Q: What does Fes stand for? A: A New Hope
by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 7, 2009 8:08 PM MDT
21 comments
While doing research on this I just had to look up 'Fes' in google -- you know, just to see if there was anything that I had missed. The internet responded in its familiarly unique, yet terrifying, way. Fes can mean anything from functional electrical stimulation; the flower essence society; fertilizer equipment specialists (Old Jer would love that); to the ubiquitous flat earth society. To Jazz fans he remains an enigma, and to the Jazz brass, a $870,000 question mark. (That's the minimum cost of the Team Option the Jazz have for 2009/2010)
Lemme tell you straight, Fes did not do anything to suggest that he's going to be a starting center on a playoff team this last season. In fact, he seems to be firmly placed as the 3rd stringer on a team that desperately needs an interior defensive presence. Conversely, Fes did not do anything to suggest that he's not going to end up being on an NBA roster for the next few seasons. It cannot be stated that the absence of evidence is evidence of absence.
He remains a question mark because of how little we, as fans, have seen of him. The coaches know much, much more than we ever will; after all, they saw enough of him after the NBA draft to buy him out of his contract in the Ukraine and pay him over $800k the last two seasons to learn our system.
Fesenko is two years into the 'hard to get' Jazz system and just removing him now and starting over from scratch seems like an epic waste of time, money, and a draft pick. Those three factors alone should 'sell' hesitant Jazz fans to get on the Fes bandwagon. Of course, that's not enough.
Take a look at this guy, and compare him to the rest of the guys who man the paint for us. Millsap's enthusiasm cannot carry him farther than his 6'8 frame can. Boozer may not be back next season. Memo is a finesse player who isn't going to be Mark Eaton -- even if he has the beard. Koufos is closer to Dirk than he is Damp. Jarron Collins is a 6'11 Benjamin Button (his game gets worse every year). Fesenko, like it or not, is a 7'1 guy who's frame can handle bulking up a bit more (he's already 280+lb.) who has wide shoulders and takes up space in the paint. Furthermore, he seems to be getting some defensive fundamentals down while still using his athleticism and vertical to contest and change a number of shots. (After all, he's roughly the same size as Greg Oden, with the same wingspan, a better vertical, and ZERO injuries in his career.)
But wait . . . there's more! Fes seems to have the size and body to bother other bigs, be them Brittle Bynum or Yao Ming. He's done so whenever he's been matched up with them over the last two years. He's even played solid man defense on Shaq (his hero) and stripped the ball from him a few times. The Jazz aren't going to play against a really big guy every game, but for those games where size matters -- I'd rather go with Fes in the paint than Collins or Millsap on defense any day.
So far this has just been a dissertation on Fes based on my opinion of him and some measurements that anyone can get from nba.com. Let's look at some stats then, shall we? In the NBA Fes has played a whopping 226 minutes. In that time he's accumulated 62 rebounds and 18 blocked shots (against 54 fouls). Those aren't numbers that'll open the pocket book for sure. When you convert 226 minutes into a number of games that becomes 4.7 games (at 48 minute games). Fes is never going to play 48 minutes. Let's adjust it so that a game is 12 minutes. That means that we need to divide each stat by 18.8 to find out what a 'reasonable' per game average would be. That becomes 3.3 rpg and 0.96 bpg, at the cost of 3 fouls.
You have to be pretty crazy to expect a project 3rd string center who barely makes over the league minimum to do better than 3+ rebounds and block shot in 12 minutes of frantic action. If he can convert those three fouls into three hard fouls he can clearly become an intimidator. (And I'm not even looking at the offensive side of the ball, you know, the place where he had a 58.3 fg% last season . . . it's not like he's taking many shots he's not able to make)
You don't have to take my word for it, if you hop over to basketball-reference.com you can see that for all of his crappy play this last season, his per 36 minute stats were 11.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.5 bpg. It's not like he was stinking it up when he was on the floor, he was doing exactly what we'd want from a young bigman. If you look at the actual games he played in this last season, in games were he averaged 12+ mpg he averaged 5 rpg. That's pretty close to a rebound for every 2 minutes on the floor. What more do you want from a young bigman?
Blocks? Oh, Fes will give you blocks. He averaged 2.6 bpg in those games where he played 12 or more minutes. This past season he had a 0.43 blocks to foul ratio. That's not great . . . but . . . it was bested only by Andrei (0.61) and Kosta (0.44 -- beat Fes by 0.01) on the entire team. (Millsap was 0.25, for those who wanted to know)
What about improvement? Fes is still young -- not as young as Kosta -- but still learning. Two seasons ago in the D-League he averaged 10.1 ppg and 7.7 rpg -- this last season he averaged 12.2 ppg and 8.5 rpg, both seasons he played 25 mpg. His turn overs also went down from 2.62 per game to 2.14 this last season. His fg% and ft% went up as well. His blocks to foul ratio went down a bit, but stayed in the same ballpark. (0.51 down to 0.49)
So, to recap -- cheap, young bigman with same size as current crop of 'star bigmen' who has two years under his belt in the Utah Jazz system who is capable of improving and has done what has been asked of him is currently on the free agent market. Still not sold? Just think how much better the Jazz would be with a competent young big defending the paint instead of the Boozer/Collins team we saw in the playoffs. Fes could very easily become part of a great defensive tandem for the Jazz. It's a deal so good that even the flat earth society would be a fool to pass it up.
Or the Jazz brass.
All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.
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just . . . just don't ask about the hat . . .
there are no answers, only questions.
by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 7, 2009 8:08 PM MDT reply actions 1 recs
I will be really disappointed if the Jazz don't exercise his option.
But I am expecting them not to.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
really? what gives you that impression?
I think it’s pretty much a no brainer . . . though Siler seems to believe that the Jazz will bring back Jarron next season. (WHY!!!??)
by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 7, 2009 8:32 PM MDT up reply actions
There are just some rumblings I have heard that the Jazz just don't think Fes is mature enough or has the mentality to "figure it out."
You do have to admit that there is a lot we don’t see off the court that I think does have to factor in. But you have to know that I have been as big a proponent for keeping Fes as anybody.
And I will puke in my mouth if the Jazz bring back Collins.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
yeah, I know you're in Fes' corner . . .
but . . . lebron and dwight have kids out of wedlock. artest gets in all kinds of trouble. kobe was accused of rape . . . all of those guys are still playing in the playoffs while our choir boys are gone fishing.
Fes likes to be goofy and goes to raves, so did I when I was his age. I’m a doctor now. I think the ‘morality’ clause can work both ways. After all, D-will got in a bar fight as a rook (back before dee was around) and he’s still with the team.
Food for thought.
by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 7, 2009 9:25 PM MDT up reply actions
The Jazz
(and j-slow in particular) seem to have this thought that spending a season+ on the bench just watching everyone else play will be enough to help players develop.
Just FYI… it doesn’t work that way. Players become better by playing! (Even if it’s just blowouts.) j-slow doesn’t even believe in blowouts, so that never happens either.
True Blue Jazz
I'm on Twitter
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09
is it bad
if I secretly want the front office to say, “aw, screw it all” and turn the Jazz into a team entirely composed of sub-25-year-olds? Even if it costs us elite-status/playoffs/everything else?
I just suddenly got this bizarre urge to see a team of Deron, Ronnie B, CJ, Millsap and The Koof, with Mo Nuts, Fes and Ronnie P as backup, along with whatever young bucks/draft picks they can find (Bass? Ariza? Wilcox?), in a Suns-style SSOL offense and just running too fast for anyone to keep up.
I am hoping this urge will pass, because I’m pretty sure that would turn out horrible for us.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
i'm for keeping fess
purely because of his size. 7’1" / 280 lbs doesn’t happen that often, and our bigs are so freaking undersized. even if he does nothing but stand there in the paint (though he will have to move out every 3 secs because he is not a laker), i figure his presence would change things for the better.
well, actually not purely, because i would like to see a dance-off every year.
I wonder what the boys think
Does Deron want to keep him? Does Brewer want him? Do they see the potential and think maybe they can keep him on task? Or is he just the class clown and that’s why they like having him around. I think Sloan made it clear in year one that he’s not amused. But Fes didn’t really respond with the kind of work Koof is putting in. That’s disappointing. I think you can tolerate him at that price for at least another year. They need to give him the same kind of experiment that CJ got – some real time to see what he will do.
I'll make it coach.
I think that he did what he was asked to do
when he got time in the D-L he pretty much responsed with averages of a double double with a few blocks thrown in there. kosta is a much harder worker — most likely because kosta went through a harder, more competitive system (HS in USA, competitive teams during the summer, NCAA div 1) and learned that if he wanted to get better he had to work at it. Fesenko probably got into the bball system in the ukraine because of his height, and his ability to be his height and be athletic meant that doing things on the court were ‘easy’ for him. Thus, he never really had to work hard, until he came here. (it’s not like he was playing in a top euro league when he was drafted either, it’s not the same league that AK, parker, dirk and others played in)
Some guys just take longer to get their head on straight. I think he knows that success is not a given. I have faith in him.
by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 8, 2009 11:36 AM MDT up reply actions
Kwame all over again?
Kwame hasn’t amounted to anything. The only difference is that the investment in Fes is cheaper. But I hope he turns out to be at least as useful as Zydrunfedlsaa;ljf from Cleveland
I'll make it coach.
Thank you and MTN is off a bit.
First, thank you for ATJB for giving a fair analysis of Fes. Not only did you get the stats correct and made them the core of your argument, you also are looking at other non-tangible factors such as the difference in the systems between the different countries. Unfortunately many of us are not privy to everything that goes on with the players and the teams but I will say this. Fes had some awesome games against Dallas and Houston and shortly thereafter was tested for his body fat . He started the year at 315 and 14.5 body fat and right after the Houston game he was at 299 and 9.4% body fat. So who wants to really say that isn’t working? Kosta, kiss-a** hard? No, but hard nonetheless. He got congrats all around from the coaching staff and players and was promptly benched and thereafter sent to the D-League. Is that how hard work is rewarded? The biggest problem that I think is going on is Jerry sees another Ostertag and treats him as such. I think if he looked at Fes for Fes it wouldn’t be such a problem, and frankly I don’t know if Sloan can ever get over it. Anyway, just the way I see it.
YOU HAVE JUST CALLED THE KOOF A KISS-ASS.
THIS DOES NOT END WELL FOR YOU.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
for the record
Kosta is a kiss-a_s, though. That doesn’t mean that he’s not going to be a valuable player. But he’s like that young guy at work who calls everyone sir and tries too hard. (not tries to hard at work, which is good, but tries too hard to get everyone to like him, which may come off fake . . . seriously, dude calls everything “a blessing” . . . “I left my place 5 mins late, but I ended up getting 4 green lights in a row, and got to the zions bank practice arena on time, which is just a blessing” – kosta in an imaginary interview I just had with him in my mind)
by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 8, 2009 3:52 PM MDT up reply actions
Well
that would be a blessing. If he had been late, j-slow would probably banish him to the NBDL for 3 months or something.
True Blue Jazz
I'm on Twitter
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09
when it happened to ronnie b
he still got to play, just didn’t get to start. and it was only for one game.
true enough.
I was just making my joke. I have to. I can’t stop.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
Working hard?
Sure, he’s lowering his body fat %. But he is working on his game? j-slow won’t care about his body fat % if he doesn’t think he can play well offensively & defensively. (Offense needs some work, and I don’t see j-slow giving him enough… if any… time to improve it)
True Blue Jazz
I'm on Twitter
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09
the more I think about it . . .
getting playing time in this system is more about ‘earning’ it, than being worthy of it. remember b-russ only got PT because of that one playoff series where benoit and morris were sucking it up. so . . . obviously b-russ could do it before, but wasn’t getting in the game. (it’s not a disney movie where he magically became servicable at the 3 over night)
you seem to earn it by being here a few seasons, or there being a significant hole at where you play.
kosta is really better than jarron, but kosta didn’t even get to play one second in the playoffs. why? probably because collins was doing just well enough to keep getting playing time.
as far as I know about Fes, they are bringing him along slowly. his skills aren’t very polished, but right now what they need is for him to only do a few things well right out of the gate — the other stuff will come along. they are heavily invested in better sculpting his body — getting stronger.
he’s naturally big, and could beast guys back in europe. not so in the nba. he works with mark macown (sp?) just as much as anyone on the team. if he’s big and strong then he can make life hard for guys to post up on him, and he can make space for him to get boards. that’s really all he needs to get.
he can finish near the basket or get fouled. his ft% isn’t great, but he works on that — and he is getting better. he’ll never be a memo from there, but he can be better than what he is right now. already he’s the best passer out of the 4 centers on the roster. (no doubt his coaches back in the former USSR saw some sabonis play in their time) offensively i don’t think he needs to do much else besides pass and dunk/get to the ft line.
still, the original point is that our young guys can get as great as they can and still not see any playing time for some obscure reasons known only to the jazz brass. if B-Russ was good enough to play a week before benoit and morris sucked, why wasn’t he playing? it had to take the perfect SF storm for him to get playing time, and he became a very integral part of two western conf. championship teams.
by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 8, 2009 5:29 PM MDT up reply actions
All i know
is that there are stories about Koof going to the practice center after games and not leaving ‘til he’s hit 100 shots or 500 shots or whatever, and the only stories you hear about Fes is that he is hilarious. Other than that, I’m mostly just curious. I wish I had an inside view of things to see what’s going on; alas, I live in Oakley and depend on Boler for all my info. (!) That’s why I am just wondering what the others think about him, that’s why I wonder if he’s another Kwame Brown, or if he’s going to be dominant when he’s 24. I’m leaning towards keep this guy until we know for sure.
I'll make it coach.
by MTN on May 9, 2009 8:30 PM MDT up reply actions
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