WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2010


KLMNO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL


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JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST Acquaintances of Albert Haynesworth, shown here against the Rams, say he was not pleased with his performance last season and is eager to reestablish himself as the best defensive lineman in the league. ON FOOTBALL If Haslett and Haynesworth can come to terms, the 3-4 just might work on football from D1 But Shanahan, still angry over


Haynesworth’s defiance, often has emphasized that Haynesworth will be Washington’s “starting nose tackle,” a position Haynesworth is not interested in playing. Shanahan hired Haslett to


convert Washington’s defense from its methodical 4-3 of the past two seasons to an aggressive, 3-4 attack capable of producing a large number of turnovers. The change is a major part of Shanahan’s blueprint to restore the Redskins to prominence, and Haslett, who


directed the Pittsburgh Steelers’ strong 3-4 for three seasons in the late 1990s, knows better than most what it takes to make the scheme work. The 3-4, in theory, enables


defenses to apply more pressure on quarterbacks than the 4-3, while better disguising coverages and blitz packages. As always, though, everything starts along the lines, and there Haynesworth is a difference-maker like few others in the NFL. If Haynesworth, who is beginning his ninth season, reports in shape (he is in good condition, sources say), studies hard and works on the field,


Haslett will find ways to best utilize him. Putting players in positions to succeed is what Haslett has done throughout his career as a coordinator and head coach. He was selected the NFL’s coach of the year in 2000 with the New Orleans Saints. And Haynesworth is arguably the team’s most talented player, regardless of position. Haynesworth now accepts that the Redskins will not trade him unless they are overwhelmed with an offer. Several people who have spoken with the two-time all-pro in the past few days say he expects to be in Washington this season and would rather not


be at war with the organization. He also was not pleased with


his performance last season. He has confided to friends that he wasn’t at his best, and is eager to reestablish himself as the league’s premier defensive lineman. Haynesworth clashed with former Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache last year and longed for the system Detroit Lions Coach Jim Schwartz built around him when Schwartz led the Tennessee Titans’ defense. The protective cocoon


Haynesworth enjoyed in Tennessee probably won’t exist again in his career. Schwartz


PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL Lin makes a habit of doing things differently lin from D1 Lin just wants to be known as a


basketball player. “I’m aware of all that but I’m


just going to be focused on play- ing basketball,” said the 6-foot-3 Lin, a devout Christian who was born in California after his par- ents immigrated from Taiwan. “I’m a basketball player. Everyone wants to focus on me being Asian American but me being a basket- ball player, me being Christian, is more important to me than just being simply Asian American.” According to basketball-refer- ence.com, only 40 Ivy Leaguers have played in an NBA or ABA game. Lin would become the first Harvard grad to play since the 1953-54 season, when Ed Smith appeared in 11 games with the New York Knicks. In his brief time on the Dallas


Mavericks summer league team earlier this month the topic was unavoidable. “That was my name, they just called me ‘Harvard,’ ” said Lin, who graduated with a degree in economics. “Anytime I messed up it was, ‘Aw, I thought you went to Harvard.’ ” Going into June’s draft, Lin was considered a borderline pick. He had worked out for eight teams, including the Warriors, and re- ceived some positive feedback. But he didn’t have any expecta- tions when he watched the draft at home with his family, high school coach and pastor. He went undrafted and was in- vited to play on the Mavericks summer league team, where he impressed in five games off the bench. He averaged 9.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game. Against John Wall and the Wizards he scored 13 points and won over the crowd. “I gained a lot of confidence,” said Lin. “I think I got to show my game and how I play in a five-on- five setting and not in a one-on- one or three-on-three setting like the workouts were.” In those five games he con- vinced clubs that he can compete with the talent that generally is not found in the slower-paced and less athletic Ivy League. “He understands the overall


game,” said Warriors General Manager Larry Riley. “ . . . He handles the ball well. He’s one of


“Anytime I messed up it was ‘Aw, I thought you went to


Harvard.’ ” Jeremy Lin on his experience in the NBA Summer League


LAURA RAUCH/ASSOCIATED PRESS


“He’s one of those guys that has a chance to keep getting better,” said Warriors General Manager Larry Riley of point guard Jeremy Lin.


those guys that has a chance to keep getting better in other phas- es of the game.” After the summer league, a number of teams showed inter- est. Lin said his agent, Roger Montgomery, presented him with the three best offers. Lin said he chose the Warriors over the Mav- ericks and Lakers because of loca- tion, style of play, his chances of making the team and the terms of the contract. He reportedly signed a deal


that guarantees him half his rook- ie salary, estimated at $500,000— a pact uncommon for an un- drafted free agent. The contract has a team option for a second year and Riley said “we’re looking at him to be with us beyond one year.”


Golden State recently traded point guard C.J. Watson and needed a back up for Stephen Curry. Lin may be the answer. But like most rookies, he needs to im- prove in several areas, including his strength, defense and, most importantly, his outside shooting, Riley said. The guaranteed money and


Watson’s trade are strong indica- tions of Lin’s chances of making the team and battling for minutes behind Curry. “I’m a lifelong Warriors fan,” said Lin, who is projected to move to point guard after playing shooting guard at Harvard. “In hindsight, not getting drafted was a blessing in disguise from God.” Lin has had to prove himself since high school. Named state


player of the year by several pub- lications, he did not receive a sin- gle Division 1 scholarship offer. UCLA, Stanford and Cal recruited him as a walk-on, but Harvard and Brown— which, like all Ivies, do not award scholarships — showed the most interest. “It’s hard to speak for the peo- ple who recruited me,” Lin said. “In their defense, there were a lot of different risks for people to re- cruit me. I wasn’t the biggest or most explosive. They just didn’t know how my game would trans- fer for the college level. But I was disappointed and thought I had been overlooked.” He chose Harvard, where for- mer Seton Hall and Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker was hired after Lin’s freshman season. Under Amaker, Lin blossomed into a unanimous all-Ivy League first-team selection his junior and senior seasons. He briefly re- ceived national recognition dur- ing wins over Boston College and a 30-point, nine-rebound show- ing against then-No. 12 U-Conn. last season. He endured frequent slurs dur- ing road games, including, a teammate told Time magazine, when a fan yelled “sweet-and- sour pork” during Harvard’s loss at Georgetown last December. But the Warriors see Lin’s eth-


nicity as a marketing advantage in the Bay Area. The club is creat- ing a campaign around him. “If he didn’t have the skill set to


go with it, that’s not something you want to get into,” Riley said. “I felt it was most important that he’d be a basketball player first.” That’s what Jeremy Lin wants


too. castilloj@washpost.com


VIDEO ON THE WEB Footage of matchup between Jeremy Lin


and John Wall from summer league at washingtonpost.com/wizards.


WNBA ROUNDUP


Connecticut closes in on Mystics in the East


Half-game separates the teams following the Sun’s 88-78 win


Associated Press


Asjha Jones scored 10 of her season-high 23 points in the fourth quarter and the Con- necticut Sun snapped a two- game losing streak with an 88- 78 win over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night in Un- casville, Conn. The Sun (13-10) moved with- in a half-game of the Mystics (13-9) for third place in the Eastern Conference. Renee Montgomery scored 17 points for the Sun. Tina Charles had 15 points and nine re- bounds. Crystal Langhorne had 23 points to lead Washington. The Mystics, who trailed by 16 in the third period, closed to 71-69 on Katie Smith’s three- pointer with 6 minutes 13 sec- onds left. But Jones scored the next four points for the Sun to push the lead back to six. Kara Lawson had 11 points


and seven assists for the Sun, including a driving layup with 48 seconds left to give Connect- icut an 83-78 lead. Monique Currie had 18 for


the Mystics and Marissa Cole- man finished with 12, including three three-pointers in the fourth period. The Sun shot 64 percent from three-point range in the first half (7 of 11) and took a 43-31 halftime lead. Montgomery’s three-pointer capped an 11-0 run early in the second period that snapped a 19-19 tie and gave the Sun a 30- 19 lead. Kerri Gardin, White and Montgomery made three consecutive three-pointers in the first period to give the Sun a 17-10 lead.  LIBERTY 77, SILVER STARS 72: Rookie Kalana Greene scored a season-high 17 points, Plenette Pierson had 16 and


host New York beat San Anto- nio. Former Mystics standout


Chamique Holdsclaw scored 18 points and Michelle Snow had 14 to lead the Silver Stars. Greene made a three-pointer to increase the Liberty’s lead to 67-59 with 8:11 left in the fourth, and the Liberty held off San Antonio the rest of the way. The Silver Stars got no closer than four until Roneeka Hodges’ three-pointer with 44 seconds left pulled San Antonio to 75-72. Pondexter lost the ball on the ensuing Liberty possession, but they got the ball back on a jump ball.  FEVER 78, SKY 74: Tamika Catchings had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead host Indiana to a win over Chicago. It was the Fever’s fifth consecutive win. Catchings’s double-double was the 65th of her career, tying her for seventh in WNBA his- tory. Indiana beat Chicago for the


fifth time; it marks the first time a team has beaten an op- ponent five times in the same regular season.  DREAM 105, SHOCK 89: Sancho Lyttle had 20 points and 14 rebounds and Iziane Castro Marques scored 23 points to help visiting Atlanta beat Tulsa. Ivory Latta led Tulsa with 23 points, a season high by any Shock player. “We stayed very focused,” Castro Marques said. “From the beginning, we got out to a good start, maintained the lead from there, and that’s what we did.” Atlanta scored at will; it also is the WNBA’s best rebounding team, and it outrebounded Tul- sa 44-30. Said Tulsa Coach Nolan Rich- ardson: “I guess it’s the same old song, maybe a different tune at times, but the first half was an ugly half. And that’s the thing that has worried me in the second half of basketball, is our team not showing up. But in the second half today, I thought we played a lot better.”


recognized that Haynesworth is a unique player and crafted a scheme to maximize his ability to penetrate the backfield. But some of Haynesworth’s teammates are confident Haslett can help Haynesworth achieve many of the goals important to him, even if he has to play nose tackle, which might not occur as much as Haynesworth initially envisioned. There is optimism in the


complex that veteran nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu, who sat out the 2009 season because of an Achilles’ injury, will be recovered to start the season. In a positive sign, the Redskins recently sent


Ray Wright, the new strength and conditioning coach, to Hawaii to help Kemoeatu continue preparing to resume his career. If Kemoeatu is at full strength


to start the season, Haynesworth probably would start at end and shift to the nose on third down and in other obvious passing situations. But that’s not a full-time assignment. With a lot to still play out, perhaps Haslett and Haynesworth will have a better second encounter this week. reidj@washpost.com


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