The Last Episode

When the Trials convened, Coach Jay Wright established that he did not want battles for spots on the roster to overshadow battles for playing time. “It’s better for us to see some practice now thinking about what type of team we’re going to be and how we’re going to play rather than practice and after it think about who’s going to make the team,” noted Wright after tonight’s session. Frankly, it appeared that Wright’s message was very clear to both the media and the players. Tonight’s concluding episode of the Pan-Am tryouts looked a whole lot like a start to the next chapter. A group of players have established themselves as a cut above the rest in their individual play and most importantly, their cooperation with the other players who are headed to Rio. Thus when the Tommy T look-alike, Jim Boeheim, pensively sat and watched for the last time, his decisions were basically already made for him – between those who synched with their teammates and those who were still trying to locate their own game.

(Doesn't Boeheim, center in reddish shirt, have that Quaker look?)

SG Derrick Low jived with everyone on the floor. Whether it was PG Sherron Collins finding him spotting up on the break or getting the ball on a kick-out from any number of big men, Low was the reliable shooter this team has been looking for. With time expiring, PG Eric Maynor took one dribble off of a screen to the top of the key, and looking like he was about to rain in the same shot that he beat Duke on, he ‘ooped it to PF Richard Hendrix for the flush. But Maynor left too much time on the clock. In less than the five seconds on the clock, the blue squad inbounded to Low who pumped SF Tasmin Mitchell into the seats before stepping through and draining the game-winning 3 à la G Gerry McNamara.

The other standout two-guard, Wayne Ellington, consistently brings the best out in his teammates by freeing himself from defenders on quick cuts. G/F Bryce Taylor fed him on a backdoor cut for an And 1 reverse lay-in. He manages to get almost two full steps of separation from defenders when coming off of baseline V-cuts.

(Ellington splitting two defenders for an aerial lay-in)

After Taylor found Ellington on a number of occasions, he came back in his next shift as the beneficiary of PG Scottie Reynolds’s dishes. They started their run with a give-and-go BT 3-ball. Reynolds has been the most vocal man on the floor since the moment everyone walked in the doors of the Gardner Center. He let out a solid “uuhhh” when Bryce drilled that three. Reynolds also has some great nicknames for his teammates. He abbreviates PG Mario Chalmers’ name to “Rio,” which I initially thought he called him because he was destined to make the team. He calls Wayne Ellington “Weave”. Not sure what that one’s all about.

The bell tolls for fourteen to live until tomorrow’s announcement.

Judgment Day AM Notes

G/F Bryce Taylor rattled off seven straight points during the first scrimmage of the day. He may have solidified a spot for himself in demonstrating the one thing lacking from his game: consistency. He swooshed a couple three’s, and when defenders closed out on him, he drove baseline and dunked convincingly with two hands.

The torrid pace of the scrimmages really helps to showcase the athleticism of these players. Taylor, F James Gist and PF Joey Dorsey get off the ground with such quickness that help defense can’t get over in time to contest their dunks.

(Dorsey, #28, climbing the ladder once...)

Dorsey is positively the most electric player out there. While many other players soar into the air for the strong but plain two-handed dunk, Dorsey takes pride in abusing the rim. His dunk of the day was a double-pump that he threw down behind his head. The guy leaves nothing to be desired.

(JD swatting our boy, #10 Eric Maynor)

But frankly, Dorsey's showmanship might work against him at times, causing coaches and scouts to overlook his fundamentally solid post moves. He nabbed one from the Big Fundamental (Tim Duncan) today when he faced the basket off the low block, stepped through and spun PF Jon Brockman to clear space for an easy reverse lay-in.

PG Sherron Collins is officially the fastest person on the floor. For everyone who played Sega Genesis, Collins actually looks like Sonic the Hedgehog when he takes off in transition. His legs are a total blur underneath his stocky frame, and once he gets going, he shoots up the floor.

Our support of PG Eric Maynor’s campaign to make the team has probably reached the point where it’s foolish to even try to look impartial. He wowed the crowd a couple of times last night with accurate bullet-passes to cutters in the lane. However, it’s implausible to say that he could beat out PG Drew Neitzel, PG Mario Chalmers or PG Scottie Reynolds for a job at the point. Neitzel might be the sneakiest passer of them all. He lies through his body language, squaring up to a teammate on the wing only to throw a bounce pass to someone cutting on the baseline.

While SG Chris Lofton continues to be a disappointment, SF Tasmin Mitchell and SG Josh Carter made late pushes for their cause. They passed well with C Roy Hibbert around the basket and both played smartly when guarded by either slower, bigger opponents or by the smaller and quicker guys. Mitchell went after PF Maarty Leunen on consecutive trips down the floor, knocking down a J and then shimmying with his back to the basket before throwing in a baby hook.

(Mitchell, #12, hits a fadeaway from the corner over Oregon's Maarty Leunen #37)

Josh Carter’s really smooth stroke begs comparison to the former LA Laker, Jamal Wilkes. In addition to having wonky release points, both guys can unpredictably score a deluge of points. A four-time NBA Champion, Wilkes was known as someone who could catch fire and drop 30 on a given night. Likewise, Carter sunk eight 3’s against Nebraska earlier this year as part of a 26-point game. Cornhusker coach Doc Sadler said after, “How the heck do you let Josh Carter get eight 3’s? That’s ridiculous!”

This is likely the last time all the attendees will be on the floor together. We’re not sure whether the roster is going to 16 or 12, but if you’re looking for predictions, here are 14 guys who we think will survive to tomorrow:

Roy Hibbert, Drew Neitzel, Mario Chalmers, Scottie Reynolds, Wayne Ellington, Derrick Low, Josh Carter, Tasmin Mitchell, Bryce Taylor, Shan Foster, Brandon Costner, Joey Dorsey, D.J. White, Eric Devendorf

Special thanks to Haverford’s own Dorothy Labe for these great action shots.

Five Good Minutes with Shan Foster

(Foster, #33, going hard to the hoop)

The amiable small forward took some time after this morning’s practice to sit down and discuss the Trials, Vandy basketball and his former POY teammate Derrick Byars.

While he hasn’t attained masterlock status like PG Drew Neitzel and C Roy Hibbert, Foster is a real possibility to play the three. Oregon SG/SF Bryce Taylor, NC State SF Brandon Costner and LSU SF Tasmin Mitchell are competing with him for the committee’s love.

“I just think I gotta keep doing what I’m doing, you know. Just making sure that I’m shooting the ball – and probably taking care of the ball a little bit more,” said Foster about his chances. “But really it’s about shooting the ball and continuing to show that I can shoot it while also playing good defense.”

Shooting is one thing Foster has done plenty of in two and a half days. His trigger-happy mentality is indigenous to VU Commodore basketball. 2006-2007 SEC Player of the Year and teammate Derrick Byars combined with Foster to attempt almost 900 field goals last year. That’s almost 26 field goals per game just from this pair who both qualify as guard/forward hybrids. “We pretty much play the same position, me and Derrick,” said Shan (pronounced Shane). “Derrick is probably more versatile than I am in that he can play the 1 through 4. But for the most part we both go out there on the wing and do the best we can.”

After drilling a three from the wing, Foster came back on the next possession to the same area of the floor with time running low. As the clock ticked down under ten seconds, he elevated higher than the two defenders in his face to sink a buzzer-beating 3. “I was just trying to get an angle to get my shot off,” Foster noted. He matter-of-factly added, “if I get it off, I have a shot at making it.” It was the shot of the day.

Beyond that highlight fadeaway three, his jumper has stood out from the rest of the field since arriving for both its success rate and its appearance. When shooting, Foster springs off the floor and cocks his wrist back, letting the ball float out of his hand high into the air. He attributes the rain-making, slightly awkward high arch to his basketball upbringing. “I played center all the way up until I got to Vanderbilt. When I got to Vandy it was my first time really playing guard. I had a lot to learn – still working on ball handling, things of that sort, trying to do the best I can and really be a guard.”

Foster has one more opportunity to prove his full array of skills when the Trials resume at 5 PM, and maybe only one more chance to play with so many other talented guys. When asked who he’d like to transport with him back to Vandy, Foster mentioned Neitzel, PG Mario Chalmers and PF D.J. White. “D.J. White! Wooo – if I could play with D.J. life would be wonderful.”

(Foster after last night's practice sporting the ice bags on both knees)

The Small Forwards Are Coming

To fully appreciate our freedom in this great country, many of us will spend our July 4^th chowing down with friends and family, ogling a great display of fireworks and then reliving the real fight for independence at the theaters with the Michael Bay/Steven Spielberg instant classic, Transformers. Like many of its predecessors, this story of robot/human cooperation is about more than freedom and justifying immigration policy. Even if it’s not against giant metal shape-shifters who double as Walther P38’s, when the U.S. goes into proverbial battle against the Pan-American competition, they will need to take cue from the heroes of this July 4^th film: work together, win together.

(Tyrese Gibson, center, needs some help from his friends)

However, this motto of cooperation does not transcend the entirety of the basketball universe. The professional game has changed so drastically over the last ten years that it has left the NBA in jeopardy. These changes are embodied in the transformation of the roles of positions in the pro's, namely the small forwards. Formerly the defensive stoppers and transition scorers, small forwards served as the off-ball cog needed to complement more mechanically skilled passers, shooters and big men. Scottie Pippen was the prototypical NBA small forward, named to the NBA All-Defensive Team 10 times, and maybe best known as an opportunistic scorer, taking advantage of defenses who over-committed to His Airness.

Pippen’s focus was not on putting the ball in the basket, even if he averaged over 19 points per game on greater than 48% FG shooting in seasons that he was a starter with the Bulls. Today’s small forwards approach the game from the flip side, handling the ball and the offensive load as much as possible. Even though many of these scorers found statistical success during the regular season, they were largely MIA during the playoffs. The leading NBA small forward, LeBron James, led his Cavaliers to an astoundingly low average of 80.5 points per game over the four-game sweep by the Spurs during this year’s Finals. (80 points a game means 20 points a quarter, which is less than one basket a minute with the NBA’s 12-minute quarters.) These scoring woes exemplify the league’s problem: small-forwards are trying to take over NBA offenses. Writer Jack McCallum echoed this sentiment, reporting in last month’s Sports Illustrated that some coaches wanted to make LeBron the first cut on the 2006 Olympic team for his “inability to function in an offense without the ball.”

(Some would argue LeBron James, above, spends too much time as a ball handler.)

(Scottie Pippen, a true small forward, demonstrated his versatility on both sides of the ball.)

While small forwards comprised the largest portion of the players selected in last Thursday's NBA draft (15), a sign that the league remains off-track, there are only five players listed at that position who will be in attendance at that Pan-Am Trials. SF Tasmin Mitchell, SF Maarty Leunen, SF Alonzo Gee, SF Brandon Costner and SF James Gist all seem to uphold the standards of a small forward, playing off the ball and scoring their points via an amalgam of jumpers, transition baskets and tough hoops in the lane. Even if these five have spent their college careers as versatile off-ball contributors, expect Coach Jay Wright to drive home a team-oriented philosophy in which no one brings the ball up the floor aside from the potential PG crew of Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins, Eric Maynor, Drew Neitzel, Scottie Reynolds, Kyle Weaver and maybe Eric Devendorf. “The United States hasn’t won a gold medal in the Pan American Games in a long time," said Wright. "We have got a lot of work to do. I rely on the committee to pick the team. Once they pick the team, we will try to figure out the best way for that group to play and hopefully be able to compete for a gold medal.” Wright’s equal valuing of all positions will create the balance needed to win. “I hope when we put the team together we have a mixture of an inside game, great shooters, and also some slashers,” added Wright.

It seems that these apocalyptic Independence Day movies carry with them important lessons about freedom, aliens and of course, sports. Independence Day taught us that, in addition to destroying a technologically superior army with computer viruses uploaded from a 1996 IBM laptop, our greatest asset is our ability to cooperate. Everyone sacrifices for the good of the human race - even the President jumps into the cockpit of a fighter plane.