Rising like a euro - Rising Star: Andrei Kirilenko

EVEN PROFESSOR OF PASSING John asn't exactly Stock-ed up on it. And, after 18 years with the Utah Jazz, the Mailman is still reportedly waiting for the first delivery. Yes, according to sources all over Salt Lake City, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan makes Scrooge look like Gandhi when it comes to praise.

So, when Sloan semi-grudgingly grants that "Kiriya's got a lot of stuff to work with," it amounts to a heaping helping of mountainous complimentation to Andrei Kirilenko's talent. Even if the confession is placed smack in the middle of much "if he gets outside the system any more he'll be doing it from the bench" moaning.

Truth is, Kirilenko is just about destined to be the stepchild in Sloan's strictly by-the-books family. The coach grumbles on about how "we don't have one guy who can go by anyone off the dribble"--and does it right after a game where Kiri slashes and dashes by defenders, swooping to the hoop practically at will for terrific thunderdunks a half-dozen times. An astonishing apparition up close--give him some gold teeth and he would look exactly like one of those impossibly handsome bad guys from a James Bond flick--Kirilenko has a stride that swallows space without effort to go with arms that simply refuse to end. It's weird to say, but his shaken-not-stirred game is too multidimensional for the stuck-in-the-mud Jazz.

Of course, that's probably a good thing these days: Utah--for too long too reliant on the Stockton-Malone two-step--has not only has failed to face up to the natural aging process of its supers but actually lost its third-nimblest dancer, flexible-cum-funky small forward Donyell Marshall, to free agency last summer. Which is where Kiri waltzes in.

In only his second NBA season, he'll start at Marshall's position. Of course, he could also play anything from center--he plays at at least 7'2"--to point guard (he's a smoothie of a handler and a perceptive passer). "Kiri has all the upside [seven-foot Mavs All-Star] Dirk Nowitzki has," New York Knicks power forward Kurt Thomas says. "And, defensively, he's far better. In fact, he's the only European guy I've ever seen who could play NBA defense the moment he entered the league."

But how did Kiri become such a dening matchup on both ends of the floor? "I went to sports-school in Russia at age 10," he says in heavily accented but perfectly flowing English.

Kiri, who plays the passing lanes as if he was a 20-year NBA veteran, is all of 21 years old. But when you're born in Siberia, married with a eight-month-old child, and carry an entire nation's hoops hopes on your impossibly sloping shoulders--Kirilenko is the best Russian player these days by several country miles--you grow up fast. He was No. 24 by Utah in 1999, but didn't show up in the NBA until last year, costing himself mucho rubles. "I had two-year contract with my team CSKA Moskva," he nods his spiky blond head, suddenly serious. "I'm a guy who always keeps a promise. My reputation is of very much value to me."

In the meanwhile, just to pass the time, he accomplished downright ridiculous things. Kiri was in the Top 10 in an unheard-of seven out of eight statistical categories at the 2001 European Championships, ranking first in blocks (2.8), second in steals (2.8), fourth in scoring (19.2), fifth in rebounds (8.7), sixth in field-goal percentage (54.8%) and free-throw percentage (85.7%), and 10th in assists (3.3).

The youngest European ever drafted (18 years, four months), Kirilenko was an immediate impact player as an NBA rookie, gliding into the world's orneriest league as if he was settling into a comfy chair. In his first game against his idol, Michael Jordan, he snuffed Air twice in just 16 minutes. In his first start, he had a double-double (13 points and 10 boards). In his his first face-off against the world champion LA. Shaqs, his vise-like "D" held Kobe Bryant to an impossible 0-of-9 from the floor in the second half. No wonder Kirilenko made the All-Rookie Team and finished tied for third in the Rookie of the Year voting despite playing off the pine the majority of the lime.

And now, in only his soph go-around, Kiri is not just a starter but a guy who needs to be a star if the Jazz is to play playoff music for the 20th year in a row.

More than likely, Kiri is the NBA's next Euro super. Which, these days, translates into surefire NBA All-Stardom. "It's a very different style play here. Everything is two or three times faster," Kirilenko smiles. "Still, I think I can deal with it."

Question is, can Sloan?

COPYRIGHT 2003 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group