tlongII
08-30-2007, 10:17 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf?/base/sports/118844072391800.xml&coll=7&thispage=1
Thursday, August 30, 2007
TUALATIN T he front doors of the Trail Blazers practice facility were bolted shut Wednesday. To get inside, you needed a key, or a thumbprint that the security-system scanner outside recognized. And a catering company delivery van was parked outside, along with the automobiles of 12 NBA players.
Inside the practice facility, guard Steve Blake shot three-pointers. And center Greg Oden stretched. And guard Jarrett Jack worked with the team's new shooting coach, John Townsend. And power forward LaMarcus Aldridge and guard Brandon Roy were there, too.
Darius Miles isn't cleared to scrimmage yet, but he's showing up, too, to work out twice a day. In fact, the only Blazers who haven't yet reported are 14-year veteran Raef LaFrentz, Joel Przybilla and Sergio Rodriguez, who is playing in the European Championships, team officials said.
Also, Martell Webster, 15 pounds lighter than a year ago, dunked on Aldridge and Oden in what one longtime insider called, "The most remarkable dunk this practice facility has ever seen."
And another insider who has observed the daily full-court pick-up games this week reported that Aldridge has been the most dominant player in the gym most days.
No media allowed in the gym. No fans allowed, either. In fact, during this time period, coaches are allowed to observe only when more than three players are on the court.
Still, those bleeding out of the building kept shaking their heads and saying words like, "unprecedented" and "inspiring" and "remarkable." And even as the franchise would love to lock down the facility until the season opener, keep all this activity clandestine, the fact that the Blazers mean business needs to become the worst-kept secret in the city.
Consider that the typical ambitious NBA player might normally report to his training facility a week or 10 days early. Then, understand that all this voluntary activity is going down as we're still five weeks from the opening of camp.
The Blazers had a good, small group that arrived early last year, but this year, it's infected most of the team. Yes, this early arrival was the players' idea, apparently born from enthusiasm. And a few phone calls from Roy to some of his teammates. And suddenly, the youngest team in the league is behaving as if it doesn't want to be the worst team in the league ever again.
I'll toast to that. So will you. Because when a high-level executive of the San Antonio Spurs was informed this week that Oden and Co. -- and that's what this team is now -- reported more than a month early, his only reply was, "Seriously?"
We've heard a lot of talk about a change in culture in Portland. But what we have here is evidence that the players on this team: (a) want to be in Portland and (b) have become accountable not only to the franchise and fans, but more significant, to themselves.
On Wednesday, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said he was sorry that there was no media access this week. He was apologetic for the closed doors and private workouts, but said he was excited about the enthusiasm, and his smile did all the talking when I asked him how unprecedented this kind of wholesale early arrival was by league standards.
"This just doesn't happen anywhere else," he said.
Then, Pritchard suggested that maybe I wait a week or two to write this piece. He said if I came back then, he figured it might be a better column, because I'd be allowed to observe a workout and talk with players, and not be shooed away from the front doors.
Then, Pritchard's cell phone rang.
It was owner Paul Allen, wanting an update.
Which is only to say, fans love this kind of stuff.
Apologies to Pritchard, but this column wouldn't be any more useful to readers with a player quote about the early activity. Or with me watching Blake shoot that three, firsthand. Or by me seeing that Webster dunk. Or by watching Aldridge play with purpose with my own two eyes.
We shouldn't wait one more minute, or hour, or day, to report that the Blazers are here, working, playing, and being accountable in a way that should make us all smile. It's happening whether we see it or not, whether reporters or cameras are allowed.
And that's significant.
When the Blazers end a typical regular-season practice, they leave the court and find the media waiting for them between the court and the weight room.
I once saw ex-Blazer Bonzi Wells leave the practice court in Tualatin, head toward the locker room, then notice the media, which caused him to alter his path into the weight room. He did a couple of sets of bicep curls, looking around to see if anyone noticed, before slipping away.
And another Blazers player approached me once, after I'd written a positive column about the hard work some of his teammates were putting in after practice, to say, "If I'd known people were going to write about it, I'd have stayed late that day, too."
False hustle, see.
But in this case, the Blazers really are working for the sole sake of improvement.
What we have here is an authentic case of progress.
The franchise should be screaming from the nearest park bench about this wonderful development. The staffers, forever at the mercy of the players on the roster for the franchise's public image, should be walking the halls, hugging and high-fiving today.
The season has already started.
John Canzano: 503-294-5065; [email protected] To read his blog, go to http://blog.oregonlive.com/ johncanzano; Catch him on the radio on "The Bald-Faced Truth" beginning Sept. 3, from 6-8 p.m. on KXL (750)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
TUALATIN T he front doors of the Trail Blazers practice facility were bolted shut Wednesday. To get inside, you needed a key, or a thumbprint that the security-system scanner outside recognized. And a catering company delivery van was parked outside, along with the automobiles of 12 NBA players.
Inside the practice facility, guard Steve Blake shot three-pointers. And center Greg Oden stretched. And guard Jarrett Jack worked with the team's new shooting coach, John Townsend. And power forward LaMarcus Aldridge and guard Brandon Roy were there, too.
Darius Miles isn't cleared to scrimmage yet, but he's showing up, too, to work out twice a day. In fact, the only Blazers who haven't yet reported are 14-year veteran Raef LaFrentz, Joel Przybilla and Sergio Rodriguez, who is playing in the European Championships, team officials said.
Also, Martell Webster, 15 pounds lighter than a year ago, dunked on Aldridge and Oden in what one longtime insider called, "The most remarkable dunk this practice facility has ever seen."
And another insider who has observed the daily full-court pick-up games this week reported that Aldridge has been the most dominant player in the gym most days.
No media allowed in the gym. No fans allowed, either. In fact, during this time period, coaches are allowed to observe only when more than three players are on the court.
Still, those bleeding out of the building kept shaking their heads and saying words like, "unprecedented" and "inspiring" and "remarkable." And even as the franchise would love to lock down the facility until the season opener, keep all this activity clandestine, the fact that the Blazers mean business needs to become the worst-kept secret in the city.
Consider that the typical ambitious NBA player might normally report to his training facility a week or 10 days early. Then, understand that all this voluntary activity is going down as we're still five weeks from the opening of camp.
The Blazers had a good, small group that arrived early last year, but this year, it's infected most of the team. Yes, this early arrival was the players' idea, apparently born from enthusiasm. And a few phone calls from Roy to some of his teammates. And suddenly, the youngest team in the league is behaving as if it doesn't want to be the worst team in the league ever again.
I'll toast to that. So will you. Because when a high-level executive of the San Antonio Spurs was informed this week that Oden and Co. -- and that's what this team is now -- reported more than a month early, his only reply was, "Seriously?"
We've heard a lot of talk about a change in culture in Portland. But what we have here is evidence that the players on this team: (a) want to be in Portland and (b) have become accountable not only to the franchise and fans, but more significant, to themselves.
On Wednesday, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said he was sorry that there was no media access this week. He was apologetic for the closed doors and private workouts, but said he was excited about the enthusiasm, and his smile did all the talking when I asked him how unprecedented this kind of wholesale early arrival was by league standards.
"This just doesn't happen anywhere else," he said.
Then, Pritchard suggested that maybe I wait a week or two to write this piece. He said if I came back then, he figured it might be a better column, because I'd be allowed to observe a workout and talk with players, and not be shooed away from the front doors.
Then, Pritchard's cell phone rang.
It was owner Paul Allen, wanting an update.
Which is only to say, fans love this kind of stuff.
Apologies to Pritchard, but this column wouldn't be any more useful to readers with a player quote about the early activity. Or with me watching Blake shoot that three, firsthand. Or by me seeing that Webster dunk. Or by watching Aldridge play with purpose with my own two eyes.
We shouldn't wait one more minute, or hour, or day, to report that the Blazers are here, working, playing, and being accountable in a way that should make us all smile. It's happening whether we see it or not, whether reporters or cameras are allowed.
And that's significant.
When the Blazers end a typical regular-season practice, they leave the court and find the media waiting for them between the court and the weight room.
I once saw ex-Blazer Bonzi Wells leave the practice court in Tualatin, head toward the locker room, then notice the media, which caused him to alter his path into the weight room. He did a couple of sets of bicep curls, looking around to see if anyone noticed, before slipping away.
And another Blazers player approached me once, after I'd written a positive column about the hard work some of his teammates were putting in after practice, to say, "If I'd known people were going to write about it, I'd have stayed late that day, too."
False hustle, see.
But in this case, the Blazers really are working for the sole sake of improvement.
What we have here is an authentic case of progress.
The franchise should be screaming from the nearest park bench about this wonderful development. The staffers, forever at the mercy of the players on the roster for the franchise's public image, should be walking the halls, hugging and high-fiving today.
The season has already started.
John Canzano: 503-294-5065; [email protected] To read his blog, go to http://blog.oregonlive.com/ johncanzano; Catch him on the radio on "The Bald-Faced Truth" beginning Sept. 3, from 6-8 p.m. on KXL (750)