Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 9:39 AM

Hard to tell much about these guys — Jefferson looks a bit out of shape but a terrific natural athlete.

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time June 14, 2008 at 12:58 PM

i personally think singletary played great in this workout…….i know hes projected at being an early 2nd round pick and might be a long shot for the wiz 2 draft him since we have the 47th pick for the 2nd round, but i think he would be great for the wizards. sure hes only 6 feet and lacks a point guard mentallity, but he has the mentallity of a young Arenas, one who shoots first then looks 2 get guys open.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 1:18 PM

You think Singletary looked good? What were you seeing that could tell you *anything* about him? I sure didn’t see anything.

He isn’t projected as “an early 2d round pick,” he is projected not to be picked at all. Would you like him if he played for Ohio State rather than Virginia?

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time June 14, 2008 at 2:58 PM

oh i heard from espn.com that hes projected 2 be an early to mid 2nd round pick…….and come on he just looked athletic and looked like he was on top of things, i think hes a good player

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 14, 2008 at 4:51 PM

Wizfan4life — C’Mon seriously? I could do what he was doing.

Comment from Reuben
Time June 14, 2008 at 5:40 PM

I dont think we should draft Singletary i dont really like his game.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 6:57 PM

Singletary looked particularly *un*athletic to me in the tap/dunk drill.

Still, lets not ding the guy — he is a player. If he doesn’t make it in the league, he’ll still make a living playing ball, or at least I hope so.

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time June 14, 2008 at 7:28 PM

every1 doubts his game because of his size, but the dude can prove he can score……seriously i think he is a step below a young arenas……now he may not be as good as alot of people in the draft, but i think someones gonna draft him, and if he doesnt play hes guaranteed a spot in the d-league

Comment from neal
Time June 15, 2008 at 8:19 AM

Longar Longar? What was his mother thinking about?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 15, 2008 at 11:12 AM

He’s African, obviously. His name probably reflects some convention of naming in his region of birth.

Comment from Da_Big_Taba
Time June 15, 2008 at 1:48 PM

wizards dont need another scorer….

Comment from Da_Big_Taba
Time June 15, 2008 at 1:49 PM

thats why we have nick young. i think he will be a spark off the bench next year

Comment from BruceO
Time June 15, 2008 at 2:31 PM

I used to want to look at singletary but not after this workout, I’ll have to relook at this college numbers. First off none of the players during this workout were smart enough to figure its tap the board with the ball ten times, then dunk it. Another thing the bouncing the ball before trying to put it up there? From long ago my coach would say go straight back up, don’t gather yourself for too long, don’t dribble it (after you get an offensive rebound) He doesnt have the athleticism, the full court drill he wasn’t moving particularly well and didnt finish well, whos gonna let you make that sort of low layup in the pros?
The rest of the guys I could find stuff to nitpick, 33 dribbled with his head down and moved slow, none of them looked smooth except no 0. I also didnt see anyone particurlarly push the tempo.

Oh and the african guy/ french guys name is luc right? luc longar?

Comment from BruceO
Time June 15, 2008 at 2:33 PM

nevermind its someone else I was thnking off, Luc louves

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 15, 2008 at 3:00 PM

bruceO is back! i like the guy from new mexico… show alot of athleticism. longar was pretty swift for a big man

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 15, 2008 at 3:01 PM

josh looks like he can jump out of the gym.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 15, 2008 at 5:00 PM

I don’t think any of these guys get drafted — by us or anyone.

I hope we bring in some more interesting prospects this coming week. We’ve come down a long slope from Speights and Thompson. I’m sure there’ll be some potential first-rounders coming in.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 15, 2008 at 5:05 PM

Draftexpress has a new mock draft up, still showing us picking Darrell Arthur at 18 and Trent Plaisted at 47.

I can’t see us picking Arthur and leaving Speights, Hibbert and Batum on the table.

Plaisted will struggle to be a backup center, or even to make the league. They show Hudson, Giddens, Weaver and Hill still on the table when we make that pick. It’s a crap shoot, but some kind of hunch makes me favor George Hill.

Comment from wizfan and the kid
Time June 15, 2008 at 6:38 PM

Always late on this… but…
Tom, I totally agree with you. Seeing the write-ups and comments surrounding George Hill, I would love to see the Wiz take a chance on him, but not until the second round.
I think Speights is the guy we take. Watching several comments, he has a very good mid-range game and rebounds well. This is what we need.
Batum needs a time and probably a decent pg to create shots for him. I am not sure he is any improvement over AB (in fact, I am pretty sure he isn’t). They are about the same age, too.
I am leaning toward Speights. If we can resign Antwan, this is the someone who can really learn from him.

All said, we really do need a pg type to learn under AD, as well.

In any case, all this talk is nice, but I really, really want to hear from Antwan…

Comment from Rook
Time June 15, 2008 at 7:14 PM

I don’t know a lot about George Hill… but he looks like another “combo” guard that looks to score… We’ve already got Arenas… and Young looks like an almost sure thing to be the shooting guard of the future for the Wiz (once he learns to play a little defense)..

Let’s face it, the Wizards have lots of guys that can shoot the ball. The worst part of the Wizards game is on the Defensive end. Specifically, perimeter Defense. Where they were killed ALL YEAR by teams shooting wide open 3-pointers, or allowing Guard penetration…..

Looking at the Wizards needs:
1. Big Bruising PF (good defender, good rebounder) – Kevin Love would be perfect, except he won’t be around when the Wiz pick.
2. Backup Center (needs to be a scorer, because, except for Young, not much else on the 2nd unit)
3. Backup PG (Lock down perimeter defender, can break the press, good perimeter shooter)
4. Backup SF (at some point, Butler is gonna have to stop playing 40+ minutes per game) – I really like Joe Alexander. Tremendous athletic ability. Improving outside shooter. Lots of engergy and desire. The kid’s gonna be a star in the League. But, again, he won’t be around when the Wiz pick.

Where the Wizards pick at #8, there are a number of very good Center prospects… The one player that seems to fit the Wizards need the best is Hibbert. He’s big. Strong. Has a very good polished post game. Efficient on Offense. Doesn’t turn the ball over. Plays smart. Plays hard. Hard worker. Played for a full 4 years at Georgetown, so he’s experienced. Good footwork. Soft touch. Good free throw shooter. Great passer, either in the High post or the Low post. Tailor made for the Princeton.

Robin Lopez could be a good pick as well. He’s not very polished Offensively, but has a great work ethic. Plays with a high intensity level with a lot of effort and desire.

I wouldn’t be too disappointed if the Wizards took Mario Chalmers either. A VERY good defensive player. Great 3-point shooter. Chalmers has been projected as a high 2nd round pick, but I could see the Wizards taking a chance at #18 to get him.

For the 2nd Round at #47, I don’t see a lot of Bruising PF’s left; so I think PG is the next biggest need. I really like Kyle Weaver. He is a real LOCK DOWN defender. Called the best defensive player in College Basketball. He’s tall (6’6″) and long – He can defend PG, SG, and SF; all with same results. He has PG skills: Great handle, good passer, can penetrate, high basketball IQ, can break the press, and a low turn over ratio. Because Washington State used a 3 Point Guard Offense, he didn’t get to consistently put up PG numbers in College… but he has the skills. The main knock against him is that he does not have a consistent long range shot. (Dave Hoopla???)

I just keep having this dream…… the Wizards, behind after the 1st quarter…. needing some Perimeter Defense… Bringing in Kyle Weaver and DMac (for Jamison) to go along with Stevenson, Butler and Haywood…. to try to turn the game around. I can see Weaver and Stevenson completely shutting down the other team’s Guards…. Agressively contesting outside shots, cutting off penetration…. Causing havoc with the opposition Offensive game. Playing the passing lanes. Stealing the ball. Easy transition baskets. 24-second violations. Completely reversing the momentum of the game.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time June 16, 2008 at 1:00 AM

I like Hibbert for one of you two needs Rook. In the second round I’d like to see us trade up or hopefully Joey Dorsey falls to us at #47. Unlikely, so, I hope the management has a plan to get him. If we do 2 criteria met.

big bruising PF’s aren’t gonna available to us, unless Ernie does something… Ernie like?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 16, 2008 at 6:08 AM

I’d be very happy if the draft got us Hibbert and Weaver. Or Speights and Weaver.

Both Hudson and Hill are very long, btw — they might have great potential as defenders. But, Weaver would be fine w/ me too.

I note that this pre-draft period is *long.* When it began, most of us were pretty settled on the idea of picking Roy Hibbert. But, what fun is it if you have nothing to go back and forth about? So, we’ve been batting it back and forth about RLopez, Speights, Batum, etc. I imagine we’d all be happy to see the Wiz pick Hibbert.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 16, 2008 at 6:10 AM

I forgot to say — I’d think Chalmers was a good choice too. I just don’t want to see another “freakish athlete w/ potential” where a *basketball player* is available.

Where’s DocLinkin to argue for Batum?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 16, 2008 at 6:24 AM

A “Word on the Street” article on DraftExpress — Hibbert’s draft stock could be climbing.

Comment from dmac
Time June 16, 2008 at 6:43 AM

Hey fellas anyone interested in Chris Duhon? He is an unrestricted free agent.
He would give us some good experience at the point guard position. He is a pass first, shoot second pg. He is not an outstanding talent but he is a good sound player that fits our system. I really like Mario Chalmers but there is no gurantee that he would be there for us. Any of the other rookies like Hill, Hudson are good players but Duhon has NBA experience. I would rather sign Duhon and let Mason go. I would give Nick, Rogers minutes. Also Duhon would be a good compliment to AD because we don’t know how things are going to turn out with Gil be it he stays or his health.
My first 3 selections at the 18th pick are Speights, Hibbert and Thompson.
It would be sweet if Dorsey or Hendrix or Devon Harden are their at the 2nd pick.
I know Harden is getting mixed reviews but the Wiz bought him in last year and they like him. Should we roll the dice on Harden I don’t know. Basically because of the guranteed contracts on our team the 2nd round pick whether it is a sf, pg or pf will probably duel with DMAC for a spot on the team. DMAC does not have a guranteed contract. My money is on DMAC being the top player on the summer league team. If he can work hard like CB has on his outside shot he could get some playing time next season. DMAC’s number one fan.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 16, 2008 at 8:33 AM

I don’t think McGuire is going *anywhere!* And, if we do pick someone in round 2 who looks good in the summer, $$ won’t prevent us from signing him. We have a 13 player roster, and we can go to 15. If the guy is an asset whose value will grow, we’ll keep him.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 16, 2008 at 8:35 AM

The FA period begins after the draft. I think Duhon is a pretty good player, but I don’t know whether we’ll be interested. The first issue is *our* free agents.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 16, 2008 at 8:35 AM

I wonder whether we’re having any workouts today.

Comment from popcornkid
Time June 16, 2008 at 8:37 AM

These Videos are great, any chance we can get more footage?

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 16, 2008 at 9:16 AM

Workouts were just posted for today. Very interesting list with Devin Hardin and Chris Lofton. For those that dont knwo Lofton was a flat out stud his Junior year with Tennessee and had a somewhat down year this year with people wondering why. Well he didn’t say until after the season but he battled cancer after his junior year and was never 100%. He could be an interesting find in round 2, a point guard that can really shoot the basketball.

I dont have knowledge on a couple of the foreign guys I’m going to look into that now.

Popcornkid. Unfortunately we arent allowed in until the very end of workouts so whatever I see I try to get you video of.

Comment from dmac
Time June 16, 2008 at 1:14 PM

Word is on ESPN is that Lawson, Ellington and Green are returning to UNC and withdrawing from the draft.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 16, 2008 at 2:06 PM

NOt shocked on Ellington or Green, but Lawson would be a surprise.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time June 16, 2008 at 6:38 PM

I like the idea of Chris Duhon, but, I don’t mind Mason as the back up either. Mason did a pretty good job from about mid season on. Probably once he got comfortable being called on to do more than shoot. How much will Duhon want?