With Al being in the news lately with his ankle surgery, today we do a profile on him.

Al Jefferson was born on January 4, 1985 in Monticello, Mississippi. He is the son of Laura Jefferson. His father, Alvin Randolph passed away. He has an older brother, Jeremy (25) and 3 sisters Jacquelide (26); Dana (22) and Jazma (20). His nickname is "Big Al." Al attended Prentiss High School in Prentiss, Mississippi. As a senior, he was a 2004 McDonald's All-American selection, was a finalist for the Naismith Award, and during his impressive senior season, he averaged 42 points and 16 rebounds per game. He committed to the University of Arkansas, but decided to forego college for the NBA Draft. Al became the first high school player drafted by the Celtics. Kendrick Perkins was drafted out of high school the year before but was drafted by the Grizzlies and traded to Boston. At only 19, Jefferson arrived in the NBA with a 265-pound body. He absolutely dominated high school competition, and finished his senior year averaging 42 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 blocks a game. The low quality of his prep competition brought those numbers into question and dropped his draft stock, but Jefferson proved more then worthy of the fifteenth pick the Celtics spent on him. Al's second year was plagued by injuries. He sprained his ankle in training camp and that set his development back quite a bit. After his ankle healed, he finally was showing some great moves and was getting the Celtics Nation excited, when he sprained his ankle yet again. This time, the sprain was accompanied by a deep bone bruise and he missed most of the second half of the season. These sprains have given Big Al a new passion for working out and getting into shape. After a rookie year that was filled with promise, he had 2 big setbacks in his sophomore year and had to face a lot of criticism because he wasn't in the best shape coming into training camp. He has lost 14 pounds since last season and is in the best shape of his career. He has also been spending a lot of time with Clifford Ray working on his defense and footwork. Although the bone bruise is still bothering him somewhat, he played in summer league and, although he wasn't dominant, he played well. He even dove across the floor at one point for a loose ball, showing his desire to step up his play this year. In Al's rookie season, he didn't want to tape his ankles. After a sprain in his first season, he began taping them, but even with the tape, he suffered the two sprains last season. After the second sprain and bone bruise, the trainers are talking about using the Karl Malone tape job on his ankles, which is about as tight as humanly possible. He is also willing to wear a brace over the tape if that is what it will take. His ankle woes have made him a believer in taping and in the Summer League this year, he was telling everyone to be sure to tape their ankles. Clifford Ray also mentioned being able to give him some exercises that will help to strengthen his ankles. Al chose the number 8 when he signed with the Celtics. Midway through the year, Antoine Walker was brought back to the Celtics and he wanted his number back. Usually these deals can be very lucrative to the player who gives up the number and Al could have made out pretty well. However, Al handed number 8 over to Antoine for nothing. "I just told him to teach me everything he knows about the game," Jefferson said. "Ain't all about the money." Al is truly a nice kid and anyone who spends time talking with him will tell you that. Al's profile from NBAdraft.net says, "Jefferson has a future in the NBA. Unlike most players that are bigger than the competition, Jefferson works hard at getting position instead of standing around in the paint hoping for the ball. He is very confident in his offensive skills. He has nice footwork, soft hands and uses the glass well. It’s pretty rare to see a post player take on the role as the vocal leader. Jefferson isn’t afraid of shouldering that responsibility. He is an intelligent player and helps his teammates understand their individual roles on the team. He’s a fierce competitor that will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. Jefferson does lag a bit in transition. That could be accredited to his added weight. He’s not a “fat kid” as some have put it. He’s just a really solid player. According to his coaches, Jefferson’s added weight has slowed down his jumping ability. They said that in times past, the big man was always dunking on defenders in the paint. Now, he uses the glass and plays a little more sheepishly. A workout program will do him some good in order to tone his body out." Al has been working hard at taking the weight off and getting into game shape this off season. If he can get past the worry about his ankles, he should be able to dominate in the paint. Last year before the injuries, Doc played Big Al and Perk together and the results were very impressive. They played off of each other very well. I am hoping to see a lot more of that this summer. The bottom line is that if Al can reach the potential that we have only seen glimpses of since he came into the league, the Celtics have a good chance of reaching the next level of the NBA. He has the ability and the tools to become an all star and Danny has trust that he will. In Al's words: "Danny trusts me because he sees how hard I've been working," said Jefferson. "I've been up here since May 7. He can't give up on me right now. He wants to see if this work is going to pay off for me. I'm glad he believes in me and trusts me like that. Now it's my job not to let him down. That's my goal." There are a lot of Celtics fans who hopes he meets that goal. Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!

Every time we see an article about Ryan Gomes, he is working hard to improve his skills. He is wide open to learning from anyone he can learn from. He works out at the Celtics practice facility. He works out with a private coach. He plays in Summer League. Now, he is playing in Pro Am's Summer Basketball League. Is it no wonder that when given a chance last year, he made the most of it and excelled as a starter. He is one of those rare athletes who are never satisfied and will always work as hard as possible to continue to improve. What a steal that Danny got with the 50th pick last year!!!

Ryan Gomes is living a basketball dream. A heralded player from Waterbury, he became one of the better players in the Big East at Providence and just finished his rookie season with the Celtics. Charles Easterling still harbors a basketball dream. A heralded player from Hartford, he attended two different junior colleges and just finished playing in a Mexican professional league that left a taste in his mouth that was worse than the local food he couldn't stomach. Yet, they are on equal ground at Fox Middle School, where one's past and future are checked at the door. Both are dominating the Hartford Pro-Am Summer Basketball League, which asks only that you bring your game and some thick skin. With animated and sarcastic league founder Peter Higgins wielding a microphone that sends his quips through the summer air and over booming hip-hop music, Gomes, Easterling and players from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of talent compete before crowds that stuff the tiny gym on Greenfield Street. "There are good players here, good competition," said Gomes, who averaged 7.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Celtics. "Basketball is a game of competitiveness. Everybody can show you something different, no matter who you are playing against. If I'm playing against some high school kids, of course the speed and physicality is different, but I still can learn and work on some things, maybe things I'm not able to work on with the Celtics." [More] source:Courant.com Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!

Thinking over some of the elite teams in the NBA over the years, we can point to a dominant big man on most of them. The Lakers of the 80s had Kareem, the Celtics of the 80's had Parish, Pistons of the 80s had Laimbeer, the Rockets had Akeem and Sampson, the Lakers of the 90s had Shaq and now the Heat have Shaq, the Spurs had Robinson and now Duncan. There does seem to be a trend whereas even fast break teams like today's Heat and the Showtime Lakers had a big man to anchor them in the middle.

It is no secret that the center position is one of the hardest to fill with a dominant player. It is also one of the most crucial spots to fill. Where do the Celtics stand as far as their big men? Do we have a center who has the ability to dominate in the middle? I believe we do.

Perk is entering his 4th year now. Coming directly from high school, it was expected that he would take longer to develop than if we had brought in a player with college experience. His first year can't be considered to be any experience at all. He played in only 10 games and averaged a paltry 3.5 minutes per game. But during that year, he worked very, very hard on getting his body into NBA shape and he has become a strong and muscular center that no one (not even Shaq) can push around. Since we saw so much of him in his first year, no one really knew what we had in him.

After his lost first year, he didn't fare much better in the second year. He played in only 60 games and averaged a shade over 9 minutes per game. By this time, the fans had begun to see what Perk could really do and on just about every board and blog you could read posts asking why Perk wasn't getting more time because he was producing when he was in the game. He still had a propensity to foul more than he should have, but he was rebounding and playing hard and was capable of changing the game by shutting down the middle. But still, he sat way more than he played. In December, Raef was out with an ankle injury and Perk got a chance to finally play some real minutes. He played a career high 25 minutes and showed what he is capable of by controlling the rebounds on both ends of the court and finished with 13 total. When he got the playing time, he produced, but for some reason, he was still kept on the bench most of the time.

Last year started out with much of the same. He racked up several DNP's and played sparing minutes behind Raef and Blount. After the trade, Perk was moved into the starting lineup and he produced. He had 25 games last season where he got close to a starter's minutes of 24 mpg or more. In those games he averaged 9.1 ppg on 54% shooting, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 bpg and 1.2 apg. Keep in mind that he did this with very little playing time previous to this. With regular playing time, he can easily be a double double player night in and night out.

Perk is a tough player in the mold of the centers of years ago. He is an intimidator. His motto is "No layups" and he does a good job of enforcing it. Even against Shaq, he was able to hold his own under the basket. It is a mystery to me as well as to most Celtics fans why this kid has been kept on the bench while playing time has gone to Raef and Blount.

Pierce may have gotten the big contract... Green may be an all star waiting to happen and may win the Slam Dunk contest this year... Al may be the player whose potential everyone is talking about... Rondo and Telfair may lead the fast break... but in my opinion, Perk is the key to our making the playoffs and to the Celtics becoming a contender once again. "No Layups."

The Preseason schedule has been released. I sure hope everyone is healed by then.

In her blog in the Globe, Shira Springer sheds a little more light on the subject. She said that it was a mostly exploratory and due to discomfort caused by a tendon and that he should be ready for training camp. A RealGM poster, however, who is a friend of Al's, said on July 31 that Al would be having surgery due to a misdiagnosis by the doctors and that he actually had a chipped bone. This sounds like the Celtics are trying to put a good spin on what could be a PR nightmare if he was indeed misdiagnosed and told to play through it.

The paragraph below causes one to pause, though. Danny mentioned at the end of the season that Tony Allen was scheduled for sugery to clean out the knee that was operated on last summer. Then Perk had surgery on his shoulder that popped out during the season and again in the summer, Wally had surgery on his knee that began to give him problems only after the trade to Boston, even though the MRI in his physical showed something loose in there. Al just had surgery on his ankle that has been bothering him for quite some time now and causing a lot more pain than the diagnosed sprains should have. And next week Pierce will have surgery on his elbow.... I would wager that no other team in the NBA had more serious injuries last season and had more players to have surgery this off season. Is it something in the water?

Wow! This one came out of nowhere. Just a little piece on Celtics.com. Nothing in the news about his having to have surgery or anything else. A week ago a poster on RealGM mentioned that the medical staff has misdiagnosed Al's ankle injury and that he would have to have surgery on it. He said that there were floating bone particles in the ankle. It was discussed but there was no concrete evidence to back it up at the time so no one took it serious until the confirmation today on Celtics.com that Big Al had already had surgery. As usual, nothing was mentioned in today's Globe or Herald. Also, no timetable is given for rehab. This could explain his continued problems with his ankle. It wasn't just a sprain or a bone bruise. It was more serious. Loy's Place will keep you up to date as we learn more.

BOSTON – The Boston Celtics announced today that forward Al Jefferson had successful minor arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle at New England Baptist Hospital. The surgery was performed by Team Physician Dr. Brian McKeon and assisted by Dr. Mark Slovenkai. Jefferson is expected to begin rehabilitation immediately under the medical staff’s supervision and is expected to return by the start of Training Camp. Jefferson averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game this past season. He scored in double figures 21 times and grabbed 10 or more rebounds six times. The 6’ 10” forward scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds at Dallas on December 10, 2005. More] source: Celtics.com Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!

There was much controversy last year concerning the playoff seeding. Many teams did not like the fact that the division leaders were seeded 1,2, and 3 regardless of their record. Next year, that will change. According to Hoopsworld:

Today we have a look at our new Point Guard, Sebastian Telfair.

Sebastian Telfair grew up in Brooklyn NY and is the cousin of the NY Knicks guard, Stephon Marbury. His nickname is Bassy, short for Sebastian. He was a high school basketball phenomenon and was surrounded by a lot of publicity through his senior year and going into the pros. In his senior year, he was a finalist for the 2004 Naismith Award. Averaged 33.2 points, 9.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds, leading Lincoln to a 26-6 record. Telfair was the 13th overall pick in the 2003 draft straight out of Abraham Lincoln High School. He was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers and at 5'11", he is the shortest high school player to jump directly to the NBA. He had committed to the University of Louisville during his senior year but chose to turn professional. NBA Draft.net profile gives Telfair's strengths as: "One of those rare players who makes the others around him better. Telfair posses great court vision and super passing ability. He will find you if your open. Sebastian has superior ball handling skills and penetration ability. He's been known to dazzle crowds with some of his super quick moves and ball skills. His quick hands and active feet make him a pest on defense…. He has that extra gear that allows him to out battle almost anyone...Makes the game look easy...Sebastian has dominated older competition for sometime with his otherworldly talent…..A fine prospect." Telfair's first 2 years in the league in Portland were somewhat successful and he showed flashes of what he could do, but he injured his hand last year and ended up behind Steve Blake and Jarrett Jack in the rotation. The style of play in Portland didn't play to Telfair's strengths and so he ended up the third PG off the bench. Watching him in the Summer League, it looked as if he had been set loose and was having fun. The running style that Doc wants to institute will play to his strengths and he should thrive here. One play in SL caught my eye. The ball was inbounded in the backcourt and Telfair played such pesky defense that he caused an 8 second violation. On February 15, 2006, a loaded handgun was found in Sebastian Telfair's pillowcase, on the Blazers' private jet as they flew into Boston to play the Celtics. Telfair told authorities the gun belonged to his girlfriend and that he inadvertently grabbed the wrong bag when leaving for the team's road trip. The gun was registered to his girlfriend. No charges were filed against him but he was suspended for 2 games for breaking league policy. Very few players have been the subject of such intense media scrutiny. In high school and in the NBA, he has been followed very closely by the media because of all the hype that attended his jump to the NBA. Telfair is the subject of the book The Jump: Sebastian Telfair and the High-Stakes Business of High School Ball by Ian O'Connor, and Through the Fire, a documentary film by Jonathan Hock which follows Telfair through his last year in high school and his decision to choose the NBA over college. The film made its television debut on March 12, 2006 on ESPN and is the highest rated film ever for an original movie on that network. In spite of the hoopla that has surrounded him, he seems like he is fairly well grounded. He really wants to succeed and to be the best player he can be. He already seems to have good chemistry with his teammates and has become good friends with Rondo during the summer league. Pierce was quoted as saying that he was very excited about the chance to play with Bassy, also. The Celtics want to run and Boston has found a PG who can do it. I don't know about you, but I can't wait for this season to start. Related Site: Sebastian Telfair Website Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!

Paul Pierce was scheduled to have surgery on his sore elbow today but according to the Boston Globe, he has delayed the surgery until August 9. Even with the later date for the surgery, it should still give him plenty of time to be ready for training camp in October. No reason was given for the delay.

The NBA released the regular season schedule today for the 2006-2007 season. The season begins on October 31 with the NBA Champion Miami Heat squaring off against Ben Wallace and the new look Chicago Bulls. The Celtics' first game will be on Wednesday, November 1 with a home match up against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The first nationally televised game for the Celtics will be on Saturday, November 4th on NBA-TV. A total of 8 Celtics' games will be televised on national television this season with 6 on NBA TV (@ Washington, @ Golden State, @ Portland, and home against Miami, Minnesota, and Toronto), 1 on ESPN (home against Philadelphia - just in case we trade for Iverson, I am sure), and 1 on ABC (a Sunday game against Chicago).

Most of the time, I think they are televising the team we are playing and not the Celtics or else we wouldn't be on at all. I am convinced that they will add a few more of our games by the end of the year when they see how exciting this team is this year. Of course, that may just be the koolaid talking.

Today we are going to look at Ryan Gomes. He showed in Summer League that last season was no fluke and has gotten even better since then.

Ryan Gomes was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and spent his entire childhood living in the Bucks Hill Apartment Complex there. Ryan grew up with his mother. His father, John Brooks, has always been a part of Ryan's life, but it was his mother who raised this very grounded young man. Like many single parents, Ryan's mother, Teresa Gomes, worked hard to help provide for her family. She worked two jobs, six days a week as a nurses aid. On some days, Ryan would not even see his mother as she would get home from her second job after he had left for school. Although his mother was often at work, Ryan was always cared for by his grandmother and aunts who took turns looking after him. It was this love and support from his family that Ryan credits for much of his success in life. When Ryan was young, he did not play any organized sports. He always enjoyed playing basketball on the playgrounds, but never received any formal instruction until high school. As a freshman at Wilby High School in Waterbury, Gomes played on his first organized basketball team. His high school coach, Reggie O'Brien, was one of the first to realize that Ryan had some special talents on the basketball court. O'Brien taught Ryan many of the basic skills that led to his strong inside play. He put those skills to good use in his first varsity season as he led Wilby to the 1998 state tournament. Ryan began playing AAU basketball in the summer of 1998. Ryan joined Head Coach Wayne Simone's Connecticut Select squad and benefitted from the situation. Simone was more than just a coach for Ryan, he was a mentor who taught Ryan how be motivated and pushed him to strive for a scholarship at the Division I level. Following Ryan's senior season, he received All-City, All-League and First Team All-State honors, as well as the Billy Finn Award, which he earned as the top player in Waterbury. Ryan was ready to go on to the next level and play college ball but unfortunately, he did not have the required SAT scores and would not be able to attend college in the September of 2000. At that point most of the schools that were recruiting Ryan backed off. However, Providence, Creighton and Dayton were still interested. Ryan stayed in Waterbury and worked hard to try and achieve the necessary SAT score. He took several courses in the fall of 2000 but his SAT scores were still not high enough. Ryan realized that he needed more help and so he enrolled in Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in January of 2001. Notre Dame provided the instruction Ryan needed as he was able improve his SAT score and become eligible to play in the NCAA. Ryan chose Providence from the three teams who were offering scholarships because they had shown the most interest and because he wanted to stay close to home. He had a 6 month old brother at home and he wanted to be part of his life and stay close. His college career started off slowly as he suffered a sore back in the preseason and he struggled to fit into the crowded roster. He didn't play in the first few games. Finally, in the 5th game of the season, the Friars fell way behind in a game and the coach inserted Gomes into the line-up. He responded by scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 28 minutes. He was very impressive from the field, hitting six of his eight shots. After that game, Ryan was never on the bench for the start of a Friar game. He played 4 very successful years at Providence and entered the NBA draft in 2005. NBAdraft.net gives Ryan's strengths as: "One of the hardest workers in all of college basketball ... His development of a three point shot during the offseason of his junior year is just one example... Gomes is a bruiser, very physical and tough player ... He has made the transition from post player to perimeter guy but has retained excellent post skills ... Few at the college level can match his size and footwork. Gomes is well adept at positioning himself for rebounds and on the blocks. Gomes has added solid range and permimeter skills to his game … He is an excellent free throw shooter and has made a living at the line .... Gomes has been one of the most consistent performers on the collegiate level for the past 2 years ..." He worked out for several teams before the 2005 draft. Danny had Gomes pegged as the player that he wanted at #18, but he couldn't pass up Gerald Green when he fell into their laps. But luck was with the Celtics and they got what may be the steal of the draft when Gomes fell to them with the 50th pick. His playing time and statistical impact were limited early in the season, as they were early in his college career. However, after the mid-season trade that was supposed to free up playing time for Al and Perk, both went down with injuries and Gomes was inserted into the starting line up. He made the best of the opportunity and led all rookies in double doubles, in spite of getting a late start. Gomes was named to NBA All-Rookie Second Team for the 2005-2006 season. In spite of being somewhat undersized for a power forward, Gomes positions himself well on the court to rebound, and uses his hands well for easy put-back buckets and lay-ups. Very similar to the way Larry Bird rebounded, he can estimate where a rebound is going to come off the rim and positions himself there. Celtics legend and TV color commentator, Tommy Heinsohn describes Gomes as the best offensive rebounder on the Celtics' roster. He recently asked to play on the Celtics' Summer League team. When asked why he wanted to play in the SL, even though he didn't need to, he had this to say, "To get better. Last year, people were excited when I played a lot at the end of the season. But in the beginning, I missed an awful lot also, not practices, but games and minutes. And at this stage, practices are shorter and lighter, so I wanted to come back [to the summer league], get in good shape and try to be ready for the whole season this year instead of coming on late. I also wanted to polish up on some things in my game, my shooting, my ball-handling. Playing you can always learn something." He showed even more improvement in the summer league, hitting the outside shot and showing his knack for rebounding. Ryan Gomes is a class act both on the court and off of it. He is a very hard worker and constantly works on improving his game. He is always doing things in the community to help others. On the court, he makes the right decisions and makes very few mistakes. He has a high basketball IQ and works to make everyone around him on the court better. In spite of his size, he has an uncanny knack for getting rebounds, especially on the offensive end. Ryan Gomes is a proven winner and will only get better the more he plays. Most Celtics fans hope he will be around Boston for a long, long time. Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!

Thanks to Justin over at Celtics17 and JB from CelticsStuff for some background info on Wally's knee issues. In a quote from the Globe, February 15, 2006, Shira Springer says this:

Szczerbiak had part of the lateral meniscus removed from his left knee nine years ago, when he was playing for Miami (Ohio). An MRI during his trade physical picked up something in the knee. Szczerbiak wonders whether a couple of hip pointers early this season, a couple hard knocks, have caused the swelling.
‘’Any time you’re pounding away for nine years and you have no cartilage in there, you have no padding, maybe you’ve got some loose bodies that develop,” Szczerbiak said. ‘’But at this point, the main focus is physical therapy and strengthening it.”

So Wally's knees have been bone on bone for years and somehow he plays on them. Danny knew about it when he made the trade. Tanguay may just be over reacting since Wally has been playing on these knees without cartilage for years. He has played in 73, 82, 82, 52, 28, 81 and 72 games in his 7 years in the league, averaging over 33 minutes per game in each season. If he strengthens the muscles in the knee, it can perhaps make up somewhat for the lack of cartilage.

In any case, limiting Wally's minutes would be very beneficial to both Wally and the team. In the same article by Shira, it mentioned how Doc was playing Wally close to 40 minutes per game when the medical staff advised him against playing him that much. In several games he played over 40 minutes. Since the surgery, the reports have been positive about Wally's rehab and he has said he expects to be 100% for training camp. Since he has been playing without cartilage since college, I don't think it will be a problem now. Perhaps the answer would be to Delonte at the 2 and bring Wally off the bench for 25 minutes per game. That would extend Wally's career, give us a shooter off the bench and a good FT shooter in the game at the end, and would give us a tough defender and playmaker at the 2 to complement our new points guards.

On tonight's Celticsstuff Live podcast, JB and Justin interviewed Gary Tanguay. Gary revealed that Wally's knee is bone on bone and that he doesn't expect him to be able to play the whole season on it. By all reports that I have seen printed, Wally's rehab is going well and he will be good to go in training camp. I haven't seen elsewhere that he is going to have recurring knee problems due to the cartilage being missing. Because Tanguay is one of the reporters who closely covers the team, this is much more than rumor and is somewhat worrisome.

This brings up a lot of questions. Obviously, if it is true, Wally would not be a very tradable commodity. Would he pass a physical with a knee that is bone on bone? What team would want a damaged shooting guard? Will he be the starting shooting guard this season? Will Doc start Delonte at the 2 so that he has 2 playmakers on the court at the same time? Will Wally come off the bench as the 6th man? Will Wally's knee be 100% in training camp and will he be able to play in 82 games this year? Definitely something to keep an eye on as training camp approaches.

If you haven't listened to Celticsstuff Live yet, you are really missing out on some good Celtics talk. They have interesting and knowledgeable guest speakers and tonight is just another example of the great info you can get by listening to the show. If you love the Celtics and are looking for a place to get good Celtics talk, be sure to tune in next week!!!

Today I am going to take a look at Delonte West in our series of Player Profiles.

Delonte West is another of our young players who overcame a tough childhood to make it to the pros. Delonte grew up in a rough area of DC and his family struggled to make ends meet. They moved a lot because of their financial situation and were evicted 3 times. Sometimes the move meant that Delonte, his mom, Delphina Addison, his younger sister and older brother all had to sleep in the same bed. Delonte became a very angry young man, wanting more from life than having to move from place to place and never knowing if there would be enough to eat or a roof over their heads the next week. In those tough times, Delonte gravitated to the basketball courts of inner city Washington DC. He didn't join in with others but often played by himself, sometimes pretending to be Michael Jordan. And basketball became an outlet. Once he got into the games, West developed a way of playing, a bloody way, throwing caution to the wind, too often getting pounded to the hot-top court, landing on his elbows and knees. He can still point out scars from those long-ago days when he didn't have a clue where the game would take him. School wasn't easy for Delonte as they moved so much. He went to three different middle schools. When he became a ninth-grader, they sent him to live with his father in Virginia. It was a bad move. Being in Virginia made him even more depressed and he got into a lot of trouble. He ended up quitting the freshman team." He went back to the old Washington neighborhood, looking for another high school. A friend told him he should go to Eleanor Roosevelt High in Greenbelt, Maryland because lots of nice-looking girls went there. He went there but still his academics weren't up to par. He started playing AAU basketball and then Roosevelt coach Glenn Farello took an interest in him. Clearly, the kid could play. But he also had baggage. Farrello wasn't fazed. He was the perfect coach for Delonte. He realized that West was an angry young man but made him believe in himself. West had to show he could stay eligible, balance the books and the game. He didn't play until his sophomore year was about halfway through. From then on until the end of his senior season, West became all-everything in the D.C.-Maryland area. He was even the Prom King. Only 2 colleges recruited him: Manhattan and St. Josephs. He was leaning toward Manhattan until he saw in the St Joe's Media guide that two of their games would be on ESPN and that made up his mind. He chose St. Joseph's in Philly. In St. Joe's coach, In Phil Martinelli, West found another coach who was able to get the best out of him. The Hawks went 30-2 in West's senior year, 27-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He put up 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He tossed a perfect game against Xavier: 12-for-12 from the field, 3-for-3 on treys, 6-for-6 from the foul line. His 37 straight free throws is a St. Joe's record. The Celtics drafted West with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2004 draft. He averaged 13 minutes per game as a rookie. His rookie year was plagued with injuries, however and so he really didn't get a chance to show what he could do. In his second year, Delonte became the starting point guard, in spite of having played shooting guard up until then. West has a collection of videos of point guards that he has to play against and studies them so that he knows the tendencies of the competition. He is one of the hardest workers in the NBA, never settling for good, but always wanting to be the best. Last year he was chosen to represent the Celtics in the Rookie-Sophomore All Star game. West saw the experience as a learning experience and more than just going to play the game. ''I'm going to try to take the experience and pick the brains of the All-Stars that are hanging around," West said. ''When I came to the NBA, I didn't say I just wanted to make it to the NBA, I wanted to be one of the better players. I want to be the best that do it. Making it to that main game is definitely a measurement of that. That's one of my goals for my career, to be an All-Star. So being in Houston gives me a taste of what it would be like." Basketball is not Delonte's only gift. When he was in the fourth grade, he was interested in a girl that he thought was the prettiest he had ever seen. She seemed smitten with this other boy because he could draw. West thought that he could do that too, so he took it up. He still draws. The Celtics media guide refers to him as "a talented artist." His drawing is another outlet to help drown the anger within him. Several of his drawings are still hanging at St. Joe's. Delonte had a couple of big games that were televised in Italy, and suddenly he has a budding fan club there. He also has a great sense of humor. From the article on his perfect Valentine Date to being miked at the Rookie-Sophomore game and naming his shots ("I call this one 'Cookies'.") to being the #1 best looking player in the world, you just have to love this kid. Delonte also loves giving back to the community. You often see photos and stories on celics.com where Delonte goes to a school or helps with a community project. This summer he went on a class trip to Washington with kids from an elementary school. He also participated in Basketball Without Borders, going to Puerto Rico to present clinics and work with kids there. Delonte plays all out all the time. He led all point guards in blocked shots last year and you only had to watch him for a little while to realize that this kid has something special. He has a good court vision and great basketball IQ. ''My basketball philosophy, my basketball genetics, is 'by any means necessary,' " West said. ''That's what I do. Whatever we have to do to get the W, that's what I do, so I'm always going to go all out" It is unclear what Delonte's roll on the team will be this year. With two new point guards that Danny is high on, Delonte will have an uphill battle if he is to keep his starting PG role. I see Delonte as the Sixth man this year, backing up both the 1 and the 2. He is a great shooter and could be a microwave type player coming off the bench. There are a lot of teams interested in him but so far, Danny has said that Delonte is part of the core of the team that he wants to keep together. One thing is sure, whatever role Delonte plays, he will give it his all... that's just the way he is. I wouldn't want to bet against him making the All Star team... he has fought for everything his entire life and has proved that he is a winner wherever he goes. Related Site: Delonte.com- his fan site Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!