Okay, let's start at the top and go down. I'll give you some quick hit thoughts as I watch the games:
Kings v. Thunder: Sorry, but tough to watch this game. First, there is Paul Westphal, who ushered in some awful basketball during his Sonics tenure. Oh how I miss the George Karl years in Seattle. For that matter, oh how I miss the Sonics in Seattle -- thank you, OK City, for that. As I watch, I think there are few players in better situations than Kevin Martin. He gets to shoot it every time!
Pistons v. Grizz: First, the Grizz starting the game with Three Six Mafia lip synching to Stay Fly was a little much. The boring basketball game didn't help either. Pistons outclass the Grizz in a major way.
Wolves v. Nets: The floor on the Wolves court is so drab. Maybe it is the screen, but it is hard to watch this game. But, to be honest, it is the Wolves and Nets -- not sure there would be much to write about if the floor was hot pink. And, by the way, nothing in this paragraph makes sense.
New York v. Miami: I refuse to watch this game because the Knicks cut Ron Howard and Chris Hunter.
Charlotte v. Boston: Gerald Wallace just took a swing at Kendrick Perkins. Boston up by 20 at this point. They look really good -- Bobcats do not.
Sixers v. Orlando: Dwight Howard has 21 and 15 at this point. This just in -- he is good. This is a complete blowout.
Pacers v. Hawks: My league pass is not working on this game, but the stats show former Mad Ant Dahntay Jones is playing well.
Raptors v. Cavs: Cavs are in danger of going 0-2 early in the season. Cavs have Ilguaskas and Shaq in the game at the same time -- interesting. My favorite Italian player, Bellinelli, just air balled a finger roll. That is never good. Toronto looks pretty good.
Spurs v. Hornets: The Hornets are getting drilled right now. Van Gundy says the rotation is bad. I love Van Gundy. If we can get Bill Walton on more often, I'd be very happy. San Antonio looks really good.
Phillies v. Yankees: Okay, to be honest, this is the game I am really watching. Cliff Lee is dealing right now, and Sabathia is battling. Chase Utley with a bomb for the games only run. I don't know about you, but I think it is important to have teams like the Yankess, Cowboys, and Lakers playing at a high level. It is always fun to root against them!
Cougar Town: Courtney Cox is still holding up after all these years.
Okay, those are my randon thoughts for the night. I'm going to pass out here on the couch. See ya!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Let's Talk Hoops
Alright, we are getting close to the season, and I am getting a bit anxious about who is going to be on our team. Obviously, I hope that big fella reverse dunking will decide to come back to Fort Wayne.
Chris Hunter, if you didn't know, was one of the best big men in the league last season and earned a late season call up from the Knicks. I think he would still be with them if he didn't have some injury issues through the summer. He was a marvel for us last season. His rebounding, defense, and ability to score in the paint opened everything up for our perimeter players. I'd love to see him come back and continue his excellent play, which will almost certainly earn him another call up.
The next two guys I'd like to see back in the red and yellow are Rod Wilmont and Ron Howard. Rod spent last year playing overseas, and I think his game has matured quite a bit due to that experience. I feel relatively confident (as much as you can in this league) that Rod will be back with the Ants next year. Ron was recently waived from the Knicks, and I know the team was really high on him, but simply ran into a numbers game and had to cut him. I think Ron wants to head overseas and make some money, and I certainly can't begrudge him that. But, with such an outstanding summer and the NBA his ultimate goal, I think he it would be a good opportunity for him to give it one year as a top NBA prospect.
Here are the other players from last year I see as potential returners: Dewitt Scott, Anthony Kent, Sean Sonderleiter, and Jarrod Axon. Dewitt has a special skill in his shooting ability, and I am eager to see if he has improved his ability to get his shot off. I thought he struggled in his ability to move without the ball, and his ability to find his shot on something more than just kick outs will be a big part of whether he has a long professional career or not. Anthony Kent was just a stud the last six games of the season for us, and I think he wants to come back and prove it was not a fluke. I am expecting big things from him this year. Sondy received inconsistent minutes last year, but when he played at least 15-20 minutes, he put up solid numbers for us. I'd like to see what he can do with some consistent minutes this year. Finally, Jarrod has to come in and show he can run the point. There is no questioning his ability to shoot and score, but I think the jury is out whether he can deal with pressure at the point and not just get the team in the offense, but make defenders pay for bodying up and putting major heat on him as he brings the ball up the court.
The next area to look for are allocation players. I can't get too in depth on who we are looking for, but we obviously focus on Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame players. Take a look at recent graduates, and I'm sure you can put together a pretty accurate list.
Finally, we have some very solid options from our open tryout who I think can come in and challenge people for a roster spot. Again, not something I can really talk about here, but it probably was not coincidence that I posted a picture when discussing the open tryout in a previous post.
As I went around the league and talked to many different basketball people this past spring and summer, all came to the same conclusion regarding building a winning team -- have most of your team built by the time you get to the draft. I feel we did a good job of that last year, and I am hoping we are on the right last year. Let's compare last year to this year's potential Pre-draft line up.
2008-2009 Pre-Draft Roster:
PG Russell
SG Howard; Scott
SF
PF Kent
C Hunter
We were pretty solid in four spots, and we added some nice pieces in the draft with Coleman Collins and in a wire move by picking up Taj McCullough. If all things work out as I hope (and I'm not including possible allocated or open tryout players), we should be in a similar position.
2009-2010 Potential Pre-Draft Roster:
PG Axon
SG Wilmont; Scott
SF
PF Kent
C Hunter; Sonderleiter
Obviously, there is a huge hole left by Walker that we have to fill, and we need some depth at the 3 and 4 positions, but that would be a veteran crew if we can get them back. Trust me, I'm crossing my fingers!
It will be an exciting next two weeks as more names enter the draft pool -- I'll be sure to keep you updated!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Interesting Article about "Mad" Anthony Wayne
Here is an article about the inspiration for our team name:
In 1809, a bizarre burial for a 'mad' general
Saturday, October 24, 2009
By Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As American colonists battled for independence, Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne captured a British fort in New York at midnight, earning a reputation as a brilliant strategist in the chaos of battle.
George Washington rode on horseback to congratulate him in person. Soldiers who noticed his reckless bravery gave him his nickname.
Later, the fiery leader trained a fearsome army outside of Pittsburgh in 1792, conquered the Indians and negotiated a treaty with them so the Northwest Territory could be settled.
And 200 years ago, in events being marked today, the daring soldier became the subject of one of Western Pennsylvania's grisliest tales.
After he died at age 51 from an attack of gout, his body rested for 12 years in an oak coffin at Presque Isle, a peninsula off Lake Erie. In 1809, his only son, Isaac, journeyed 900 miles round-trip from Eastern Pennsylvania to Western Pennsylvania to return his father's remains to the family plot in Wayne, Chester County, at Old St. David's, an Episcopal church immortalized in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Instead of poetry, a series of horrific events unfolded. Unable to face the exhumation, Isaac Wayne rested at a hotel while his famous father was dug up. The general's friend, Dr. J.C. Wallace, was amazed to find the general well preserved.
Embalming was not possible so Wallace dissected the body and boiled the flesh from the bones in an iron kettle.
With his father's skeleton, Isaac Wayne returned to Eastern Pennsylvania. Later, statues would be raised to the general at Valley Forge and in Fort Wayne, Ind., one of many towns that bear his name.
But "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who distinguished himself in the American War for Independence and at the decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers, may be the only general buried in two places. His flesh remained in Western Pennsylvania while his bones were interred in his native Chester County soil, not far from his family's ancestral home, a Georgian mansion called Waynesborough.
Today marks the 200th anniversary of the burial of Wayne's remains near his family members. At noon, an honor guard of about 20 men, including Western Pennsylvania re-enactors, will carry a casket across the property of Old St. David's and stop at the churchyard gate.
"The real bones are not involved," said Bennett Hill, a retired history teacher who lives in Tredyffrin Township. "This is a commemoration. The casket will be received by the rector of the parish with appropriate prayers from the 1789 Book of Common Prayer."
Then, the honor guard will process to an obelisk that honors Wayne and conclude the ceremony with a musket salute.
Mr. Hill's research led him to a letter written by Isaac Wayne that shows he returned home on Oct. 23 and buried his father's remains the next day. While Wayne grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania, Beaver County re-enactor Patrick Riley, who lives in South Heights, believes people have forgotten his impact on Pittsburgh.
"He liked it here. In 1792, his headquarters were here for almost seven months," said Mr. Riley, adding that Wayne built Fort Lafayette on what is now Ninth Street in Downtown Pittsburgh and trained his army in Legionville, an abandoned field in Beaver County. That field, said Mr. Riley, who has an archaeology degree from the University of Pittsburgh, contains the graves of at least 13 soldiers.
"The people who came as part of Wayne's encampment here in Pittsburgh and Legionville stayed behind to settle Pittsburgh," Mr. Riley said, adding that Wayne's army attracted blacksmiths, tinsmiths, saddlers, farriers, carpenters and boat builders.
After the American Revolution, the nation lacked a standing army, said historian Thomas Fleming. The British refused to leave forts they controlled on the frontier and continued to arm the Indians.
So, Washington summoned Wayne and asked him if he would train an army made up of four sub-legions, consisting of 1,280 men each. With careful planning, Wayne triumphed where his predecessors, Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair, had failed.
"After he got the army organized and disciplined, he sent half of the army into the woods, told them to paint their faces and take off their clothes. He sent the rest of the men to attack them," Mr. Fleming added.
That type of training exercise helped the soldiers to survive.
"They didn't lose their heads when they heard guns go off in their faces" later in real battles, Mr. Fleming said, adding, "The Marine Corps is using these training techniques today."
While some may have forgotten his deeds, Wayne's name lives on in a pale ale brewed in Erie, various schools, numerous towns in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan and a minor league basketball team in Fort Wayne, Ind., called the "Mad Ants."
Saturday, October 24, 2009
By Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As American colonists battled for independence, Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne captured a British fort in New York at midnight, earning a reputation as a brilliant strategist in the chaos of battle.
George Washington rode on horseback to congratulate him in person. Soldiers who noticed his reckless bravery gave him his nickname.
Later, the fiery leader trained a fearsome army outside of Pittsburgh in 1792, conquered the Indians and negotiated a treaty with them so the Northwest Territory could be settled.
And 200 years ago, in events being marked today, the daring soldier became the subject of one of Western Pennsylvania's grisliest tales.
After he died at age 51 from an attack of gout, his body rested for 12 years in an oak coffin at Presque Isle, a peninsula off Lake Erie. In 1809, his only son, Isaac, journeyed 900 miles round-trip from Eastern Pennsylvania to Western Pennsylvania to return his father's remains to the family plot in Wayne, Chester County, at Old St. David's, an Episcopal church immortalized in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Instead of poetry, a series of horrific events unfolded. Unable to face the exhumation, Isaac Wayne rested at a hotel while his famous father was dug up. The general's friend, Dr. J.C. Wallace, was amazed to find the general well preserved.
Embalming was not possible so Wallace dissected the body and boiled the flesh from the bones in an iron kettle.
With his father's skeleton, Isaac Wayne returned to Eastern Pennsylvania. Later, statues would be raised to the general at Valley Forge and in Fort Wayne, Ind., one of many towns that bear his name.
But "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who distinguished himself in the American War for Independence and at the decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers, may be the only general buried in two places. His flesh remained in Western Pennsylvania while his bones were interred in his native Chester County soil, not far from his family's ancestral home, a Georgian mansion called Waynesborough.
Today marks the 200th anniversary of the burial of Wayne's remains near his family members. At noon, an honor guard of about 20 men, including Western Pennsylvania re-enactors, will carry a casket across the property of Old St. David's and stop at the churchyard gate.
"The real bones are not involved," said Bennett Hill, a retired history teacher who lives in Tredyffrin Township. "This is a commemoration. The casket will be received by the rector of the parish with appropriate prayers from the 1789 Book of Common Prayer."
Then, the honor guard will process to an obelisk that honors Wayne and conclude the ceremony with a musket salute.
Mr. Hill's research led him to a letter written by Isaac Wayne that shows he returned home on Oct. 23 and buried his father's remains the next day. While Wayne grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania, Beaver County re-enactor Patrick Riley, who lives in South Heights, believes people have forgotten his impact on Pittsburgh.
"He liked it here. In 1792, his headquarters were here for almost seven months," said Mr. Riley, adding that Wayne built Fort Lafayette on what is now Ninth Street in Downtown Pittsburgh and trained his army in Legionville, an abandoned field in Beaver County. That field, said Mr. Riley, who has an archaeology degree from the University of Pittsburgh, contains the graves of at least 13 soldiers.
"The people who came as part of Wayne's encampment here in Pittsburgh and Legionville stayed behind to settle Pittsburgh," Mr. Riley said, adding that Wayne's army attracted blacksmiths, tinsmiths, saddlers, farriers, carpenters and boat builders.
After the American Revolution, the nation lacked a standing army, said historian Thomas Fleming. The British refused to leave forts they controlled on the frontier and continued to arm the Indians.
So, Washington summoned Wayne and asked him if he would train an army made up of four sub-legions, consisting of 1,280 men each. With careful planning, Wayne triumphed where his predecessors, Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair, had failed.
"After he got the army organized and disciplined, he sent half of the army into the woods, told them to paint their faces and take off their clothes. He sent the rest of the men to attack them," Mr. Fleming added.
That type of training exercise helped the soldiers to survive.
"They didn't lose their heads when they heard guns go off in their faces" later in real battles, Mr. Fleming said, adding, "The Marine Corps is using these training techniques today."
While some may have forgotten his deeds, Wayne's name lives on in a pale ale brewed in Erie, various schools, numerous towns in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan and a minor league basketball team in Fort Wayne, Ind., called the "Mad Ants."
Friday, October 23, 2009
Mr. Tony Gave Us a Shout Out!
I was watching PTI on Wednesday when Mr. Tony and Wilbon were talking about the replacement refs heading back to the D-League, and Mr. Tony told the replacement guys to send him a "postcard from Fort Wayne!" Well, that is just too good for me, because I am a huge Mr. Tony fan. As good as the TV show is, the radio show (found at www.espn980.com) is way better. Thanks for the shoutout, Mr. Tony, and you will be getting some product sent do you immediately! For those who want to listen to the quick shout out, here is the link to the podcast: http://espn.go.com/espnradio/show?showId=pti. The mention is about 18 minutes into the show, and I'm sorry I couldn't give a better or more concise clip, but I stink at providing links (as well as many other things), so I am going to just provide this.
Tough Break for Chris
Chris Hunter was waived today by the New York Knicks, and Alan Hahn from Newsday has the story for you here: http://www.newsday.com/blogs/sports/the-knicks-fix-1.812055/landry-earns-a-spot-on-knicks-roster-1.1541013. I'm sure his agent's next move is to see if there is interest from another NBA team, but, if not, it is our obvious hope that he comes back home to the Mad Ants. He is so close to the NBA, I'd love for him to give it another year and show just how well rounded and good his game is. I'll be sure to give you any updates I can.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
How the Old Timers Did
While we are still a month and change from the start of our year, we have some former Mad Ants starting their seasons abroad. I thought I would give just a quick update on their lines and how they did:
- Walker Russell, Jr.: I tried to check the website in Bulgaria, but could only tell that he won and scored 8 points.
- Earl Calloway: Earl has played two games with his team in Spain -- Cajasol -- and both have been losses. In the first game, Earl scored 7 points, but the second game he really played well. He hit 6 three pointers and was clearly the only bright spot for Cajasol. Tough start for his team because they played both Badalona and Real Madrid -- not easy games at all.
- Nate Gerwig: Nate is playing for Paderborn in Germany, and his team has played two games, but I can only find stats for one game. In that one game, Nate played well off the bench with 9 points and 7 rebounds.
- Coleman Collins: Coleman had a nice game in Ulm's first win last night with 15 and 7. He was going against probably the best big man in the league in Elton Brown (former D-League stud for Colorado). So far Coleman is averaging 11 and 5 in the early season.
- Taj McCullough: Taj is playing for Ramat Gan in the Israeli league, but they have not started their season yet, and I haven't seen any numbers in terms of how he has played in the preseason. They start next week and will give an update as soon as I get one.
- Jeremy Richardson: Jeremy is playing in Greece this year for Aris, and he did not have a good start to his season. He played 17 minutes and scored just two points. He had better get going or they will move to cut him. Aris may be different, but Greek teams do not traditionally have a lot of patience.
- Larry Turner: Larry is playing for Alcazar in second division Spain and averaging 8 points and four rebounds after four games, including a very nice 14 and 9 his last game.
- Vernon Hamilton: Vernon played a short time for us before moving on to Colorado, but he is now playing in Switzerland and had a very nice start to his season by averaging about 20 per game. His team is off to a slow start, but this could be a very good fit for Vernon in terms of his game and his career.
- Carl Elliott: Carl -- he of the less than smooth exit from the team last year -- has turned up in Finland and is averaging about 23 a game over there.
- Sammy Mejia: Sammy is playing for Cholet in France and averaging four a game after three games. Not a strong start, and I wonder what type of pressure he will be under to improve that performance.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
My New Favorite Baseball Player
This is Andre Ethier. He is my new favorite baseball player. I can't say that he is the best baseball player, because I think that obviously belongs to Pujols. But, I met Andre's mom on a flight, and she could not have been any sweeter. It has been a couple of years since that flight, and he has become an absolute stud. I am very happy for him, but I think I am happier for his mom -- she was very proud and I can't imagine how excited she must be now. My normal favorite player is Grady Sizemore because I coached him high school, but Andre gets the nod today. More importantly, I wanted to use the last sentense to let you all know I coached Grady Sizemore. And, yes, I taught him everything he knows.
Anywho, nothing to say on the basketball front today. Frankly, I find baseball far more interesting this time of year. Go Dodgers!
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Biggest Guy At Open Tryout Camp
Here is a picture of Jared Carter. Jared played at the University of Kentucky and was one of the guys at tryouts this weekend that played well. He is 7'2 and 277 pounds, so he definitely has the size. The concern is that he really didn't play much at Kentucky, and we have not had much success with Kentucky big men in the past (I'll let you do the research and name the names. Okay, I will name one -- Shagari Alleyne).
We have had three of these open tryouts in our short time on Earth, and I thought this was one of the more balanced camps we have had. I thought there were some good players at the point, the wing, and the post. I'm hoping Joey found something out there this weekend that he feels will help us this season in our quest to make the playoffs. Who knows, maybe Jared breaks the Kentucky curse!
(By the way, yes, I know I am using far too many exclamation points in my blogs. I will work to stop this insanity)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
A Great Weekend!
Well, we're back at it. My wife and I are sitting here after the two day tryouts and can't believe hoops season is already here. What made the time fly by? I suppose a newborn helped move the time by quickly. I think the biggest thing for Julie and I to realize is that there is no offseason here. It goes right into hoops season to selling season. So, I guess you can say Julie and I are steeling ourselves to the start of another season. Please pass the anti-depressants!
As for the weekend, I thought there were some pretty good players in camp -- probably not a stretch when you have over 100 guys in camp. I don't know if I saw the best player we have ever had in one of our camps, but I did see greater across the board talent. I think we saw a few really talented big men who could play on our team, and I thought I saw some decent talent at the point guard. Did I see someone who could replace Russell, Howard, or Taj? I am not sure that happened. At the very end, I wrote down 10 names that I feel are D-League caliber players, and we will all have to put our heads together to see if we can pick a few out to take to training camp.
As for the coaches, I was pretty impressed. Very organized, very prepared, and very fun to work with. I thought Mike Sanders really did a nice job organizing the coaches and players, and it seemed that Joey and Mike were thick as thieves. They each knew each other's next word or move, and I thought it was fun to watch. With that said, I think our most impressive coach was VP Jeff Johnson! Coach gave him a shot to coach, and I don't think his team won a game. C'mon on Jeffrey!
That is it from the weekend. I dare say that we still have a lot of work to do, but it has been a fun -- if not tiring -- start.
As for the weekend, I thought there were some pretty good players in camp -- probably not a stretch when you have over 100 guys in camp. I don't know if I saw the best player we have ever had in one of our camps, but I did see greater across the board talent. I think we saw a few really talented big men who could play on our team, and I thought I saw some decent talent at the point guard. Did I see someone who could replace Russell, Howard, or Taj? I am not sure that happened. At the very end, I wrote down 10 names that I feel are D-League caliber players, and we will all have to put our heads together to see if we can pick a few out to take to training camp.
As for the coaches, I was pretty impressed. Very organized, very prepared, and very fun to work with. I thought Mike Sanders really did a nice job organizing the coaches and players, and it seemed that Joey and Mike were thick as thieves. They each knew each other's next word or move, and I thought it was fun to watch. With that said, I think our most impressive coach was VP Jeff Johnson! Coach gave him a shot to coach, and I don't think his team won a game. C'mon on Jeffrey!
That is it from the weekend. I dare say that we still have a lot of work to do, but it has been a fun -- if not tiring -- start.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Open Tryouts Today
We are having our big open tryouts today. I am pretty excited about it. It will be my first chance to see our coaching staff at work, and it will be an opportunity to see if we can continue some of the success that we have had with our open tryouts. Some of the guys we have seen play for us are Ron Howard, DeWitt Scott, Nate Gerwig, Eric Smith, and Anthony Kyle. All were solid contributors to the team, and Ron has gone to become a NBA prospect. So far we have over 80 registered, and I suppose we will get another 10-20 in walk ups.
Speaking of Ron Howard, he was cut the other day from the Knicks. It looks like they have narrowed it down to 3 players for their last spot -- Joe Crawford, Marcus Landry, and our very own Chris Hunter. So far, I've seen some articles about Marcus Landry and how well he is doing, and I know Chris is still a little hurt, but has played well. I suspect it is between Chris and Landry, and I think Chris has a really good chance. Tough to pass up bigs like Chris.
Alright, Teen Cribs is on, and I need to watch it. I'll jump on later to let you know how it went and give a few names that I thought stood out. Thanks for reading!
Speaking of Ron Howard, he was cut the other day from the Knicks. It looks like they have narrowed it down to 3 players for their last spot -- Joe Crawford, Marcus Landry, and our very own Chris Hunter. So far, I've seen some articles about Marcus Landry and how well he is doing, and I know Chris is still a little hurt, but has played well. I suspect it is between Chris and Landry, and I think Chris has a really good chance. Tough to pass up bigs like Chris.
Alright, Teen Cribs is on, and I need to watch it. I'll jump on later to let you know how it went and give a few names that I thought stood out. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A New Home -- Will It Mean More Posts?
I have made the leap to a different blog page. The reason -- I am hoping that it will mean that I get on this more often! Some of the biggest reasons I was not on the other blog is because it had a weird password and was not the easiest thing to get to. So, I am hoping that this will do the trick. Further, I'm frankly hoping to use this blog to do more than just talk about the team and basketball. Granted, it will remain the main topic, but sometimes after a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is jump on the blog and talk about it. I suppose it is similar to my feeling about hanging with teammates and watching the basketball games when I played -- I just wanted to get away from it. So, I will be talking about some other topics that I may find interesting that day. And, yes, that is a threat.
So, I will start this first blog by talking some hoops. It has been an interesting week on the basketball side. On Monday I was up in Detroit to meet with the Pistons brass to let them know what we have to offer in Fort Wayne for their young players. I'm not sure if we will see any of their young players, but I don't think it will be because they don't believe in what we are doing down in Fort Wayne. In fact, as you all know, they have been the one team to send us players. I think it will be an issue of them deciding which players will be a part of their rotation and which will need some playing time down in the D-League. Let's hope they figure that out quickly!
I went to the game later that night for a half where, quite frankly, was more engaged in a great conversation with a very nice lady. No, I am clearly not a very good scout. From there I left to go to a workout in Birmingham, Michigan, which is really quite nice. There I watched a lot of D-League caliber players work out -- guys like Derreck Dial, Voshon Leonard, and Ira Newble. I was really impressed with the talent, and I hope we see some of the guys down at our open tryouts.
Which leads us to the the open tryouts. This weekend it looks we are going to have a lot of guys at our game. Most importantly, I think we are going to have a lot of quality. I think we can find some nice complimentary parts, but the key will be finding some players who are front line difference makers. It is unlikely we will do that at our open tryout. We will have to look to do that in the draft, which is always a dicey situation (Larry Turner and Lukasz Orbzut, for example). Our only other option is to hope we get some of our better front line guys back from last season and previous seasons. I'm working on it!
Well, I see that the Office is over and Leno is starting -- that means it is time for bed. Look forward to the next time, and I will, as always, try to be more consistent in writing this. Thanks for still reading, Mom!
So, I will start this first blog by talking some hoops. It has been an interesting week on the basketball side. On Monday I was up in Detroit to meet with the Pistons brass to let them know what we have to offer in Fort Wayne for their young players. I'm not sure if we will see any of their young players, but I don't think it will be because they don't believe in what we are doing down in Fort Wayne. In fact, as you all know, they have been the one team to send us players. I think it will be an issue of them deciding which players will be a part of their rotation and which will need some playing time down in the D-League. Let's hope they figure that out quickly!
I went to the game later that night for a half where, quite frankly, was more engaged in a great conversation with a very nice lady. No, I am clearly not a very good scout. From there I left to go to a workout in Birmingham, Michigan, which is really quite nice. There I watched a lot of D-League caliber players work out -- guys like Derreck Dial, Voshon Leonard, and Ira Newble. I was really impressed with the talent, and I hope we see some of the guys down at our open tryouts.
Which leads us to the the open tryouts. This weekend it looks we are going to have a lot of guys at our game. Most importantly, I think we are going to have a lot of quality. I think we can find some nice complimentary parts, but the key will be finding some players who are front line difference makers. It is unlikely we will do that at our open tryout. We will have to look to do that in the draft, which is always a dicey situation (Larry Turner and Lukasz Orbzut, for example). Our only other option is to hope we get some of our better front line guys back from last season and previous seasons. I'm working on it!
Well, I see that the Office is over and Leno is starting -- that means it is time for bed. Look forward to the next time, and I will, as always, try to be more consistent in writing this. Thanks for still reading, Mom!
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