Beno Udrih a Free Man

[JGX]

Udrih made his Kings debut tonight and played 26 minutes, with 9 points and 5 rebounds. Getting released by the Spurs will probably turn out to be a positive for his career.

[mvblair]

Getting released by the Spurs will probably turn out to be a positive for his career.

I think you're right about that!

NBA Recaps, Kings 100 - Timberwolves 93

SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) -- Kevin Martin scored 29 points and Beno Udrih played well in his first game of the season as the Sacramento Kings held off the Minnesota Timberwolves, 100-93, on Saturday.

....Minnesota drew within 94-93 on a 3-pointer by Rashad McCants with one minute to go, but Udrih, who signed as a free agent this offseason after playing for the San Antonio Spurs, hit a jumper from the right of the free-throw line with 48 ticks left. After a defensive stop, Miller tipped in a miss by Udrih with 10 seconds left for a 98-93 edge.

Udrih, who was out with a finger injury, had nine points, five rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes....

Jump shot
Drive to the basket
Walking off court
Running the point
Lay-up in traffic

Getting his NBA Championship ring

[Neozyrus]

If he continues this way for some games, maybe next year he could get the contract that he really deserves.

[mvblair]

Has anybody checked up on Udrih recently? I just did.

versus Utah: 30 minutes and 11 points
versus Minnesota: 40 minutes and 17 points, 5 assists
versus New York: 43 minutes and 10 points, 5 assists

He's averaging 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3.5 assits. Pretty good!

Driving around Jamal Crawford
Charging down the court
Easy lay-up between AK47 and Boozer
Lay-up between AK47 and Boozer II
Rebounding with AK47
He's a left-hander!

[mvblair]

Beno had another monster game last night. Sacramento defeated Detroit. His line? 23 points (9-13), 6 assists, 4 rebounds in 38 minutes with only 2 fouls. That's fantastic.

Sacramento 105, Detroit 95 -- November 18, 2007, AP

Unwanted in San Antonio, Beno Udrih appears to have found a home with the Sacramento Kings.

Udrih had 23 points and six assists to help the Kings beat the Detroit Pistons 105-95 on Sunday night.

Udrih, a late preseason cut by San Antonio who came to the Kings as a backup when Mike Bibby was injured just prior to the season, has quickly become a starter. He showed why against the Pistons, hitting 9 of 13 shots from the field and all five of his free throw attempts and fueling a strong second half by the Kings.

"I chose this team because I knew I would get an opportunity to play; I didn't get that in San Antonio," said Udrih, who played three seasons with the Spurs and owns two championship rings.

"Playing regular minutes has helped my confidence. In San Antonio I never knew how much I would play. I won't come out here if I miss one or two shots in a row."

Udrih hardly missed anything in the third quarter when he scored 15 points, including 11 in a stretch where the Kings outscored Detroit 15-1 to take the lead after trailing by nine points.

"He had an unbelievable game in the third quarter," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "He made shots and he made plays. He's been playing extremely well for them."

....

Defending Chauncey Billups
Getting some love from teammates
Going for a lay-up around Billups
Good high jump!
Good body control!

I'm not making any unusual prediction when I say that I think Sacramento is going to try trading Bibby again. With Udrih playing this well (better than Bibby played all last year), Bibby can be dealt to a team that needs a PG (namely Cleveland or Miami).

[elaj]

He surprised everyone with such games. I just hope he continues like this and I hope he won't get benched as soon as Bibby recoveres.

[boki]

Anybody knows why is Bibby so hated amongst Kings fans? Almost everyone wants him to leave Kings. I don't know, but he supposed to be a fans favourite couple of years ago.

[mvblair]

Anybody knows why is Bibby so hated amongst Kings fans? Almost everyone wants him to leave Kings. I don't know, but he supposed to be a fans favourite couple of years ago.

I really don't know. I suppose it's a combination of things: he's got a big contract and hasn't played very well, he's complained about some of the changes, and he isn't young, so he doesn't represent the youth movement that some fans want.

Plus, if Udrih can play PG (fans are raving about his distribution and defense), he is a much, much, much cheaper PG. Let's face it, in the games that Udrih has played well in, he's been twice as good as Bibby last year. So why should the Kings keep Bibby? They could trade him to a team like Cleveland or Miami and then have $14,000,000 extra for the summer.

[Neozyrus]

Extrated from NBA.com:

Promotion for Beno Udrih
Promoted from a reserve to a starter after Mike Bibby's thumb injury, Beno Udrih is comfortable with his new role in Sacramento. "Playing regular minutes has helped my confidence," said Udrih to the AP. "In San Antonio I never knew how much I would play. I won't come out here if I miss one or two shots in a row." On Sunday against the Pistons, the self-assured Udrih had the game-high 23 points and six assists, helping the Kings to a 105-95 victory. Hitting 9-of-13 shots from the field and making all five of his free throws, Udrih was only two points shy of his career-high. Sacramento coach Reggie Theus told the Sacramento Bee, “We now have someone people have to pay attention to on pick and rolls, someone who can penetrate and make plays for other people. Roles change and situations change, and we should be getting better by getting (Udrih)."

[Joško Poljak Fan]

Most players suffer from lack of getting a chance. Beno got his chance, actually a great one... while right now the outcome of all this is on him if he is able to improve, if he is able to keep some minutes when Bibby comes back and so on.
But you can clearly see where my resentment towards the league is coming from, it's not the individual quality that assures playing time, in loads of cases (and it doesn't even matter if you're international or US... at least with big majority of NBA coaches) it's the name, reputation and contract doing that. Stuff that Marko Milič clearly explained after his NBA experience almost a decade ago... and I honestly can't stand SAR, Antoine Walker and the likes getting as much authority in the game and even a superstar treatment, basicaly being even in terms of quality with numerous unhyped PF's warming the bench.

I'm glad for Beno although I'd prefer him back in europe as you all know ... but the fact that Vujačič will have to get back to reality when not getting a new contract, potentialy even expressing a wish to play for NT, should be sweet enough this offseason.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

now that looks nice. Beno made his entire ex-team his biiyotch... including all those spurs fans, now I am actually having fun reading for spurs fans reactions for the past half hour... just sweet.

sacbee's pregame article

[mvblair]

now that looks nice. Beno made his entire ex-team his biiyotch... including all those spurs fans, now I am actually having fun reading for spurs fans reactions for the past half hour... just sweet.

Nice choice of words, Matiz.

For those of you who don't know, he put down 27 points (8-12), 5 assists, and 4 rebounds against San Antonio.

Kings Udrih Beats Old Spurs Teammates -- November 26, 2007, by Jannie McCaulley AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Gregg Popovich could hardly believe Beno Udrih's name hadn't come up before the game.

"What, no Beno questions?" the Spurs coach said of his former guard now with Sacramento, then joked, "We'll talk after he scores 30."

He almost did.

Udrih scored a career-high 27 points against his former team while holding down Tony Parker on defense, and the Kings snapped San Antonio's five-game winning streak with a 112-99 victory against the Spurs on Monday night.

Udrih shot 8-for-12 and made all nine of his free throws.

"Before the game, I told Beno he has to let the game come to him. Let the game come to him. It's not personal," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "I would imagine for him, under the circumstances, it's pretty sweet."

...

"That could have been our best 48 minutes of the season so far," Theus said.

....

"The difference in the game tonight was Beno Udrih," Popovich said. "Beno was great."

The Kings signed Udrih, who won two championship rings with the Spurs, after he was waived by Minnesota on Oct. 29. The Timberwolves acquired him in a trade with San Antonio that same day.

"They didn't have to trade me," Udrih said. "I could still be sitting on the bench. They helped me. ... I didn't let myself get happy looking across the court. I stayed focused on my game. They're my team and I was three years with them. It was special, but I can't take it for myself."

....

Running the offense
Attacking Ginobili
Attacking Darius Washington
Fouled by Washington
Talking to Tony Parker
Celebrating a fourth quarter hoop

....But you can clearly see where my resentment towards the league is coming from, it's not the individual quality that assures playing time, in loads of cases (and it doesn't even matter if you're international or US... at least with big majority of NBA coaches) it's the name, reputation and contract doing that.....

Yes, I see where the resentment comes from. I'm glad you recognize that this is an issue with players from all over, whether they're coming from Argentina, Russia, the NCAA, or Timbuktu. Popovich is a wierd case though. In the article you referred to, at the very end, Popovich blames himself for Beno's problems in San Antonio, so at least he's being honest about the situation. And Popovich has taken a lot of chances on players with little NBA press, like Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, and Tony Parker. So it's good that he at least recognizes his mistakes with Beno.

Two things:

• I hate to say "I told you so," but two years ago, I was raving about Beno Udrih after watching him play. Some Slovenians here said I was wrong!
• Beno Udrih makes Mike Bibby expendable. The Kings are better with Udrih than Bibby, because 1) Udrih is more athletic allowing Garcia, Artest, and Martin to get better chances, and 2) he's much, much younger. I predict that Bibby will be traded, perhaps to Miami or Cleveland.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

Yes, I see where the resentment comes from. I'm glad you recognize that this is an issue with players from all over, whether they're coming from Argentina, Russia, the NCAA, or Timbuktu.

of course, for every Udrih there are 5 Darrel Armstrong's and 10 more that will never get the chance to proove their quality at all. It's not that NBA is anti-international, more the exact opposite imo, it's some "habbits" of GM's and coaches for which I believe they are completely out of place that are making it unflexible.

Popovich is a wierd case though. In the article you referred to, at the very end, Popovich blames himself for Beno's problems in San Antonio, so at least he's being honest about the situation. And Popovich has taken a lot of chances on players with little NBA press, like Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, and Tony Parker. So it's good that he at least recognizes his mistakes with Beno.

coach also has a job to pressure on his players to give their best, some react the right way and some proove out to be sensitive about the matter. You can't really say with 100% certanty how a player will react to that pressure Pop obviously tried that with Udrih but it didn't work out, so from that part I don't think there is any base for resentment towards Popovich... on the other hand some of his media statements regarding Udrih are a bit low, especialy if we decide to believe Beno in the article I've posted today. Not to mention the question Pop has set to journalists prior to the game.

Two things:

• I hate to say "I told you so," but two years ago, I was raving about Beno Udrih after watching him play. Some Slovenians here said I was wrong!
• Beno Udrih makes Mike Bibby expendable. The Kings are better with Udrih than Bibby, because 1) Udrih is more athletic allowing Garcia, Artest, and Martin to get better chances, and 2) he's much, much younger. I predict that Bibby will be traded, perhaps to Miami or Cleveland.

for Beno's own good I hope you're right, but afterall he still has quite some history of injuries, his defense still isn't sth. to praise at all, so I prefer staying optimistic realist, saying Bibby will keep the starting spot and Beno will (if continues to play like that) earn those 20-25 minutes per game, which honestly is more than I've ever imagined he'd get in NBA.

[mvblair]

... on the other hand some of his media statements regarding Udrih are a bit low, especialy if we decide to believe Beno in the article I've posted today. Not to mention the question Pop has set to journalists prior to the game.

Just to follow up on your article:

Udrih "Spurs" an Upset -- November 27, 2007, Sacramento Bee, by Sam Amick

Beno Udrih grabbed the ball and ran.

He ran past Manu Ginobili, ran past Michael Finley, then ran past Brent Barry, twisting through contact with his former teammate at the last instant as his end-to-end three-point play put the Kings up by 14 and made the unlikely seem possible after all.

Putting his past behind him in the best way he knew how.

The Kings would, in fact, upset the defending champion San Antonio Spurs 112-99 Monday night at Arco Arena, surprising enough, considering the polar-opposite plights of these two teams. But this was Udrih's moment even more than the rest, an all-timer when it comes to former players facing their old teams, as Udrih was against the Spurs.

A career-high 27 points wasn't even the end of it for the player who spent his first three seasons in San Antonio, as Udrih efficiently ran a Kings offense that shot 55.1 percent and received a combined 54 points from Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Mikki Moore.

Yet this, Udrih wanted to make clear, was no grudge match.

In mid-August, Udrih met with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to discuss his career. In essence, he asked for his freedom, for Popovich to let him go if he had no plans of utilizing his talents.

"I was like, 'Pop, I just want to play,' " Udrih said. "If I'm still here. I'll be professional as much as I can be, practice hard, do everything. But if you don't need me, I just want to play. I want to show myself for everybody, and that's it."

His phone rang just two hours before teams had to finalize their regular-season rosters on Oct. 27. Udrih had been traded to Minnesota, signing the official papers just 30 minutes before the deadline. He was immediately waived by the Timberwolves and signed days later by the Kings.

"They didn't let me go in a bad way," he said. "That's why I wasn't trying to go back at them (on Monday night). I just wanted to play the game and help my team win. It wasn't personal. ... They didn't need to trade me. They could've kept me, and I'd still be sitting on the bench."

Instead, he was facing off with the player he once was content to back up in Tony Parker, outplaying the Spurs point guard, who had just 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting and seven assists and four turnovers. Even Popovich – who joked before the game that maybe Udrih would have a breakout night – had to be impressed.

As Popovich neared the end of his pregame media session, he laughed at the notion that no one had asked him about the former player whom he so often conflicted with, then said seemingly sarcastically, "That's all right. We'll talk about him after he scores 30 (points)."

Udrih nearly did it, hitting 8 of 12 shots and 9 of 9 free throws.

"Beno had a great game," Popovich said afterward. "The difference in the game tonight was Beno Udrih. He fed everybody. He scored and did everything they needed. ... He is a hell of a player."

The Kings survived an 0-for-8 shooting start from Kevin Martin, who hit his first shot during a 15-0 run that put the Kings up 69-56 midway through the third quarter. Udrih – whose three-pointer started the run – found Martin on the break for a layup that put the Kings up 63-56......

"That could've been the best 48 minutes we've had all season," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "It was an absolute, total team win."

for Beno's own good I hope you're right, but afterall he still has quite some history of injuries, his defense still isn't sth. to praise at all, so I prefer staying optimistic realist, saying Bibby will keep the starting spot and Beno will (if continues to play like that) earn those 20-25 minutes per game, which honestly is more than I've ever imagined he'd get in NBA.

His defense isn't that bad. But there have been rumors flying since the summer about Bibby, so I think he's on his way out the door.

[mvblair]

Udrih had 16 points (7-19), 4 rebounds, and 1 assist in 40 minutes versus Golden State. Sacramento lost.

Giving Baron Davis a little hip-check
Maybe I need to change the resolution on my monitor, but I'm pretty sure that Warriors player is missing his head
Perfect shooting form, good elevation
Lay-up on a fast break