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I heard the interviews but I'm not sure how many did. Here's what I remember that kind of caught my attention:
It was pretty refreshing hear R.C. talk pretty candidly about how they viewed the last two years. Acknowledging that they felt Manu's injury in '08 was the difference-maker against L.A. and that the reason they didn't pull the Jefferson trade at the deadline last year, is that they felt this group still could get it done.
Because of injuries and uncertainty with the likes of a Hill (admitting the Mason experiment was only due to the fact that they weren't sure about Hill and the playoffs) they weren't sure exactly what they had, or how close they were to the elite. The way the year ended though, convinced the front office that significant moves were needed in order to be able to compete moving forward.
R.C., like Pop, acknowledged that they were looking to get that starting big with the MLE. Jason, prefacing he knew he couldn't talk about specific player, brought up 'Sheed and told R.C. of Duel's offer to sweeten the pot by mowing his ('Sheed's) lawn and washing his car if he signed, R.C. then joked that maybe they could put a billboard in his yard ala Sac. to persuade him.('Sheed definitely sounded to be there #1)
R.C. was careful to not sound as giddy about Blair and McClinton as he did on draft night, somewhat trying to temper some of the expectations, but you could tell he was definitely excited about these prospects.
He made a point of talking about how good their training staff and Pop are about dealing with injuries/health concerns, and actually made a good point in that Blair may see a more rigorous 82-game schedule, but the practice time would be significantly less on the NBA level.
I also found it quite amusing how they simply ignored Blair falling down the draft board because they figured there was no way of him lasting to their pick. They took notice as the second round began but figured he'd definitely go then, since the risk of those knees wasn't all that great in the second round. Needless to say, they were ecstatic with the pick and the quickness of which it was made, he acknowledged as proof of that.
R.C was on both 760 and 1250 but Jack only made an appearance on 760.
Jack was on with Taylor and the guy sounded pretty damn excited.
He's a Baltimore kid and fan of the Raven's but tried to score a couple of points by saying he was a fan of the Spurs growing up. Taylor kind of called him on it, so I think he said he was a Bulls fan growing up (shocker) but did always like the Spurs and especially Avery's story. (Because of how they said he couldn't shoot, yet he nailed that game-winner to seal the Finals in New York.)
Regardless of who he rooted for then, he admits he's all Spurs now.
He acknowledged that he's always been questioned and looked over because of his height but remains undeterred and driven to prove the doubters wrong.
When asked about his chances of making the team he seemed extremely confident/driven. He acknowledged he's a capable defender and stressed if he's asked to go out there and just focus in on locking someone down, that's what he's going to do.
He also admitted that he woke up at about 6:15am because he was too hyped to stay asleep, so after he went and got something to drink, he decided to go run a couple of miles. He absolutely can't wait to get to work. (Jack and Gist's boundless energy should be fun to watch.:crossfingers)
While R.C. made it pretty clear that Jack isn't guaranteed a roster spot, he seemed quite confident that his shooting should translate, even if shooting isn't always as easy to predict or get a handle on. What might bode best for Jack though, is how R.C. answered how they viewed finding a backup-point in free agency.
R.C. stated that the backup-point was not a significant concern and that Hill and McClinton would be competing for it. R.C. seemed quite sold on Hill and felt he'd seen enough of Hill to know they had a capable backup, but him sliding McClinton in to the equation (and just the way he said it) leads me to believe he expects Jack to be on the team.
Summer league should be fun...
