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USA Today Article on Bogut

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Buzzard

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Here is a great article on Bogut. Unless this guy really tanks it up during March Madness against better competition, I just do not see how we can pass him up if he is ours to take.

Quote:

Utah's Bogut playing out of this world

By David Leon Moore, USA TODAY

He's proud of his Croatian heritage, he grew up in Australia and next month he'll almost surely become an All-American.

By Steve C. Wilson, AP

Andrew Bogut is a citizen of the world, and these days he has it on a string.

Bogut (BO-gut), a 7-foot, 245-pound sophomore center for rampaging Utah, winner of 14 consecutive games, is the next big thing in college basketball.

In fact, he's pretty close to being the only big thing worth raving about.

Look at the Wooden Award midseason Top 30, and there's only one player on the list taller than 6-10 and, arguably, just one true center — Bogut.

"Kind of weird," Bogut says. "You'd think there'd be more big guys in there."

Bogut's size, though, isn't the only thing creating the buzz that has him a leading candidate for player of the year honors and, possibly, a top-five NBA draft pick.

He's an intriguing combination of finesse and brawn, post-up and face-up, high-percentage shooter and slick, flamboyant passer.

"He's unique," says first-year coach Ray Giacoletti, whose No. 22 Utes are 19-3, 7-0 in the Mountain West Conference. "If he's not one of the two or three best players in college basketball, I'd be shocked. I don't see a better big player."

Bogut was recruited from Melbourne, Australia, by former Utah coach Rick Majerus. In Bogut's freshman season last year, he won Mountain West freshman of the year honors, averaging 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds.

He then returned Down Under, made the national team and caused something of a stir in Athens, starting as a 19-year-old for the Aussie Olympic team and averaging 14.8 points and 8.8 points.

The international exposure and experience proved crucial to his development. He came back to Utah more confident, more comfortable and happier in an offense that Giacoletti has centered on him.

The results: Bogut averages 19.7 points, leads the nation with 12 rebounds a game and 15 double-doubles and shoots 65.6%. He leads the Utes in blocked shots with 39 and, for good measure, averages 2.5 assists. And he's drawing plenty of attention. San Diego State collapsed so many players on him Saturday, Bogut didn't score for nearly 12 minutes.

Though the Utes' last two games on ESPN started at midnight ET, word is getting out. Give ESPN analyst Steve Lavin two minutes to talk about Bogut, and he mentions "skill-set" and "savvy" and "Dave Cowens" and "rugged" and "competitive fire."

Bogut, Lavin says, "is an unusual combination. The size, the skills, inside and outside, the passing, the vision and then that ruggedness. You've got your bangers, and you've got your smooth guys. He's both."

NBA scouts have been hanging around the Utes gym all season, expecting, as does Giacoletti, that Bogut will leave school for the NBA after this season.

The Utah sports information department has readied for Bogutmania. It is sending out paper boomerangs to about 600 media members promoting Bogut for postseason honors. And it has started a Bogut Web site —
www.utahutes.com/andrewbogut
— that includes informational sections titled "The Melbourne Identity" and "The Melbourne Supremacy."

At the site is a Bogut Blog, where his wry sense of humor comes out. On one of his entries, Bogut explained that when he said in his media-guide bio that he had a pet kangaroo and a crocodile, he was joking: "For all the national media, I don't really have a pet crocodile and kangaroo. I mean, it was a joke, and I didn't really think Australians would be viewed as that stereotypical. So I guess I was wrong. So, sorry ESPN, FSN and KJZZ, I really don't have these pets!!!"

What does he think of all the recent attention?

"It's fun, and it's great for the team and the university," he says. "But I don't really pay it a whole lot of mind. I won't think a lot about the draft until after the season. And I'm not really trying to win player of the year or any of that stuff. I'm just trying to keep this winning streak going and help get us into the NCAA Tournament."

Bogut's parents emigrated separately from Croatia in the 1970s, then met, married and had two kids, first Michelle, then Andrew.

His dad, Michael, owned a carburetor shop in Melbourne. One day, an old rim on the wall drew 8-year-old Andrew's attention, and he started throwing a ball at it. Later, when it was clear he had the size and the athleticism to warrant special attention, his father hired a personal coach, former Yugoslav player Sinisa Markovic, who for hours a day put Bogut through innovative drills that focused on improving his ballhandling, his ability to use both hands and his fitness.

"That was huge for me," he says. "The guy would pick me up from school and we'd go two, three hours, working on footwork, ballhandling, all sorts of drills."

He has continued to improve, but this year the drill, for the most part, is Bogut rebounds, Bogut scores, Utah wins.

Here is the link:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/men...-06-bogut_x.htm

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TheDude Newbie

TheDude

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fundamentals and toughness...for a big man with those fundamentals, it's great..you know he has them with all the training he's had since a youth...ok, he's my choice for first pick..

heck, if we get the top pick and we could trade down a spot so someone else could get their own pick and get something out of it..draft jack or another pg farther down..

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KBatPCSOM Newbie

KBatPCSOM

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Andrew Bogut and Chris Paul appear to be the two players that are emerging as the top candidates for the number one overall pick. Both players just happen to fill a position of need for the Hawks.

Another player that is really rising up the draft boards is Arizona State's Ike Diogu. That guy has really changed his body over the past season. He's a very, very thick and muscular 255 lbs right now at about 6'8" tall. He's a beast on the low block and is averaging around 21 ppg and 10 rpg on the season while shooting 58% from the floor.

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Duff_Man Newbie

Duff_Man

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Bogut would be a good pick for us. I think we may get him at #2 (I hope). The #1 pick might be one of the 3,000 NBA prospects that played in the Duke/NC game the other night. Of course, time and the tourney will tell.

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TheRedStripes Newbie

TheRedStripes

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Chris Paul is terribly overrated, Bogut would be the wiser choice for the Hawks. I just read the scouting report on him at www.draftcity.com and he seems to be the real deal. He really seemed to dominate the international competition, and according to this he has a lot of toughness...i think it would be unwise to pass up a player that skilled, big, and not afraid to be physical.

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VDiLetto Newbie

VDiLetto

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Its a good thing we don't have to actually try to tank it this year, we can just go out there and do our best and still be terrible. Actually, I would just like to see the Hawks compete in every game. I think this kid may be the guy we need. If we can add him to the Joshes, we have a nice young core of players.

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TheDude Newbie

TheDude

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Quote:

i'm afraid bogut will be #1 undisputed by the time the draft occurs...

and we all know the hawks will NEVER get a #1 pick...

we're gonna have to settle for drafting a project like marty or petro or we're gonna have to draft felton or paul or jack in the top 3 or we'll trade down...

but i want BOGUT....

Bogut that thought... grin.gif

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