Jazzhoops   Look at the Blackboard, Please. by Stef Sepiel A blackboard with a number of things written on it stands in the middle of a gym. A man with a John Deere cap is standing in front of it with a piece of chalk in his hand. A group of youngsters has gathered around him. They are looking at the blackboard, where they read rule number one. Tuck in your shirt “Say what?” one of the young fellows replies, looking down at his shirt that isn’t tucked in. A mere look at the man in front of the blackboard is enough to make the young man realize that he’d better follow the rules. This might not have happened, but it definitely could’ve. Training has started, and Sloan is determined to teach all the new, young guys the whole offensive playbook … and some discipline. Including Raja Bell, former Dallas Maverick. “You never had to worry about tucking in your shirt and tying your drawstring and [not] talking on a cell phone on the plane," Bell said when asked about the differences between Dallas and Utah. "Nellie's a great coach, and his attitude was good for me. But you know, at some points, we were undisciplined. Who's to know, if he took a page out of Jerry's book, would we have won more?" The page Bell is referring to is probably the page with the chapter “work hard”; something Sloan has preached his entire career. “My expectations," Sloan said with regard to his new crew, "are for them to play hard.” But working hard isn’t good enough for Sloan; he also wants them to play together, as a team. "It's something that everybody can kind of create a little togetherness," he said. "If we have to depend on each other, if I make a good cut, I've got to depend on the guy standing there. That's how we'll make this work." “This” doesn’t mean the well-known Pick and Roll. This year it means the new Two-Guard Front. "It's not revolutionary. We're not reinventing anything. It's still basketball," said assistant coach Phil Johnson, who helped develop the operating system with Dick Motta while the pair were coaching at Weber State in the 1960s. "It just seemed like a better way to utilize the players we have now." This doesn’t mean, however, that the Jazz will abandon their style of play, as this offense involves a huge amount of screens and cuts as well. "There are three main differences," said Johnson, adding that it's similar to the Lakers' famed 'triangle' setup. "There's more ball movement. There's more player movement. And the two-guard will initiate the offense part of the time." And it’s a good thing that the Jazz aren’t changing their whole style, despite many people suggesting that it might be time for some runnin’ and gunnin’ in Utah. Having young players doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to adopt an extremely high game pace. For years Utah has relied on cuts and screens, and most of the fans don’t want it any other way. That’s why so many people love Utah, and that’s why the Jazz have always been a feared opponent. Because the opponent knows that, when Utah comes to town, they’ll have to fight through more screens than in any other game. With the Two-Guard Front it won’t be any different. Important in this Two-Guard Front is a good ball-handler at the shooting guard spot, and the Jazz indeed have some of those. The Jazz coaching staff sees DeShawn Stevenson and Raja Bell, both in their fourth year in the NBA, as capable ball-handlers. Bell and Stevenson will set up the offense part of the time, and if they don’t bring the ball up, the point guards will. With a combined six years of experience you are inclined to think that the shooting guard position is too inexperienced to lead the offense. Don’t look now, but they are a lot more experienced than the Jazz point guards. Carlos Arroyo, entering his third season in the NBA, has the most experience of the point guard trio, also consisting of Spaniard Raul Lopez and Alabama point guard Mo Williams or Weber State guard Jermaine Boyette. Arroyo played extremely well with the Puerto Rican National Team this summer, fighting some nice battles with Canadian starter Steve Nash. But it remains to be seen if he can also lead this Jazz team, as the NBA is a totally different thing altogether. Lopez already spent a year in Salt Lake City. But not playing basketball, as he hoped, but rehabbing from a serious knee injury. The speedy point guard showed some flashes of past glory in the Rocky Mountain Revue, but even though his knee is fully healed he will still need some time to reach the level he played at in Spain. And that level will probably not be high enough to be a bona fide NBA starter. Many are hopeful though, as the young Spaniard has many qualities. He also has the right mentality, which he showed last year while he was patiently rehabbing from his injury. Lopez’ battle to first return to his old level and then to a NBA level will probably open minutes for Maurice Williams, this year’s second round draft pick from Alabama, or Jermain Boyette. Both have shown that they will fight for playing time every time they have the chance. And they won’t be the only ones, as Aleksandar Pavlovic, the 6-7 guard/forward from Serbia-Montenegro, will probably do the same. Pavlovic, drafted in the first round of this year’s draft, will try to contribute right from the start. Or, at least, will try to be able to talk with his teammates right from the start, as young Aleksandar is spending much of his time improving his English. Although unimpressive in the RMR, he has already shown some of his qualities in the pre-season. The most experienced part of the Jazz probably is the small forward position with Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring, in their third and sixth year respectively. Most of the pressure will be on their shoulders, and neither is planning to let the fans down. Many people expect Kirilenko, who played with the Russian Team this summer, to break out. Kirilenko was praised for his defense last year, but he will have to step up on the offensive end as well. And that is the main concern of many people. How will the offense go? "We’ve got a great coaching staff, we’ve got great players, and I don’t think we’re worried about the offensive end," Harpring said. Harpring will now be one of the first scoring options, although he doesn’t want to hear such things. "It puts the pressure on all five guys, rather than just one," Harpring said while referring to the new offensive system. He doesn’t want to hear anything about the vacant leadership role either. "I come in and play my game, I play 100 percent, I give it my all," Harpring said. "It’s not my job to say how many shots I’m going to get, it’s not my job to say I’m the go-to guy this year, it’s not my job to say I’m this or that.” Someone who feels it is his responsibility as the veteran to step up and be the new leader is Greg Ostertag, who immediately called out the stretching exercises in the first training, something Malone used to do. The veteran will try to be more of a force this year, and he says he is ready to step up. The question is if he can actually do that, now that he will most likely be guarded more closely since Malone isn’t around anymore. Instead of Malone, he will now play with the athletic Keon Clark at power forward. Clark hopes to bounce back from the disappointing season he had last year. Clark and Ostertag’s most likely back-ups are Jarron Collins and Curtis Borchardt, both coming off nasty injuries. Collins showed promise in his rookie year before hitting the sophomore wall last season. He then injured himself so badly that he was out for the rest of the year. Borchardt never even went on the court, as he injured himself during the summer. Technically, this will be his rookie year. Despite all the new faces, and despite losing two future Hall of Famers, nobody wants to hear anything about a high lottery pick. "I know they’re not saying, ‘We’ll be down this year, let’s hope we can win this many games’. We’re still shooting for the playoffs, and we’re going to go into every game thinking we can win because if you don’t have that attitude you might as well not be on the court," Harpring said, sounding eerily similar to long time Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "I don't know why it would," Sloan said when asked if his emphasis on winning will be altered this year. "Not from my standpoint," Sloan added. "Because I believe if you're going to play, you better believe you can win. And if you step out on the floor and you say, 'Oh, we've got it made; we're going to be in the lottery,' I think you're a loser to start with. "If guys accept that, then I've got a helluva problem," Sloan added. "And I don't like that kind of problem." So the players better prepare themselves, as Sloan wants to win. Sloan still believes that you win games when you work hard, play good defense, and play team basketball. He will test his guys to the limit, and he will try to see how smart they really are. Because even with the new offense the Jazz system relies not only on the three things mentioned before, but also on basketball smarts and fundamentals. So they’d better tuck in their shirts, look at the blackboard, and listen to Sloan while he preaches good defense and teaches the new offense. Because Sloan will be satisfied only when his players show that they have the will to win.