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Thursday, July 19, 2001
Battier out to prove he's no 'old man'
Associated Press
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Grizzlies have no doubts they made
the correct decision when they selected Duke's Shane Battier as
their first choice in the NBA draft.
"Shane came right in and knew all the plays after watching from
the side," Memphis coach Sidney Lowe said.
The Grizzlies signed Battier to a three-year, $7.1 million
contract July 3.
"I like Shane's communication with other players, his court
awareness and the fact he plays at 100 percent effort. He knows how
to play the game," Lowe said.
For Battier, the challenge is proving he is worthy after being
the only college senior taken among the draft's top 13 players.
"I'm trying to fight the myth I'm an old man," said Battier,
22.
Battier says it's good to just run up and down the court and
concentrate on basketball three months after winning the NCAA
championship.
"It felt great to play 5-on-5 because I hadn't done that since
the championship game win over Arizona," Battier said.
Battier had 20 points and eight rebounds in a 100-93 win over
the Clippers in his debut for the Grizzlies in the Southern
California Summer Pro League.
"I thought I did all right," Battier said of his debut on
Sunday. "I just want to play hard and try to make things happen.
It wasn't a bad effort considering it was my first game in three
months."
Clippers coach Alvin Gentry has known Battier since the
Grizzlies' rookie was in high school.
"There's no way that kid is going to fail," Gentry said. "He
can shoot and he can shoot with range. He'll always be OK."
Lowe said he's not looking for anything special out of Battier
in the early going. He wants Battier to get a feel for the offense
and for playing with former LSU star Stromile Swift, the Grizzlies'
top pick in the 2000 draft.
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