force behind a resurgent, improbable Bulls team that, if the season ended today, would be in the playoffs for the first time since the spring of 1998, when Michael Jordan played the position Hinrich now occupies. This is a Bulls franchise that, as the team's second-year coach Scott Skiles said, went "from one of the best teams> to one of the worst in a matter of months" after the departure of Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Coach Phil Jackson. (The Bulls went from 62 victories in 82 games, to 13 victories in 50 games the next season, to 17, 15, 21, 30 and, last season, 23.) On Saturday afternoon, the Bulls beat the Knicks at the United Center, 86-84, with Hinrich scoring 15 points, getting 7 rebounds and adding 11 assists. It was the Bulls' sixth straight victory and 12th in 15 games, and they are 16-18 over all. This after an 0-9 start. Last Wednesday, the Bulls walloped Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, 110-78. "Coming into the game," Iverson said, "you don't expect those guys to beat you by 30 points." But there it was, like turning a corner and walking into a wall, with Hinrich scoring 16 points and adding 9 assists, playing his routinely tough defense. The Bulls lead the N.B.A. in lowest shooting percentage by opponents, at 41 percent, and Hinrich has controlled the team with a mastery that has been compared to Steve Nash, John Stockton and Jerry Sloan. The Knicks have an opportunity to test Hinrich and the Bulls again this afternoon when they meet at Madison Square Garden. "He's fearless, and he's smart," Kerr said. "He's quick to penetrate into the paint and in traffic and looks around, and if he sees nothing there, he'll dribble out of traffic without taking a crazy shot." On Wednesday night, Hinrich made two remarkable shots around the basket over big frontcourt players, and he hit his teammates - like the rookie guard Ben Gordon, who scored 31 points, and center Eddy Curry, who had 24 - with in-rhythm passes that were, as Kerr said, "right on the money." As for being "breakable," Skiles said of Hinrich: "He can take contact. He's played through everything - hands cut, ankle sprain, big thigh bruises, charley horses. The only time he sits down is when I tell him to." As for soft, Hinrich read Johnson's remarks, and what Johnson added: "Once we started playing, he was a master of that pick-and-roll, man. I had respect for him after that. He's a white guy on the court, so people go after him. He's got a lot of guts, a lot of heart." Hinrich smiled after a recent Bulls practice as he recalled Johnson's remarks. "As a point guard, I've been going through that all my life," he said. He was an all-star high school player in Sioux City, Iowa, leading his team to the state championship with his father, Jim, as the coach. He was a star at the University of Kansas, leading the Jayhawks in his senior year to the N.C.A.A. tournament final, where they lost to Syracuse. "When I played A.A.U. ball," Hinrich said, "and every other team had maybe one white guy, and so I'd hear: 'He's a shooter! Take him, take him!' It's a stereotype. "And I always got extra physical pressure, to see if I could take it. It was true in the N.B.A., as well, but then, I think it happens to all rookies." Roy Williams, the coach at North Carolina, was Hinrich's coach for four years at Kansas. "He's one of my all-time favorite people," Williams said. "He's one of the most self-disciplined players I've ever coached." Williams added: "I was an assistant coach at North Carolina when Jordan played there. I think Kirk is in the same ballpark with Michael as far as competitiveness is concerned. He's also a better athlete than people might initially think. He's fast, and he can dunk with two hands." Jim O'Brien, coach of the 76ers, said that Hinrich "is very similar to Steve Nash in his ability to be aware of all his teammates while attacking the basket." "And he can hurt you with 3's," O'Brien said. Sloan, coach of the Utah Jazz, said Hinrich reminded him of Stockton. "He's not muscular, as John wasn't, but he plays hard-nosed, and when something goes wrong, he keeps playing," Sloan said. "He doesn't have to stop to figure out what's going on. Very intelligent court sense." As for those who say Hinrich is reminiscent of the player Sloan, who was a Bulls guard in the 1960's and 70's and known for his in-your-mug defense, Sloan said: "Hinrich's a much better player than I was. He's a much better offensive player." The current success of the Bulls is done, inevitably, in the shadow of Jordan. "We have players who know about the past but weren't here to be affected by it," Hinrich said. "I think we've done a good job of putting it behind us." With regard to the team's turnaround after last season and its melancholy beginning this season, Hinrich said: "It's night and day compared to last season. We just feel more like a team." Curry is playing the best basketball of his mercurial four-year career. Two rookies from Duke, forward Luol Deng and the backup point guard Chris Duhon, are having good years. So are Gordon and Andres Nocioni, a first-year player from Argentina, as well as the fourth-year forward Tyson Chandler and the veterans Antonio Davis and Othella Harrington. "We can't get carried away," Hinrich said. "It's a long season, but I know we're headed in the right direction."
Posts: 42,457

01-19-2005, 08:58 AM	#2
ROYC75 Time For Your Wake Up Call !!! Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Barn Yard Casino cash: $2327400	Nice read...... he was always a tough kid, tougher than most gave him credit for. __________________ Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it. John Lennon
Posts: 37,931

01-19-2005, 08:58 AM	#3
KCFalcon59 MVP Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Topeka, Kansas Casino cash: $-230000	He's been doing real well. Good for him.
Posts: 6,796

01-19-2005, 10:50 AM	#4
Ebolapox remember, remember Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: como Casino cash: $-1560097	eh, the bulls SHOULD be good--they've been drafting in the 'lottery' for the last five years -EB-...still a bulls fan, but a bulls fan with no expectations
Posts: 26,516

01-19-2005, 10:52 AM	#5
ptlyon Bono & Grbac wasn't enough Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Sioux City, IA Casino cash: $9463829	Atta boy Kirk - he's from my alma mater! __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Advertise here: $19.99 a month
Posts: 40,636

01-19-2005, 10:57 AM	#6
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $9003042	gosh, that hinrich kid...
Posts: 36,826

01-19-2005, 11:34 AM	#7
Mr. Laz Don't Tease Me Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: KS Casino cash: $11047037	keep fuckin doubtin' Zoom-Zoom!! __________________
Posts: 95,626

01-19-2005, 11:38 AM	#9
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	That guy looks like a bag of azzholes
Posts: 80,659

01-19-2005, 12:09 PM	#12
SCTrojan Veteran Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Across the park Casino cash: $4899719	He's a tough kid I've watched him a few times on WGN in the last two years. He plays tough D, distributes the ball and is one of a dying breed who makes the mid-range jumper.
Posts: 2,194

01-19-2005, 12:11 PM	#13
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $334454	SO how has Nick Collison been doing?? Hes sort of dissappeared?? __________________ Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning: Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down. One of the best plays Matt has ever made.
Posts: 68,410

01-19-2005, 12:11 PM	#14
SBK Curry is the pick??? Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Georgia Casino cash: $10004900	Best thing about Heinrich and Collison was they turned down Iowa State, then didn't beat them until their senior year. Oh, those were the days.
Posts: 8,153

01-19-2005, 12:28 PM	#15
Lzen Banded Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Oz Casino cash: $-519308	It's Hinrich, not Heinrich. Collison got injured early in his rookie season last year and was out for the whole year. He's doing alright in Seattle this year. Not spectacular but he is helping his team win games. The Sonics have one of the best records in the NBA. __________________ Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know.
Posts: 42,457