[rojas]

I have been watching high school basketball since the late 60s. Yes, I know, that makes me old. I have never seen a kid improve more in one season than Raekwon Long. At the beginning of the year, it was tough to watch him play. He couldn't run up and down the floor. Couldn't catch the ball. Played with no passion at all. Stayed on constant foul trouble. In my mind, he would be relegated to the bench by January as a failed experiment.

Now, he is beginning to dominate the paint. He is running the floor. He still has a long way to go, but if the big guy keeps improving at the rate he has the last two months he will be special player. I never dreamed the kid could improve that much within two months.