By Rob Young

Editor's Note: Mark Madsen a future star? Not really, but lets pretend.

In his third season, one fact remains undeniable about Mark Madsen: he plays really, really hard. In the past this has been a detriment, both to his game and his team. As he hustled on defense, he would gamble and pick up cheap fouls on reach-arounds. On rebounds, he would be just as likely to go over an opponent’s back as to actually grab the ball. But the recent injury to the human travel-call (Samaki Walker), has allowed Madsen to pick up enough playing time to get that smidgen of confidence he always needed. He is developing into the kind of player that can make a team a long-lasting dynasty. The kind of player that gets to be an all-star his peak year, and fades off into an assistant coaching job in his late thirties. It’s an honorable career for a man once counted off as being cheerleader and bad dancer.

On offense, it all starts with his patience. Madsen--and other Laker power forwards not named Horry--would once occupy valuable real estate in a lane that should rightfully belong solely to Shaq. Now Madsen hovers around the high post, serving as a safety valve for the guards should they get trapped along the 3-point line. When the ball goes into Shaq, or if Kobe drives, Madsen drops down to the low post, finds a hole, and waits for the pass if the double team comes off of him. He scored all twelve of his points against the Bucks on plays exactly like this, all on lay-ups or dunks.

What’s more, Madsen has proven himself one of two or three Lakers capable of finishing a fast break. He makes the right decision with the ball, can finish a reverse dunk, and has a solid head fake. All of these skills are absent in Devean George, Samaki Walker, Kareem Rush, and--to a certain extent--Derek Fisher. I’ve seen Kobe pass the ball far less reluctantly to Madsen on a break than he would passing to George or Walker.

When Madsen doesn’t have the ball on offense, there’s a perfectly good chance he’ll be in a good position to get the offensive board. As he drops into the low post on drives, he’s often the last person the defense chooses to get a body on. More than that though, he desires the ball more than any rebounder since Charles Barkley. On his team’s free throw attempts, he tries for the rebound on every shot, and succeeds far more often than most players.

When the ball does go the other way, Madsen’s new patience pays off as well. Guarding Kevin Garnett, he stayed on his feet during Garnett’s fakes, and kept a hand in Garnett’s face on the fadeaways. He didn’t go for the block and hit arm, he didn’t reach around, he stuck with his man and played straight defense, all but winning the match-up at the four. This solid defense has been a factor in each of Madsen’s nine victories in starts.

But what will make him an all-star is the hustle he keeps in store for those moments when the ball is loose. He’s still the first man on the floor for a loose ball. He still sprints down the floor, even during solid stretches of half-court sets. He’ll still draw frustration technicals from his opponents and stand for a charge as well as any other player on a team of exceptional fallers.

The crowd still cheers when he stands, when he sits, when he gets a rebound, when he drinks his water, and all because he loves the game. He cheers his teammates and yells at refs from the bench. He waves towels. He’s a fan just like the other 20-odd thousand people in the arena. He’s popular, and coaches love him. He’s bound to pick up a bench spot in the big game one of these years. And if not, he’ll still be hustling fifteen years from now. He has energy enough for that, and more.


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