FanHouse Interview

Hedo Turkoglu was ballin' last year. There's really no other way to say it. On top of nailing clutch shots against the Celtics and Pistons (leaving TV execs who had scheduled the Magic during main events as fodder saying "Who?!"), being second on the Magic in points, rebounds, and assists, 'Turk' topped it off by winning the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. So what do you do after you've helped the Magic to a division title, their first playoff win in over a decade, and won the Most Improved Player award? I talked to Hedo recently to find out.

MM: What did winning the Most Improved Player Award mean to you?

HT: It meant a lot. It was like getting an award from the people that showed how much I've improved, not just statistically but as a player. It put me at the All-Star level, at the headliner level, since I didn't make the All-Star team. It mean a lot for people to recognize how far I've come

A lot of rookies are handled with kid gloves. They're coddled, to a certain degree,and heavily invested in and supported. Javaris Crittenton didn't have quite so soft of a rookie season. He was drafted nineteenth by the Lakers, who already had Jordan Farmar and Vlad Radmanovic, not to mention Kobe Bryant, and who added Derek Fisher. Then, in the midst of an exciting season on a premier playoff-caliber team, he was traded in his first season to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the swindle that brought Pau Gasol to Staples Center. Crittenton, however, had tremendous athletic talent, and really started to make an impact as the year wen ton in Memphis. As this season, started, though, he found himself on the block again, the subject of constant rumors, including the now failed Zach Randolph rumor.

I caught up with Crittenton last week and talked to him about dealing with the harsh realities of the NBA that many rookies are shielded from, working with Mark Price, and keeping focused amidst distraction.

MM: What's the biggest thing you learned last year?

JC: The biggest thing I learned last year is this is a business. You've got to be professional. You've got to come to work prepared. So in the offseason I spent time working on things I needed to improve on last year.

Mike Conley Jr. is at the forefront of the Grizzlies' youth movement. Drafted fourth overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, he entered a team in the midst of tearing down the old roster in pursuit of rebuilding. Conley eventually worked his way into the rotation and was the featured point guard by season's end. Expectations are high for Conley to be a key factor in the Grizz turning things around in Memphis after the departure of Pau Gasol and the addition of Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo. Conley is of vital importance as point guard in the run and gun style that Marc Iavaroni wants to implement.

I caught up with Mike the other day after his first week of practice to talk to him about becoming a leader on a young team, working the transition game, and of course, Halo 3.

MM: What's the biggest thing you learned last year?

MC: Just to be patient. People come into the league, they want to play 120%. You have to know how to play smart and fit into an NBA game. That's one big thing I learned.

Luc Robitaille is certainly one of the most surprising hockey stars of all time. Drafted in the 9th round and not blessed with impressive physical skills (speed and size), Luc used his smarts and wicked shot to put together a legendary career.

When most scouts and teams didn't think Luc would amount to much, Robitaille put together a career worthy of a Hall-of-Famer with 668 goals and 726 assists in 1431 games. Most of these points seemed to be due to Luc being in the right place at the right time, which led to the 'Lucky' moniker catching on quickly.

However, the origin of the nickname might surprise you, as Luc revealed to David Amber during an interesting interview conducted for ESPN.com:

Q: Who gave you the nickname "Lucky" Luc?

A: Tiger Williams did in my rookie year. We had a player on our team named Morris Lukowich and everyone would call him Luke. So every time anyone called out "Luke," we would both turn around. In my rookie year, I was living with Marcel Dionne at his house, and after my very first game, Tiger started calling me "Lucky." Guys started asking him why he was calling me "Lucky," and he said partly because of the Morris Lukowich confusion, but mostly because I was a rookie living in the biggest house on the team! Every day, I drove to practice in a Mercedes, which was Marcel's car; and I also scored a goal on my first shot on my first shift in the NHL. So that was pretty lucky. I couldn't argue with that.

In case you are wondering, Luc's pick for the cup is the rival Anaheim Ducks. (traitor!!)