Jazzhoops   Calbert Cheaney, a Hoosier in Salt Lake City by Stef Siepel Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney was born on the seventeenth of July, in 1971. He signed a one-year deal with the Utah Jazz last off-season, and by doing that he has added another chapter to a remarkable career, filled with ups and down. His college career was spectacularly, but his NBA career has been disappointing. Although he played spectacular in the arenas of all the college teams, this Hoosier never felt comfortable on the courts of the NBA. Even before Cheaney joined the University of Indiana he was seen as a prospect, and not only in basketball. Calbert Cheaney was the Indiana State High School champion in 300 and 110 meter hurdles, but he also played basketball very well, as his number, 40, is the only number retired by his high school, the Evansville Harrison High School. He still wears 40 today, which is quite typical, since a lot of players keep the same number for most of their career. Some players pick their number with a reason, but Cheaney didn’t. "They went through all the numbers and 40 was one of the few left when I got my pick." He went to the University of Indiana, which has a great history in men’s basketball. They won the NCAA championship 5 times (1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987), and they made seven Final Four appearances (1940, 1953, 1973, 1976, 1981, 1987, 1992). But probably the first that comes to mind about the Indiana Hoosiers is the man who is partly responsible for their success in the past, Bob Knight. When asked, during a chat at Utahjazz.com, how Sloan compares to Knight, Cheaney gave the following response: “Compared to Coach Knight, he's a pussycat. (laughs) They have the same mental outlook on the game. They're disciplinarians. They want you to play hard and smart and get the job done. If you don't, then you'll hear about it.” Cheaney might be partially joking in the first part of his response, but not entirely. Bob Knight is a man you don’t want to fall into disfavor with, as the Indiana coach isn’t only known for his coaching accomplishments, but also for the trouble he gets himself into. In games he coached chairs flew, megaphones were kicked, and so were players (although he still denies he kicked his own son on the court, the fans attending the match thought otherwise). One friendly match against the Soviet Union was ended before the buzzer, as Knight ordered his team not to finish the game after he was ejected. Despite all the problems he caused, Knight still is known as a great coach. He was the youngest coach to reach 700 college wins, most of them with the Hoosiers. From 1991 to 1993 he guided his team, which included Calbert Cheaney, to 87 wins, the most by any Big Ten team in a three-year span, eclipsing the 86 wins he posted with the Hoosier teams from ’74 to ’76. He was the national Coach of the Year twice (in ’75 and ’76), and he was also inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1991, something he didn’t want because he still resented the voters' rejection four years earlier, calling it a “slap in the face.” Knight was known for his ability to get the best out of his players, and he indeed got the best out of Cheaney. Cheaney immediately made a big impression on the coaching staff, as he posted double digits in scoring in the first thirteen games of his first year. In 32 minutes per game he averaged 17.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg, while he shot 57% from the field and 49% from beyond the arc. His stats improved in his second season, in which he averaged 21.6 ppg and 5.5 rpg, while converting 60% of his shots into points. Cheaney had a bit of a down year in 1992, which, ironically, was the year the Hoosiers went to the Final Four, after beating UCLA 106-79 one round earlier. Cheaney had a team high in that game with 23 points. Cheaney’s Hoosiers never went further than the Final Four though, as they lost against Duke, 81-78. In that game the Hoosiers frequently led, only to see Duke come back, partly because of the officials. "The officiating wasn't that good in the first five minutes (of the second half)," Cheaney said. "It wasn't that I thought they were against us, it just wasn't that good." Those are pretty soft words, especially if you consider Bob Knight got a technical and four of the Hoosiers fouled out, including Calbert Cheaney. Knight has received a lot of technicals during his coaching career, but this one was, according to Knight, not justified. “The official told (Calbert) Cheaney that ‘the technical was called because the bench jumped up,' and those were his exact words,'' Knight said. “All I'll say is, that's the first and only time I've ever been assessed a technical because the bench jumped up.'' Bad officiating or not, Indiana lost. Cheaney hadn’t played well all season, and that game was no different, as he shot 3-for-14. He regained his good form in his senior year, collecting 22.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. His team was unable to reach the Final Four though, as they lost 83-77 one round earlier to Kansas. Despite that, Cheaney received many awards, as he was the Naismith Award winner, the Wooden Award winner, and the unanimous Player of the Year. Other organizations recognized Cheaney’s talent, as he won several other awards as well, including the Oscar Robertson Trophy. It was obvious Calbert Cheaney would enter the NBA. He was, without a doubt, lottery material, so it wasn’t surprising that he was picked by the Washington Bullets with the sixth pick in the 1993 draft. Webber was picked first overall, followed by Shawn Bradley, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, and J.R. Rider. The Bullets also took a strong look at Rodney Rogers, but after a trade a guard/forward was a higher priority. They expected a lot of Cheaney. "He's the best shooter in the draft, a can't-miss," Sacramento director of player personnel Jerry Reynolds said. David Aldridge wrote in the Washington Post that Cheaney also is a great defender. Cheaney really wanted to make the best out of his NBA adventure. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to play the best I possibly can," said Cheaney, who performed well in all of the Bullets' tests in a meeting the week before the draft. "I can play small forward; I can out-quick those people, but I feel I'm more of an effective player if I play guard. I can take them down low and post them up." That his play had blossomed in his senior year was quite clear, and the reason wasn’t, for example, a better training schedule, but it was the possibility of being a leader for the team instead. "When you're the best player on the team, you have to lead by example, not only by body language but in voice," Cheaney said. "That made me a better player ... just being able to show a little more emotion. When I came into Indiana, I was kind of shy. I really didn't speak up. I was very quiet. I came out of that a little bit as a senior." He spent six seasons in Washington, but in those seasons Cheaney couldn’t impress. He had a solid rookie season, in which he averaged in double figures (12 points per game), and he took off in his sophomore season, as he scored 16.6 points and added 4.1 rebounds per game. But it went downhill from there. He had started the majority of the games in his first five seasons, with the exception of his rookie season, but that changed in his sixth season, as he only collected 18 starts in 50 games. After six seasons in Washington he decided to go to Boston, where head coach Rick Pitino was glad to have him on the team. "He's going to give us the necessary leadership and ability to make the playoffs next season," Pitino said. Fans weren’t so optimistic before the season, although they did praise Cheaney’s defense. Cheaney, just as Pitino, was very happy to go to Boston. "I think it was time for a change," he said. "The last two or three seasons were disappointing for me. It was time for a fresh start." Unfortunately for Cheaney, the season in Boston was a disappointing one as well, as he played less than 20 minutes per game, in which he couldn’t average more than four points. He had signed a three-year deal, but Boston decided not to keep him for that long. Cheaney became trade bait, and he was traded to the Denver Nuggets in the off-season of the year 2000. Cheaney couldn’t shake the bad luck though, as it followed him all the way to Denver. Cheaney only played 9 games in his first season with the Nuggets, as he was injured most of the time. He played 68 games in his second season, and he started 47 of them, but he couldn’t impress in the time he was on the court. He was a free agent after that year, and he decided to test the free agency market. Denver chose to go in a younger direction, while Cheaney chose to be with a winning organization, and that’s where the Jazz came in. The Jazz signed Cheaney to a one-year deal. Jazz fans didn’t know what to think of his signing, but a lot of other people did. According to some, after John Starks and John Amaechi, Cheaney was this year's annual free agent bust for the Jazz. Joe Kaiser, who wrote a very negative article on the Jazz this pre-season, even said that Cheaney was lucky to have job, and that he didn’t know why the Jazz gave him one. But Cheaney and the Jazz management were thrilled with the 1-year deal. The Jazz were looking for a good shooter, and they thought they had found one in Cheaney. "Is he a three-point shooter? No. Is he a good open-floor shooter? Yes," Kevin O'Connor said. "I think we get too hung up on being three-point shooters instead of good shooters, and I think he's a good shooter." That good shooter had to learn the offense first, which, he thought, was pretty difficult. “The offense is so complex here,” Calbert Cheaney told the Salt Lake Tribune, “they've got so many different reads, you have to just play on instinct. . . . We're starting to play that way now." He needed some adjustment time, but since he got the start at shooting guard, the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place, not only because of Cheaney, but also because of Jeff Hornacek. "He’s taught me a lot of different things, what I need to work on," Cheaney said. "There’s still room for improvement, without a doubt." Cheaney seems to get a bit of that old feeling back. His shooting percentage is close to the 50%, and he frequently scores in the double digits again. His defense still is there, something which Sloan likes about him. "He hasn’t done anything spectacular," Sloan said, "except just guard his man, stay between his man and the basket and get over screens, and do the little things that give you a chance." After an adjustment period, Cheaney seems to have found his groove a bit. He still isn’t the player he was in Indiana, but Cheaney seems to have resurrected his career. You can also see that his confidence is growing. He still doesn’t hit his free throws, but he already has hit more three-pointers this season than he attempted in his two years with Denver. Maybe he is never going to be the player he was back in Indiana, and you probably could leave out the “maybe” at the beginning of the sentence, but still, he tries to get back in his old form. He says that he is more aggressive this season, and that he really wants to improve. And if he keeps improving, then he might remind you at times of his days at Indiana. His successful days in college with Bob Knight. His days as a Hoosier.