In this issue of the “In the Bigs” spotlight, there are updates for several former Tiger athletes including Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls), Chris Douglas-Roberts (New Jersey Nets), Joey Dorsey (Houston Rockets), Shawn Taggart (Caceres 2016 of Spain), Stephen Gostkowski (New England Patriots), and DeAngelo Williams (Carolina Panthers). It is chock-full information, so please enjoy the read.
Derrick Rose
Rose at last year's Skills Challenge
With all of the excitement surrounding Rose’s inclusion in the 2010 All-Star game, he will also be defending his crown in the Taco Bell Skills challenge. The Skills Challenge tests the players’ dribbling, passing, and shooting abilities, showcasing their all-around game. This year, the contestants for the Skills Challenge are Rose (2009 winner), Steve Nash (2005 winner), Deron Williams (2008 winner and current record holder), and Brandon Jennings. Although some may consider the 4-minute long Skills Challenge not all that important, Rose told the Chicago Tribune that he is looking forward to the Skills Challenge.
“It’s just fun,” Rose said. “When you’re out there, the crowd gets into it. That maze is real hard when you first start off with it until you get some practice.”
Rose, the first NBA rookie to win the Skills Challenge, will have a chance to repeat what Dwayne Wade accomplished in 2007 if he is able to win the Challenge in back-to-back years.
Williams, a Dallas native, holds the course record of 25.5 seconds, which he set in the final round in 2008.
Last year in Phoenix, Rose finished his winning time of 35.3 seconds with an emphatic double-pump reverse dunk, as he became the first rookie to win the Taco Bell Skills Challenge.
Dwayne Wade, a Chicago native, had nothing but good things to say to The Miami Herald about having the chance to play with Rose in the NBA All-Star game.
“He’s phenomenal,” Wade said of Rose before Saturday’s game at United Center. “I saw it last year when he was a rookie. He’s really having a great year. You can tell he’s going to be one of the great point guards. I’m proud of Derrick. To see another Chicago guy in the All-Star Game is big. It’ll be a good time.”
With the Bulls going 2-3 in the last 5 games, Rose has led the team in points in only one game with a breakout performance of 30 points against the 76ers. Over the last 5 games (2/2-2/9), he averaged 22 points and 5.6 assists per game. In a game against the Atlanta Hawks, Rose demonstrated some high-flying acrobatics with a one-handed alley-oop dunk in transition, which left the announcers stunned.
“I’m still wondering what was that red thing that came flying down from the ceiling, that just threw a ball down as hard as I’ve ever seen…Yes, that is a point guard, ladies and gentlemen.”
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Could Douglas-Roberts be headed back to Memphis?
The rumor mills have been a churnin’. Could our beloved CDR be headed back to Memphis? The Commercial Appeal reported that “recent trade rumors link the Griz to former University of Memphis swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts, who is in his second season with the New Jersey Nets.”
According to internet reports, Douglas-Roberts has fallen out of favor with the Nets and has been relegated to the bench. He would fit the description of the type of player Memphis seems to be inquiring about: an athletic, guard/forward who can score and is aggressive on defense.
What does CDR think about this? According to a report by the Daily News, Douglas-Roberts wants to stay with the Nets, although he has much love for his Memphis fans. On Twitter, he wrote “I LOVE my Memphis people!!!”
When asked about this comment, Douglas-Roberts responded saying, “As much negativity as I get from the Jersey area, I get equal the support from the Memphis area. No matter what, [Memphis fans] always will be behind me. So that’s why I said that.” He said that he will not spend much time worrying about where he ends up.
“I want to be wherever they want me,” he said. “If they want me to be here I want to be here. I’m going to give 100 (%) no matter what, wherever, no matter what.
I just have to do what I’ve been doing and get all that other stuff out of the way and be numb to the world.”
Joey Dorsey
The former Memphis center, Joey Dorsey, could soon log more minutes with the Houston Rockets. After playing exceptionally well in the NBA D-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, he was given the nod by the Rockets to fill in some of their own gaps. He has recently gained some first-half minutes against both the Suns and Grizzlies, and the Houston Chronicle reports that Rockets coach Rick Adelman said he would be looking Dorsey’s way for more playing opportunities.
“It will be probably somewhat (about) matchups at times, but (Dorsey) certainly deserves a chance to play.”
“If Joey can be consistent, it gives us a couple options there,” said Adelman, who played Dorsey 18 minutes Saturday against the 76ers.
In 19 minutes of action against the Grizzlies, Dorsey led the Rockets with 12 rebounds and also added 7 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. Dorsey told the Associated Press that he was excited, yet nervous, to return to his former college arena.
“It felt like I was in college all over again. It’s been a long time since I had that feeling of everybody congratulating me and everything like that. It’s very exciting to come back home and play in this arena and do what I did.”
Shawn Taggart
- Shawn Taggart now in Spain
Since the last “In the Bigs” update, it has become evident that Taggart officially became a member of the Spanish team, Caceres 2016 C.B. There was some controversy between Caceres 2016 and Ironi Nahariya regarding whether or not he would remain in Israel or move to Spain. In his first game with the Spanish team, he played 12 minutes, scoring 8 points and pulling down 5 rebounds. You can follow Taggart’s stats here. And, interestingly, here is a video of him being introduced to Spanish media. The first part is in Spanish, but Taggart also is interviewed.
Stephen Gostkowski
With the NFL season now over, the New England Patriots finished 10-6 after a loss to Baltimore in their first playoff game. In these 16 games, Patriots kicker Gostkowski finished the season with 21 touchbacks, which tied him for 6th in the NFL. The former Tigers kicker notes that kicking touchbacks in cold weather is nearly impossible, and rather than aiming for the endzone, his main goal is to provide hang time.
I pride myself on getting good hang time and giving my guys a chance to get down there and I feel like my hang time has gotten better each year.
Touchbacks are kind of like home runs — if you’re trying to hit them, you’re not going to. You just want to swing easy and make good contact, then they happen. As a kicker, you realize how your teammates appreciate touchbacks when they’re running down there, busting up the wedge and getting yelled at when we cross the 30. When you can have [21] opportunities to save us from possibly giving up a long play, that’s something I take a lot of pride in. I want to be a quality kicker and a quality kickoff guy.
In his first four NFL seasons, Gostkowski was only the second player in NFL history to score 500 points in such a short amount of time. This comes from his consistent ability to kick accurately. According to ESPN, he has never missed more than one field goal in a game, and from 2006-2009 he kicked field goal percentages of 76.9, 87.5, 90, and 83.8, respectively. Gostkowski is now a restricted free agent.
DeAngelo Williams
After participating in his first Pro Bowl, in which he completed a 7-yard touchdown run, Williams shares his thoughts on the experience.
“It was cool,” Williams said of scoring in his first career Pro Bowl. “This is a ball that is going up in my house. I like it.” He admitted that missing the last part of the regular season was tough. “Being able to come back, basically in the same season, it gives me great confidence going into next season that this injury is healed and that I’m back doing what I love doing.”
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** Please be sure to check back next week for the In the Bigs Spotlight article. I will be sure to cover details of the D-League and NBA All-Star games, the NBA Rookie Challenge, and the NBA Skills Challenge, all of which feature former Memphis Tigers. **
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