http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12686440p-13539217c.html
Shooting is anything but House work
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, April 7, 2005
Talk about sweet shooting strokes on the Kings, and the names Peja Stojakovic and Mike Bibby will immediately fly off the tongues of observers.
But make sure you check out backup guard Eddie House's form. And do it quickly, or else a jumper will already be released in your face.
Kings guard Cuttino Mobley, who ranks fourth in the NBA in three-point shooting, claims no one has as pure a shot as House.
"It's the purest jump shot I've ever seen," Mobley said. "He's one of the best shooters I've ever seen. And he's short (6-foot-1). It's unbelievable how he just gets the ball over big guys easy. And he has great concentration."
House, who is playing with his fifth team in five NBA seasons and with his third club this season, said he appreciates Mobley's compliment.
But don't just take Mobley's word for it. Kings assistant coach and Hall of Famer Pete Carril, who says he isn't a shooting expert, is also impressed.
"His stroke is as good as I've ever seen," Carril said Tuesday night before House made 5 of 7 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, in the Kings' 122-101 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
House has rolled along this season at 46.6 percent shooting from the field and 44.7 percent from three-point range, both career-high marks. That's especially huge for the Kings because House is their lone backup point guard due to Bobby Jackson's wrist injury.
"He has come through for us," Carril said of House. "He runs the offense pretty good, and he's really a two-guard in a one-guard body. He has made big shots all season long.
"We knew he could shoot. But his defense isn't bad. He has worked hard. He knows the plays. He knows the offense. He's got a perfect release, as does Mike."
Bibby and House sometimes appear joined at the hip - and in more than one way. House, who is married to Bibby's sister, Charlsie, was born May 14, 1978, in Berkeley. Bibby was born May 13, 1978, in Cherry Hill, N.J.
House said at one point during his youth, baseball was his sport.
"My pops told me, 'Boy, you're going to have to get into college using your God-given talents and ability," House said. "So I just honed in on it. It was either baseball or this. And at the time, baseball was easier than hoop. So I took more of a role to try and play basketball and get better.
"Baseball, I felt like I probably would have gone straight to the (majors) out of high school. It wasn't a challenge, it was so easy. It was simple to me."
House said he played on traveling baseball teams around the Bay Area.
"I stopped playing when I was 15, in the ninth grade," he said. "We were playing cats who were throwing in the low-to mid-80s. Curveballs in the mid-, high-70s. That's hot stuff when you're 15, and I was hitting that like it wasn't anything.
"But hoop was more exciting. You could go get a basketball game anywhere. And in the summer, when you were supposed to be getting your hoop game right, I was playing baseball. I'd come back rusty, and the guys would be out there killing me. I was tired of that." Now the opposition is wishing House had kept swinging at the horsehide.
Shooting is anything but House work
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, April 7, 2005
Talk about sweet shooting strokes on the Kings, and the names Peja Stojakovic and Mike Bibby will immediately fly off the tongues of observers.
But make sure you check out backup guard Eddie House's form. And do it quickly, or else a jumper will already be released in your face.
Kings guard Cuttino Mobley, who ranks fourth in the NBA in three-point shooting, claims no one has as pure a shot as House.
"It's the purest jump shot I've ever seen," Mobley said. "He's one of the best shooters I've ever seen. And he's short (6-foot-1). It's unbelievable how he just gets the ball over big guys easy. And he has great concentration."
House, who is playing with his fifth team in five NBA seasons and with his third club this season, said he appreciates Mobley's compliment.
But don't just take Mobley's word for it. Kings assistant coach and Hall of Famer Pete Carril, who says he isn't a shooting expert, is also impressed.
"His stroke is as good as I've ever seen," Carril said Tuesday night before House made 5 of 7 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, in the Kings' 122-101 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
House has rolled along this season at 46.6 percent shooting from the field and 44.7 percent from three-point range, both career-high marks. That's especially huge for the Kings because House is their lone backup point guard due to Bobby Jackson's wrist injury.
"He has come through for us," Carril said of House. "He runs the offense pretty good, and he's really a two-guard in a one-guard body. He has made big shots all season long.
"We knew he could shoot. But his defense isn't bad. He has worked hard. He knows the plays. He knows the offense. He's got a perfect release, as does Mike."
Bibby and House sometimes appear joined at the hip - and in more than one way. House, who is married to Bibby's sister, Charlsie, was born May 14, 1978, in Berkeley. Bibby was born May 13, 1978, in Cherry Hill, N.J.
House said at one point during his youth, baseball was his sport.
"My pops told me, 'Boy, you're going to have to get into college using your God-given talents and ability," House said. "So I just honed in on it. It was either baseball or this. And at the time, baseball was easier than hoop. So I took more of a role to try and play basketball and get better.
"Baseball, I felt like I probably would have gone straight to the (majors) out of high school. It wasn't a challenge, it was so easy. It was simple to me."
House said he played on traveling baseball teams around the Bay Area.
"I stopped playing when I was 15, in the ninth grade," he said. "We were playing cats who were throwing in the low-to mid-80s. Curveballs in the mid-, high-70s. That's hot stuff when you're 15, and I was hitting that like it wasn't anything.
"But hoop was more exciting. You could go get a basketball game anywhere. And in the summer, when you were supposed to be getting your hoop game right, I was playing baseball. I'd come back rusty, and the guys would be out there killing me. I was tired of that." Now the opposition is wishing House had kept swinging at the horsehide.
