Breakout Season, Right on Schedule

Here come Chris Kaman and the Clippers, making strides together as the NBA takes notice.

Kaman, a former first-round draft choice, has followed the Clippers’ plan for him, emerging among the game’s most productive centers in his third season while helping the team earn a playoff berth for the first time in nine seasons.

He has complemented power forward Elton Brand, the No. 1 option on offense, maximizing limited opportunities. And Kaman has taken big steps, despite having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, which has affected his concentration and behavior since childhood.

Don’t be fooled by Kaman’s lumbering stride and chaotic hairdo, NBA observers say, because he’s got style on the court.

“He’s got to be one of the most underrated players in the league, there’s no question about it,” said Tim Legler, an ESPN studio analyst. “If you listed all the centers in the NBA, the guy is one of the best in the league, and he’s only going to keep getting better.”

Kaman, who turns 24 on April 28, has produced personal bests across the board this season, averaging 11.8 points, 9.6 rebounds -- ninth-best in the league -- shooting 51.9% from the field and 76.9% at the free-throw line.

Coaches and teammates, though, have had to exercise patience with Kaman because of the characteristics of ADHD, which include hyperactivity, forgetfulness, mood shifts, poor impulse control and distractibility.

ADHD afflicts 3% to 5% of school-age children; studies of those who maintain the disorder as adults vary from 30% to 70%.

When Kaman was 2 1/2 , physicians recommended he take Ritalin, a calming medication, to treat the condition, said Kaman’s mother, Pam.

Kaman started on the drug in kindergarten, and later took another similar medication, but “he never wanted to take it, and we just weren’t sure,” she said. “As a parent, you never want your child to take medicine if they don’t have to.

“We did the stupid thing that some parents do with kids like that. We tried to fool the doctor and fool the teacher. Well, they always knew. They could tell when he was not on it.”

Kaman was often being punished for poor behavior as a child.

He tore the shingles off neighbors’ roofs, and was familiar with the principal’s office at Tri-Unity Christian School in Wyoming, Mich.

“He was always difficult, I will not lie about that, and he sometimes is now,” Pam said. “But then, in other ways, he’s so good. He is very sweet and caring and loving to his family.”

Kaman grew nine inches from his sophomore to senior years at Tri-Unity, reaching 7 feet but weighing only 200 pounds. After he’d led the small school to the quarterfinals of the state basketball playoffs in 2000, only Central Michigan offered him a Division I scholarship.

“You know, I have to be honest about what happened with Chris,” Central Michigan Coach Jay Smith said. “It wasn’t that we were brilliant in finding this guy no one else really wanted, it was just that a car dealer of mine saw Chris and we got in on him early.”

Kaman prospered, though, with the Chippewas of the Mid-American Conference.

As a junior, weighing about 255 pounds, he averaged 22.4 points, 12 rebounds, 3.2 blocked shots and shot 62.2%. He was selected as the conference’s player of the year, defensive player of the year and postseason tournament MVP. He declared for the draft after the NCAA tournament.

While in college, Kaman decided to stop taking medication to control his condition.

“His coach called me once and asked if Chris had a prescription, because he really thought he needed something,” Pam said. “Chris refused to take it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking the medication, but he’s chosen not to and I think he handles it pretty well.”

As the 2003 draft approached, Kaman’s ADHD was a concern for some teams, but Central Michigan’s Smith tried to get the facts out.

“I told Elgin [Baylor, Clipper general manager], Joe Dumars [the Detroit Pistons’ president of basketball operations], all those guys, that it would take Chris some time, because it took him a little while to get comfortable with new experiences,” Smith said. “But I knew that once he got comfortable, he would explode, and whoever took him would have a real good player for a long time.”

The Clippers are finding that out. A preseason thumb injury contributed to a slow start, but Kaman has played at the highest level of his career since it healed and is 17th in the NBA with 28 double-doubles.

“He’s 23 going on 24, and he’s out there getting double-doubles on a winning team,” Brand said. “There are parts of his game he really isn’t even using right now, but he’s still playing a lot better than most of the centers out there.”

At 7 feet and 265 pounds, Kaman is a classic back-to-the-basket center. He has a variety of post moves, the footwork to guard players on the perimeter, and is ambidextrous. He could add a midrange jump shot to his repertoire, scouts say.

His development has been among the keys to the Clippers’ fourth playoff berth since the team moved from Buffalo, N.Y., to San Diego before the start of the 1978-79 season, and seventh in franchise’s 36 seasons. At 45-33, the team has matched the Clipper franchise record for victories in a season, also accomplished in the 1991-92 season. The Buffalo Braves went 49-33 in the 1974-75 season.

“We’ve had a lot of guys play well this year, but we’re not where we are without Kaman,” said Baylor, who selected Kaman with the sixth overall pick in 2003. Denver Coach George Karl said recently, “From what I see, Chris Kaman is going to be an All-Star. He might not be that good now, but every week I see him, he is better, more confident, more consistent and big.”

The Clippers would have to win their final four games to match the franchise-best record of 49-33 set by the 1974-75 Braves. Corey Maggette is sidelined because of back problems, but Kaman, who registered his 28th double-double Wednesday in a 97-93 victory over Portland, said he remained optimistic.

“I definitely think we still have a shot at it,” Kaman said. “The thing about our team this year, which is different from my first two years, is that we have enough talent to kind of overcome a lot of the injuries we’ve had and still play at a high level. It really has been a big change for me, and for the whole team.”

Kaman’s arrival in 2003 coincided with another turning point in Clipper history: the hiring of Coach Mike Dunleavy. The Clippers have improved each season under Dunleavy as Kaman’s role has expanded.

“He’s right where I expected him to be,” Dunleavy said. “This year, I expected him to be a guy who flirts with [averaging] a double-double, who’s right around that range every night.

“He started the year off a little slowly, but other than that, he has been right there. He can be as good as he wants to be.”

Assistant coach Kim Hughes prepared evaluations of Clipper players for Dunleavy as he considered whether to accept the job in July 2003.

The 6-foot-11 Hughes, a former NBA and ABA post player, told Dunleavy, “If the Clippers kept him, Chris would be one of the best centers in the league in Year 3, an All-Star in Year 4, and one for many years after that,” Hughes said. “I haven’t changed my opinion.”

Kaman and Hughes are so close that some in the organization refer to Kaman as Hughes’ “son,” and Kaman has credited Hughes with much of his development.

“I like all the coaches on the staff, they’re all good people and I’m able to go to any of them if I have questions, but Kim has been very influential,” he said. “He knows what’s going to be beneficial for me and what’s not. We still have arguments, where I think I’m right and he thinks he’s right, but he’s right most of the time. It’s a good relationship.”

Kaman and Brand are close too. They’ve worked well together for three seasons, sharing space in the low post while forming the foundation for what Baylor and Dunleavy hope to build.

“I know him and he knows me,” Kaman said. “I know what he wants to do in certain situations. When he passes the ball, I know what he’s going to do afterward, so I know where to position myself.

“It’s been the same for the last three years. He’s just shooting that jumper a little bit more than he has in the past.”

Brand averages 24.8 points, 10 rebounds and 2.55 blocked shots. He’s fifth in the league with 44 double-doubles.

“That Chris Kaman is as productive as he is playing alongside a guy like that says a lot, because there’s not a lot left by the time Elton gets done,” ESPN’s Legler said. “For [Kaman] to be that effective really shows how efficient he has to be.

“Because his personality is so unassuming, he really doesn’t care about getting the recognition or the spotlight, I think sometimes you don’t realize what he’s doing out there. And it’s also like his look works against him when you’re talking about the best centers in the game.

“He kind of has that goofy hair and all that, and people use that against him to detract from his game, and that’s really not fair. That’s not what he should be judged on. Judge him on his game.”

With his stringy blond hair and scruffy beard, Kaman has been the Clippers’ favorite target of fans on the road.

He said he’s unfazed by fans’ insults, but although not naming anyone, he has expressed frustration about some of his teammates’ on-court criticism of his performance.

“I haven’t really gotten along with all my teammates in the past,” he said. “This year has been pretty good, but some things have happened on the court that shouldn’t. A lot of [the criticism] is helpful, but some of it is that people are frustrated with themselves and they want to take it out somewhere.

“That’s why they do it to me, because it’s no big deal and I can take it. I don’t say too much about it, and I like my teammates, but sometimes it goes past a good point.”

Co-captain Sam Cassell is one who has pushed Kaman this season.

“People think I get on him just to get on him, but I get on him because I want him to let stuff go,” Cassell said. “He’ll talk about something that happened three plays ago, but basketball is a game of mistakes, so you can’t let it carry over another three or four plays. Mistakes affect him too much.

“But the progress he has made has been magnificent. When he’s focused, and knowing what he has to do to make us successful, he’s a force, man. I really have no complaints with Kaman. I stay on him because I just know how good he can be, and I want the best for him.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Man among big men

How Chris Kaman rates this season among NBA centers:

SCORING

*--* Player Team PPG 1. Mehmet Okur Utah 17.9 2. Zydrunas Ilgauskas Cleveland 15.8 3. Brad Miller Sacramento 15.1 4. Eddy Curry New York 13.7 5. Nenad Krstic New Jersey 13.5 6. Primoz Brezec Charlotte 12.4 7. Channing Frye New York 12.3 8. Chris Kaman Clippers 11.8 9. Zaza Pachulia Atlanta 11.6 10. Jamaal Magloire Milwaukee 9.3

*--*

REBOUNDING

*--* Player Team RPG 1. Ben Wallace Detroit 11.6 2. Chris Kaman Clippers 9.6 3. Jamaal Magloire Milwaukee 9.6 4. Mehmet Okur Utah 9.3 5. Zaza Pachulia Atlanta 8.0 6. Brad Miller Sacramento 7.8 7. Erick Dampier Dallas 7.8 8. Zydrunas Ilgauskas Cleveland 7.6 9. P.J. Brown New Orleans 7.4 10. Andrew Bogut Milwaukee 6.9

*--*

Source: nba.com