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MagicMadness
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Stevenson comes into his own
Topic Started: Dec 8 2005, 10:00 PM (324 Views)
MAGICMANEVAN
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http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=cnns...cnnsi&type=lgns
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Stevenson comes into his own

The torrent of immature draft picks entering the NBA over the last decade has forced teams to recalibrate their timetables for developing young players. Exhibit A is Orlando Magic shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson.

Stevenson was 19 years old when the Utah Jazz made him the shortest -- at 6-foot-5 -- player ever picked in the first round directly out of high school. He never seemed to fit in with Hall of Fame-to-be elders Karl Malone, John Stockton and coach Jerry Sloan, and at the 2003-04 midseason trade deadline the Jazz sent him (along with a second-round pick) to Orlando for Gordan Giricek, a veteran expected to provide immediate help to Utah.

Now 24 and well into his sixth NBA season, Stevenson is behaving like a veteran who suddenly understands everything Sloan was trying to teach him. It took awhile, but the lessons have sunk in. "He was determined to show everybody he was a different player than he was in Utah, and that he was a different player than he was for us even a year ago," says assistant GM Otis Smith. "He always ends up guarding one of the best scorers on the other team, he's diving on the floor, he's doing all the little things you like to see guys do."

Stevenson is averaging career-highs of 12.6 points and 35.8 minutes while starting every game for Orlando this season. Though he initially had trouble finding his way in Utah, Stevenson is grateful that the Jazz served as his extended boot camp.

"I was a flashy high school player and I was going to a situation where you have to learn NBA basketball," said Stevenson.

Accustomed to playing at full speed, Stevenson found that the better he understood the game, the more the game slowed down for him. The result has been that he has become a reliable defender. "For me when I first came into the league, it was hard to come off screens because I kept getting screened over shots," Stevenson said. "Seeing Stockton go off screens and Bryon Russell, who was another very good defensive player -- they taught me to watch film and focus in and learn the little things."

Though the Magic (7-11) are skidding downhill fast, their issues will be easily rectified when Grant Hill returns from a sports hernia in the next week. In the meantime they continue to rely on Stevenson, who is attacking the basket in spite of a recent knee cartilage injury that may require surgery after the season, a setback that has also helped him grow."I used to come to games and sit down and talk to players -- kind of joke around," he says. "Now I don't have time for that. I've got to get treatment (from the athletic trainer for his knee). After I get treatment I get heat, and after I get heat I've got to go out and shoot. And after I'm done shooting I've got to go back and get ice. So it makes you more focused on the game and on your job."
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GoMaGicVR6
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Cool article. Deshawn's the man. Cool as f**k.
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roysterdude
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Good for Stevenson! He's been one of my favorite players this year, he's maturing.
And what I like the most is that he plays hard every game, he's been solid. :yes:
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Black and Blue
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Cool. I actually didnt know Stevensons back story. Good read.
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MagicMadness
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Stevenson's tha man. Hard to believe sometimes that he's actually about the same age as Jameer. He's been in the league so long that I forget just how old he is sometimes.
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Black and Blue
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I hope we can hold onto him for a while. He has surprised me this year with his toughness and abilities on the court.
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Pitbullz EP
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Magic radio on 740 The Team says that Stevenson might be out. :( i guess his knee problem is catching up to him.
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Pitbullz EP
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Magic in 5
They didnt mention anything else about it and it's not on the website, but that would be the last thing we need right now. He's playing good basketball for us!!
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MAGICMANEVAN
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we couldnt afford another big loss like that. if stevenson is out, hill not up to his normal game, francis hurt, dooling out, and other stuff, then we are screwed.
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