| Silencing The Critics Authored by Jeff Stotts - September 13, 2005 - 12:59 pm
You can’t say anything about Marquis Daniels that he hasn’t heard before. The critics and cynics have always been there. After four seasons at Auburn University, where he received several accolades including being named SEC Player of the Year by the Birmingham News, Daniels entered the 2003 NBA Draft. On Draft Night he waited to hear his name called. It never came.
“Give up.” “It wasn’t meant to be,” they said. He refused to listen. Marquis signed on with the Dallas Mavericks Summer League team where he averaged 18.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and a team-high 3.4 assists per game in 31.7 minutes per game. These numbers were good enough to get a one-year contract from Mark Cuban and the Mavs.
The critics didn’t stop. “You’ll never play.” “You’re a permanent bench warmer.” They were partly true. Daniels found himself watching from the bench behind an All-Star loaded team that included Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Antawn Jamison, and Antoine Walker. And then it happened. Prior to a game in Seattle, Nash got a nasty stomach virus and suddenly the sparingly used rookie was in the starting lineup. 48 minutes later the Mavs had a 107-96 victory over the Sonics and Daniels’ line spoke for itself. 14 point, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Daniels saw his minutes jump and over the next month he averaged over 18 points a game including a 33 point outpour in another game against Seattle. The playoffs began and in their first round match up against Sacramento, who was second on the team in scoring behind Nowitzki? Not Jamison, Finley, Walker, or Nash. It was Daniels with nearly 16 points a contest. Never mind that the Mavericks were knocked out in the first round by the Kings, Marquis Daniels had arrived.
His late-season performance garnered national recognition and Daniels was selected to the NBA All-Rookie 2nd team and even grabbed a third place vote for Rookie of the Year. Even more importantly his performance led to a long-term contract and it seemed Daniels had finally silenced his critics.
Yet an off-season ankle injury coupled with a midseason appendectomy hindered Marquis’s performance and ability and he saw his minutes dip. Suddenly the naysayers were back, ripping Daniels saying his contract was a mistake and was earned as a result of a panicked Cuban attempting to recover from the departure of Nash. They have continued to blast the 6’6” swingman, labeling him a “Don Nelson” player and questioning if he fit into new coach Avery Johnson’s new system. The Lil’ General sees it differently and recently defended his player saying, “''He's an Avery guy, or otherwise he wouldn't be here.”
Avery knows the Mavericks need Daniels to recover from his sophomore slump. A reemergence from Quis would undoubtedly ease the loss of Michael Finley. Daniels is capable of scoring points and performs best when he is slashing to the basket, similar to what Finley did early on in his career. His outside shot must improve for him to be a complete offensive threat but he remains an above average passer. Furthermore, those that criticize his defense and question his place in Johnson’s system should be reminded that Daniels led the SEC in steals his senior year. Combine these skills with the tutelage of newly acquired Maverick Doug Christie, and Daniels could become a valuable asset off the Dallas bench. In fact Daniels, Christie, and Josh Howard could end up being one of the league’s best perimeter-defense trios. Daniels has dedicated himself to improving and rejoined the Mavericks summer league team this off-season. He remains poised and determined to prove he’s worth his $38 million contract.
Say what you want about the kid. Go ahead. Marquis Daniels has heard it all before and once again he’s out to prove the skeptics wrong. |
