Day 1
"I thought guys came out and competed. The coaches did a great job of getting them in and out of drills. I think that the shooting drills we did showed a lot of good stuff with the players," Camp Leader Bob MacKinnon said. "Our games were competitive, and each one was very close.""We're about 39 players and 11 coaches. It's great," Santa Cruz Warriors' assistant coach James Andrisevic added. "This is a really talented group, so it was great to get out there and work with everybody."
As for some of the day's top stand-outs, Coach MacKinnon asserted, "I thought Aaron Craft and Brandon Fields played well. Jarell Eddie was shooting the ball nicely. David Wear played well, and Hasheem Thabeet did some really nice things inside."
Of course, having won a minor league championship with Craft just weeks ago, Coach Andrisevic knows exactly what the point guard and fellow Warriors' teammate Taylor Griffin have to offer.
"Aaron is doing really well. He's one of the best defensive players I've ever seen. He demonstrated that with the Warriors, and has definitely brought that with him [to the camp]," the Santa Cruz assistant shared. "Taylor finished the season strong. He's a guy who can stretch the floor and knock down the three. Both of those guys continued to do the same types of things that made them successful in Santa Cruz."
Andrisevic added that during game competitions, players on the team he coached included Maalik Wayns, Jonathan Simmons, Dar Tucker, Jarvis Threatt, Akil Mitchell, Chris Singleton, Shawn Jones, and two of MacKinnon's suggested standouts, Wear and Thabeet.
Still fresh off hitting the D-League hardwood, players and even coaches alike have been thrust out of comfortable situations into a brand new one where they work with a slew of different individuals and must become acclimated with each other rather quickly in order to succeed. Coach Andrisevic said that the fact that there are so many quality people around makes such a task an enjoyable and easy one.
"The good thing about this situation is that these are talented players who played in the D-League for good coaches. We had a team practice in the morning where we went over some concepts and the terminology," he explained. "We keep it basic and put guys in situations where they can best showcase their abilities. They were able to catch on pretty quickly."
As fate would have it, while this showcase of sorts serves as yet another opportunity for these players to grow, develop, and be seen by others, it also happens to serve a similar purpose for the coaches, too. Collaboration is a key component.
"It's great to coach talented players, but working with these other coaches is really great too. I'm paired with Dean Cooper and Tyrone Ellis," Coach Andrisevic continued. "Coming from different situations and different systems this year, coaching together gives us a chance to share ideas and stuff with one another. It's really been beneficial."
For Coach MacKinnon, the opportunity to be in the gym again and work with such players and coaches is a valuable experience in itself. "I'm a big fan of this league. I think the players in our league make up the second best collection players in the world," he went on to conclude. "This did nothing but solidify my opinion of that, especially after seeing these guys out there [in day one.] If you look at the group we have, I think just about any of these guys could be an eleventh through fifteenth player on any NBA team in the league."
With NBA Summer League approaching and training camp to follow after that, it'll be interesting to see if the big league staffers currently in Chicago feel the same way.
http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2015/5/12/8589555/2015-nba-d-league-elite-mini-camp-bob-mackinnon-james-andrisevic-day-oneDay 2
RidiculousUpside.com once again spoke with two coaches in attendance --- Camp Leader Bob MacKinnon and head/assistant coaching veteran Gene Cross --- for further reaction right from the hardwood. And though plenty of players made strong efforts, there was once again a theme with respective stand-outs."One guy that played really well [in day two] was Chris Singleton. Aaron Craft played well. Jonathan Simmons had a really good day," Coach MacKinnon said. "Overall, I think the play was up this year from years' past. Every year, the league gets better and better. We changed the format a bit. More play and more practice time with the coaches, so I think there was better play because of it. "
"We worked with the guards during the drill work. I had Aaron Craft, Jarell Eddie, Manny Atkins, Alex Kirk, and Ralph Sampson on my team. I had some really good guys," Coach Cross added. "Craft played well, and I think Simmons really solidified himself as one of the best players in the league. Drew Crawford played well; he was a guy who I hadn't gotten a chance to see all year, but I'd heard about him. Stephen Holt and Dar Tucker were up there. A lot of people were asking me about Keith Appling. Adonis Thomas did well, too."
Providing a window into their world as he described the atmosphere over the last two days, Coach Cross said, "It was energetic. It was friendly. It was everything you'd expect from guys who are trying to make their way into the league. It was a lot of fun. Coach Mac does a great job. He makes sure the players know that we're there to help them and get them where they need to be."
"They played hard! One thing I heard from a lot of the NBA people was, 'these guys play hard!' They laid it out there. I think it was a good two days. I think the players who came improved their stock," Coach MacKinnon pointed out. "Some guys that weren't necessarily on NBA radars previously, certainly are now. Simmons improved his stock. Brandon Fields improved his stock. Fields was more of a two-guard in college, but now people may have seen the potential for him to be a lead guard after watching him handle the ball in an event like that."
Earlier in the day, MacKinnon spoke to the players about what is at stake during an event like this and implored them to impress. "This is the last impression that these guys have to be seen by NBA people before decisions are made, other than maybe going to a free agent mini-camp camp," he explained. "Who knows who will get invited to one of those? This opportunity may help them get into one, though. This is the last chance in front of the collective NBA audience."
The camp, which was attended by over ninety NBA scouts and/or related personnel representing 27 out of the 30 teams in the league, provides everyone involved with a chance to be seen, coaches included. It's also a chance to collaborate with one another, which is an opportunity in itself that leaders like Coach Cross especially enjoy.
"It's a lot of fun to see the coaches you know, and get acquainted with those with you don't. It's a chance to learn from them. To be in front of NBA personnel, it gives them a chance to see your energy level and how you work," he said. It's not about us; it's about the players. But if we happen to benefit as well, then it's a win-win for everybody."
http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2015/5/13/8597161/2015-nba-d-league-elite-mini-camp-gene-cross-bob-mackinnon-day-two
5/13/2015 9:01 PM