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Bynum featured in SI article

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Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#1 » by dockingsched » Thu Apr 21, 2011 3:04 pm

nice long article about bynum in the latest sports illustrated. lots of insights into his personality. i'll post what i found most interesting, the part about how the lakers came to draft him.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm

The first time the Lakers saw Bynum, at the McDonald's All-American Game three months before the 2005 draft, they were unimpressed. "He was a chubby kid, 40 pounds overweight, a big lump of clay," says Kupchak. Just to be safe, the team sent assistant general manager Ronnie Lester to New York City for Bynum's individual workout in early June. Lester found the clay hardened and chiseled. He called Kupchak urgently. "This is not the same kid," he said. Bynum had gone from more than 310 pounds to 285 by running in combat boots every morning along the beach in Laurence Harbor, N.J. Nevertheless, he did not receive much affection from teams and reasoned that he should enroll as planned at UConn.
Before Bynum could pull his name out of the draft, the Lakers invited him to work out with two college seniors in Chicago. Bynum was easily winded. He struggled to jump twice in succession. When he caught the ball in the post, he knew only how to face up and shoot. But he did not mind contact, and as the workout progressed, the two college seniors drifted out to the three-point line. "They didn't want to get embarrassed," says Jim Buss, L.A.'s executive vice president of player personnel. Buss, a son of Lakers owner Jerry Buss, had worked in the team's front office for seven years, but he had never taken a hard stance on a player. "Shut down the rest of the workouts," he told fellow officials. Bynum was flown to L.A. for an interview, and as he strolled through the team's headquarters, he stared at photos on the wall of Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and O'Neal. "Wouldn't it be nice if there were a picture of you up there someday?" Kupchak asked. Bynum beamed.

The Lakers were high on his potential, but not on his timing. Jackson was returning from a one-year hiatus. Bryant was in his prime. The team was built to win, not wean. Trainers learned that Bynum underwent his first knee operation when he was 12 and were concerned about his Q angle—the relationship between his pelvis, leg and foot. According to head athletic trainer Gary Vitti, a wide Q angle can affect the way the kneecap glides along the thigh bone and can also cause increased foot pronation, both common sources of injuries. "Andrew is challenged in terms of his skeleton," Vitti says. "But we can work with those issues to some degree. What you can't do is take someone with a normal Q angle and make him 7 feet, 285 pounds."


its a long read, but goes by quickly.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#2 » by Sedale Threatt » Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:39 pm

Good writing always done. Getting SI is still one of the highlights of my week, all the way back to when I was in junior high.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#3 » by snaquille oatmeal » Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:48 pm

good read cash, thanks for posting it.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#4 » by stunnar0b » Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:00 pm

nice article.. its great to see this guys growing up before our eyes.

their was a play yesturday where Lo bynum and shannon got into the triangle and once Lo (corner) pass to it drew, drew immediately yelled at shannon to get the **** out of here. he got the pass with a few on the shot clock and just went to work.

its was a beautiful thing to watch
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#5 » by Slava » Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:20 pm

God article and I'm not surprised to know that he's miles smarter than the average athlete in the NBA. I think that's what makes him a better offensive player than most players with extraordinary athleticism, not that God has done him an injustice in the physical department either.

I particularly liked the quotes from Kareem saying that he was a clean slate to work on when they started coaching him.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#6 » by CowsMoo » Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:56 pm

having that curiosity is great. keeps him humble and hungry.

but god, i hope he stays healthy
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#7 » by FisherSucks » Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:25 pm

Imagine if Bynum never had an injury in the last 3 years.

He'd probably be equal to Howard in production by now.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#8 » by Gek » Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:41 pm

Assuming circuitry transfers to basketball knowledge.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#9 » by Optms » Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:20 pm

I'm willing to bet he operated on his own knee just to figure it out. Boss.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#10 » by That Nicka » Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:57 pm

good read.. such a smart kid... I've always been so intrigued by Bynum
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#11 » by LA Forever » Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:20 pm

Wow. I would have never thought that Bynum would be that type of kid. Amazing.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#12 » by Atmanne » Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:26 pm

Great read.

According to Synergy Sports, since Bynum's meeting with Jackson, opponents shot just 32.8% and averaged .73 points per possession on half-court plays in which Bynum was the initial defender. "What people wanted him to do, he's been inspired to do," says Mumford. "No one person can give you that inspiration. It's been incubating in him for quite a while."


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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#13 » by Wavy Q » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:39 am

Ugh i love Drew :love:
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#14 » by D Nice » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:48 am

Sedale Threatt wrote:Good writing always done. Getting SI is still one of the highlights of my week, all the way back to when I was in junior high.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#15 » by DrewBynum77 » Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:25 am

Good read.

I decided to post some videos here to illustrate the read about Bynum's defensive commitment and his bball IQ also.

#1
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5vN5MRpvMU[/youtube]

- Bynum stops Paul's drive, forced him to pass;
- Rotates back and stopped Jack's penetration;
- Stops Bellinelli penetration, forcing an extra pass;
- Fouls Okafor hard to prevent the easy dunk and consequently saved Lakers two points.

Them Odom and Gasol:
- Stupid/weak foul inside - 3 point play converted on both occasions.
- Cost the Lakers at least 2 EXTRA POINTS. Considering that Ariza and Okafor are not great FT shooters it probably would be more.

#2
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcClzSdLeq8[/youtube]

- Blocks Paul's Jumpshot after a PnR;
- Make the pass to Brown twice for the easy 3-pointer. This should teach Brown he doesn't need to force his shot. Just make the entry pass, as he did, and you'll probably get an easy basket afterwards;
- Blocks Jack's jumpshot after a PnR.

#3
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FKhZ5YR1To[/youtube]
- Bynum is forced to switch on Nola's PG once again. He doesn't give him the 3 and still altered the shot at the paint.
- btw, can anyone tell me what Bryant was saying? English is not my first language.

#4
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JST2xX7cjgU[/youtube]
- Nice shot but also I posted this because he was directing the offense like a boss! Him and Odom worked on the switch and he knocked down a short jumper.

#5
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-GfDP5r84A[/youtube]
- Posting PJ's Interview for the lolz haha...

Most important point:
- As you can see in the first video Lakers only allowed 3 points in the 4th to NOLA when bynum was on the court. He left at the 7 minute mark.

- 3 Points allowed in the first 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.
- 19 points allowed in the last 7 minutes. To be fair Bynum finished the game(thanks god) so some of these points were made with him on the floor.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#16 » by Sedale Threatt » Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:50 pm

Finally had a chance to read this. I have a new-found respect for Drew's intellect and curiosity. I love it -- he's a full-fledged geek.

I love the anecdote about him taking his Ferrari to the shop after finding a hole in the oil pan. A 7-foot kid was just crawling around underneath his high-performance sports car, checking out the undercarriage for kicks, and he noticed a flaw.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#17 » by Magic32fan » Fri Apr 22, 2011 7:36 pm

#3 video Kobe said: "That's why I dunked on your ass......"
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#18 » by Anklebreaker702 » Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:41 pm

That was an awesome read. The difference between good & great players has always been their mentality. Bynum being heady like that shows that if he can stay healthy that there is a chance he can attain greatness.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#19 » by semi-sentient » Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:27 pm

That was an excellent read. Took me a while to get to it, but I'm glad I did.

I remember hearing Bynum being heavily interested in physics his first year, but didn't know he was somewhat of a computer geek with aspirations for programming as well. I can't help but have a soft spot for the guy now. :) He's definitely an intelligent kid, and wanting to understand how things work only helps him grow as a person and as a player.

Also, this is the first time I've read in detail how he has structural issues that could lead to an injury plagued career (I've heard bits and pieces, but nothing this detailed). Very unfortunate. He definitely has a lot to offer, but the question as always is can he really stay healthy? I certainly hope so.
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Re: Bynum featured in SI article 

Post#20 » by Mamba Venom » Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:06 am

Never knew Bynum had knee surgery at age 12. What for?
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