Canzano: Jusuf Nurkic deserved better. now the Trail Blazers must figure it out
Updated Jan 16, 2021;
Posted Jan 15, 2021
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, right, goes to the basket over Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III, foreground center, during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)AP
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A couple of months ago, I saw Jusuf Nurkic walking down the street a few miles from the Trail Blazers practice facility. More like I saw a slender 7-foot silhouette cast against the evening sky coming up the street in a leather jacket and mask. He looked healthy, with no sign of a limp.
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When Liam Robbins arrived at the University of Minnesota for the first time in the summer, he was literally the biggest man on campus. He s all of 7 feet, Gophers coach Richard Pitino said after he first watched workouts of the Drake transfer at the team s practice facility.
In recent Gophers history, there haven t been many true 7-footers, certainly not ones that have made an immediate impact like Robbins, who was just named Oscar Robertson national player of the week. The junior helped lead Minnesota to victories over two ranked opponents last week and will match up with Michigan s 7-1 Hunter Dickinson when the teams meet Wednesday in Ann Arbor.