NO ANNOUNCEMENT OF STARTING CENTER

EDITED (Saturday, 1:41 PM ET): Still no word. No practice Sunday - Check back Monday…

Coach Eddie Jordan held off on announcing his decision on who will start at center next Wednesday. Jordan told reporters after practice that he would first discuss the decision with the team and let the media know afterwards.

LISTEN: Eddie Jordan

Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas used eight preseason games “auditioning” for the role. Jordan indicated that regardless of who starts, the center position would be played “by committee” with Haywood, Thomas and Michael Ruffin.

The Wizards will practice Saturday at Verizon Center. If an announcement is made, it will be posted at WashingtonWizards.com.

Other observations:
Antawn Jamison joined retired NBA veteran, former Maryland Terp, and current Comcast SportsNet analyst Walt Williams on the practice court for an upcoming feature I’m assuming will be aired on CSN SportsNite.

The duo played H-O-R-S-E while they discussed Jamison’s career. The most intersting dialogue occurred when Williams asked Jamison if he was starting to feel like the old guy. Jamison replied that this past summer with Team USA, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and co. told him “I remember when you were at North Carolina!” Jamison smiled as he recalled his response: “Yeah - that was a long time ago.” Speaking of ‘Twan, we’ve got a nice Q&A with Antawn that we’ll be posting online this weekend.

O’KOREN NAMED ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH

The Wizards announced Thursday that assistant and all-around good guy Mike O’Koren has been promoted to Associate Head Coach.

“Having Mike as an Associate Head Coach is of great significance to me because we share the same philosophies when it comes to basketball,” said Wizards Head Coach Eddie Jordan. “I have the utmost trust in Mike, and I’m thrilled to continue to work with him in his new role. His contribution is invaluable.”

In other Wizards news, the team resumed practice at Verizon Center. Gilbert Arenas warmed up with the team but sat out to get some rest. Antawn Jamison was back on the court. If there was any concern over his sore right shoulder, an estimated 700 three-point attempts after practice should put any worries to rest. (Assistant Coach Wes Unseld Jr thinks he made about 500 of them…not a bad percentage).

Coach Jordan indicated that his starting line-up could be named as early as tomorrow. We’ll keep you posted.

PS: Will somebody PLEASE help me with my fantasy team?

WANTED: FANTASY TIPS

Well, I’ve finally fallen to peer pressure and have joined my first NBA Fantasy League. The last time I did anything remotely similar was YEARS ago (probably late ’90’s, early 2000) when NBA.com had this really easy game based on the efficiency formula. Anyway, I ruled at that, but I have a feeling I’m facing dire straights, especially when I consider what a debacle my one and only fantasy football team was like a few years back.

The draft is Sunday at 6:00 pm. Feel free to send over any advice.

Off to practice in a bit - should be fun as it’ll be the first time Les Wiz will be at Verizon Center in nearly a week. I’ll be back with some goodies on the team later this afternoon.

ESPN.com PREVIEW: WIZARDRY TO THE POWER OF ZERO

Where will the Washington Wizards finish in the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference? Get 10 different takes and more from ESPN’s NBA experts. Click here for the entire story on ESPN.com…

WIZARDS FALL TO PISTONS IN PRESEASON FINALE

Well…the Wizards FINALLY lost to the Pistons.
Washington dropped their last game of the preseason Tuesday night in Detroit. Washington’s starters bolted out of the gate to build an 18 point lead but Detroit slowly cut back into it and took the lead in the second half.

Though nothing is official yet, Roger Mason Jr. proved why he has seemingly earned a roster spot with the Wizards, scoring a game-high 22 points . Donell Taylor also had a nice game to close out the preseason with 18 points.

After playing 39 minutes Monday in Atlanta, Antawn Jamison left the game in the first quarter with a strained right shoulder. Jamison was held out for the remainder of the game for precautionary reasons.

After two separate three-game road trips, the Wizards will return home to Washington and enjoy a day off Wednesday before resuming practice Thursday at Verizon Center.

Before signing off, I’d like to send a special “thanks” to Dave Johnson, the voice of the Wizards who has graciously traveled with the team the past two games to provide listeners a chance to catch all the action live. Thanks Dave.

Post away…