Former UW star Roy off to fast start as NBA rookie

PORTLAND — Not in his wildest dreams could he have imagined this. Not this type of a season. Not this soon.

If he's honest, Brandon Roy will admit he exceeded his expectations. He thought he'd be just another face in the NBA crowd during his first year, and not the face of the Portland Trail Blazers or the leading rookie-of-the-year candidate.

He hoped to average 10 points and a couple of rebounds and assists. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd start a few games.

"You know, I've never really been a dive-right-in-there-head-first type of guy," he says. "I've always slowly earned my way and at the end of the day, people look up and I'm right there."

That pretty much sums up Roy's game and his four-year career at the University of Washington, where he led the Huskies to three NCAA tournament appearances. He also earned consensus All-America accolades and the Pac-10 player-of-the-year award as a senior.

But the 6-foot-6 shooting guard's rookie NBA season has been vastly different.

Days of his life


It's been a big year for ex-UW star Brandon Roy:

March 6, 2006: Roy is named the Pac-10 player of the year.

June 28: Drafted sixth by Minnesota, but he is traded to Portland minutes later.

Nov. 1: Scores 20 points against Seattle in his first NBA game.

Nov. 6-Dec. 20: Misses 20 games because of a heel injury.

March 26: Son Brandon Roy Jr. is born.

"It wasn't like I had a choice, because from the start they pretty much threw me in there and it was like, sink or swim," he says. "Most rookies don't get that kind of an opportunity, so I know that I'm lucky, and I'm grateful. But I had to grow up real quick and learn a lot on the fly.

"So whatever timetable I had for myself, they forced me to speed it up, which normally isn't something I like to do."

That's the thing about Roy. He's deliberate in everything he does. Slow and steady, a description his girlfriend Tiana Birdwell might suggest.

They have dated since Roy's sophomore year at Seattle's Garfield High School, and two weeks ago, she gave birth to their first child, Brandon Jr. While some family members and friends are trying to push the couple into matrimony, Roy prefers to be patient.

"We're going in that direction and something will probably happen soon, maybe this year, but it's got to feel right," he says. "Nobody can tell you when you're ready, you just know it. If you rush into something, then you never know what's going to happen."

Portland assistant coach Dean Demopoulos offers a basketball analogy.

"I've never seen anyone make him move faster than that he wanted to move," he says. "He plays at his pace."

Admittedly, being a father momentarily threw Roy, 22, for a loop. But he's settled now and says having a son has encouraged him to pursue a lifelong dream.

"For someone who is already kind of calm, I'm even more focused now that he's around," Roy says. "I'm even more determined to be a better player. Now I want to make sure I go back and get my degree at Washington.

"I've been really thinking about that, especially since he's been born. It's funny how much kids change you in those ways. He's just making me more determined, and not just in basketball. If I get my degree, that's the only thing that could be better than [winning] rookie of the year. To know I got my degree from a university like that would be special."

Roy, an American Ethnic Studies major, says he's two quarters shy of earning a degree and intends to take two summer classes on campus.

"I spent four years there, so I owe it to myself to get that degree," he says. "It will be weird to be back on campus and not playing basketball. But it will really be important to me because I don't have to answer to coach [Lorenzo] Romar or answer to an athletic director. I'm making myself do this. For me it's a great challenge and something I look forward to."

Once the season concludes Wednesday, Roy and Birdwell will temporarily leave their home in West Linn, Ore., and return to their place in Newcastle. The summer months will allow Roy plenty of time for school, spending time with friends and fellow basketball players Will Conroy and Jamal Crawford and contemplating a roller-coaster rookie season.

In hindsight, it's almost silly to think that he considered bypassing college and entering the NBA after high school.

"If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have even tried it," he admits.

Back in 2002, the Trail Blazers were the only NBA team to offer Roy a workout, before he removed his name from the draft. Four years later, Roy was drafted No. 6 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, then traded to Portland later that night.

Coincidence? Perhaps. But he's got the destiny thing working for him.

"Brandon is a special person," Demopoulos said. "He's a force in the NBA in his first year, but he's a better person than he is a player. I know that's cliché, but it's the truth. He has a way with people. He's just got it, whatever it is. Being able to understand the person that he's speaking to. It's an innate gift."

There was considerable concern whether the soft-spoken Roy would mesh with Portland's best player, Zach Randolph, who is reputed to have a brash and often-corrosive personality. They're unlikely to ever become bosom buddies, but Roy describes their relationship as workable.

Portland coach Nate McMillan recalled his rookie guard squelching a simmering alpha-dog tussle with a few harsh words at practice midway through the season.

"He made some comments to Zach," McMillan said. "Nobody probably saw it because it was in practice, but it was needed and it was the right time. So Zach didn't look at that as, 'This rookie is challenging me,' or anything like that. It needed to said and it needed to be done."

Because of injuries to Randolph, rookie center LaMarcus Aldridge, center Joel Przybilla and forward Ime Udoka — all starters at some point during the season — Roy was thrust into a leadership position.

He missed 20 games early in the season because of a left heel injury, but when he returned on Dec. 20, he flourished.

Roy won a spot in the Rookie Challenge game in Las Vegas and was named the Western Conference rookie of the month in January, February and March. Entering Saturday, he has led Portland in scoring 14 times, has scored in double figures in 50 of 57 games and averages 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

"He plays old," Demopoulos said. "He's got an old way about him. He's a throwback type of player. He's a multi-dimensional guard like Walt Frazier and Oscar Robertson. Who knows what type of career Brandon will have, but as far as style, he's one of those old guards that played the one and the two. They did what was necessary depending on the time, score, situation and what the coach wanted."

While Roy emerged as a star, Portland (32-48) will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight year despite at least an 11-win improvement over its record of a year ago.

"Losing games like this has been the most disappointing part of the season," he said. "I've never been winding down the season feeling like this. Not having that excitement and nothing to look forward to.

"If we can trade for a player and then maybe get a good player in the draft, then I think we can make the playoffs next season. With LaMarcus Aldridge and Sergio Rodriguez and the good players that we have, we can go to the playoffs. I'm also approaching next year like I want to go to the All-Star Game."

But for now, all of that must wait.

Roy is eager to leave basketball behind for a few months and get to know his son. The only NBA-related thing that will hold his attention is the rookie-of-the-year announcement.

By most forecasts, Roy, who leads rookies in scoring, assists and minutes, will win in a landslide.

"When you think about the people that have won that award, like LeBron [James], Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, man, that's crazy to think you could join that group," Roy said. "Like I said, I never imagined this for myself. In my heart, I'm still this humble little kid from Seattle, Washington."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com