When the Arizona Cardinals fired Denny Green in 2007, most of the fans said “Good Riddance.” A coach more known for his sound bites (They are who we thought they were!) than sound coaching, the Green era was, like its predecessors, a major disappointment. However, after the Cardinals’ improbable Superbowl run, analysts and sport pundits alike began using some revisionist history. As it turns out, Green was as vital to the Cardinals’ success as just about anybody. While not an effective coach in Arizona, Green has a brilliant eye for talent, shown with his work in Minnesota with the drafting of Future Hall of Famer Randy Moss.
He was equally effective in Arizona. The best draft came in 2004, when Green took a young wide receiver named Larry Fitzgerald in the first round. Fitzgerald had been a ball boy for the Vikings when Green was a coach there, and they had developed a blooming relationship that led to the Pittsburgh player being drafted with the third pick overall. While Fitzgerald was the crown jewel of the Cardinals’ draft, the later rounds also produced diamonds. Linebacker Karlos Dansby was taken in the second round, tackle Darnell Dockett in the third, and defensive end Antonio Smith in the fifth. Green’s success continued the next year. 2005 brought us cornerback turned safety Antrel Rolle, third down back J.J. Arrington, and guard Elton Brown. In 2006, Matt Leinart slipped in what was a memorable free fall, to the tenth spot where an enthusiastic Green picked him up. While Leinart hasn’t turned out to be the future of the franchise that the Cardinals had hoped he’d be, there is still time for him to prove himself. Leinart’s tutelage behind the great Kurt Warner should not be discounted, and his career may yet mirror Aaron Rodgers’s. Besides Leinart, Green’s final year also brought Taitusi (Deuce) Lutui, tight end Leonard Pope, and emerging nose tackle Gabriel Watson.
With Green’s departure, some feared that the quality of the Cardinals’ draft might decline. However, those fears appear to be unfounded, as general manager Rod Graves worked with new coach Ken Whisenhunt in implementing the foundation of Green’s draft: the top 120 board. A brief history of Graves: he joined the Cardinals in 1997, working in various personnel capacities before being promoted to vice president in 2002. It was then that he had more say in the drafting process. Before Green came, Graves had his own stellar draft. In 2003, the team took Bryant Johnson and Calvin Pace in the first round, linebacker Gerald Hayes in third, guard Reggie Wells in the sixth, and the centerpiece of the draft, Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin in the second. A study down by a reporter for the Chicago Tribune showed that over the last five years (since Graves has taken over the draft), the Cardinals have picked 18 of 33 players who are now NFL starters, a league high.
Back to the 120 board. The idea was that the team would compile a list of the top 120 prospects, and as the draft went on, they would cross off the names of players as they were taken. When it came time to draft, they would take the highest rated player, regardless of need. This strategy worked especially well considering the Cardinals’ had so many holes in their roster. Many teams claimed to follow this strategy, but when it came to their pick, it was amazing how many times the best player available just happened to fit their needs. The Cardinals disciplined themselves to stick to their plan, and this appears to have paid off.
Ken Whisenhunt came from the Steelers, a model franchise in the NFL, with his own plan to turn the team around. He instilled a sense of discipline and team unity, as well as a winner’s mentality. In two short years, Whisenhunt and his staff had created what seems to be a perennial contender for the NFC West title. When it comes to drafting, Whisenhunt is no slouch. Working with Rod Graves and then Director of Player Personnel Steve Keim, the team took starting offensive tackle Levi Brown, tight end Ben Patrick, defensive tackle Alan Branch, and emerging receiver Steve Breaston in the fifth round. In 2008, the team had yet another successful draft. First round pick Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie appears to be on his way to multiple Pro Bowls. Second round pick Calais Campbell from the University of Miami flashed enough potential for the team to let Antonio Smith sign with the Houston Texans as a free agent this off-season. The best value may have been in the fifth round, where the team took a relatively unknown running back from the Richmond Spiders named Tim Hightower. Hightower led all rookies last year with ten rushing touchdowns.
Now you have an understanding of where the Cardinals are coming from going into this draft. The next article in this two parter will look at the Cardinals 2009 draft, analyze the players and when they were picked, as well as in depth insight into each draftee and who he is as a person. My research for this upcoming piece includes scouring the Internet for interviews, analyzing high school and college statistics, as well as reading what the talking heads have to say about him. It figures to be an enticing read, so don’t forget to check back next week!
The Phoenix Suns won’t be winning an NBA title this year; they couldn’t even manage to make it to the playoffs. The debacle that was the 2008-09 Phoenix Suns season will likely result in drastic changes this offseason that could spell the end of superstars Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal, and Amare Stoudemire’s stays in Phoenix.
That doesn’t mean however that the team was unsuccessful in all of their endeavors. In fact, there is one title the team captured during the season, “Sports’ Most Twitter-ific Team.”
That’s right, the Suns have more known Tweeters than any other professional sports franchise! Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Jason Richardson and Alvin Gentry all have and regularly use Twitter accounts.
Shaquille O’Neal (THE_REAL_SHAQ) 730,000+ followers
Shaquille O’Neal is by far sports’ most popular Tweeter, with over 730,000 followers. Shaq tops the next closest athlete, Lance Armstrong by nearly 100,000 followers and is the ninth most popular user on Twitter behind only Ashton Kutcher, CNN, Britney Spears, The Ellen Show, Twitter itself, Barack Obama and Jimmy Fallon.
Shaq has always claimed to be a marketer, and it appears he is succeeding once again. Not only is the “King of Twitteronia” popular, but he is also, in true Diesel fashion, wildly entertaining. While some athletes post rather meaningless tweets like “great win tonight,” the Big Cactus rarely talks about basketball. Instead Shaq shares his daily thoughts, activities and of course, his sense of humor.
By talking about things other than basketball, Shaq enables fans to connect with him on a more personal level, allowing fans to find common ground with him, besides just a mutual love for the game of basketball.
“Started my diet the other day, I haven’t cheated yet, I wanna b a calvin klein underwear model, pls dnt laugh, lol” - THE_REAL_SHAQ 11:55 AM Apr 19th
Steve Nash (the_real_nash) 23,000+ followers
Shaq successfully recruited fellow MVP Steve Nash to join Twitter a few months ago. Unlike his teammate, Nash often talks basketball and is not nearly as active. While Shaq tweets several times a day, Nash tweets on average only a couple times per week. MV-Steve uses his Twitter page to connect with fans, driving them to his personal blog and Facebook page.
Of course, with the Suns’ season ending early Steve appears to have more time on his hands lately:
“My dad just beat me in tennis. He’s 62. He did a triple fist pump on match point. Irritating?! It’s been that kind of season!” – the_real_nash 12:27 PM Apr 17th
Jason Richardson (JRich23) 11,500+ followers
J-Rich tweets about once a week, which is probably a good thing. The last thing we want is for him to get pulled over for tweeting while driving.
“Man its hard watching the playoffs knowing that we should be in it. Back in charlotte trying to plan the rest of my summer” – JRich23 6:22 PM Apr 19th
Alvin Gentry (AlvinGentry) 3,000+ followers
While some coaches are scolding players for tweeting during halftime, Alvin Gentry appears to be a supporter of twitter. Alvin is active but professional, as an NBA coach should be. Alvin even got his daughter Alexis to join Twitter… or did Alexis get Alvin to join?
“@THE_REAL_SHAQ that could have been us. I still feel so bad for u. Thanks for all u did for me.” - AlvinGentry 2:13 PM Apr 18th
While Sports’ Most Twitter-ific Team isn’t the most prestigious title, it does show an effort by the organization to better connect with its fans. Let’s face it, Twitter is exploding and the Suns have always been an organization to embrace two things: technology and their fans.
The title however might not last for long. If either (or both) Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal are traded in the off-season the Suns could easily lose the only crown they have left.
For a complete list of all professional athletes on Twitter visit Athletes Who Tweet.
ASU’s Pac-10 player of the year, James Harden is expected to officially declare himself eligible for the NBA draft on Wednesday.
Harden, a sophomore, averaged 20.1 points, 5.6 boards, and 4.2 dimes this season, leading ASU to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2003.
Unfortunately for the Devils, and Harden, he struggled mightily down the stretch, scoring just 10 points in ASU’s loss to USC in the Pac 10 Tournament’s championship game.
Harden’s hard luck shooting continued into the NCAA tournament, as he scored just 9 points on 1-9 shooting in ASU’s first round victory over Temple. He shot 2-10 from the field while scoring 10 in the Devils’ eliminating loss to Syracuse.
A few weeks back I argued that Harden wasn’t ready for the NBA; lacking the jump shot and aggressiveness I feel he will need to be an impact player in the world’s premier basketball league.
Even Harden seemed unsure himself after his poor performance saying, “I haven’t thought about it, but why wouldn’t I come back? We have something here at Arizona State that’s great. We have great culture, great players. Obviously, we lose a key point with Jeff (Pendergraph) leaving, but there’s some great pieces here.”
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim called Harden “passive,” saying he “did nothing” in the Devils’ victory over Temple.
Harden likely hurt his draft value with his tournament play, perhaps dropping out of the top five. Even so, Harden was still a great college player and will still be a lottery pick in this year’s draft.
No matter what type of player Harden turns out to be NBA, he will never be forgotten here in the Valley. He will be credited, along with coach Sendek, for turning around an embarrassing ASU program, and most importantly leading the Devils to five straight wins over the hated Wildcats.
So maybe he won’t be the superstar he was at ASU, but Harden is a smart guy. He is mature and professional, especially for a 19 year old, qualities that should take him a long way in the NBA.
Sound off: Where do you think James Harden will be picked in the 2009 NBA Draft?