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From Arizona Rivals site ... I bring you with the caveat the last white
player I've heard this kind of stuff about at the same age was Chris
Burgess. Not surprisingly, given the brainwashed white coaches in the
sport, the coach calling Budinger a likely HOF'er is black:
Expectations at all-time high for Chase Budinger
Josh Gershon
GOAZCATS.com Senior Editor
Back when Chase Budinger was a rising junior, the 6-foot-8 small
forward was considered a fringe Top-100 player who was often compared
to former Arizona Wildcat Jud Buechler.
These days, that comparison is almost insulting to Budinger, even though
Buechler played 12 years in the NBA and won three world championships.
Even though Buechler had a great career playing basketball, expectations
for Budinger are reaching new heights.
A couple years ago, no one would have guessed that expectation levels
would reach this point. While Budinger was being overlooked by the
national recruiting analysts, UA head coach Lute Olson wasn't buying the
rankings, calling Budinger "the best player in the 2006 class" to those
close to him.
"We knew how good he was from the start," says UA assistant Josh
Pastner.
Olson's opinion of Budinger seemed a little exaggerated at the time but
it's beginning to look as though the Hall of Famer could end up being
proven right. While many head coaches would prefer players such as Greg
Oden, Kevin Durant and Spencer Hawes, the UA coaching staff has held
firm in their belief that they got the best player in the 2006 class.
Budinger certainly isn't doing anything to prove that idea wrong. Since he
committed to Arizona in August of 2005, all he's done is win a CIF title,
get named California Player of the Year, McDonald's All-American MVP,
first-team Parade All-American and 2006 Douai Junior World
Championship MVP, among various other accolades.
After a year in which Arizona had its most disappointing season ever
under Olson, Budinger is being looked upon by some as the guy who is
going to bring the Wildcats their second national championship.
It seems that every time Budinger steps on the court, he makes such an
impression on those in attendance that the expectations and hype grow
even further. In fact, after dominating the Douai Junior World
Championship in France earlier this month, expectations for Budinger are
at an all time high.
Just ask Linzy Davis, who coached Budinger and Team USA in France.
Davis watched Budinger dominate the international competition overseas
and now he has a pretty good feeling about the future Wildcat's future.
"I think the potential for his future is unlimited and I say that without
reservation," said Davis. "His play in Douai, France was even superior to
Carmelo Anthony (who Davis coached in Douai in 2001).
"When you talk about the greatest NBA players and the guys carrying the
league a few years from now, they're going to say Carmelo Anthony,
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chase Budinger. He's that type of player
and will have that type of impact on the league."
Davis is pretty qualified to give that opinion. He's well respected
internationally and has coached former and future lottery picks such as
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Andrei Kirilenko, Anthony, Shelden Williams,
LaMarcus Aldridge, DaJuan Wagner and Jarvis Hayes, among others.
"I coached those guys," Davis said. "I know their tools and I know where
they were at that point in time when they were ready to be drafted in the
lottery. When I compare them to where Chase is now, I can say that he is
at the top of the chart.
"I have good comparisons to go by when you consider the type of players
I've coached that are in the NBA and the guys I've coached against in
international competition.
"Douai, France is an excellent stage to find out where you're at. They have
the 24-second shot clock there and the rules are set so you need to be a
more skilled player to be successful. All your flaws really show up in
international ball as you can see when you look at the challenges that the
USA senior team is having. It's all about skill.
"When I look at the skill of Chase Budinger along with his physical
attributes and then look at the past players I've coached, there's no doubt
in my mind that he is a lottery pick. He'll probably be the top pick and
certainly a top-three pick, depending on when he decides to go in the
draft."
At this point, it should be clear that Davis has a lot of confidence in
Budinger. However, he didn't stop there when talking about his NBA
future.
"If I was a general manager of an NBA team, there's no doubt in my mind,
at least for next year, that he'd be one of my top selections. If I had the
number one pick and someone asked me who I was looking at, I'd tell
them I'm looking Chase Budinger.
"One, he has the charisma, two he has the skills and three he has the
physical tools. The guy has a 40-plus vertical. He won the dunk contest in
Douai. This guy is a showstopper. He went 6-8 from three-point line in
the championship game but he also can put the ball on the floor and do
everything else.
"When you think about a person that has the ability he does, you realize
what kind of impact he can have on this game. He's a franchise player. I
think any NBA club should look at him as a franchise player and I even
think they should look beyond that.
"He's a guy that in 20 years from now, people are going to say he's one of
the Top 50 in NBA history. He'll belong in that elite club. Of course a lot
of things have to happen for all that but he certainly has the ability to
become one of the greatest players to ever play this game."
Budinger, when told of the comments by Davis, took a moment to
comprehend the enormous compliment before reflecting on the coach's
opinion.
"That's an honor for him to say that since he's coached so many top
players in his career," Budinger said. "I just feel challenged to keep
working hard to get to that spot. He saying that right now doesn't mean
anything.
"The main thing is to keep working hard so I can get there. When people
talk like that I take it as an honor and after that I just try to work hard to
get to that spot where people are saying I should be at."
The Arizona coaching staff knows quite well how much potential Budinger
has. They saw it when they started recruiting him and as he's blown up on
the national scene, it's just confirmed what they thought from the
beginning.
Pastner is equally optimistic about what Budinger will accomplish in the
sport, but cites his work ethic and attitude as the reasons he could get
there.
"I think Chase has tremendous potential in basketball and there's not
really any secret about that," Pastner said. "One of the things that gives
him the opportunity to be so great is because he's so humble and down
to earth. He wants to get better, he wants to work and he wants to learn.
"That's why he's coming to Arizona, to compete. He was so nervous about
Marcus (Williams) leaving. He didn't want Marcus and Mustafa Shakur to
leave. He wanted to compete against those guys everyday in practice
because he knew it would make him better.
"He wants Jawann (McClellan) to be healthy because he wants to compete
against those high level guys. A lot of people want to be handed
something and Chase knows if he wants to get to the level he can get to,
he needs to play against high level guys night in and night out.
"He wants to learn. He knows he has a lot to learn and knows that what
he can learn from Coach Olson is invaluable."
Budinger agrees with Pastner, and maintains that while individual praise
is nice, he's more concerned about what his team can accomplish first.
"I'm a team guy," says Budinger. "When I play, I'm not trying to score 20
or 30 points a game. I'm trying to go out there and try to make everyone
around me a better player. That's how I do things.
"In France we had a good team and I just tried to make everyone else
around me better and eventually that's what I did. That's what the
coaches see. I'm very team oriented and I want to get everyone else the
ball."
"Chase Budinger is all about team," added Pastner. "He wants to win a
national championship. Everyone's forgetting that all Chase has ever
talked about is that he's so excited about the competition he'll face at
Arizona and the chance to win a national championship.
"He was so excited when Marcus and Mustafa said they were coming
back. He knows we have a team to win the national championship next
year. He's a team guy, he's not an 'I' guy he doesn't worry about his
individual accolades, he's worried about one thing and that's winning."
Budinger may put a high emphasis on winning but the reality is that you
can only hear so much about yourself before starting to let it get to your
head, right? Trent Suzuki, Budinger's trainer and mentor, has heard more
about the small forward's potential than anyone.
Suzuki maintains that while the small forward's hype continues to grow,
his head doesn't.
"I think what defines his greatness is not his skill and how he handles
himself on the floor, it's how he handles himself off the floor," said
Suzuki. "Everyone's always telling him how good he is but he doesn't buy
into any of that stuff. He's appreciative but he doesn't believe all the
hype.
"Sometimes we'll watch a tape of him and he'll be like 'that's so sick' but
he doesn't really equate that he does the things he does. He knows he did
it and just figures it is part of the day's work and forgets about it. He
knows he hasn't really gotten started yet.
"His parents have raised him right, I've been fortunate enough to be in his
life a long time and he has to answer to so many people that he'd never
get a big head. Let's say he does become one of the 50 greatest players
of all time, he'll still be the same guy. I don't care what record he breaks,
what title he wins, what individual accolades he picks up, it's not going to
matter.
"Even if one day we sit back and look at his career and he does end up
being one of the greatest players ever, even then, he still wouldn't believe
it. It's just not in his makeup to be egotistical about this stuff. He's a
team-first player and he gets just as excited dropping a dime as he does
a dunk.
"Guys like to play with him because he's so unselfish and willing to give
up the ball. If he has the best shot, he'll take it but if someone has the
better shot, he'll give it up and that's just his game.
"I've been around him for a long, long time. I've never had to tell him his
head is getting too big."
Budinger's talent separates himself from most of his peers by itself, but
it's the attitude that Davis feels brings him to another level.
"I think he's very mature and very focused," said Davis. "There's no
luggage that comes with this guy and that's another one of those things
that's going to make him a lottery pick. He's one of those guys where he
could be anywhere from one to five because he's just a special individual.
"He's very mature and brings no luggage to the table. He's quiet and he's
humble but he has what I call a quiet determination. You know
somewhere on the inside this guy knows that he's special and he's trying
to tap the outer realm of who he is."
It remains to be seen what Budinger accomplishes in his basketball
career. However, he already has a lot to live up and that's where a
potential problem comes in.
How does someone who has so many expectations possibly live up to
them and not feel the pressure to become what everyone else thinks he'll
be?
"I don't really take is as pressure," says Budinger. "I just try to take it more
as motivation. I use that to my motivation to get in the gym and improve
my game so when I get to Arizona, I can make everyone around me
better. I use it as nothing but motivation."
Pastner isn't worried about the expectations either. He says that while
everyone else talks about what Budinger can be, it doesn't mean he's
going to let it bother him.
"Who has the expectations?" Pastner asks. "The media outlets and fans
may have expectations but they aren't coming from Chase Budinger.
Chase can only worry about what he can control and that's his
preparation and attitude. That's the bottom line.
"I think Chase is going to have a tremendous career and he's going to
enjoy his time here. He needs to enjoy college and not worry about
anyone's expectations. He needs to do what he's been doing and that's
having fun and enjoying the game.
"If he does that, he's going to realize every bit of potential that he has the
ability to reach. I think that watching him progress will be exciting for all
of us as a coaching staff and as fans."
Suzuki, who has played a major role in making sure that Budinger stays
well-grounded at all times, says that the expectations aren't much of a
secret to the incoming freshman, but that doesn't mean it's going to
negatively affect him.
"There are a whole lot of expectations on him at Arizona," said Suzuki. "I
think part of my job as his mentor is to try and shield from that as much
as possible. But he knows what people are saying about him. He knows
what Coach Olson has said about him.
"He also knows that Marcus coming back really alleviates a ton of the
pressure. Being asked to be the go-to guy as a freshman was asking a lot.
Marcus is going to have just as much of the pressure on him and Chase
will help him alleviate the pressure.
"When Chase is at his best he's on the court with another elite-level wing
because it just allows him to do the things he wants to do. We saw that
with Kevin Durant at McDonald's and Thaddeus Young in France."
Davis, legal guardian of UA sophomore Mohamed Tangara, saw what
Budinger is capable of firsthand and that's what makes him so excited
about what his future holds at Arizona.
"He's going to have an immediate impact on Arizona Basketball," said
Davis. "Arizona really gets up and down the floor and that's going to favor
his game. I look for him to number one, win Freshman of the Year in the
Pac-10 and number two, really help Arizona in a very special way. I
expect big things out of Arizona next year."
As time winds down to the beginning of the 2006-07 basketball season,
the hype surrounding Chase Budinger will only continue to grow. Many
people will surely worry that Budinger won't live up to the expectations
that have been put on him.
Davis is sure that he'll not only meet those expectations, but he'll exceed
them.
"What I'm telling you is that when you're talking about one of the three
biggest names in basketball over the next twenty years, Chase is going to
be one of them," Davis said.
"I really believe that."Edited by: GreatLakeState
player I've heard this kind of stuff about at the same age was Chris
Burgess. Not surprisingly, given the brainwashed white coaches in the
sport, the coach calling Budinger a likely HOF'er is black:
Expectations at all-time high for Chase Budinger
Josh Gershon
GOAZCATS.com Senior Editor
Back when Chase Budinger was a rising junior, the 6-foot-8 small
forward was considered a fringe Top-100 player who was often compared
to former Arizona Wildcat Jud Buechler.
These days, that comparison is almost insulting to Budinger, even though
Buechler played 12 years in the NBA and won three world championships.
Even though Buechler had a great career playing basketball, expectations
for Budinger are reaching new heights.
A couple years ago, no one would have guessed that expectation levels
would reach this point. While Budinger was being overlooked by the
national recruiting analysts, UA head coach Lute Olson wasn't buying the
rankings, calling Budinger "the best player in the 2006 class" to those
close to him.
"We knew how good he was from the start," says UA assistant Josh
Pastner.
Olson's opinion of Budinger seemed a little exaggerated at the time but
it's beginning to look as though the Hall of Famer could end up being
proven right. While many head coaches would prefer players such as Greg
Oden, Kevin Durant and Spencer Hawes, the UA coaching staff has held
firm in their belief that they got the best player in the 2006 class.
Budinger certainly isn't doing anything to prove that idea wrong. Since he
committed to Arizona in August of 2005, all he's done is win a CIF title,
get named California Player of the Year, McDonald's All-American MVP,
first-team Parade All-American and 2006 Douai Junior World
Championship MVP, among various other accolades.
After a year in which Arizona had its most disappointing season ever
under Olson, Budinger is being looked upon by some as the guy who is
going to bring the Wildcats their second national championship.
It seems that every time Budinger steps on the court, he makes such an
impression on those in attendance that the expectations and hype grow
even further. In fact, after dominating the Douai Junior World
Championship in France earlier this month, expectations for Budinger are
at an all time high.
Just ask Linzy Davis, who coached Budinger and Team USA in France.
Davis watched Budinger dominate the international competition overseas
and now he has a pretty good feeling about the future Wildcat's future.
"I think the potential for his future is unlimited and I say that without
reservation," said Davis. "His play in Douai, France was even superior to
Carmelo Anthony (who Davis coached in Douai in 2001).
"When you talk about the greatest NBA players and the guys carrying the
league a few years from now, they're going to say Carmelo Anthony,
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chase Budinger. He's that type of player
and will have that type of impact on the league."
Davis is pretty qualified to give that opinion. He's well respected
internationally and has coached former and future lottery picks such as
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Andrei Kirilenko, Anthony, Shelden Williams,
LaMarcus Aldridge, DaJuan Wagner and Jarvis Hayes, among others.
"I coached those guys," Davis said. "I know their tools and I know where
they were at that point in time when they were ready to be drafted in the
lottery. When I compare them to where Chase is now, I can say that he is
at the top of the chart.
"I have good comparisons to go by when you consider the type of players
I've coached that are in the NBA and the guys I've coached against in
international competition.
"Douai, France is an excellent stage to find out where you're at. They have
the 24-second shot clock there and the rules are set so you need to be a
more skilled player to be successful. All your flaws really show up in
international ball as you can see when you look at the challenges that the
USA senior team is having. It's all about skill.
"When I look at the skill of Chase Budinger along with his physical
attributes and then look at the past players I've coached, there's no doubt
in my mind that he is a lottery pick. He'll probably be the top pick and
certainly a top-three pick, depending on when he decides to go in the
draft."
At this point, it should be clear that Davis has a lot of confidence in
Budinger. However, he didn't stop there when talking about his NBA
future.
"If I was a general manager of an NBA team, there's no doubt in my mind,
at least for next year, that he'd be one of my top selections. If I had the
number one pick and someone asked me who I was looking at, I'd tell
them I'm looking Chase Budinger.
"One, he has the charisma, two he has the skills and three he has the
physical tools. The guy has a 40-plus vertical. He won the dunk contest in
Douai. This guy is a showstopper. He went 6-8 from three-point line in
the championship game but he also can put the ball on the floor and do
everything else.
"When you think about a person that has the ability he does, you realize
what kind of impact he can have on this game. He's a franchise player. I
think any NBA club should look at him as a franchise player and I even
think they should look beyond that.
"He's a guy that in 20 years from now, people are going to say he's one of
the Top 50 in NBA history. He'll belong in that elite club. Of course a lot
of things have to happen for all that but he certainly has the ability to
become one of the greatest players to ever play this game."
Budinger, when told of the comments by Davis, took a moment to
comprehend the enormous compliment before reflecting on the coach's
opinion.
"That's an honor for him to say that since he's coached so many top
players in his career," Budinger said. "I just feel challenged to keep
working hard to get to that spot. He saying that right now doesn't mean
anything.
"The main thing is to keep working hard so I can get there. When people
talk like that I take it as an honor and after that I just try to work hard to
get to that spot where people are saying I should be at."
The Arizona coaching staff knows quite well how much potential Budinger
has. They saw it when they started recruiting him and as he's blown up on
the national scene, it's just confirmed what they thought from the
beginning.
Pastner is equally optimistic about what Budinger will accomplish in the
sport, but cites his work ethic and attitude as the reasons he could get
there.
"I think Chase has tremendous potential in basketball and there's not
really any secret about that," Pastner said. "One of the things that gives
him the opportunity to be so great is because he's so humble and down
to earth. He wants to get better, he wants to work and he wants to learn.
"That's why he's coming to Arizona, to compete. He was so nervous about
Marcus (Williams) leaving. He didn't want Marcus and Mustafa Shakur to
leave. He wanted to compete against those guys everyday in practice
because he knew it would make him better.
"He wants Jawann (McClellan) to be healthy because he wants to compete
against those high level guys. A lot of people want to be handed
something and Chase knows if he wants to get to the level he can get to,
he needs to play against high level guys night in and night out.
"He wants to learn. He knows he has a lot to learn and knows that what
he can learn from Coach Olson is invaluable."
Budinger agrees with Pastner, and maintains that while individual praise
is nice, he's more concerned about what his team can accomplish first.
"I'm a team guy," says Budinger. "When I play, I'm not trying to score 20
or 30 points a game. I'm trying to go out there and try to make everyone
around me a better player. That's how I do things.
"In France we had a good team and I just tried to make everyone else
around me better and eventually that's what I did. That's what the
coaches see. I'm very team oriented and I want to get everyone else the
ball."
"Chase Budinger is all about team," added Pastner. "He wants to win a
national championship. Everyone's forgetting that all Chase has ever
talked about is that he's so excited about the competition he'll face at
Arizona and the chance to win a national championship.
"He was so excited when Marcus and Mustafa said they were coming
back. He knows we have a team to win the national championship next
year. He's a team guy, he's not an 'I' guy he doesn't worry about his
individual accolades, he's worried about one thing and that's winning."
Budinger may put a high emphasis on winning but the reality is that you
can only hear so much about yourself before starting to let it get to your
head, right? Trent Suzuki, Budinger's trainer and mentor, has heard more
about the small forward's potential than anyone.
Suzuki maintains that while the small forward's hype continues to grow,
his head doesn't.
"I think what defines his greatness is not his skill and how he handles
himself on the floor, it's how he handles himself off the floor," said
Suzuki. "Everyone's always telling him how good he is but he doesn't buy
into any of that stuff. He's appreciative but he doesn't believe all the
hype.
"Sometimes we'll watch a tape of him and he'll be like 'that's so sick' but
he doesn't really equate that he does the things he does. He knows he did
it and just figures it is part of the day's work and forgets about it. He
knows he hasn't really gotten started yet.
"His parents have raised him right, I've been fortunate enough to be in his
life a long time and he has to answer to so many people that he'd never
get a big head. Let's say he does become one of the 50 greatest players
of all time, he'll still be the same guy. I don't care what record he breaks,
what title he wins, what individual accolades he picks up, it's not going to
matter.
"Even if one day we sit back and look at his career and he does end up
being one of the greatest players ever, even then, he still wouldn't believe
it. It's just not in his makeup to be egotistical about this stuff. He's a
team-first player and he gets just as excited dropping a dime as he does
a dunk.
"Guys like to play with him because he's so unselfish and willing to give
up the ball. If he has the best shot, he'll take it but if someone has the
better shot, he'll give it up and that's just his game.
"I've been around him for a long, long time. I've never had to tell him his
head is getting too big."
Budinger's talent separates himself from most of his peers by itself, but
it's the attitude that Davis feels brings him to another level.
"I think he's very mature and very focused," said Davis. "There's no
luggage that comes with this guy and that's another one of those things
that's going to make him a lottery pick. He's one of those guys where he
could be anywhere from one to five because he's just a special individual.
"He's very mature and brings no luggage to the table. He's quiet and he's
humble but he has what I call a quiet determination. You know
somewhere on the inside this guy knows that he's special and he's trying
to tap the outer realm of who he is."
It remains to be seen what Budinger accomplishes in his basketball
career. However, he already has a lot to live up and that's where a
potential problem comes in.
How does someone who has so many expectations possibly live up to
them and not feel the pressure to become what everyone else thinks he'll
be?
"I don't really take is as pressure," says Budinger. "I just try to take it more
as motivation. I use that to my motivation to get in the gym and improve
my game so when I get to Arizona, I can make everyone around me
better. I use it as nothing but motivation."
Pastner isn't worried about the expectations either. He says that while
everyone else talks about what Budinger can be, it doesn't mean he's
going to let it bother him.
"Who has the expectations?" Pastner asks. "The media outlets and fans
may have expectations but they aren't coming from Chase Budinger.
Chase can only worry about what he can control and that's his
preparation and attitude. That's the bottom line.
"I think Chase is going to have a tremendous career and he's going to
enjoy his time here. He needs to enjoy college and not worry about
anyone's expectations. He needs to do what he's been doing and that's
having fun and enjoying the game.
"If he does that, he's going to realize every bit of potential that he has the
ability to reach. I think that watching him progress will be exciting for all
of us as a coaching staff and as fans."
Suzuki, who has played a major role in making sure that Budinger stays
well-grounded at all times, says that the expectations aren't much of a
secret to the incoming freshman, but that doesn't mean it's going to
negatively affect him.
"There are a whole lot of expectations on him at Arizona," said Suzuki. "I
think part of my job as his mentor is to try and shield from that as much
as possible. But he knows what people are saying about him. He knows
what Coach Olson has said about him.
"He also knows that Marcus coming back really alleviates a ton of the
pressure. Being asked to be the go-to guy as a freshman was asking a lot.
Marcus is going to have just as much of the pressure on him and Chase
will help him alleviate the pressure.
"When Chase is at his best he's on the court with another elite-level wing
because it just allows him to do the things he wants to do. We saw that
with Kevin Durant at McDonald's and Thaddeus Young in France."
Davis, legal guardian of UA sophomore Mohamed Tangara, saw what
Budinger is capable of firsthand and that's what makes him so excited
about what his future holds at Arizona.
"He's going to have an immediate impact on Arizona Basketball," said
Davis. "Arizona really gets up and down the floor and that's going to favor
his game. I look for him to number one, win Freshman of the Year in the
Pac-10 and number two, really help Arizona in a very special way. I
expect big things out of Arizona next year."
As time winds down to the beginning of the 2006-07 basketball season,
the hype surrounding Chase Budinger will only continue to grow. Many
people will surely worry that Budinger won't live up to the expectations
that have been put on him.
Davis is sure that he'll not only meet those expectations, but he'll exceed
them.
"What I'm telling you is that when you're talking about one of the three
biggest names in basketball over the next twenty years, Chase is going to
be one of them," Davis said.
"I really believe that."Edited by: GreatLakeState
