Utah Jazz: Jazz Guard Used to Not Starting July 17, 2008 Fast

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Ross Siler Click here to add topics Jul 17, 2008 (The Salt Lake Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

As much as he wishes it wasn't the case, Jazz guard Morris Almond can't change the fact that he's started slowly at every stop in his basketball career. Click here to add companies

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He struggled just to get off the bench his first two years at Rice before becoming one of college basketball's leading scorers. He was the Jazz's first round draft pick last year but played in only nine games as a rookie.

"I'm that guy, man," Almond said Wednesday. "You know, I guess I'm that guy. It's not what I wanted, but it always works itself out, eventually."

Even as he set scoring records in the NBA Development League, Almond still couldn't earn a ticket back to the Jazz. There were too many young Topics guards on the roster with Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles and too few Companies minutes to go around. Personal Info Preferences Forgot Password? "I'm human," said Almond, who was assigned to the D-League's Utah Flash Log out three times. "It was frustrating a little bit. But I'm also professional. I'm not going to crack and shut down because things aren't going my way my first year.

"If I would have shut down at one point, it would have been sitting on the

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bench at Rice as a first-year player. So here, I've kind of been through it. That's where that college experience comes in, I guess. We'll see how it Women in Local shakes things out." Government [opinion] UPDATE - Provincial As he prepares to play in the Rocky Mountain Revue for a second time, Weapons Enforcement Almond has all the opportunity he could ask for. He's the veteran player Unit - Project Blackhawk trying to "set the tone," advising his teammates about everything from Raton Makes Racino running the offense to keeping their jerseys tucked in. Pitch: Town Welcomes Racing Board Indictments snare bikers, "It's easier," Almond said. "I feel a lot more comfortable. You know the lawmen plays. It makes me realize how green I was last year. Coming in, you don't Crash shuts Hwy. 40 at know anything, and now you can really get the nuances down because I Mason have a year under my belt." CMKM Diamonds awarded millions in fraud lawsuit There is a definite anticipation about what Almond will do in the Revue. Amish travelers among He scored 51 points in one game with the Flash, 53 in another, and Hwy. 40 crash victims averaged 25.6 points for the season. His Jazz teammates often teased Obituaries Almond about being the D-League's Kobe Bryant. From the summer- BRIEF: Two jailed in league practices he's seen so far, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said Almond Foscoe bank robbery looked stronger and was hustling back on defense better. DJ Energy Calendar - Futures, Options Dates - Jul 16 "I can just see when he gets out here and runs up and down the floor he looks a whole lot more like a pro right now than he did when we first got him," Flash coach Brad Jones said. "That's kind of the purpose of what we do."

Oil & Gas The Jazz have regarded Almond as an NBA-caliber shooter and scorer Managed Health Care since they drafted him with the No. 25 overall pick. It's the other areas of Stock Market his game in which they want to see improvement, starting with defense Hospital Industry and team play. Top World News Technology "What's going to happen to him when people start just double-teaming Alternative Energy him every time he catches the ball?" Sloan asked, adding, "You can't have Banking the luxury of a guy shooting every time he touches it but not doing Electric Power anything else." Executive Activities As long as Almond was cashing NBA checks, Sloan had little sympathy for the season the rookie spent in the D-League. "There's lots and lots and lots of people that would like to have that same job," Sloan said.

With Miles skipping the Revue again this summer, Almond has the chance to make a favorable impression. He said he didn't think he needed to tone down his scoring just to show what else he could do.

"It's just playing my game, being natural," Almond said. "Of course, I've worked on other things. But I'm not going to try to overemphasize one thing to take away from what I do because I am what I am. I look forward to playing a well-rounded game down there."

Jones praised Almond for working hard in the D-League even though "I'm sure obviously on draft night it's not what he envisioned." For his part, Almond was asked about escaping that history as a slow starter wherever he's been.

"That's life, man, always," Almond said. "It's like the seasons."

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Ron Boone's wife dead at 62 Jackie Boone, the wife of longtime Jazz broadcaster and former player Ron Boone, died Tuesday at Huntsman

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Cancer Institute following a long battle with cancer.

She was 62.

Memorial services will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, 1090 S. State Street in Salt Lake City.

Jackie Boone is survived by her husband, son JaRon, daughter Jozette and three grandchildren.

- The Salt Lake Tribune

Rocky Mountain Revue

Jazz RMR schedule

All games at 7 p.m.

Dates: Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, July 24-25

Site: Salt Lake Community College's Lifetime Events Center

Tickets: $10, available at ticketmaster.com, by calling (801) 325-7328 or at the arena ticket office.

Friday: San Antonio

Saturday: Atlanta

Monday: Iranian national team

Tuesday: New Jersey

July 24: Atlanta

July 25: Dallas

Player Pos From Yrs

Morris Almond SG Rice 1

Tyrone Brazelton PG Western Kentucky R

Earl Calloway PG Indiana R

Russell Carter SG Notre Dame R

Mike Efevberha G Cal State Northridge R

Kyrylo Fesenko C Ukraine 1

Hiram Fuller PF Fresno State 1

Brian Greene SF Colorado State R

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Leemire Goldwire G Charlotte R

Brian Jackson PF Oregon State R

Britton Johnsen SF Utah 2

Yaroslav Korolev SF Russia 2

Kosta Koufos C Ohio State R

Kevin Kruger PG UNLV R

Kevin Lyde C Temple R

Rickey Paulding SG Missouri R

Haminn Quaintance SF Kent State R

To see more of The Salt Lake Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sltrib.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Salt Lake Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=85681879 7/17/2008