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<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For the next 2 1/2 weeks, Lawrence Frank is going to look at his roster and try not to cringe. But there's no getting around it, this is the kind of stuff that stands out, at least on paper:
Marcus Williams ®.
Josh Boone ®.
Hassan Adams ®.
Mile Ilic ®.
Antoine Wright (1).
Those are the years-of-experience notations for 36 percent of Frank's Nets roster, of course, and if you've ever run a preseason camp (regular camp begins Oct. 2), you know it's going to cause some consternation.
"It's going to be interesting," the coach said yesterday, after conducting a clinic for the media. "You can't hold back the learning curve of your veterans, yet you don't want to do more reps than you normally would because of the young guys. I think we have to strike a good balance, where we can get both those objectives met. It's going to be incumbent on coaches and the players -- whether they're young or older, if they're not up to speed -- to spend extra time to get the job done."
The youth infusion doesn't bother Frank much, even if he has two other newcomers (Eddie House and Mikki Moore) to work into the system. One reason is because his starting five -- one of the best quintets in the NBA -- returns intact. Another reason is "We have Cliff (Robinson, age 39), who makes up for all the youth.
"You can't have everything, but I think we have enough to get to where we want to go."
The guy who put the roster together, GM Ed Stefanski, also is confident the Nets will have a solid core of eight veterans. But he also expects at least one of the five kids to crack the rotation, even with Adams (coming off a stress fracture in his foot) and Boone (out until around Christmas) starting from behind.
"There's no question our core players compete with any team we played last year. It was when we went to the bench ... that we fell off," Stefanski said. "Now, can someone from that bench step up and bring energy? Who is that guy? Is it Antoine or one of the rookies? One of those guys, I agree, will have to step up for us."
Having said that, Stefanski said he wants to "pamper Ilic," who will be signed to a contract as soon as the blood work from his physical -- taken yesterday -- is back from the lab. </div>
Source
Marcus Williams ®.
Josh Boone ®.
Hassan Adams ®.
Mile Ilic ®.
Antoine Wright (1).
Those are the years-of-experience notations for 36 percent of Frank's Nets roster, of course, and if you've ever run a preseason camp (regular camp begins Oct. 2), you know it's going to cause some consternation.
"It's going to be interesting," the coach said yesterday, after conducting a clinic for the media. "You can't hold back the learning curve of your veterans, yet you don't want to do more reps than you normally would because of the young guys. I think we have to strike a good balance, where we can get both those objectives met. It's going to be incumbent on coaches and the players -- whether they're young or older, if they're not up to speed -- to spend extra time to get the job done."
The youth infusion doesn't bother Frank much, even if he has two other newcomers (Eddie House and Mikki Moore) to work into the system. One reason is because his starting five -- one of the best quintets in the NBA -- returns intact. Another reason is "We have Cliff (Robinson, age 39), who makes up for all the youth.
"You can't have everything, but I think we have enough to get to where we want to go."
The guy who put the roster together, GM Ed Stefanski, also is confident the Nets will have a solid core of eight veterans. But he also expects at least one of the five kids to crack the rotation, even with Adams (coming off a stress fracture in his foot) and Boone (out until around Christmas) starting from behind.
"There's no question our core players compete with any team we played last year. It was when we went to the bench ... that we fell off," Stefanski said. "Now, can someone from that bench step up and bring energy? Who is that guy? Is it Antoine or one of the rookies? One of those guys, I agree, will have to step up for us."
Having said that, Stefanski said he wants to "pamper Ilic," who will be signed to a contract as soon as the blood work from his physical -- taken yesterday -- is back from the lab. </div>
Source
