I remember chatting with Leon Powe at The Q last spring, during the '08 playoffs, and when I asked him about teaming up with LeBron James on some AAU teams during their teenage years, his patented Celtic scowl turned into one huge grin. He, LeBron and Kendrick Perkins were just three of the notable names, when AAU teams could "recruit" whomever they wanted. And who didn't want the superstar from Akron.
Leon recalled a time during a camp prior to their junior year, so we're talking about the summer of '01, when Leon was a high flying dunker from Oakland Tech and considered one of the top juniors in the nation. He asked a counselor how good was this James kid from Ohio and he was told he's pretty good. After Leon saw him in one game, he said, this guy IS good. Then, he watched him again, and thought, man, "he is REAL GOOD", and right there knew King James was going to take away his chance of becoming the best of the '03 class.
Today, Leon reminisced about those days, as he looks forward to being on LeBron's side again. One memory that came to mind from a summer camp, which attracted all the best high schoolers in the country, including Brooklyn's Lenny Cooke, who was New York's supposed future star, to follow the many who preceded him. The hype machine had convinced everyone that Cook would demolish everyone, including this phenom, known as King James. Leon remembers everyone asking LeBron how he was going to possibly stop Lenny Cooke and Leon noticed LBJ was saying very little, just taking it all in, thinking I'll show you. And when the game began, it was no contest, Leon recalled, he says LeBron scored 24 points before Cook even managed to score! Leon himself had a good game with 24 points and a handful of boards, but he knew that very day, LeBron James would become something special.
Now, Leon will get to watch those LBJ routines in practice every day. And if the newest Cav can come back from knee surgery the way he knows he has before, it will be like those ABCD summer camps all over again. The class of '03 lives on!
The ad slogan "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas" does not apply to young NBA players. The idea is to bring home what was experienced in the NBA Summer League, and apply it to the rest of the summer. That is clearly the case for the Cavs draftees, Christian Eyenga and Danny Green, both got valuable playing time with the Cavs summer entry.
In Eyenga's case it was a chance to show his tremendous athleticism. Chris Jent, who coached the Wine and Gold squad was impressed with the 20 year-old's ability to defend the perimeter and to contest shots. His length and explosiveness for example allowed him to get to shooters to make those jumpers more difficult than normal because of his length and quickness. Because Christian is learning the NBA game on the fly now, he's doing more thinking than reacting, and that will come as he learns the Cavs defensive system, not to mention the English language. But his ability to explode off the jump catches your attention right away. And not just his ability to jump quickly off one foot, but two feet in an instant, can be breathtaking. One of the things Christian is not able to do much in Europe is take off on one leg, because it often results in a charge in traffic often times. Whereas in the NBA he'll be able to use that explosion and get to the rim and not pick up that offensive foul. He is an intriguing prospect to say the least.
Danny Green, the Cavs 2nd round pick also made some nice strides in Vegas. What you'll notice this fall is his ability to defend the perimeter, using his size, strength and smarts. Because the guys did not have any film or practice time, they had to learn from mistakes on the go. Danny is a quick study and will improve from training camp repetition. The experience he gained in four years at a program like North Carolina is obvious. While Danny's shot is a bit unorthodox, he's confident in it, and will be an interesting addition with Anthony Parker to the Cavs ability to guard the three point line.
There is good news about J.J. Hickson by the way, who did not take part in the Summer League as he comes back from his back ailment, as he is making nice progress in workouts and is back on the practice court. The hope is J.J. can take part at least in drill work in Tim Grgurich's annual camp in Vegas net month and be ready for scrimmage work in September at Cleveland Clinic Courts. J.J. is on target, so the key is to not have any setbacks in his patient road back.
As assistant GM Lance Blanks calls Anthony Parker, the perfect fit, the newest Cavalier comes to town ready, willing and able to do what is needed...
He's one of those guys Delonte West often refers to as selfless...in other words, he doesn't need the ball or doesn't care about being a star...he just wants to fit in...and he should do that nicely at both ends..
Parker is a very dependable shooter and takes pride in his team defense...the fact that he is 6-6 helps a lot in that perimeter regard..
Anthony's sister, Candace of course is well known for being a women's basketball star...She, like Cheryl Miller did with brother, Reggie, will sometimes give Anthony her opinion on what she sees...And the newest Cav welcomes that...
As Anthony says it's in the genes...and the Parkers obviously have it..
Before Shaq met with the media and was publicly introduced as a Cleveland Cavalier, I sat down with him to ask a few of the questions you all submitted here on CavFanatic.com.
I remember chatting with Leon Powe at The Q last spring, during the '08 playoffs, and when I asked him about teaming up with LeBron James on some AAU teams during their teenage years, his patented Celtic scowl turned into one huge grin. He, LeBron and Kendrick Perkins were just three of the notable names, when AAU teams could "recruit" whomever they wanted. And who didn't want the superstar from Akron.
