TOMASSON: Coloradan Smith making his mark

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 4, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.

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Photo by David Dow / Nbae Via Getty Images/2007

Jason Smith, who played at Platte Valley High School and Colorado State, is averaging five points a game for the 76ers.

Chauncey Billups has met Jason Smith only on the basketball court. It was quite informal.

One day they figure to chat in depth. And perhaps a day will come when Billups passes Smith the torch as Colorado's banner basketball player.

Billups has been holding that distinction impressively for a decade. With two All-Star appearances and a Finals MVP trophy, the Detroit guard is on a very short list of top NBA players the state has produced.

The only others on that list are four-time All-Star Micheal Ray Richardson (Manual High), who would have been an even bigger star had he not been banned for life from the NBA in 1986 for drug use, and Tom Chambers, a four- time All-Star who lived in Colorado only two years but was around long enough to graduate from Boulder's Fairview High.

Richardson and Chambers left high school in the 1970s, the greatest era for talent to come out of Colorado. The decade also produced Joe Barry Carroll (Denver East) and Scott Wedman (Mullen), each of whom appeared in an NBA All-Star Game.

For Billups, it has been a much lonelier climb to the top. Since he got out of George Washington High in 1995 and the University of Colorado in 1997, the Colorado players he has seen in the NBA mostly have been low-profile journeymen, though Orlando's Pat Garrity (Lewis Palmer) did average 10 or more points in 2001-02 and 2002-03 before falling off quickly as an impact player.

Billups, 31, is still a star, but eventually he will fade from the scene. When that time comes, perhaps Smith, 21, an intriguing Philadelphia rookie forward from Platte Valley High and Colorado State, will be ready to seize the Colorado torch.

"I think he's good," Billups said. "I think he'll be a pro for a long time. He's a shooter. Plays hard. Gets in there and tries to rebound."

In addition to Billups and Smith, four other players from the state have played in the league this season, but Garrity, Milwaukee's Michael Ruffin (Cherry Creek), Philadelphia's Louis Amundson (Monarch) and Dallas' Nick Fazekas (Ralston Valley) are averaging a scant combined six points this season.

With that in mind, Smith's five-point average in 15.8 minutes looks pretty good. His many fans around the state seem to think so.

When Smith faces the Nuggets on Sunday in his only Pepsi Center appearance this season, he'll be greeted by at least 1,000 supporters, and they can meet him on the court afterward. Colorado State and fans from Smith's hometown of Kersey each arranged to buy blocks of about 500 tickets.

"It's going to be a fun game," Smith said. "I've got so many people coming to watch me play at a level I've dreamed of playing at my whole life."

Smith hopes some high-profile players from Colorado eventually will join him in the NBA and he won't have to carry the state's mantle by himself. But he knows it has been "slim pickings" in recent years.

"I think Colorado is thought of as more of a skiing state," Smith said when asked why the nation's 24th-most populous state has produced so few impact NBA players. "There's more getting outdoors for activities."

Billups called Colorado "a football state." He said basketball players primarily come from diverse, urban areas, and the state lacks in that area.

"(Denver is) the only urban area," Billups said. "It's growing now. Aurora's more diverse now. But when I was growing up in northeast Denver, the east side was really like the only inner city in all of Denver. For mostly black neighborhoods, it was just my neighborhood and the east side."

It's interesting the state had a surge of top talent when Richardson, Chambers, Carroll and Wedman came out, and all were eventually taken in the top eight in the NBA draft. The only Colorado player selected that high in the past 25 years has been Billups, No. 3 in 1997.

Considering all that, Smith's No. 20 selection looks pretty good. And even if he turns into nothing better than an average pro, that eventually might be the best that Coloradans have to cheer for in the NBA.

Round 2

The main event is March 19, when Allen Iverson returns to Philadelphia for the first time since being traded to the Nuggets in December 2006. But Sunday marks the second undercard.

Iverson's first game against his former mates was not one for him to remember. The Nuggets lost 108-97 on Jan 2, 2007, at the Pepsi Center, and Iverson was ejected late in the game after scoring 30 points (10-of-24 shooting) and committing seven turnovers.

Now Iverson gets another crack at the 76ers. He claims he marks "no games on my calendar," but it's apparent it isn't just another game.

"Obviously, it's different playing against them, but I just want to win," Iverson said.

Asked his thoughts on the 76ers (14-18) having played solid ball since a 5-13 start, Iverson was in no mood to offer praise.

"I don't pay attention to them," he said.

One had better believe Iverson will pay attention Sunday. He doesn't want to drop to 0-2 against his former team.

Denver's deadlines

The NBA trading deadline is Feb. 21. There's more urgency as far as Denver is concerned.

The Nuggets have a $2.95 million trade exception that expires Jan. 11, a year from when they dealt Earl Boykins and Julius Hodge to Milwaukee for Steve Blake. It's hard to see the Nuggets, deep into the luxury tax, taking on much extra salary, but they've made creative deals before.

Perhaps more likely would be a trade involving Bobby Jones, whose $687,456 contract is guaranteed for the season if he's on the roster Thursday. The Nuggets might look to avoid letting Jones go for nothing, perhaps shipping him to a team seeking to clear some salary room.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com

BY THE NUMBERS

.867 winning percentage in December for Portland, which went 13-2 for its first winning month since going 8-6 (.571) in November 2004.

ROOKIE WANDERINGS

Milwaukee rookie Yi Jianlian, a native of China, still is learning his way around the NBA. Thanks to teammate Charlie Bell, an international incident was avoided before a Dec. 26 game in Denver.

After returning from some pregame shooting, Yi opened a door near the visitor's locker room and began to enter before Bell yelled, "Yi, Yi, you're going the wrong way."

Yi had been entering the dressing room used by the Nuggets' dance team.

"I was going to follow him,'' Bell quipped.

HE SAID IT

"He's been double teamed probably since he was a baby."

Avery Johnson, Dallas coach, on Cleveland forward LeBron James.

Colorado connection

High school graduates from the Centennial State who have played in the NBA this season:

Player Team High school Year Pts.

Chauncey Billups Detroit George Washington 11th 17.3 * Comment: Two-time All-Star.

Jason Smith Philadelphia Platte Valley First 5.0 * Comment: Up-and-coming big man.

Pat Garrity Orlando Lewis Palmer 10th 2.3 * Comment: Playing out the string.

Michael Ruffin Milwaukee Cherry Creek Eighth 1.6 * Comment: Sometimes gets meaningful minutes.

Louis Amundson Philadelphia Monarch Second 1.1 * Comment: Strictly a bench warmer.

Nick Fazekas Dallas Ralston Valley First 1.0 * Comment: Currently in NBA Development League.

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