0
Andrea Bargnani – The Roman Riddle
Mercilessly overrated or just wrongly used? Arrogant European or sensible Italian? For a long time Andrea Bargnani just brought up questions. This season he finally delivered some answered.
Text: Jens Möller
What does Andrea Bargnani think? Slam basketball magazine nicknamed him “Bargnigma” – stemming from enigma. And the 23-year-old Italian rarely shows his emotions – whether after hitting a three-pointer or after losing the ball on a silly mistake. No, Bargnani’s facial expression remains the same – emotionless, like a fish with a beard. And just like reading nothing from his facial experience, the basketball world also could not get a handle on the 7-foot forward’s game. On the one hand, he will deliver an unbelievable pass. But the next moment he stands around on the court like a concrete statute at Rome’s Piazza Venezia.
When Bargnani arrived in the league in 2006, many thought he had the cool poker face of a hardened 19-year-old, who had already won everything there was to win in his homeland. Fans back home called him “Il Mago” – “The Magician”. “He should show us some magic first before we call him that,” said his former Raptors teammate Darrick Martin, who called him “Big Rook”.
Three years later, still no one in the Raptors locker room this season was calling him “Il Mago”, even though “Big Barg” – his current nickname – finally showed signs of some magic this season. Bargnani had his best season in the NBA in 2008-09. In March he averaged 20.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on his way to season numbers of 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. That made up for his very poor sophomore season, which saw him collect just 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds while shooting a miserable 38 percent from the field. Even the best poker face in the world turns out to be a bluff if you always lose. “Maybe he would rather weave baskets in Italy than shoot them,” joked Toronto Star columnist Dave Feschuk. Despite speaking excellent English, Bargnani began pulling the “Lost in Translation” card when it came to critical questions from journalists – which only increased the criticism. And many started asking if the Raptors had drafted the Italian Dirk Nowitzki or really a mutation of Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Darko Milicic.
The two faces
But Bargnani’s performance this season finally wiped away any comparison to two of the biggest European disappointments in NBA history. Still, one thing about Bargnani did not change: the phlegmatic facial expression and his sometimes listless demeanor. During the home game against the Chicago Bulls in late March, it appeared to not really bother the Italian when head coach Jay Triano ordered him back to the bench after just five minutes on the court in the second quarter. Bargnani pretty much looked like a school boy on defense against the Bulls big men Brad Miller and Joakim Noah – not exactly two of the most feared bigs in the game. And Triano decided to bring in the six inch smaller Anthony Parker. The Italian didn’t show up again until the third quarter and the poker face finally had good cards, sinking one long distance shot after another. TV commentators were howling “Il Maaagggoooo”. And Bargnani’s three-pointer with 90 seconds left in overtime gave his team the lead.
It was moments like these that the young Italian made observers think about Nowitzki, with whom he was compared in his younger days. Early in the shot clock, the ball is mainly in the hands of playmaker Jose Calderon, and Bargnani is setting picks near the paint. The Raptors are trying to get their first option Chris Bosh into good position in the blocks. After that Bargnani drifts out to the three-point line, waiting for the pass out. His defender – in this case the freakishly athletic Tyrus Thomas – drops down instinctively to help protect against drives to the lane. Once Bargnani would get the ball he would launch a shot. And not even the great leaper Thomas could charge out and stop the tall sharp-shooter. Bargnani has become accustomed to catching the ball above his head and not bring the ball back down for the shot. That helps him use his height even though he doesn’t even really jump in his jump-shot. And the big man has perfected his flowing shooting motion which excited NBA scouts early on.
