Salmons ready to prove he's not a one-year wonder

Bulls forward John Salmons is as soft-spoken as anyone in the NBA, and he doesn't draw much attention to himself.

At the same time, he doesn't mind being famous.

After rarely leaving the floor during the seven-game playoff series against Boston, which was a television-ratings bonanza last spring, Salmons found that his notoriety soared.

"I was in New York with my brother-in-law. He was just taking me around and random people knew who I was," Salmons said Tuesday at the Berto Center. "I was surprised. I was shocked. In Harlem. How do people know me in Harlem?"

Salmons thinks he probably was recognized more often in the weeks following the Celtics series than in his first six NBA seasons combined.

"I'm guessing it's just off that one series and Chicago being a bigger market," he said. "It was fun. You never mind getting a little positive feedback."

His growing street cred will help serve as motivation to return for a longer playoff run this season. But Salmons has something else to prove - that he's not a one-year wonder.

The 6-foot-6 swingman is an extremely rare late bloomer. He never averaged double figures in the NBA until his sixth season, then rose to 18.3 points and 47.2 percent shooting last year. The Bulls acquired Salmons from Sacramento on Feb. 18.

There are very few examples of players who started so slowly and then averaged more than 18 points for a full season. A couple who meet the criteria, Antoine Carr and George McCloud, went back to their normal numbers after a single breakout season.

After setting the bar higher for himself than it ever has been, living up to last year's expectations has to be on Salmons' mind. Or is it?

"I haven't thought about that," he said. "There's no reason to think that way. I know there are still nonbelievers out there. I know that. I'm not a fool.

"But at the same time, I'm focusing on doing what I do best, just go out here and help my team win. Whatever comes out of that, comes out. That's how I approached last year, that's how I approached every year."

The Bulls can't complain about Salmons' performance last season, especially when he became a full-time starter in March. That month he averaged 21.3 points and shot 50 percent from the field before being slowed by a groin strain.

This year the Bulls are counting on Salmons to step in as the starting two guard. He has been working next to Derrick Rose so far in practice.

"I love playing with him," Rose said. "He doesn't say that much. I don't say that much either, but we've got an understanding on the court of what we're supposed to do. He's a bigger guard, has a funny-type game, but he can score the ball."

Salmons, a Philadelphia native, took some time off to recover from the groin injury but still got in a good summer of work.

"I learned a lot from the playoffs," he said. "I learned once you get that deep, teams pretty much know what you like to do. I tried to add some things to my game where I'm not as predictable."

Nothing about Salmon's pro career has been very predictable so far. This is the first time he has even been projected as a starter on a quality team.

"It's different, but I'm looking forward to it," he said. "It's fun to me. I always wanted to be in this situation."



(thedailyherald.com)