By W. Mitchell
Gen. Douglas MacArthur once said, ?A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.? With that in mind, it?s a good thing MacArthur never had to lead recent years? Utah Jazz teams into the field of battle. Head coach Jerry Sloan hasn?t been so lucky.
In the 2003-04 NBA season the Jazz shocked the sports world by finishing the season with a 42-40 record despite playing for the first year in 19 years without all-time NBA greats John Stockton and Karl Malone. Since the start of the 2004-05 season, however, the Jazz have lost 67 of their last 101 games.
Basketball analysts and fans alike have given their two cents in an effort to explain away the futility. Youth, injuries, bad luck, lack of talent, lack of execution, lack of desire ? they?ve all been the culprits in someone?s mind at some point or another. One thing everyone can agree the team has been missing since Stockton and Malone left is leadership. Ten of the 15 players on the roster have three years or less of NBA experience. The question, then, is who will provide that leadership for the Jazz this season and how.
Small forward and seven-year veteran Matt Harpring is one place to look. Harpring has spent the last three of his four seasons in Utah as a team captain. In that span Harpring has averaged 13.8 points and 5.9 rebounds. Not exactly numbers that scream ?leadership.? In fact, in each of his three seasons as captain Harpring has never led the team in either points or rebounds, and the team has had a winning percentage of .412. But, Sloan said, assessing the team?s winning percentage based on the captain?s performance is an unfair evaluation.
?There shouldn?t be any pressure on him to win games other than to expect him to come and play himself,? Sloan said. ?That?s the number one thing when you?re a captain.?
Devin Brown, one of Utah?s off-season free agent acquisitions, came to the Jazz from the NBA-champion San Antonio Spurs. Brown said although Harpring is no perennial all-star like Tim Duncan, he appreciates that Harpring plays hard every night.
?It?s a change from the fact that [in San Antonio] your leaders went out there and gave you 25 and 15 every night, and you kind of followed their lead,? Brown said. ?But, you can?t fault the guys that are here trying.?
Besides, Harpring hasn?t been alone in the rank. Last season, it was current-Phoenix Sun, Raja Bell, who was Harpring?s co-captain. This season, small forward Andrei Kirilenko and power forward Carlos Boozer fill the role of co-captains. For both Kirilenko and Boozer, the honor is their first in each of their four-year NBA careers.
?Being captain to me means more [what you do] outside of basketball,? said Kirilenko. ?You should keep the players concentrated in the locker room. You should keep good team chemistry.?
Kirilenko, who signed a max-contract extension last season worth nearly $90 million, readily admits on-court performance plays a huge role in showing leadership.
?On the floor, you should show an example to the other guys of how to fight,? Kirilenko said. ?I don?t think this season I have personally had the greatest season of my life. In some points, I think it?s been the worst. But I?m trying to get better and be a better example to the guys.?
When asked what the best way is to be an example, Kirilenko widely grinned and said he had two models.
?John Stockton and Karl Malone,? Kirilenko said. ?They were both team captains. Karl was the vocal part. He tried to bring the emotional part. Every time, he used his voice. John, on the other hand, didn?t talk at all. He just did his job.?
Kirilenko said he didn?t think either style was superior to the other, but he prefers to take Stockton?s approach in his newly appointed responsibility this season.
?I don?t like to talk a lot,? Kirilenko said. ?I just like to step on the floor and work hard. If somebody is doing something bad, I can come to him and say something in his ear like, ?Come on, man. Pick it up.? But, I?m not like, ?Hey man, what are you doing???
Another possible source for leadership is Utah?s highly touted first round draft pick Deron Williams. The point guard who led Illinois to the NCAA championship game last year, and who has already worked himself into Sloan?s starting lineup, said he was more vocal in college than he is now in the NBA.
?Right now I?m trying to work my way up to that because a lot of the guys have had much more experience,? Williams said. ?I?m just trying to learn as much as I can.?
But that doesn?t mean Williams is apprehensive to speak his mind.
?If I have something to say, I?m gonna say it,? Williams said. ?That?s always how I?ve been. I don?t bark orders at them. I just go up and talk to them.?
Should Williams feel so inclined to do some talking, it might not be a great idea to fall in love with the method. Just ask Sloan.
?Most guys who lead by their mouths don?t get too far,? Sloan said. ?It?s what you do out there on the floor that gets you respect. You?ve got to make sure you?re doing your job so players will look up to you.?
Although the majority of players proclaim that walking the walk is the best way to lead, that might not be the reality on this Jazz team.
?We have guys here that want to do more talking,? Brown said. ?This has been a winning program for years, but we?re not going through winning years right now. So, guys feel that they have to speak up and say something. When you?re at home and you?re thinking about it a lot, then when you come to practice you have a lot to say.?
Brown was not specific about who he was talking about, but said it doesn?t personally affect his game whether teammates lead vocally or by example. Harpring was not as diplomatic.
?Leadership by example is always best,? Harpring said. ?I?ve always followed guys who work hard all the time.?
So that?s where the Jazz stand today: a team looking for leadership without a clear leader. If the team is fortunate, Harpring, Kirilenko or Boozer (who has yet to play a game this season because of a hamstring injury) will step up as a team captain and provide the leadership the team so desperately needs. Doing so could mean getting the Jazz back to the playoffs and out of the draft lottery, where teams? futures lay at the mercy of ping-pong balls.
?As a captain or a leader, you can choose your own destiny,? Kirilenko said.
For the Jazz, it?s just a matter of distinguishing the general from the troops.
