The Rules of Pacers Digest
Hello everyone,
Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.
A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.
Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.
Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.
Rule #1
Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:
"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"
"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"
"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"
"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"
"He/she is just delusional"
"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"
"I'm going to take a moment to point and
/ laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"
"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good?"
In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.
We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.
Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.
That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.
A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.
There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.
Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.
In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.
Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.
If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!
All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.
Rule #2
If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.
The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.
The right places to do so are:
A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.
B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.
If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.
Rule #3
If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.
When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:
A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.
B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.
To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!
Rule #4
Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.
Rule #5
When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.
An example:
If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:
http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star
Rule #6
We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.
The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.
Rule #7
Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.
It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).
We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).
However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.
Rule #8
We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.
Rule #9
Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.
Rule #10
We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.
Rule #11
Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.
A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.
Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.
Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.
Rule #1
Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:
"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"
"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"
"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"
"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"
"He/she is just delusional"
"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"
"I'm going to take a moment to point and
/ laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*""Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good?
"In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.
We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.
Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.
That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.
A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.
There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.
Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.
In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.
Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.
If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!
All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.
Rule #2
If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.
The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.
The right places to do so are:
A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.
B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.
If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.
Rule #3
If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.
When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:
A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.
B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.
To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!
Rule #4
Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.
Rule #5
When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.
An example:
If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:
http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star
Rule #6
We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.
The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.
Rule #7
Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.
It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).
We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).
However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.
Rule #8
We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.
Rule #9
Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.
Rule #10
We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.
Rule #11
Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Re: Can Someone Please Post This Article?
Ask The Top Prospects The Night Before!
Welcome to The Show. On Monday night, five of the top prospects in this year's NBA Draft will be dropping by to take your questions.
Utah's Andrew Bogut, Arizona's Channing Frye, Wake Forest's Chris Paul, New Mexico's Danny Granger and UNC's Marvin Williams are all among the top six in ESPN.com NBA Insider Chad Ford's latest mock draft and this is your chance to ask them questions.
The schedule for the chat is below, so send your questions now and join the fabulous five Monday night at 6:30 p.m. ET to see their answers.
6:15-6:30pm: Andrew Bogut (Utah)
6:30-6:45pm: Danny Granger (New Mexico)
6:45-7:00pm: Chris Paul (Wake Forest)
7:00-7:15pm: Marvin Williams (UNC)
7:15-7:30pm: Channing Frye (Arizona)
The ShowGirl: Welcome to The Show! On tap tonight, we have five gentlemen who have a big day ahead of them, tomorrow! Andrew Bogut, Danny Granger, Chris Paul, Marvin Williams and Channing Frye will all be popping in to take your questions. Send in your comments for the big guys now (just start your message with their name so we know which fella the comment is for).
The ShowGirl: Andrew will kick things off here at 6:15 ET.
The ShowGirl: Here we go!
Andrew Bogut (Utah): Hello.
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Mitch (Crimson Red): Please don't leave us Andrew! Call Kevin O'Conner and tell him to get you into a Jazz uniform! Best of luck in the draft! (you know you're going #1). What will be your best memory of Utah?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): The people, and the city. It was such a great city to play in and it was an experience that me and my family will remember for the rest of my life.
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Anthony-Huntington NY: Andrew: any regrets leaving Utah two years early? Was part of your decision based on the team's anticipated success next year?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): I am definitely looking forward to playing at the next level of basketball, but I'll certeainly miss my teammates and the camraderie of Utah basketball.
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Curtis Columbia, SC: Andrew, being that international basketball is how you deveopled your game, do you feel that international players are more seasoned on fundamentals going into the NBA
Andrew Bogut (Utah): Definitely, playing against players in leagues all around the world gives you experience against all kinds of styles and players and that is very helpful to development.
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Ashish (Chamaign, IL): Based on your performance at camps, do you believe you should be the number one pick in the draft? (andrew bogut)
Andrew Bogut (Utah): Definitely, I really want to go number one. I'm the most experienced player in the draft and I have played all around the world, and I just want to win. I'm a competitor.
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Chris (Providence, RI): Hey Andrew. What do you say to people who claim you're just gonna be another big white bust?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): I'd just tell them to wait and see. There have been bust that have been white. There have been busts that have been black. There have been busts that have been European. It really doesn't bother me what people say or think. Just wait and see.
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Wally (Lake Havasu City, AZ): Andrew, How are you feeling leading up to this draft? nervous? anxious?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): I'm a little bit nervous, but it's not affecting me too much. I'll sleep fine tonight, tomorrow sitting at that table, waiting for my name to be called, sure I'll be a little nervous, but it's exciting.
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Greg (Richmond, Virgina): Andrew: What do you think is more important for a top NBA propsect to have: potential/ upside or basketball IQ/ experience?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): I think upside and experience are certainly important. And talent, but, you can't teach IQ. You either have it or you don't. It's like school, you're either a smart kid or you're not. I think basketball IQ is very important.
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Scott (New Jersey): Andrew, your qualities in passing and shooting make you a very unique big player, as compared to more of the dominant power guys. How do you see your attributes sizing up to the likes of Shaq and Ben Wallace?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): I I'm more versatile than those big guys with big bodies. But Shaq is no doubt one of the greatest players of all-time, and Ben Wallace is such a great defender. I think my strength is probably versatility as a big man, I can shoot, but my ball handling and passing game is solid.
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Matt (San Mateo): Andrew, what do you feel you need to imporve on most to become a dominant nba player?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): My all-around game. You are never ever perfect. You can always improve your all-around game.
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Ryan (Concord,NH): What center woud to like to dunk on?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): Laughing. That's tough to answer. I have to be careful on that one.
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Darius (Oakland): What kind of numbers do you expect from yourself next season? Would you be disapointed if your new team did not go to the playoffs? Will you be rookie of the year next season?
Andrew Bogut (Utah): Numbers wise, I just hope to improve game-by-game. I hope for a steady increase and improvement accross the boards as I progress and I'll be happy with that. And, of course I'll be dissapointed if we don't make the playoffs, I'm very competative, I want my team to go as far as possible.
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Tom (Chippewa Falls): Andrew, hopefully the Bucks will get their act together and choose you with the number one pick...we'd love to have you in Wisconsin.
Andrew Bogut (Utah): Thanks Tom. All the best, everybody.
The ShowGirl: Thanks Andrew! Next up is Danny Granger! Send in your questions now!
Danny Granger (NM): Hello, how y'all doing?
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Nate Hoppes Orange County California: Danny, Do you think tansfering from Bradley to New Mexico helped you get to the pros? ARe you going to miss the people of Albuquerque where you were treated like a king when you go to a big city to play?
Danny Granger (NM): I definitely think going to NM really increased my chances of making it to the NBA. I think it was the best move I've ever made. I love New Mexico, I love the city, and I love the fans. I'll be back one day!
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Jeremy (San Diego): Danny, when you were a kid did you ever think that your name would be in the top 10 in a NBA Draft?
Danny Granger (NM): Nah. That never crossed my mind. When I was a kid, I was just in a hurry to grow up, just like every kid. I couldn't wait to be 18. I can't believe I'm here right now. I'm thinking about it right now, it's unbelievable.
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Darius (Oakland): Danny, do you think that you should go ahead of the HS players like Green and Webster? Do you think your biggest impact will be on offense or as a perimeter stopper your rookie year?
Danny Granger (NM): I think both Green and Webster are good players. It doesn't really matter who goes where to me. As for my force next year, I suppose it depends on the style of the team that drafts me. But, I suspect, I will mostly be a defensive force. I'm more of a stopper.
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Jason (Albuquerque): Danny just wanted to say it was a real treat watching u play all-season at UNM. Wish the best of luck in your NBA career. What was your favorite moment as a LOBO?
Danny Granger (NM): Beating Utah at The Pit when the fans rushed the court -- I almost got killed (laughing) -- but it was a lot of fun, that was by far the best moment.
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jimmyz (san francisco,ca): hi danny,how was your workout with the warriors and how do you think it would be playing with davis and jrich?
Danny Granger (NM): My workout for the Warriors went really well, I would love to play with those guys, I think Golden State would be a real good fit for me.
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NMSportster (Albuquerque, NM): Danny, it looks like Toronto really wants you, but you seem to have made a large impression ont he New Orleans organization. What do you think your chances of moving into the top 5 are for this draft?
Danny Granger (NM): I worked out with Charlotte and New Orleans -- they are 4 and 5. I think Top 5 is a possibility. Or Utah, at the six spot, I worked out with those guys, or Toronto. I worked out with all of them, and I really liked what I saw.
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Mike (Albuquerque): Danny, how much do you credit coach McKay and his system for helping you to get where you are?
Danny Granger (NM): I give his system a lot of credit. He allowed me to do things other coaches wouldn't have allowed me to do. For example, I played point guard at times, and 2-guard at times and center. So he really allowed me to be versatile. I credit him and his staff for that.
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Jordan- St. Paul, MN: Danny- Are you surprised as many scouts were with your rising stock? Do you think you got less attention playing out west as opposed to the media frenzy of the east?
Danny Granger (NM): I definitely think you get less attention out west. It surprised me how much my stock has rose, but my coach says that is what happens when scouts and organizations get the chance to see you play.
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Greg (Toronto, Ontario): Hey Danny, I'm from Toronto and I'm a Raptors fan. IF you went to Toronto you would fit well and I'm positive you would fit in and contribute to the Raptors. Would you rather go to an American team rather than a Canadian team?
Danny Granger (NM): It doesn't matter to me. Even playing in Toronto, it's not like you're that far from home -- just across the border! So, it really doesn't matter to me.
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David (Lynden, WA): If you could choose any current NBA player to play with, who would you want most as a teammate?
Danny Granger (NM): Shaq. Yeah. Definitely Shaq.
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Jim (phoenix): Hey Danny, I've seen you play and I think you have great skills for the NBA. Is their any one player that you cant wait to go up agianst once you start your NBA career?
Danny Granger (NM): Kobe Bryant. He's such a great offensive player, I'd love the opportunity to challenge him.
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Nate Hoppes Orange County California: Danny, Good luck to you in the future. Kepp on Dominating
Danny Granger (NM): Thanks for all of your support along the way. Hopefully you guys keep an eye on us draft prospects in our NBA future.
The ShowGirl: Thanks Danny! Next up is Chris Paul!
Chris Paul (Wake): Hey, how y'all doing?
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Omar (Windsor): Chris, as a duke fan, i've seen you make big shot after big shot in the acc.What do you say to the people who say that you are too small?
Chris Paul (Wake): I say that I have been proving to people that size doesn't matter my whole life. I've been small my whole life (laughing) -- can't do anything about it, you just have to go out there and prove yourself.
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Johnny (Garden Grove): Hey Chris, I've always been a big fan of little men. You've been compared to Jason Kidd but 6 inches shorter. What player do you think you most resemble?
Chris Paul (Wake): I guess maybe Isaiah Thomas in our common competitive nature. I really like him because he was fearless.
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Zak (Portland): Chris- we've heard a lot in portland about you not wanting to come here with Telfair already on the roster (to say nothing of Stoudamire). Would you be openly disappointed if picked by the Blazers?
Chris Paul (Wake): Oh no, I wouldn't be disapointed. I don't feel like you can be disappointed in this situation. Being drafted by ANY team would be a blessing and a great opportunity.
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JAY (NY): CHRIS, I HAVE WATCHED YOU PLAY ALMOST EVERY GAMES IN COLLEGE AND YOUR GAME IS TREMENDOUS DO YOU THINK YOUR STROKE WILL BE AS SWEET AS IT WAS IN COLLEGE FROM NBA RANGE
Chris Paul (Wake): Thanks Jay, I appreciate it ... and I hope so! I've worked on it a lot since declaring for the draft, so, if I continue to put the work in, my shot should be the same!
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Will (New York): Chris, Do you feel your reputation as a dirty player is justified? Do you think Julius Hodge will take offense when you guys meet next in the NBA?
Chris Paul (Wake): Not at all, I am not a dirty player, I'm just a competitor. I wish that Julius Hodge incident never happened, but some things were said that were pretty close to my heart and I regret what I did. Hopefully there will be no hard feelings moving forward.
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Josh San Diego,CA: Go Demon Deaks!! Chris,What makes your style of play better suited for the NBA than the other top prospects (Williams, Felton)?
Chris Paul (Wake): I think I try to be exciting and aggressive at all times. I really love the up-tempo style of way. I feel like I can always go out and play as hard as I can, and adjust to whatever the game calls for.
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Alex (Cleveland): Chris, what's gonna be your first big purchase once you receive your lottery pick contract? What kinda ride you gonna roll in?
Chris Paul (Wake): Hopefully I'll be able to pay off my parents house.
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Jay (Hartford): Hey Chris, Do you think the early entrance in the Tourney hurt you at all or do you still think you'll be a top 5 pick???
Chris Paul (Wake): It may have, I wish we could have played in the tournament a little bit longer -- a lot longer, actually -- but, hopefully that didnt' hurt my stock.
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Chris Harris (Winthrop (Maine)): Does it matter to you if your not the number 1 pick?
Chris Paul (Wake): Well, I'm pretty positive that I won't be the No. 1 pick. I'm just excited to be in the draft, period. The higher the better, but I'm really just thankful for the opportunity.
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Will Wheeling Clemmons, NC: Chris, Go Wake and West Forsyth haha! Anyways my question is what part of your game do you think you will work on the most?
Chris Paul (Wake): Probably just my strength. In the NBA, the biggest thing to get used to is maintaining consistency, day in and day out. That's what I hope I can do.
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Chris Smith (Louisville): What do you think makes you better than Raymond Felton? People say your so muhc better than him, but why?
Chris Paul (Wake): I wouldn't say I'm so much better than Raymond. Raymond is so fast, you have no clue how fast he is, what I try to do is just change paces a lot of time. Go real fast, slow down, then maybe speed up again, that's what I try to do with my game.
Chris Paul (Wake): Thank you very much for all of your questions and your support tonight. Watch the draft tomorrow night, root me on!
The ShowGirl: Thanks Chris, Marvin Williams is up next, folks. Send in your questions!
Marvin Williams (UNC): Hello, thanks for wanting to talk to me!
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Jay (Destin): Marvin I am the biggest Tarheel fan in the world, and think that you are one of the greatest players to ever play there...too bad you couldn't stay a few more years. But tell us why you should be no 1...besides the obvious....you are a tarheel...lol?
Marvin Williams (UNC): Thanks Jay. I feel like I bring a winning championship to an organization. I've won a national championship at NOrth Carolina and I know what it takes to win.
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Prasheel (Morgantown): hey Marvin, do you think you have pressure coming out of NC, there are greater expectations on the tarheels( MJ, sheed, VC, jamsion, stack)?
Marvin Williams (UNC): Those are really big names, but I don't feel pressure to be honest. I played at Carolina, just like they did, so I guess that means I'm good enough to play. I'll go in there and play my game, just like I did in college.
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Josh (New York): Marvin, how much did you learn in your short time in Chapel Hill? What message whould you say to high schoolers jumoing straight into the draft?
Marvin Williams (UNC): I learned SO much, SO much in that one year with Coach Williams. If they felt comfortable making the jump, I think they should do it. No one has ever pressured me into a decision and I certainly wouldn't want to do that to somebody else. What they feel comfortable with, and whatever is best for them and their family.
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Jake (fredericksburg): Marvin, Considering you are competing with Andrew Bogut for the top draft spot, have you had a chance to talk with him?
Marvin Williams (UNC): I have had a chance to talk to Andrew. He is a really great guy and a great player.
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Benton White (Altmont ILL): What is it like to be a possible Number 1 draft pick? Do you think you should you be the No. 1 pick?
Marvin Williams (UNC): It's so exciting to have the chance to be the No. 1 pick. I'm hoping I will be! If I'm not, hopefully it works out with Andrew and Milwaukee and we'll see where I"m going to end up!
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allen (Chapel Hill): Marvin do you think you would be in this postion had unc not won the national championship?
Marvin Williams (UNC): I really do think that I'd still be in this position. I definitely think that this is just the best thing for my game and my family.
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Mark (Raleigh): Marvin, You seemed to cherish college more than any other player I have seen. What will you miss most about Chapel Hill and Franklin Street? Also will you continue toward a degree? Thanks, from a fellow alum.
Marvin Williams (UNC): No question I will continue to get my degree. I'm in the process of that right now. I will certainly miss Franklin Street and Chapel HIll. My time there was so short, I'll miss it! I definitely cherish that year there.
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Dave (Durham): Marvin, you played with Raymond Felton and against Chris Paul and Deron Williams. If you were drafting, what order would you pick 'em?
Marvin Williams (UNC): Oh my goodness gracious! Wow! Umm... that's a serious question, Dave. I don't know! I mean, obviously Ray -- Ray is the best point guard in America. Gosh, Chris Paul is great, Deron Williams is great, I couldn't do it! How do you pick??
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Andrew (Greensboro, NC): Marvin, first of all, thanks for the championship! Lots of people have you going to Atlanta. How would you feel about playing for a team that is obviously at least a few years from making the playoffs?
Marvin Williams (UNC): It would be fun, it would be a fun challenge to get a team like Atlanta who hasn't been there in five or six years back into the mix. What a great accomplishment that would be.
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Shawn (Port Orange): Marvin, there' been alot of talk about where you'll be able to play in the NBA, do you think you have the kind of low post game it akes to play the 4?
Marvin Williams (UNC): My low post game definitely could get better, but if I had to play that position, I'd put on some weight and I'd definitely be able to do it.
Marvin Williams (UNC): Alright folks, thanks for all of your support, I really appreciate it. I'll do my best!
Marvin Williams (UNC): Thanks Marvin, up next is Channing Frye!
Channing Frye (AZ): Hello everyone! Life is great!
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Mike (Philly): I'm a big fan, Channing. How does it feel that you will soon be in the NBA?
Channing Frye (AZ): I feel great, man. It's definitely a blessing being here. It's awesome!.
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Taylor (Phoenix): Channing, first of all, thanks for all of the good times playing for Lute here in Az. Your stock has risen considerabley over the past few weeks. How does it feel being considered one of the top big men in a draft so deep?
Channing Frye (AZ): It feels good, I think there is more pressure put on me from me, more than anybody else can put on me. I'm just trying to take one day at a time through all this and take full advantage of every moment.
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Jayson River ({Brooklyn Ny}): Channing, What an inspiration you have been to me ever since you reached Arizona, With Bold predictions that the New York Knicks going to pick you how to you feel playing along side Stephon Marbury and Company and how well do you think your chemistry will go along with them
Channing Frye (AZ): I think the chemistry would be fine. I understand that Sephon is a scorer, and I'm cool with that. I would look forward to stepping my game up to play alongside Stephon. Playing for the Knicks would be great, if that happens, but right now, any situation would be a blessing. I'm actually from New York, and I moved away when I was younger, but it would definitely be a lot of fun to come back to this city.
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Noah (New York City): Channing, I'm from New York and the Knicks have needed a solid center since Patrick Ewing left. Do you feel you can follow in his footsteps?
Channing Frye (AZ): I can try, Noah, but filling the footsteps of Patrick Ewing would be pretty difficult for anybody so I'm just going to try to make my own tradition.
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Greg (Cedar Rapids, IA): Channing, what's the craziest question a team asked you while working you out?
Channing Frye (AZ): Actually, what's funny about that is I haven't done any workouts. So, no questions ... although, I guess the biggest questions was why haven't you done any workouts??
The ShowGirl: Why haven't you?
Channing Frye (AZ): Umm, it just happened to go that way.
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safi (Anaheim): Channing, whats your pregame meal, or superstitions?
Channing Frye (AZ): Chicken fingers, french fies, a lot of water, two Gatorades -- preferably yellow and orange. Then I gotta go listen to some gospel music. After that, I need to it a secret, I can't be letting them all out!
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Shaun (Nashua NH): Channing , there is a possibility that you could be the first senior taken, what advantages do you feel you have over the younger players and what do you think you have learned from one of the best coaches in the country?
Channing Frye (AZ): Nashua -- that's where my brother was born! In college, I pretty much I learned how to played basketball. I learned how to grow in a system and work with teammates. The challenge now is starting all over in a new system, but it's a challenge I look forward to and it will make me into the man I want to be and the basketball player I want to be.
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Douglas (Guam): Channing, so whats the first big ticket item your going to buy after signing your multi million dollar contract?...
Channing Frye (AZ): Two English bulldogs! I love those dogs!
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Adam (Hewlett NY): Channing, what pro would you most like to hear advice from on the eve of the draft?
Channing Frye (AZ): Hmm, good question, Adam. Of course Michael Jordan or Hakim Olajuwon.
Channing Frye (AZ): Thanks for the support. Keep praying for me! See you tomorrow!
The ShowGirl: Thanks Channing! Thanks for logging on today, folks. That concludes our draft with the top prospects on the eve of their big day, but tomorrow, we'll be talking to everybody as their drafted, so keep an eye out for THE DRAFTCAST! See you Tuesday! -
Re: Can Someone Please Post This Article?
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Re: Can Someone Please Post This Article?
I can't believe this guy fell to us. Everyone was asking if he'd go in the top 5.Darius (Oakland): Danny, do you think that you should go ahead of the HS players like Green and Webster? Do you think your biggest impact will be on offense or as a perimeter stopper your rookie year?
Danny Granger (NM): I think both Green and Webster are good players. It doesn't really matter who goes where to me. As for my force next year, I suppose it depends on the style of the team that drafts me. But, I suspect, I will mostly be a defensive force. I'm more of a stopper.
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David (Lynden, WA): If you could choose any current NBA player to play with, who would you want most as a teammate?
Danny Granger (NM): Shaq. Yeah. Definitely Shaq.
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Jim (phoenix): Hey Danny, I've seen you play and I think you have great skills for the NBA. Is their any one player that you cant wait to go up agianst once you start your NBA career?
Danny Granger (NM): Kobe Bryant. He's such a great offensive player, I'd love the opportunity to challenge him.This space for rent.Comment
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