The Washington Wizards took center stage Saturday night at the Stuart C.
Siegel Center as they concluded their 2007-2008 training camp with an open
scrimmage that marked the fourth consecutive year the team has practiced at
VCU.
“They really made us feel at home. It’s a great facility,” forward Antawn
Jamison said of holding camp at VCU. “It’s been great. Once again, another
enjoyable training camp, and we had fun.”
The scrimmage marked the first time the public could watch the team play
together since being swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs
by bitter rival LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in April.
Not everyone who will be with the team opening night at Indiana on Oct.
31 participated in the contest. Head coach Eddie Jordan, beginning his fifth
season in Washington, was not present for the final day of camp after a recent
death in the family. Associate head coach Mike O’Koren led the team instead.
Jamison and All-Star Gilbert Arenas sat out the night because of “slight nagging
injuries,” according to the team.
Steve Buckhantz, who fans might recognize as the play-by-play voice of
the Wizards on Comcast SportsNet, emceed the event as the public address
announcer.
Three periods of decreasing lengths composed the intra-squad scrimmage
with the Wizards divided into black- and white-jersey teams.
The first period, a standard NBA quarter duration of 12 minutes, saw the
black team overcome a 9-point deficit to defeat the white team, 23-20. The
black team leaned on veteran guard Antonio Daniels to set up the offense and
teach the rookies. Dominic McGuire from Fresno State was one of the rookies
that stood out.
“Dominic was explosive. We really saw what he can do. He’ll have to continue
to work, and we’ll see where this goes,” O’Koren said afterward.
Players spent the timeout from the first to second period with their attention
divided between instruction from assistant coaches and watching mascot G-Wiz
dance to “Crank That” by Soulja Boy and Yung Joc’s “It’s Goin’ Down.”
In the second period, the clock started with 10 minutes, and the score was
reset to 0-0. Neither side shot the ball particularly well, as both finished less
than 40 percent from the field. The white team edged out the black, 17-16, with
the aid of three combined blocked shots from Donell Taylor, Tony Massenburg
and Andray Blatche, who provided the best defensive effort from either side.
DeShawn Stevenson, who contributed 5 points to the black team in the period,
waved his hand in front of his face as his “can’t see me” gesture after hitting
each shot. Daniels ended the period with an emphatic breakaway dunk in the
final seconds.
Play got sloppy in the six-minute third period. The black team converted
baskets followed by free throws from Darius Songaila and Brendan Haywood
to jump out to a 12-0 lead before the white team scored, but it didn’t change
the team’s attitude that camp was an overall success.
“We’ve been a little bit more focused,” Jamison said. “Not too many guys
have been jumping around like in the last couple years. We know that this is
a serious situation, and guys came in and worked hard.”
The Wizards were also spared any major injuries.
“You always want to walk out as healthy as you walked in,” O’Koren said.
To the dismay of fans, the most action they saw from Arenas was the point
guard looking up and smiling as they yelled his “stage name,” “Hibachi,” while
he sat in sweats on the bench.
Arenas, who had participated all of the camp until the scrimmage, expects to
play Tuesday night, along with Jamison, when the team takes on Cleveland.
“As it stands now, certainly they will. How many minutes, though, will be
determined,” O’Koren said.
Haywood showed improvement over previous seasons and will now start for
the Wizards by default. At the start of the week, it looked as if Haywood would
compete with Etan Thomas for the job, but Thomas has been sidelined indefinitely
with a potentially career-threatening heart irregularity. Haywood’s efforts to improve
his career free throw percentage of 59.5 were evident, as he was perfect from the
charity stripe throughout the scrimmage.
The night’s attendance was 3,100, the largest turnout in the four years the
Wizards have been holding camp at the Siegel Center.
The team has continued to bring its own hardwood floor to play on from the
practice facility at Verizon Center because they say it is better on the players’ knees
than the less-springy court of the Siegel Center.
Washington, playing the season under the marketing mantra “Ready to Rule,”
plays eight preseason games. The first is Tuesday night in Cleveland, followed by
a Saturday night match-up with the Dallas Mavericks at the Patriot Center on the
campus of George Mason University in Fairfax.