Washington Wizards JaVale McGee : NBA Player Of The Week With Little Fanfare

If you were to wonder who was leading the NBA this season in shots blocked per game and was third in offensive rebound percentage, as well as fourth in field goal percentage, you may turn on ESPN and get fed on a constant loop how great LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwight Howard are instead.

JaVale McGee quietly goes on his way to the basketball court, allowing his play speak volumes for him. In the Wizards 116-114 overtime victory against the Philadelphia 76ers last night, McGee led all his teammates in minutes played with a career best 46 minutes. Minutes the Wizards desperately needed to extend the game into overtime, let alone win it.

The seven-foot first round draft pick, who has been on a roll this week, punctuated his magnificent performance with career high matching total of 24 points and a career best 18 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive end. He also found time to block four shots and steal two balls.

While Wizard fans are happy to see this type of explosion, none can deny pleasant surprise either the past several days. The past five games have seen him increase his rebound total each appearance, including three straight double-doubles.

After getting 20 points and 16 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons three nights ago, his exceeding those totals in a guard-oriented offense caught the 76ers by surprise to the point of frustration. Elton Brand saw McGee about to dunk home another rebound, so he shoved McGee hard into the ground and was promptly ejected. Brand, who had 19 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes, was sorely missed by Philadelphia the rest of the way.

McGee is putting Wizards owner Ted Leonsis in a precarious position in just his first full year as Wizards owner. Leonsis, who took over the team from the legendary Abe Pollin after Pollin passed away a year ago, is a big supporter of the team. He sits courtside at many games rooting the team on.

The two-year contract McGee signed as a rookie will expire at the end of the season. Though he weighed just 237 lbs as a rookie, a year he was known mostly for shot blocking skills, McGee is maturing and is up to 265 lbs this year. He won't turn 23-years old for almost two months, so he is just beginning to scratch the surface of all of his abilities.

He came out of college as a sophomore two years early, and would have been a lottery pick if he had stayed in school even one more season. His decision was a lucky stroke for Washington, providing the first legitimate center the team has not had in decades. He led the NBA last season in shots blocked percentage, a statistic he currently ranks second in this year.

McGee also set a legacy mark by making the Wizards. His mother, a two-time NCAA Champion and Olympic gold medal winner, was the second player chosen overall in the 1997 WNBA draft. Pamela McGee was 34-years old then, after years of starring overseas, showing just how highly she was thought of as a player. His dad was drafted in the second round of the 1985 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, ahead of such future stars like John "Hot Rod" Williams and Gerald Wilkins, but did not make the team.

While he can play both forward positions, Washington has no one on their roster able to play center but McGee. He spent his first years being brought along slowly, averaging under 15 minutes player per game in the 135 contests he appeared in. His previous career high of 45 minutes played saw him score 14 points and grab 12 rebounds before fouling out in a contest against the Chicago Bulls last season. He now is averaging over 28 minutes per game so far this season.

Even coming off a career best game, it went unnoticed by many of the media. They seemed more concerned with the return of rookie phenom John Wall from an injury that had him sit out a few games. ESPN triumphed Wall's return, as well as Gilbert Arenas chipping in 17 points and seven assists, rather than notice it was the dominance in the paint by McGee that allowed Washington erase a 14 point deficit.

While the Wizards play in a division where the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks get a bulk of the kudos from the press, they have to feel positive about their young nucleus of players like Wall, Nick Young, Andray Blatche, Al Thornton, and McGee. Savvy veterans like Arenas, Kirk Hinrich, and Josh Howard, expected to return from injury next month, add to the mix offering leadership and the wisdom of experience.

Yet there may be no more important player on the Wizards right now than JaVale McGee, and certainly none have had the week he has had. While it may be unreasonable to expect his continue his streak of improved rebound totals, he is showing an aggression and confidence the team truly needs. With him being their only true post player, his progression could make the difference as to whether or not the Wizards make the playoffs.

The Five Best NBA Coaches Not In The Hall Of Fame

Gene Shue


Shue was a legend at Maryland University as an All-American guard before the Philadelphia Warriors made him the third overall pick in 1954. He was traded to the New York Knicks after just six games, then was traded to the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1956.

He became a star with the Pistons, being chosen an All-Star six straight years while always being amongst the league leaders in minutes played. He returned to the Knicks in 1962, then joined the Baltimore Bullets in 1963 before retiring.

Getting into coaching, the Bullets asked him to take over for Hall of Famer Buddy Jeannette in 1967. The Bullets were a bad team, but Shue got them to improve their win total by seven games in his second year. It improved an additional 21 games in 1969, as the Bullets won their division.

Wes Unseld, one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, was a big reason why in 1969. He became just the second man in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Hall of Famers Earl "The Pearl" Monroe and Gus Johnson joined Unseld and Shue was named Coach of the Year.

In his last five years with the Bullets, the team won over 50 games three times. One of the years they didn't saw them reach the NBA Finals before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks and former Warriors teammate Larry Costello.

Shue was replaced by Hall of Famer K.C. Jones in 1973, but he immediately got a job with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers were struggling during this time. They had won just nine games the season before.

It wasn't long before they started to improve greatly under Shue, and Philadelphia made the NBA Finals in 1977 before losing to a red-hot Portland Trail Blazers. Shue was fired six games into the 1978 season, replaced by Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham. He was back in the NBA the next year, leading the San Diego Clippers to a 16 win improvement over the season before when they were the Buffalo Braves.

He left the Clippers after the next season to take the helm of the Washington Bullets. Lasting six years there, the Bullets made the playoffs three times before he was replaced by Kevin Loughery, the man he replaced in Philadelphia.

Shue was named Coach of the Year again in 1982, making him the second coach to win the award more than once. Don Nelson, Bill Fitch, and Cotton Fitzsimmons duplicated the feat since, but the 12 year gap between winning the award is still a record.

He joined the Los Angeles Clippers in 1988, lasting two years before retiring to become the general manager of the 76ers for two years.

He ended up with 784 wins, which was the second most in NBA history then. It is still the 12th most today. It is amazing Shue has yet to be inducted. Let alone the fact he won two awards for coach of the year, Shue turned around the program of almost every team he took over.

Factor in his six All-Star games as a player, his contributions are unmatched by many and worthy of being honored with induction.





Bill Fitch





















Fitch started his coaching career in the college ranks for several years after first becoming a drill instructor for the U.S. Marine Corps.

In 1970, he got his first NBA head coaching job with a expansion Cleveland Cavaliers team that won just 15 times in his first year. Staying there nine years, the team improved each season.

In 1976, known as the "The Miracle of Richfield" to Cavaliers fans, the team made an unexpected playoff run that was also the first postseason appearance in franchise history. Fitch won the Coach of the Year award for his efforts.

Leaving Cleveland in 1979, he was immediately hired by the Boston Celtics and won a league best 61 games with rookie Larry Bird as the star of the club. Boston had won just 29 games the year before, and the 32-win improvement was a record at the time. Bird, who won Rookie of the Year, cites Fitch as a huge influence on his own personal work ethic.

Boston then won the NBA Championship the next year, and Fitch was named Coach of the Year for the second time. Only three other coaches have ever won this award more than once ,and Fitch was the first coach to accomplish this.

After winning a career best 63 games the next year, Fitch left the Celtics after a 56-win year in 1983 and joined the Houston Rockets. After 29 wins in his initial season, Houston won 48 the next year and appeared in the NBA Finals in 1986 before losing to the Celtics in six games.

Fitch left Houston in 1986 despite 46 wins, but resurfaced as the coach of the New Jersey Nets in 1988. The team won 17 games his first year, 26 the next, then 40 in his third and final year before being fired.

After being out of the game several years, the Los Angeles Clippers hired him in 1995. After 17 wins his first year, the Clippers won 29 then 36 over the next two, which also included a playoffs appearance. The Clippers reverted to 17 wins in 1998, and Fitch retired from the game with 944 wins.

Though his win total is the sixth most in NBA history, critics point to his 1,106 losses without looking at his career. Every team he coached was lousy the year before he got there, except the expansion Cavaliers. Every team he coached improved dramatically under his guidance.

Bill Fitch should be in the Hall of Fame for more than his Coach of the Year awards, or his championship ring. The man took franchises out of the graves and into the playoffs. He is the epitome of what a coach should be, which should be more than enough to get him inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.





Cotton Fitzsimmons


















Fitzsimmons first tasted coaching success in college. He once replaced Tex Winters, the man who perfected the Triangle Offense and mentored Phil Jackson, at Kansas State University.

He joined the Phoenix Suns in 1970, replacing interim coach Jerry Colangelo. Colangelo was the general manager of the Suns, and would later buy the team in 1987. Fitzsimmons won 97 games in two years before moving on to the Atlanta Hawks in 1972.

After almost four years with the Hawks, he took over as coach of the Buffalo Braves for one season before joining the Kansas City Kings in 1979 for six years. Fitzsimmons was named Coach of the Year in his first year, the only one where his team won a divisional title, then led them to the Western Conference Finals two years later.

The San Antonio Spurs hired him in 1985, then fired him after 1986. Phoenix hired him in 1989, and the Suns won no less than 53 games over the next four seasons.

He won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in his first season, making him just the fourth coach ever to win it twice. He retired after 1992 to do television, but was coaxed out of retirement during the 1996 season for 49 games. After the team lost the first eight games of the next year, Fitzsimmons turned the team over to Danny Ainge and retired for good.

The 832 wins he had are still the 11th most in NBA history. The only reasons I can think of his still being excluded for the Basketball Hall of Fame is because none of his teams ever reached the finals, and only one won their division.

It is evident to see Cotton Fitzsimmons was a winner, having won 57 more games than he lost, on a lot of teams not many expected much from.

Excellence in coaching comes from getting the players to maximize their talents. Fitzsimmons did that yearly with mostly positive results, having ten seasons of 45 wins or more. He is certainly worthy of induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.





Dick Motta






















Despite never having played organized basketball in high school or beyond, Dick Motta got into coaching the game and first worked his way through the college ranks that culminated in six years at Weber State University.

The Chicago Bulls hired him in 1969, and they improved their win total in each of his first four years with the club. Motta won Coach of the Year in 1971, then a career best 57 games in 1972. In his eight years, the team won more than 50 games four times.

He was fired after the 1976 season, but was immediately hired by the Washington Bullets. The Bullets had already been to the finals twice in the decade, but had failed to won in either year. Led by Hall of Famers Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, the team had talent but had nothing to show for it. That changed under Motta.

The 1978 season saw the Bullets deal with injuries, but they still won 44 games and got into the playoffs. They faced opponents who were favored to defeat them, but the Bullets stormed through the playoffs despite sportswriters continuously predicting their impending end.

While up three games to one against the San Antonio Spurs, a beat writer for the Spurs named Dan Cook wrote "The opera isn't over 'til the fat lady sings". Motta loved the phrase and adopted it for his Bullets as they faced the heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After defeating Philadelphia in six games, they faced the favored Seattle Supersonics for the championships. In a closely played battle, Seattle went up three games to two as they headed to Washington. Motta came into town proclaiming "Wait for the fat lady!"

His Bullets responded with a 35-point victory that was a record in margin of victory until 1998. Buoyed by this, Washington then went to Seattle and became become the third team to win the championship in a seventh game on the road.

It was the first championship for the city of Washington D.C. in 36 years, and is the only title the Bullets franchise has ever won.

The Bullets won 54 games the next year, winning their division. They then won two exhausting playoff series against both the Spurs and Atlanta Hawks that went seven games. They reached the finals for the fourth time in the 1970's, but lost to Seattle.

Motta left Washington after 1980 to become head coach of the expansion Dallas Mavericks. After 15 wins in the first year, the team improved each year and won 55 games in his seventh and last season in 1987. It was the most wins in Mavericks history until 2001.

The Sacramento Kings hired Motta in 1990. He lasted just over two years there, then rejoined the Mavericks in 1995 for two more years. The Denver Nuggets hired him in 1996, his last in the NBA before retiring.

The 935 wins that Dick Motta has is the eighth most in NBA history. He showed he could win with a talented team like the Bullets, as well as showed he could improve the Bulls, and take a fledgling Mavericks to new heights. He deserves entry into the Basketball Hall of Fame.





Larry Costello






















Costello was a great player before he was a coach. A former second round draft choice of the Philadelphia Warriors in 1954, right after Gene Shue was taken in the first round, the point guard went to six All-Star games and won a championship in a 12 year career.

When he retired after winning it all in 1968, he was coaching the Milwaukee Bucks the next year in their expansion season. The Bucks drafted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the next season, then got Oscar Robertson in a trade the following year and won the NBA Championship over Shue's Bullets after winning 66 games and setting a record with 20 straight wins.

He led Milwaukee back to the championship three years later, where they lost in seven games to the Boston Celtics. Jabbar requested a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers and Robertson retired, so the Bucks won less games. After two consecutive 38 win seasons, Milwaukee fired Costello 18 games into the 1977 season.

Costello joined the Chicago Bulls in 1979 and went 20-36 before being fired. After coaching in women's pro basketball, he later coached at Utica College and improved their program greatly before retiring.

In the 730 regular season games he coached, Larry Costello won 430 of them. He also won 37 of 60 postseason games, and won one of two championship appearances.

When you factor in his six All-Star games, two championship wins as both a player and coach, along with a .589 winning percentage, it is evident that Costello belongs in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.