Orlando
"I've always played against Erick [Dampier] on Playstation," Dwight Howard told the Bradenton Herald, "and now I'm going against him for real." Howard is banging with the big boys at the fourth annual Big Man Camp run by former NBA centers Robert Parish and Clifford Ray in Bradenton, FL.
He is learning fundamental things such as what to do when your defender is leaning against you. "When Erick pushes on me," he explained, "I try to use that to my advantage to get past him because it usually means he's mostly off-balance." Howard is also learning some patience. Whereas in high school he had to rush his shot to avoid double- and triple-teams, here it's mainly one-on-one, and he can work to get a better shot off.
Parish and Ray are also working to make sure Howard comports himself like a professional both on and off the court.
For a camp that seems specifically for big men, there are a lot of little guys next door at the Basketball Academy, where most of the big guys head over after camp to play full-court games. NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups and his teammate Tayshaun Prince are here. Last year's starting Magic point guard and current Rocket Tyronn Lue is here. Even fellow high school rookie Sebastian Telfair is here. Telfair and Howard hooked up in one possession for a monster dunk off of a no-look pass.
Parish is a three-time champion with the Boston Celtics who Howard says he say play only as he neared retirement. Ray was a center for Chicago and Golden State until 1981, four years before Howard was born.
Ray will be an assistant coach for the Magic under Johnny Davis this season so Howard will have a lot of continuity in teaching throughout the year.
TEAM NOTES
TODAY! Friday, August 20: Talent Auditions, Open Casting Call, 10am-2pm or 4-8pm @ the Multisport Gym @ RDV Sportsplex.
Members of the Magic staff loaded 80,000 pounds of icefrom refrigerated semi-trucks into Blue Bell Ice Cream trucks today. In an effort to help residents of Central Florida without power due to Hurricane Charley, the ice will be distributed to various locations in the area. The ice was transported from Michigan and distributed with the help of the Magic, WKMG Local 6 and Blue Bell.
Catch up with Andrew DeClercqon the Magic web site.
Mike Henry ofThe Bradenton Heraldwrites: Banging bodies in the paint against 6-foot-11, 270-pound veteran NBA center Erick Dampier is not the classic description of a fun summer activity. But 18-year-old Dwight Howard, the No. 1 overall selection in the NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, is glad to trade a day at the beach to further his basketball education. "I've always played against Erick on Playstation, and now I'm going against him for real," Howard said at Manatee Community College, where he is taking part in the fourth annual Big Man Camp conducted by former NBA centers Robert Parish and Clifford Ray... Howard displayed his vast potential Wednesday, muscling inside against 7-foot Los Angeles Clippers center Mamadou N'diaye early for a soft right-handed bank shot while drawing a foul. During one sequence, Howard received a no-look pass from another high schooler drafted in the first round, point guard Sebastian Telfair of the Portland Trail Blazers, for a spectacular slam dunk... The assemblage of talent in the Big Man Camp and The Basketball Academy's summer program could doubtless contend for a medal at the Olympics in Athens. Besides the aforementioned players, also in town are such NBA talents as guard Chauncey Billups and forward Tayshaun Prince of the NBA champion Detroit Pistons; guard Tyronn Lue of the Houston Rockets; Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood of the Washington Wizards and Dahntay Jones of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Josh Gotthelf ofFox Sportswrites: The Smack Gods have got to give a huge shout out to Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos and his wife Helen for the $1 million they contributed to the Hurricane Charley Relief Fund.What's so refreshing is the lack of fanfare associated with their goodwill; there was no press release, no mention of it on the team's Web site or anything like that, just straight kindness. Yeah, it makes us feel a bit inferior, too.
Dr. Todd Boyd ofRap News Directwrites: By the mid '90s hip-hop had overtaken all other forms of popular music and many of the newly minted NBA millionaires had grown up with hip-hop as the exclusive soundtrack of their lives. When Shaq was just an Orlando Magic rookie, he appeared on "The Arsenio Hall Show" and spit a verse with the rap group Fu-Schnickens.A connection that had only been suggested before had suddenly become the real deal. Shaq would go on to record several hip-hop albums, and he would later be joined in the music game by several of his NBA colleagues, also aspiring rappers. At one point several ballers disguised as rappers even recorded an extremely wack compilation album called "The NBA's Best Kept Secrets," which featured an array of NBA players attempting to showcase their rap skills. This record served to underscore the fact that all of these ballers should keep their day jobs.