What are J.R. Giddens "character issues?"

[Ersatz]

I agree, that is a real concern to me too.  Ideally, an NBA shooting guard will have majored in something substantial like English lit or philosophy, so that he can keep up with those deep conversations on the team bus about post-structuralism and deconstruction. 

TP. This made me snicker.

[iowa plowboy]

JR Giddens majored in University Studies!  What exactly is that?  I came from the University of Georgia myself and I heard back in those days that athletes are allowed to get some bogus degrees.  Ofcourse I majored in Management and Accounthing, but I've met athletes who were majoring in things like "Georgia Studies", or something like that.  Does this sound like one of those to you?  If so, then this guy was definitely not a commendable student in all likelihood. 

A degree in management is like a degree in gym or basket weaving.  University studies may be tougher than either...College management is the ultimate in the axiom...Those who can do. Those who can't, teach.  Those who can't teach, teach gym.  Those who can't teach gym become guidance councelors.  I'm sure he got the same kind of outstanding education most NBA players got.  Basketball, even at the NBA level is not rocket science.

Danny gutted the youth last year.  Walker and Giddins are a big risk/big reward flyer.  I'd guess, based on Danny's success late in the draft, he'll hit a home run with both.  I also think it marks the end of Pruitt.

[CelticsGlory]

I doubt that the intense player KG is, he will let this guy step over his boundary. And Pierce is used to these young kids now, and Ray will show him maturity. If anybody can shape this kid up, its the Celtics.

[cdif911]

JR Giddens majored in University Studies!  What exactly is that?  I came from the University of Georgia myself and I heard back in those days that athletes are allowed to get some bogus degrees.  Ofcourse I majored in Management and Accounthing, but I've met athletes who were majoring in things like "Georgia Studies", or something like that.  Does this sound like one of those to you?  If so, then this guy was definitely not a commendable student in all likelihood. 

At least he didn't major in basketball...or phys ed (going to the gym daily) - that'd be a red flag....

they should actually consider making a major for future pro athletes though, so they don't get screwed once they make it...

[MookieBlaylock]

I feel like the pick was a reach (where as Walker and the Turk were both steals at their selections) to begin with.. That being said, if TA moves then he fills in for him no problem. Basically, if you really look at it, JR is exactly like TA at 23. Still freakish athletes, unknown NBA talent, and possibly budding "character issues." TA had to go to re-hab for his drinky swerving (what I like to call it, ha) and it worked out for everyone in the end, hell, guy even got to go a few rounds with Lohan. Lot's of that had to do with the atmosphere of the team this year..

Do you all feel like Tony Allen would've been a problem this year if we didn't have the veterans that were brought in? I could've seen his knee, contract, the rumors, the blah, all of that causing friction on a YOUNG and LOSING/.500 team. On a winning team with leaders like Allen, KG and Pierce (all of whom, I feel like, bring a different kind of work ethic and passion, so much so that almost any young player would feel inspired by at least one of them) there were no problems at all, basically. He mentioned his contract and knee off-and-on but who wouldn't at least do that?

This is one of the few teams Giddens could come to and really, honestly, be a pretty safe bet to at least be what he is (a D-Mase, Tony Allen-like Oklahoma-athlete product) right now in the NBA. Part of me feels like his game is a little akin to Reggie Lewis', in some respects. They look like they have the same body-types and, like Lewis, he doesn't have to come in right away and play well, and he also knows that minutes are already going to all-stars so it'll be hard for him to find a complaint in the fact that, at least in the beginning, his minutes will obviously be limited.

I think Ainge wanted either Walker or Giddens. He got both. It's obvious he feels Giddens has more potential (even 2-3 years older than Walker) and less risk than B-Dub and thus rewarded him with the slight (I think this will help Giddens, actually) distinction of being a first round draft selection when NBAdraft.net had him going mid-2nd+. I guess Ainge is hoping that'll motivate him, and it might, you don't know what players will respond to.

It's all just such a mystery.. I mean the guy did win co-mvp honors with Deron Williams at the 2003 worlds, second only to Lebron in athleticism during his McD's all-american trip, and at least stayed D1 (and pretty top-level at that) despite knocks on his "character."

Bill Walker could be the steal of the draft, though. I say this because people have bounced back from knees lately (from Powe to Amare) and Walker has real work ethic and drive. Maybe too much, he was showing up for workouts still hurt because he wanted to prove himself so badly. How can you not like that? Well, how can you not like that when the guy isn't locked up to a multi-year/multi-million contract yet?

[bbc3341]

U Studies is a degree that takes from a bunch of different areas, kind of like an expanded GE degree, it's legit...

[celts55]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I had some "character issues" myself when I was younger. Maybe I had even more than most, yet I have grown up, work, have a wife and kids, own a home, etc. It seems to me that this guy has done a fair amount of growing up in the last year or two, so I won't hold his earlier issues againsn't him.

[iowa plowboy]

Do you all feel like Tony Allen would've been a problem this year if we didn't have the veterans that were brought in? I could've seen his knee, contract, the rumors, the blah, all of that causing friction on a YOUNG and LOSING/.500 team. On a winning team with leaders like Allen, KG and Pierce (all of whom, I feel like, bring a different kind of work ethic and passion, so much so that almost any young player would feel inspired by at least one of them) there were no problems at all, basically. He mentioned his contract and knee off-and-on but who wouldn't at least do that?

No, and no.  He's not the type.  Tony seems like a great teammate. If he wasn't disruptive the first three years while he was constantly getting jacked around on the train wreck that was those seasons, why would he do it while getting jacked around on a championship team?  

If a healthy Tony gets resigned, this is going to be a freakishly athletic backcourt with a sniper anchoring it.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I had some "character issues" myself when I was younger. Maybe I had even more than most, yet I have grown up, work, have a wife and kids, own a home, etc. It seems to me that this guy has done a fair amount of growing up in the last year or two, so I won't hold his earlier issues againsn't him.

Good post, 55.
Danny, I'm sure has done his homework here.  Alford is a solid guy and I'm sure would tell Danny bluntly about this kid.

[Jaycelt]

 Giddens "character issues" actually started while he was in high school.
He and his Uncle were caught stealing among other things a big screen TV, I believe, from a Walmart in Oklahoma City.
It almost cost him his scholarship to Kansas but JR convinced Roy Williams that it was
all his Uncle's doing and he didn't know anything about it.  


There were some other minor instances where he was disciplined.  
The bar fight was just the final straw.
He's really matured this last year and became a real leader on his team, which is sort of miraculous since he had a reputation for fighting with teammates early on at NM.

His game has also matured.  When he was at Kansas he did two things....dunked (spectacularly) and shot three's.  He hit some big three point shots for KU.  But he never drove to the basket, ever, and his defense was atrocious.  Think Gerald Green....seriously.  But he was fun to watch and he had a smile that was infectious.  It was hard not to root for the kid.
His game has really evolved since then and he plays so much harder.  He's filled out very nicely and that extra strength has been a real plus, particularly on defense and in rebounding.

At this point I would be more worried about Bill Walker's attitude then JR's.  As someone else pointed out Walker was always yelling at teammates and even he and Beasley got into it a few times.
Walker had absolutely no guidance or structure once Huggins left KState.  He and Beasley pretty much called the shots.  It should be interesting to see how he fits in, or if he fits in, on this team.
I don't think our Vets are going to put up with any crap from a rookie.  That should be a plus.

[td450]

... TA had to go to re-hab for his drinky swerving (what I like to call it, ha) and it worked out for everyone in the end, hell, guy even got to go a few rounds with Lohan...

I thought this comment was so out there, I googled it. There really is another Tony Allen out there who hooked up with Lindsay Lohan, but he's a drug addicted british guy in a rock band called Dead Stays Alive. Wow! I hope you were kidding!

[Bankshot]

JR Giddens majored in University Studies!  What exactly is that?  I came from the University of Georgia myself and I heard back in those days that athletes are allowed to get some bogus degrees.  Ofcourse I majored in Management and Accounthing, but I've met athletes who were majoring in things like "Georgia Studies", or something like that.  Does this sound like one of those to you?  If so, then this guy was definitely not a commendable student in all likelihood. 

I've heard 3 interviews with this kid already today and he sounds like a very intelligent kid, way more intelligent than a lot of these kids seem to be (did you listen to the interviews with some of these kids?  Some sounded like they should still be in grade school).  So it appears to me that whatever classes the kid took, he must have attended, because he learned something.

[WBrownTrophy]

I doubt that the intense player KG is, he will let this guy step over his boundary. And Pierce is used to these young kids now, and Ray will show him maturity. If anybody can shape this kid up, its the Celtics.

agreed.

[Bahku]

As I stated on another thread, I've done a great deal of investigating, and almost all of what I've read has said that he's matured a great deal over the last year or so, and that his "issues" are in large part a "thing of the past". Any remaining attitude problems will most assuredly be squelched by this coaching staff and team-mates, who will demand that he "step up to the plate" and carry his own weight, both as a player and personality-wise. I'm truly not worried about this kid anymore, as I was initially. Check out some of the UNM & Lobos blogs ... you'll come away feeling much better about him.

[Chief]

I think it's shameful the way, all the media types, keep trying to find the next Pac-Man Jones.  Everything a kid does makes him a character risk and the sharks at ESPN are more than ready to exploit it. Unless of course it's Shaq or Jordan.

[Last Train]

Being in the Mountain West, I saw a lot of his games this year without knowing his past until after the season. Watching him play, I never would have known he had any attitude problems or rifts with teammates. Those issues seem to be long gone.