ducks
06-30-2006, 09:57 AM
Nik Caner-Medley on summer league for Pistons
http://sports.mainetoday.com/pro/ba...nermedley.shtml
Nik Caner-Medley's best chance of being selected in Wednesday night's NBA draft was also his last chance. The Detroit Pistons, with the 60th and final pick of the two-round draft, were interested in Caner-Medley.
The Pistons chose Will Blalock, a point guard from Iowa State, instead of Caner-Medley, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound small forward who grew up in Portland.
"They were a team all along that showed a lot of interest," said Caner-Medley. "They were very positive when we talked. They said they had a need for a player like me, that I would be a good fit for their style."
That was on June 21, when Caner-Medley worked out for Detroit. The Pistons, one of the eight teams Caner-Medley visited, made no promises, but Caner-Medley was happy with the impression he left.
The Pistons were impressed enough to invite Caner-Medley to play for their summer-league team as a free agent.
Thursday morning, about nine hours after he heard Blalock's name as the final pick of the draft, Caner-Medley was on a conference call with media who reported on his four-year career at the University of Maryland.
"This is a process," said Caner-Medley. "I'm looking long-term and I've got to take it step-by-step. The next step is to play well in the summer league."
Understandably, Caner-Medley's agent thinks he'll do well. "(Detroit) loves Nik's versatility," Mark Bartelstein said later Thursday. "They like guys who can do a lot of things on the court. They love his grit, his toughness."
Bartelstein's Chicago-based agency represents several dozen athletes, including Antoine Walker and James Posey of the Miami Heat and Adam Morrison, who was the third player drafted Wednesday, going to Charlotte.
"I felt I was one of the best 60 guys in the draft," said Caner-Medley. "But the draft is based on what a team needs. There were people speculating that I might go from 40 to 60, but I had no solid feeling."
He noted the increasingly international makeup of the draft. "The last 15 picks, some of them I've never heard of before."
Caner-Medley watched the draft with dozens of family members and friends from his mother's home. While some NBA fans turned away from the latter stage of the draft because of the approaching midnight hour, Caner-Medley had to wait until the very last pick, which belonged to Detroit.
"As a player, you understand," he said. "It really is out of your hands. I was watching for a lot of the people I know, to see where they'd go."
While at Deering High, Caner-Medley fought the perception that he wasn't quite good enough to play regularly for a top NCAA Division I program. He went on to play for Maryland the year after the Terps won the national championship.
Now he'll fight to prove he can play in the NBA, and maybe with the team that won the championship in 2005.
"It gives me motivation," said Caner-Medley before the draft. "I'm confident I can make it."
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http://sports.mainetoday.com/pro/ba...nermedley.shtml
Nik Caner-Medley's best chance of being selected in Wednesday night's NBA draft was also his last chance. The Detroit Pistons, with the 60th and final pick of the two-round draft, were interested in Caner-Medley.
The Pistons chose Will Blalock, a point guard from Iowa State, instead of Caner-Medley, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound small forward who grew up in Portland.
"They were a team all along that showed a lot of interest," said Caner-Medley. "They were very positive when we talked. They said they had a need for a player like me, that I would be a good fit for their style."
That was on June 21, when Caner-Medley worked out for Detroit. The Pistons, one of the eight teams Caner-Medley visited, made no promises, but Caner-Medley was happy with the impression he left.
The Pistons were impressed enough to invite Caner-Medley to play for their summer-league team as a free agent.
Thursday morning, about nine hours after he heard Blalock's name as the final pick of the draft, Caner-Medley was on a conference call with media who reported on his four-year career at the University of Maryland.
"This is a process," said Caner-Medley. "I'm looking long-term and I've got to take it step-by-step. The next step is to play well in the summer league."
Understandably, Caner-Medley's agent thinks he'll do well. "(Detroit) loves Nik's versatility," Mark Bartelstein said later Thursday. "They like guys who can do a lot of things on the court. They love his grit, his toughness."
Bartelstein's Chicago-based agency represents several dozen athletes, including Antoine Walker and James Posey of the Miami Heat and Adam Morrison, who was the third player drafted Wednesday, going to Charlotte.
"I felt I was one of the best 60 guys in the draft," said Caner-Medley. "But the draft is based on what a team needs. There were people speculating that I might go from 40 to 60, but I had no solid feeling."
He noted the increasingly international makeup of the draft. "The last 15 picks, some of them I've never heard of before."
Caner-Medley watched the draft with dozens of family members and friends from his mother's home. While some NBA fans turned away from the latter stage of the draft because of the approaching midnight hour, Caner-Medley had to wait until the very last pick, which belonged to Detroit.
"As a player, you understand," he said. "It really is out of your hands. I was watching for a lot of the people I know, to see where they'd go."
While at Deering High, Caner-Medley fought the perception that he wasn't quite good enough to play regularly for a top NCAA Division I program. He went on to play for Maryland the year after the Terps won the national championship.
Now he'll fight to prove he can play in the NBA, and maybe with the team that won the championship in 2005.
"It gives me motivation," said Caner-Medley before the draft. "I'm confident I can make it."
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