If you remember the State of the Cats address John Calipari gave after the season, he compared DeAndre Liggins to Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Both are from Chicago, and DeAndre has been talking with Allen about being a top defender in the NBA.
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These days they exchange text messages often, and they hung out earlier this week in Chicago before Liggins flew to Orlando to meet with his new team.
“He tells me the NBA is not easy,” Liggins said of Allen. “Defending the best player every night is not easy, especially in the NBA. You just have to continue to be tough.”
Like Allen, Liggins is a long and devoted defender who takes pride in shutting down the other team’s top player. Liggins, at 6-foot-6, is a little bit taller than Allen and supremely athletic, but his raw offensive game hurt his draft stock.
That offensive deficiency is overblown, though, according to Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy said Liggins can hit an open three-pointer, particularly from the corner, forcing teams to keep a man near him. Liggins ability to hit open threes – he shot 39.1 percent from deep last season – is dissimilar to Allen, who’s made only 59 three-pointers in seven NBA seasons.
While reserving too much judgment, Van Gundy praised Liggins’ length, ability to defend three positions and willingness to be a tenacious defender. Not everyone takes pride in their defense – Liggins clearly does.
This isn’t to say Liggins will bring the toughness and defensive presence to the Magic that Allen brought to the Memphis Grizzlies this season; Liggins has much work to do.
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[URL=”http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2011/06/deandre-liggins-mentored-by-one-of-nbas-best-defenders.html”]Complete Article[/URL]
Well, if the NBA ever decides to play again, it sounds like DeAndre is going into this with the right attitude and getting some pretty good advice.
Just another way Coach Cal influences his players.
