Washington
Washington's starting center and two backup forwards are participating in the fourth annual Big Man Camp in Bradenton, FL run by Hall-of-Fame center Robert Parish and 10-year NBA veteran center Clifford Ray. Brendan Haywood, Etan Thomas, and Jared Jeffries are learning the fundamentals and playing against such competition as Erick Dampier, Mamadou N'diaye, and Dwight Howard.
Also attending despite the "Big Man" nomenclature is reigning NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups and his teammate Tayshaun Prince. To be fair, they are attending the Basketball Academy next door to the Big Man Camp, but many of the big men make their way over there as well to partake in full-court games.
The article by John Packett of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (see Newslines below) describes only one play in which a Wizard participated. Orlando rookie Howard blocked a shot by Clippers center N'diaye to start a fast break that ended with a Jeffries layup on the other side. It's nice to see that Jeffries is playing with a power forward straight out of high school. Perhaps he will gain some sort of unspoken bond with Kwame Brown when Wizards training camp starts on October 4.
The Wizards have not announced yet where they will hold training camp though it is possible it could be in Richmond, VA's Siegel Center.
TEAM NOTES
You can shop at the Wizards team storewhere you can personalized jerseys with your name and number.
The Wizards are very proud of their local Olympian Peter John Ramos. They are tracking Puerto Rico's Olympic progress off their main web page here.
John Packett ofThe Richmond Times-Dispatch writes: Could the Washington Wizards be coming to Richmond for the start of training camp?That appears to be a good pos- sibility after officials from the NBA team got a look at the Siegel Center, home of Virginia Commonwealth's Rams and the potential site for the Oct. 4-10 camp. "They came down Saturday evening and we took them on a tour of the facility, to make sure it would meet their needs, if they decide to come here," said Tim Lampe, director of the Siegel Center. "I think, with our space, we could give them everything they asked us for." That would include six basketball courts, locker room and storage space, a training room and space for the media. "I also know that, along the East Coast, you're not going to find many facilities that have six indoor basketball courts in one room," Lampe said. The Wizards have held their training camps in recent years in Wilmington, N.C., and Charleston, S.C.
Mike Henry ofThe Bradenton Herald writes: "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... 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. On the opponent's next possession, Howard swooped from outside the lane to block a shot by N'diaye, keying a fast break that led to a layup by Jared Jeffries of the Washington Wizards.