The Summer Scoop- July 6, 2006
by Devin Blankenship
In the Trenches…
If there is one thing you have to hand to Coach Musselman after a few weeks on the job, it’s that he’s not afraid to get in the trenches and do some dirty work.
Musselman has been one of the first ones to arrive to the Kings Practice Facility each morning and one of the last to leave. He has been in the workout room, getting his own routine in at the same time as some of the players, setting an example that the weight room will be as important as the practice floor.
He has even been on the floor, lining up with and going through dribbling drills with some of the young players, including Ronnie Price and Quincy Douby, showing them proper techniques. A former guard in college, Muss still has some handles.
Fugetaboutit!...
Sacramento has seen an invasion of New Yorkers over the past year, and the epicenter resides at One Sports Parkway. Seemingly every borough is represented at the Kings Practice Facility, from the Bronx to Manhattan to Queens. Normally this time of year you would hear chatter regarding local baseball teams like the Giants or A’s—now talk about the Yankees and Mets dominates.
Some people have even been asked by these East Coasters what time the number six train stops at the practice facility en route to downtown Sac…okay, that’s just a bad attempt at humor, but it sure does feel like the invasion of the Empire State sometimes.
The Kings have always had a few New Yorkers around—Grant Napear broadcasts the games, Marty McNeal used to be the beat writer and still is a regular at ARCO.
But the real influx came a year ago with the addition of Francisco Garcia, a native of the Bronx—a move that seemed to trigger an East Coast relocation. Garcia was followed shortly by Queensboro’s finest, Ron Artest and Hakeem Sylver, the team’s assistant security guru, who is from Long Island.
Quincy Douby became the fourth a week ago when he was picked #19 in the draft out of Rutgers and Brooklyn, respectively. Add in new assistant coach Brendan O’Connor, who coached for the Knicks last season, and all of the friends and family who make up each player’s support body, and calling the team the New York Kings of Sacramento doesn’t seem like such a stretch.
At least they didn’t bring the NY summer humidity with them.
Lights Out…
Speaking of Douby, the youngster reportedly put on a shooting clinic for Geoff Petrie before the draft, leaving some of the Kings front office to report that it was one of the best shooting performances they had seen in a while.
Douby came to Sacramento last week for his first press conference and immediately began hitting the weight room to get ready for the rigors of an 82-game season, a good sign.
Francisco Garcia also appears to be a bit more cut, similar to the progression Kevin Martin made last offseason.
Young Bigs…
One of the most intriguing aspects of summer league will be the play of the young big men that were invited to camp as undrafted free-agents.
Justin Williams of Wyoming, Taj Gray of Oklahoma, Yemi Nickolson of Denver, and Louis Amundson of UNLV all have a shot of making this squad, not only to training amp, but on into the regular season.
The Kings were especially high on Amundson during the NBA draft, and were quick to pounce on him after the selection process ended. He is a hard working power forward with some athleticism. Think of a smaller Scot Pollard type with more hops.
Justin Williams comes into camp with an intriguing resume. He is a Ben Wallace-type—under-sized at 6’ 10 and 220 pounds and raw on offense, but extremely athletic on the glass. He also averaged more than five blocks a game in college—no small feat in any division.
Taj Gray is another under-sized but athletic big man, while Nicholson was a dominant seven footer in a mid-sized conference. Look for at least a couple of the four to be invited back to training camp in October, similar to Ronnie Price last season.
