NBA Special: Last year's triumphant rookies reverse roles-Part 1
On 18 February, it is happening again. The Staples Center at Los Angeles opens its door to welcome the sophomores and rookies to the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. The talented rookies and sophomores will rock the event and the prominent player will be named
as the game’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). The quality of the talent gathered under one roof on Friday night will ensure some great fun as always.
The Rookies and sophomores hope to be able to meet the fans high expectations again this season and are looking forward to welcoming them to the Staples Center.
With the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge right around the corner, here is a breakdown of the sophomores:
DeJuan "DeJuan Bear" Blair
Just as Bears are known for their slick hunting abilities, DeJuan Blair also possesses some similar traits on the basketball court, which is why he is nicknamed “DeJuan Bear”. DeJuan has great vision and is good in possession. He likes to make quick runs
toward the basket, and looks out for his team-mates around the court.
The 21-year-old San Antonio Spurs center-forward has been a rebounding machine since his college days. Standing at 6 ft 7 in, it is hard to imagine that someone so short could rebound at a rate comparable to the likes of Dwight Howard, Marcus Camby or Samuel
Dalembert, who are much taller.
DeJuan has scored in double figures in his last three games of the 2010-11 season since scoring 28 points in a match against the Toronto Raptors on 9 February. Blair possesses the ability to put up big numbers on the scoreboard. He is averaging 11.9 points
per game over his last 10 contests.
DeMar DeRozan
DeMar DeRozan is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors. DeRozan’s talent was discovered at a very early age and he was consistently ranked among the top-five players in his age group in high school.
The Raptors shooting-guard was able to dunk by the time he was in sixth grade. He has amazing athletic abilities, and will get a chance to display them in front of the entire NBA during the annual rookie’s challenge.
Until the month of January 2011, DeRozan has averaged 19.5 points with a 47.5 field goal percentage while averaging 36.5 minutes per game this season. DeRozan’s assists per game however, are not that impressive, as his assist totals are 1.7. Therefore, he
still needs to work on becoming a better all-around playmaker.
Stephen Curry
Don’t let the skinny physique of the Golden State Warriors combo guard fool you, because he is the perfect combination of execution, energy and effort.
Curry made his NBA regular season debut on 28 October, 2009 in the Warriors' 2009-10 season openers against the Houston Rockets. Curry finished with 14 points, seven assists, four steals and two turnovers in 36 minutes of play.
Despite his recent ankle troubles, Curry continues to put up decent stats for the Warriors, even though he had not been dishing out the assists through the first few games of February 2011. So it was nice to see him turning in a solid performance in a 100-84
win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, 13 February.
Curry registered his third double-double of the season in the victory, ending with 23 points and a season-high 13 assists. However, the most breath-taking fact about his performance was that he did not commit any turnovers in the game. Curry finished 10
of 18 from the floor and chipped in two rebounds and a pair of steals in 38 minutes of action.
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