Nikoloz Tskitishvili > Articles

'Skita' steps up as starter

Bzdelik charting rookie's progress
By Irv Moss
Denver Post Sports Writer

Thursday, March 13, 2003 - After playing in 64 of his team's 65 games in his first NBA season, Nikoloz Tskitishvili is becoming Americanized.
Just the other day, after what probably seemed like his 500th practice with the Denver Nuggets, Tskitishvili was thinking about getting some rest after the season ends April 16.

AP
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: 'The NBA was harder than I thought. This is the toughest game in the world.'
His basketball schedule has spanned two seasons of summer ball, a year in Europe and a year in the NBA.

Miami might be a nice vacation spot because it's a fun city for young people. Hawaii sounds good because it's restful. Wherever he decides to go, there has to be warm weather.

"Maybe one week Miami and one week Hawaii," Tskitishvili compromised.

That's the American way.

Tskitishvili is starting to play basketball the NBA way. Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik is stepping up the pace for his young player from the Republic of Georgia. Bzdelik plans to give his 19-year-old, 7-foot forward a chance in the last 17 games of the season to show the promise that prompted the Nuggets to make him their first selection and the fifth overall in last summer's NBA draft.

Bzdelik has had Tskitishvili in his starting lineup the past seven games. He responded Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors with perhaps his best game of the season with 11 points, a blocked shot, a career-high six assists, no turnovers and three rebounds in 29 minutes.

Though starting in the NBA is a dream come true for Tskitishvili, there also are some hazards. He usually draws one of the other team's top two players as a defensive assignment. Tskitishvili calls the assignments the best way to learn the NBA game.

"He's going to start as long as he deserves it," Bzdelik said. "It's another phase of his development. I'm challenging our young players of late. It's time for them to do something. Right or wrong, just do something.

"He had a nice mixture of getting himself to the rim off of movement and posting up against Toronto. He combined that with some outside shots. It was very productive for him and a sign of growth."

General manager Kiki Vande- weghe clarified a seemingly negative comment on Tskitishvili a few weeks ago.

"I said being a role player would be the low end of what he could be," said Vandeweghe, who noted that his pupil has grown 1 1/2 inches since he joined the Nuggets. "The high end, I'm not sure because you can't predict that stuff. I've seen enough now that I think he can be a very good NBA player."

Said teammate Juwan Howard: "He has a long way to go. He's 19 and this has been a tough year for him. But he has potential."

Tskitishvili does think of home.

"It's like here, it's getting warmer now," Tskitishvili said. "I was a little homesick at first, but after eight months here, I'm getting accustomed to it. Georgia is a small country. There is no good basketball school there."

Getting used to the NBA pace has been part of growing up in Tskitishvili's estimation.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm just born here," Tskitishvili said. "I'm just a baby and just starting to walk. The NBA was harder than I thought. This is the toughest game in the world."

Tskitishvili has read the comments that indicate he hasn't lived up to being a No. 1 draft pick.

"I don't feel great about my season," Tskitishvili said. "Everybody was expecting me to do big in the NBA because I was a No. 1 pick. I just say some people don't understand the game. I'm sure I will show them that I can play this game. I can play in the NBA for a long time."