Brandon Roy Has Got Next

By Allen Moll

He is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and Hoops Haven.

The legend of Brandon Roy is growing. He is truly an NBA superstar even though he still is not a household name in many NBA cities. Roy is out to prove to everyone that he belongs on the list of NBA’s elite with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and Lebron James. Judging by what he has already accomplished in his young career, he is almost there. For those who don’t agree, Brandon has a few words,”My time is almost here!”

Players like Wade and Bryant have legendary workout routines that they follow during the NBA’s offseason. “B Roy” as he is often called, uses the same desire and dedication to succeed as they do, in his own workout regiment. He recognizes that he and his young Trailblazer teammates are on the verge of something really, really great in Portland. In addition to being the squad’s leading scorer, he has matured and evolved into their ever present leader as well. He has amped up his offseason conditioning and added a new haircut in hopes that his team will follow suit and take the next step towards an NBA Championship.

When judging Roy’s dedication and desire to win, you need look no farther than his boyhood idol while growing up in Seattle, “His Airness“, Michael Jordan. Brandon witnessed Jordan, who was perhaps the league’s best competitor, continually improve and upgrade his skills every offseason, even when winning scoring titles and NBA titles.

Roy used is mentor’s inspiration to become the state of Washington’s best high school basketball player in 2002. He even briefly flirted with going directly to the NBA before pulling out of the draft and attending the University of Washington. Even though he was a top 50 recruit, Roy had doubts about academically succeeding at the NCAA level amid problems passing the SAT test, so he took a minimum wage job at the Seattle docks cleaning out shipping containers until he could work out his difficulties with the entrance exams. His parents discovered that he had a slight learning disability, which is actually very common to many students, and successfully passed the exam after being given some extra allotted time to complete the test.

Brandon honed his all around skills in his 4 seasons under coach Lorenzo Romar at Washington. After his junior season he had thought of again going pro but stayed for his senior season since teammate Nate Robinson had already declared for the draft. Roy excelled in his senior campaign, averaging 20.2 ppg and led the Huskies to a 26-7 record and a 2nd straight Sweet 16 appearance. He received many accolades including PAC-10 Player of the Year, All-American honors, and was a finalist for many national Player of the Year Awards.

With his draft stock at an all time high, he was selected #6 in the ‘06 NBA Draft, before being traded to Portland for Randy Foye. His rookie season in the NBA was sensational from game one where he scored 20 points and never looked back averaging 16.8 ppg, 4.4 rebs, 4 ast, and 1.2 steals for the season. His excellent numbers as well as his team’s improvement helped earn him an All-Star birth and Rookie of the Year honors even though he played in only 57 games due to a heel injury. During his 2nd season he improved his numbers to 19.1 ppg and a career high 5.8 assists, earning another All-Star berth where he led all Western Conference scorers with 18 points along with Chris Paul and Amare Stoudemire. Last season, “The Natural“, as local Portland play by play announcer calls him, had his best season by setting career highs in scoring(22.6), rebounds(4.7), FG%(.480), and 3 PT%(.377) earning yet another All-Star appearance along with an All NBA 2nd Team Selection(first Blazer since the ‘92 season).

Roy could be called the next “Mr Clutch” since he has has 24 shots where he either tied or won a game with 35 seconds or less. Portland definitely knows Roy’s worth as their franchise player since they resigned him in August to a 4 year max contract, with a 5th year option, keeping him in “Rip City” through 2014.

Another facet of Roy’s game besides numbers is his leadership and ability to make those around him better. The season before he arrived in Portland, the Blazers finished in 5th place with a dismal 21-61 record. Roy as well as young stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden, helped increase the Blazers win totals to 32, 41, and 54 wins and a playoff berth last season and have re-invigorated a once proud franchise who haven’t won a NBA Title since the Maurice Lucas and Bill Walton led team won in 1977 under Hall of Fame coach “Doctor” Jack Ramsey.

One thing is for sure, the NBA’s Western Conference elite teams like the Lakers and Spurs should beware of the upstart Blazers. The Blazers’ and Brandon Roy’s time is coming, if it isn’t already here. I’m sure for Blazer fans, it is “Rip City or Bust!”

Check out Brandon Roy’s website for his full workout routine

Take a look at Brandon Roy’s training camp workout and his thoughts on competing with Kobe: