NBA Rookie Shoot

I was just asked to attend the NBA Rookie Shoot in Jersey this weekend. (Although it sounds exciting, I reluctantly agreed to go because I hate waking up early on weekends). Apparently, I'm needed for my computer savvy skills (even though my job here is football, not basketball). Should be a pretty good time, even though we'll be in a random, un-air-conditioned gym in New-freaking-Jersey...

So, the point of this thread: Bostjan Nachbar and Tito Maddox will be there, and I'm gonna do my best to try to talk to them. Sounds like as good a time as ever for the "What kind of tree would you be?" question. I was also thinking of asking Boki about the "Thank You" letter he wrote to Rudy. Anything else I should ask?

NOTE: Be advised that I do have actual responsibilities there, so don't be pissed if I come back without getting to talk to these guys...

 

Well, neither Nachbar nor Maddox showed up to the rookie shoot. So, no questions.... I did see a Maddox jersey, though. I believe he was #48. I'm not sure why they didn't come.

I asked Drew Gooden about Eddie Griffin and their summer league game against each other. He said that Eddie's shooting was crazy from the outside and that they were having fun just going at it. Strangely enough, though, he remembered his and Eddie's exact stats for the game. He liked Eddie's game.

I also asked Drew about his thoughts on Yao Ming. He said (and I quote): "You guys [Rockets] f***ed up taking that tall guy..." He did agree with me, though, that Ming would puts butts in the seats. (We then started an argument over worst attendance record in the league. I said New Jersey. He said Charlotte.)

Some random observations of the rookies (and other things):
1) Nene Hilario, Amare Stoudemire, and Chris Wilcox are pretty big guys. All of them can throw down monster dunks.
2) Tskitishvili likes the name "Tskiti" (pronounced "Skeeta"). He also looked like a toothpick.
3) "Nene" is actually pronounced "Nay-nay." I didn't know that.
4) Jay Williams can put on a dunk exhibition. He's also very approachable (even though he was out till 4:00 AM the previous night partying).
5) Kareem Rush can shoot lights out. I don't recall him missing any jumpshots (at my station, at least).
6) Casey Jacobsen is a very quiet guy.
7) Drew Gooden, Hilario, Wilcox, and Chris Jeffries are nice guys.
8) Steve Logan is freaking short.
9) DeJuan Wagner is a bit cocky and doesn't look a day over 16. (He also showed up late to the shoot, which prompted me to ask, "Hey, don't you live in Jersey??")
10) The Denver rookies were all hanging out together and having a good time. They wanted a group photo (which we agreed to).
11) Caron Butler is smaller than I thought.
12) Jared Jeffries had little personality. I didn't see the bulk on him that everybody's been talking about. He still looked rail thin to me.
13) Tayshaun Prince looked good. He was taller than I thought he would be.
14) The global marketing NBA guy I chatted with says that fake jerseys are already rampant in China (before Ming even steps on the court). He said the NBA has "police" everywhere to combat the problem. Not sure what he meant by that. Then again, I don't trust him because he's an avid Raiders fan...
15) None of the rookies were really asses. Rob Archibald came close, but he arrived late and was really tired, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
16) The rookies loved digital photography. Every player wanted to see how the photos came out...
17) Melvin Ely had a good sense of humor about being one of the "elders" of the group and also being able to drink legally.
18) Qyntel Woods wasn't exactly the brightest guy around.
19) Roger Mason looked pretty young to me.
20) Rod Grizzard and John Salmons should be filed into the "bigger-than-I-thought" category.
21) After seeing him in action, the Knicks fans at the shoot lamented the fact that they passed on Wilcox. I gave them the old Nelson "Ha ha!"
22) The guys at the other photo station were raving about Ryan Humphrey. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good look at him.

 

To answer your question, Gooden said nothing more beyond what I posted. He gave no reasons for his opinion. Is he jealous? I don't know. His tone was kind of lighthearted about the whole thing. However, I really think he meant what he said. On the upside, though, he was a pretty nice guy and had nothing but positive things to say about Griffin. Granted, he was harsh about Ming, but that doesn't mean we should attack him, anonymous-no-holds-barred-internet-style. It's not like his comments were public to a national audience or anything. It was just between him and me, and lest you forget, I asked him about Ming.

ArtV- I more or less lucked into my current job. I had a pretty good sports background, so that enabled me to do what I do now. You must have some sports experience plus decent sports knowledge to break in. Connections don't hurt, either. (I will say the card business is in a bit of a downturn, though, and it may not let up for a while.) To gain a foothold, I would advise having your sons intern for a team... ANY team. It's a definite good start, and you can gain valuable networking there.