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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

SQ14 #32 Big Off-Season for Sullinger

It has not been a smooth two years for Jared Sullinger.  Back injury drops him in the draft, and more to the point cuts into his ability to prepare for his jump to the pros.  Makes some waves starting his rookie year, only to be laid low in his third month by a back injury and subsequent surgery--another off-season spent in rehab rather than honing his game.  Last season he plays out of position at center for most of his playing time and suffers a series of nagging injuries often to his shooting hand.  Through all this he has looked, and often played, pudgy.  He never looked cut, nor seemed to feel the need to do so.

I fear that as his second season rolled on, playing center became a crutch to avoid getting into better shape because he “needed” the extra pounds to compete against the big guys inside.  I only hope that he comes around to the belief that the bulk of muscle, rather than the junk in the trunk and his jelly rolls, would provide much better leverage as well as better mobility and stamina.  The first day of training camp should go a long way toward informing us as to whether he “wants it” bad enough.  I suspect that his career path will be heavily (pun intended) influenced by either his nutritionist and trainer, or by KFC and the corner pizzeria.

It remains to be seen whether his career tails off into a plump waste like Big Baby Davis or he moulds himself into more of a bruiser like Elton Brand or Charles Oakley.  I would love for Sully to grow into an assertive role like Maurice Lucas.  I do think that such lofty goals are within his capabilities, and he would have better range than any of the three.

For those of you that have been following along on these Summer Quandaries, my apologies for this day-late episode.  I have no excuse other than fatigue.  A month down and another to go.

Only 33 more days until training camp.
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