Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Posted: 8:05 p.m.
By John R. Finger
CSNPhilly.com
Rookie Evan Turner likes to say he has his coach Doug Collins watching over his shoulder. Actually, one could take that very literally.
See, resting on the shelf of Turners locker in the Wells Fargo Center is a bobblehead doll of a young Collins from his days as an All-American at Illinois State. It has the candy-stripe shorts, No. 20 uniform shirt and the Beatle-esque haircut.
Call it a gift from a No. 1 overall selection in the NBA draft to last Junes No. 2 overall pick.
More than a gift from a coach to a young player, Turner says the bobblehead comes in handy.
Its a nice gift, nobody else got it, Turner said before Tuesday nights game against the Mavericks. When I come in here during halftime and hes made me mad, I smack him.
NBA
Of course Collins has been more than a ceramic figurine to Turner this season. The truth is Turner says his sometimes difficult transition to the NBA could not have gone much smoother had it not been for Collins. It hasnt been a smooth ride for Turner as he made the jump from All-American at Ohio State to the 76ers, but the rookie has always known where he stood and what was expected of him.
For an athlete in any sport, communication is vital.
He took his time with me, for the most part, Turner said. He was talking to me and trying to relate with me. I heard most coaches dont do thatthey dont care sometimes. For me that was huge.
Of course Collins hasnt just been good for Turner. Hes helped the Sixers make a jump from doormats of the division last season and a frustrating 3-13 start to this season, to a threat come playoff time. As a result, Collins was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month on the strength of the 9-3 run in February.
The reason you get an opportunity like this it means you have the team of the month, Collins said. Thats how I look at itwe have the team of the month.
To get to 30-29, the Sixers have posted the seventh-best record in the NBA since the 3-13 start. Meanwhile, the .750 winning percentage during the month was the best by a Sixers team since Larry Brown guided the team to an 8-2 February in 2003. Brown was also the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month in March of 03, which is the last time a Sixers coach took home the honor.
Im not looking for any accolades or anything like that, Collins said. I dont use these things for incentive. I use it as a reward if I do something well.
For Collins, it is the fourth time hes been Coach of the Month, winning the award in each of his previous stops in the league. Interestingly, Collins counterpart in Tuesday nights game, Rick Carlisle, was the Coach of the Month in the Western Conference.
Ironically, one of my best friends is the coach of the month in the West, Collins said of Carlisle and the 16 out of 17 streak the Mavs are riding as the hottest team in the NBA.
Turner to work with Shot Doctor
When his rookie season comes to an end, it will be back to the gym for Turner.
Thats when Turner will go to work with the legendary Herb Magee, the head coach at Division II Philadelphia University where he was once the schools all-time leading scorer and has more wins than any NCAA coach. More notably, Magee is known as the shot doctor having worked with thousands of players at camps and clinics during his half-century in the game.
Coach Collins set it up for after the season, Turner said. He can teach me how to play off the ball and stuff, and hell be able to teach me to be a better shooter.
Regardless, Turner has regained much of his confidence after a slow start to his NBA career and has adjusted to coming off the bench for Collins. However, the learning curve has been slow for Turner with coach and club giving him plenty of time to adjust to his new job.
Still, it was a bit of jolt for Turner during his first few months in the league.
It was kind of back to reality. But I was always the kind of guy who had to work through stuff and work from the bottom and stuff like that, Turner explained. Maybe I wasnt being realistic in thinking I could have stuff right away and immediately, but once again that comes down to doing the work and not taking things for granted.
My first couple months I was playing a different position and it wasnt like what I did in college. The way I was playing it was stuff I hadnt done before in my life.
Nevertheless, Turner has come a long way from his youth on the west side of Chicago where he played basketball wherever he could find space.
We used milk crates or when they came down we used the awning off the garage, Turner said, noting that he always used a regulation basketball while pretending to shoot at a make-believe basket. There was no hoop and that was pretty much it.
Obviously, his work with Magee will be much-needed considering his 26.3 percent shooting clip from three-point range and 41.6 percent shooting from the floor.
E-mail John Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com
Related: Sixers expect big things from Speights in stretch runBuy Sixers gear