#21 Brian Scalabrine
Player File
Scalabrine is a fourth year 6' 9"
forward from the University of Southern California.
Birthday:
March 18, 1978
Birthplace:
Long Beach, CA
Drafted:
35th overall in the 2001 Draft.
High School:
Enumclaw HS, Enumclaw, WA
Contract:
Signed through 2004 - 2005 season.
2003 - 2004 Regular Season Stats:
Games Played:
69
Minutes PG:
13.4
Points PG:
3.5
PCT: .394
Free Throw PCT:
.829
Rebounds PG:
2.3
Assists PG:
0.9
Blocks PG:
0.2
Steals PG:
0.3
Turnovers PG:
0.61
Nicknames:
According to Steve Politi (Newark Star-Ledger), former Nets assistant
coach Mike O'Koren nicknamed him "Veal" because he thought Brian's
last name sounded like an Italian dish. Always good for a few nicknames
- this year, "Air Veal" and "Michael Rappaport" stick
out. But face it - he'll always be Veal.
Brian Scalabrine
– F
Known For:
Energetic, hard-working Everyman. Multiple nicknames, red hair, crowd
favorite who never fails to hustle. Came into his own in last season's
miraculous Game
5 win over the Pistons.
The Skinny: Now the fun begins. Brian Scalabrine,
ex-twelfth man on the bench, is being counted on, at least at the outset
of the season, to play some serious power forward minutes. Maybe not start,
mind you, but really, after reviewing the roster, who else is available?
Collins and A-Train and centers who can play forward. Eric Williams is
really a "3", but is the favorite to start there. Go figure.
Anyway, Veal will always give 110%, so no worries there. But how will
he stand up to the pounding inside? Can he rebound? Can he take it to
the hoop without killing himself or someone else? And can he keep his
man from living in the paint? See, Joe's got some questions on ol' Veal
as more than a part-time plug in.
The Concern: Well, hell, shouldn't that be
obvious? He's not Kenyon Martin, or even Dean Martin. Is this guy power
forward material, at least in the traditional sense? OK, before you go
all soft on me and say that since he's no Kenyon Martin, he'll have to
be that Everyman team-oriented player who does all the little things well,
because that spot's reserved for Eric Williams. He can shoot from outside,
and he doesn't miss layups, but can he work some magic inside with bodies
draped all over him? Can Veal grab 6 or 8 boards a night? Can he shut
down the opposing team's go-to forward, or even the other forward on the
floor? What exactly are we to expect from
the power forward spot? And if Veal's the starter, who then is coming
off the bench? The Nets are desperately short of power players, and Veal
sure ain't one of them.
Joe's World View: It's Scalabrine's world,
we're all just living in it. I mean, look what this red-headed lunk has
managed to do - get drafted in the second round, stick around the team
for four years, win three Atlantic Division titles with them, and now
be in position for starter's minutes? I mean, if that isn't "Rudy"
for the basketball set, I don't know what is. Besides Binky, I don't know
if anyone out there wishes for Veal to be the starter at power forward,
because all that means is the talent gap has grown dramatically between
the Nets and other teams. But dammit, if all-out, hard-scrapping, take
no prisoners is what's going to get it done for these Kidd-less (and Martin-less)
Nets, then you couldn't ask for a better representative than B-Scal.
Joe's Prediction: 7 PPG, 4 Rebounds, 1 assist,
0.5 steals and 19 minutes per game averages.
Brian Scalabrine's stats and bio: click
here.
The
2004 - 2005 Roster
Travis Best - G
Rodney Buford - G/F
Jason Collins - C
Kyle Davis - C
Richard Jefferson - F
Jason Kidd - G
Nenad Krstic - F/C
Ron Mercer - G/F
Alonzo Mourning - C
Zoran
Planinic - G/F
Brian Scalabrine - F
Jacque Vaughn - G
Aaron Williams - F/C
Eric Williams - F
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