Nothing reserved about Lakers' Powell

Great story on espn.com about Lakers reserve forward Josh Powell (pictured left). Powell has not played very much this year but when his number is called he is always ready to go. Teammates love his preparation and attitude in practice. Here are some excerpts from the article:

Now in his second season with the Lakers after spending the first three years of his career with four different teams, Powell has carved out a niche in Los Angeles as a vocal leader even though he is the ninth or 10th man in coach Phil Jackson's regular eight-man rotation.

In his short time with the Lakers, he's become fast friends with Bryant, who can just about count on one hand the amount of teammates he considers personal friends in his 14 seasons in the league.

"We both have a passion to work hard and to practice hard," Bryant said. "I think it started there and it grew from there."

Said Powell: "It's great. I think the biggest thing why we are close is because the hunger and the passion for the game that me and him both have. Granted, the skill level might be different, but you can't -- as far as heart and desire and things like that -- like, I'm up there. And everybody knows that. People can look at that and be like, 'That's my guy.'"

Bryant isn't just about practice, however. He's about performance. And he knows that Powell is capable of helping the team win ballgames.

"He has so much talent," Bryant said. "He can help us out so much. It's just that this team has so much depth. Every time he's had an opportunity to step in and perform, he's performed extremely well. Last year when Lamar [Odom] was out for a stretch, he stepped in in Houston and had a huge game, stepped in in San Antonio and had a huge game. He's extremely professional. Doesn't complain. Doesn't whine. He just comes out and works hard every day."

According to Powell, he doesn't give 100 percent or 110 percent, he gives "200 percent." It's that drive that turned him from a player whose framed portrait in the Lakers' practice facility shows him making a pass around Utah's Kyrylo Fesenko -- scrub against scrub in meaningless minutes -- to a player whose first career 3-pointer came in Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals.

"I think it's good for guys to watch," Bryant said. "Jordan [Farmar] and Shannon [Brown] and some of the other guys, because Josh is always ready. His number's not called. He can easily be playing, but most of the time his number's not called. When it is called, he's ready to go."

Powell hasn't been used as much this season as he was last season. His minutes have dipped from 11.7 to 8.7 per game and along with the decrease in playing time his points and rebounds per game have trended down from 4.2 and 2.9 per game, respectively, to 2.6 and 1.7.

While the numbers don't support it, Powell is just as important to the team and he's improving as a player.

"He's amazing," Odom said. "His work ethic, his persistence doesn't go unnoticed. It's too bad that he can't … that you guys don't really get to see it. We see it every morning. He's amazing.

"His skill level is high. He's gotten better even handling the ball and his range is all the way out to the 3-point range. He's in shape. He's a pro, man."

Bryant and Derek Fisher are the Lakers' official co-captains, but Powell takes on a distinct leadership role of his own.

"I think [he's a leader] because of how he carries himself, what he does and what he brings to us in practice," Odom said. "At 10 in the morning, when some guys are tired, Josh will wake your butt up. Because he will ram you. He will make the extra effort to go get the offensive rebound and so on and so on. He's going to get his. I can't wait to see it."

Notes From Billy Donovan

Role Players:

*Never underestimate how important role players are

*Stars will get the pub, it's the role players whom you need to make sure feel appreciated

*Stars must endear themselves to those role players. Garnett offers anyone a free meal with him on a road trip

*Building chemistry isn't all on the coach, your best players have the best chance to improve chemistry

Approach /Avoidance goals:

*Approach Goals: things the team wants to see accomplished

*Avoidance Goals: things the team is hoping to avoid

*Focus on approach goals. Avoidance goals are too negative, makes teams play to not lose rather than to win

Doing the Dirty Work

Article this morning on Marquette forward Jimmy Butler and his increased playing time due to him doing the dirty work for his team. He's listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 215 pounds, but both are probably a bit generous. He's not overly muscular, and isn't known for jumping out of the gym.

Yet every game he seems to be worming his way through a gap to grab a loose ball, or using good timing to tip an offensive board back to himself to keep a possession alive.

"He's stepping up and playing quality minutes, and he's providing something off the bench that nobody else can do: getting rebounds, playing great defense and knocking down open shots."

Earning more playing time has been no accident; Butler's insistence on playing his role and sticking to his strengths is what has endeared him to head coach Buzz Williams.

"The best thing about Jimmy is he knows exactly what he can do, and you rarely see him get out of it," Williams said. "He's really created a niche, and he's creating great trust in his teammates."

Butler's knack for snaring offensive rebounds has been especially impressive. Through 25 games, 52.6% of his boards have come on the offensive end (41 of 78). The result is often either a putback or free throws, and he's making 73.2% of those this season.

When asked about his penchant for rebounding on that end of the floor, Butler mentions coaching, film study, instinct and good old-fashioned hard work both in the weight room and in the practice gym.

"When it goes up, you just chase after it, and hopefully you come out with it," he said. "They give you statistics - where they shoot the ball and where it's going to normally come off, and you can usually tell if it's going to be long or short. And wherever I see Lazar, I'll take him getting a rebound in his area any day, so I'm usually going to the opposite area.

"Plus, I know my team, and I know who's shooting the ball, and when."

Butler's offensive game, meanwhile, remains a work in progress. Yet he has taken focus to a whole new level as far as knowing where his strengths lie.

Of his 110 points this season (average of 4.4 per game), 104 have come either in the lane or at the free-throw line. He remains capable of knocking down a pull-up jumper every now and again, as he did Saturday, but with McNeal, Matthews and Hayward handling most of the scoring, Butler is more than content to continue to do the dirty work.

"That's what I've got to do," he said. "That's what everybody's telling me I've got to do, so that's what I'm going to go out there and do. I just hope to keep that up."

Tyrone Nash seeks consistency for Notre Dame

Article in the Chicago Tribune on Notre Dame sophomore Tyrone Nash. Nash was kicked out of practice last week for not giving his best effort. What resulted afterwards were three spirited practices, a better effort out of Nash, and a 33 point victory over # 7 Louisville to snap Notre Dame's 7 game losing streak:

"My job is not to score," Nash said. "My job is to play defense, work hard and, if I get the opportunity to score, then take that chance and try to score. My job is to rebound, make the right passes and screen, be the glue of the team. Keep things going."

Thus Brey raised a familiar specter: missing the physical presence of Rob Kurz, who has graduated to the NBA. Before practice Friday, Head Coach Mike Brey was set to show his team clips from Louisville in which, as the Irish coach put it, Nash "really crushes people with screens."

"That was a bit of the Kurz presence we need against those bodies," Brey said. "And we have a bunch more coming. If he can do that consistently, that can really help us."

Consistency is at the root of everything for Nash. He has 11 games of 10 or more minutes played and nine of three or fewer. Brey eventually may regret limiting Nash's minutes before the Irish lost seven straight — but then again Brey noted Nash hasn't always had his "engine running at the highest of levels."

Hence getting bounced from practice for having no bounce in his step. At the time, Nash returned to his dorm room to clear his head. Whether it keeps clearing a path for the Irish is the question.

"It helped make me realize you have to cherish every moment in practice because what you do in practice is what you do in the game," Nash said. "I don't hope it happens again, but if it has to happen again for us to play like that, I'll let it happen."

The Utility Player

Article this morning on Wisconsin senior Joe Krabbenhoft. Krabbenhoft, according to teammate Jason Bohannon, does all the little things to help his team win.

"He brings to the table so much," Bohannon said. "He gets those little putbacks. . . . He gets all those garbage points, all those extra rebounds."

Assistant coach Greg Gard:

"He's kind of the utility guy. You can play him at first, he can catch a little bit, he can play in the outfield. So he's kind of done whatever we've needed."

Here is some more from the article:

Passing is obviously one of Krabbenhoft's strengths. But so are free-throw shooting - he is at 84% against the Big Ten and 87.2% for the season - and rebounding, two categories that lead to easy chances.

He also knows how to throw his 220-pound frame around.

What's harder to discern is his movement and how that affects the offense.

"He has a pretty high basketball IQ, so he understands the hard cut may not get yourself open, but draws a lot of attention," Gard said. "Basketball 101 is, a hard cut will usually help get a teammate open."

That appeared to be the case in the first half of the Iowa game when Keaton Nankivil got a wide-open look for his only three of the game, in part because Krabbenhoft drew extra attention with a cut to the basket.

Consider it another example of Krabbenhoft helping the Badgers put the ball in the basket.

"He is definitely better than people give him credit for because he doesn't look for his shot at all," Hughes said. "He's looking for the best interest of the team and if it calls for him to score points, he will do so."