Revisiting Fesenko vs. Shaq and Sloan vs. Non-Rebounding Players

Have to admit, it was fun talking to Kyrylo Fesenko last night after the Jazz game. He was just beaming after playing against Shaq, his boyhood hero. And, really, who wouldn’t be? I would have loved to have had a chance to play against (or preferably with) Terry Bradshaw.
But, alas, not too many NFL teams were looking for chubby, molasses-motion 5-foot-8 receivers or defensive backs.
Upon further review, it appears Fesenko and O’Neal have gone head-to-head before. The two were on the court together for 55 seconds in a 104-102 Miami Heat win on Dec. 22 before Shaq was traded to the Phoenix Suns.
Fesenko wasn’t credited for any stats for that brief period, but O’Neal had a dunk, a rebound and a defensive three-second technical foul.
But Fes definitely had more time to tussle with his idol Thursday night, and he was clearly on Cloud 9. I’m still chuckling about the scary death-stare he got from Shaq and how he called himself a “little girl” compared to the enormous Suns’ center ? something his teammates probably won’t let him heard the end of for awhile.
In today’s story, I quoted Jerry Sloan saying he thought Fesenko “tried to play him pretty well” against O’Neal. Paul Millsap thought he did as well: “Fes held his own. He did a great job tonight. If he patterns his game after that, he’ll be good.”

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Sloan was again upset that his team got outrebounded, and he was especially disappointed in his “mid-sized people.” C.J. Miles only had two rebounds and Kyle Korver had one, while Ronnie Brewer and Morris Almond had as many boards as I did last night.

“You’ve got to have more than that,” Sloan said.

By the way, he was talking about them, not me.

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Speaking of Morris Almond, he hit double figures in scoring again with 10 points in Thursday’s 96-89 loss, but his coach still wants more from him on the other end. His progression there very well could determine whether he sticks with the Jazz or is sent back to the D-League this year.

“Well, he scored points, but I’m disappointed the way he runs the floor. He looks like he’s not concerned about running the floor and helping defensively. We can’t afford to have that, especially our mid-sized people. Everybody likes to score, but if that’s all you’re going to do it’s hard to play to win.

“He’s got to rebound the ball, pass the basketball, learn to do some other things rather than just be a one-dimensional player.”