Camp starts tomorrow here in Richmond, VA at Virginia Commonwealth University. It is hard to believe that we were here a year ago, time goes by so quickly. The coaches came down on Wednesday. I am truly blessed to be part of this staff. We are all looking forward to another year together. The coaches all get along well and work together, we also have our share of laughs. You better not have thin skin around this crew.

   The players get in later today and we will have dinner with them. At the dinner we will talk about our goals for the season. We will also remind them of the things that we did well last year and what we need to improve on. Also at the dinner Coach Jordan will introduce Hall of Famer KC Jones and Flip Saunders. Coach always brings in guest coaches for the guys. Last year Pete Carrill came in as well as Brian Winters. Coach Carrill was very impressive with his vast knowledge and understanding of the game. We all learned so much from him during camp. We all look forward to this wonderfull opportunity. What a career KC has had. In college he won two championships as a player, then goes pro and wins eight out of nine. We all enjoy listening to KC talk about the old Celtics and what they did. It is an honor to be around someone like KC.

    Flip arrived today and I am looking forward to hearing his philosophies on the game of basketball. He has a brilliant basketball mind and we are all looking forward to picking his brain.

     The coaches are eager to get going. We took a ride over to VCU to look at the gym and to see how the floors looked. Both of our floors were shipped down the other day. Unfortunately when we got to the gym the floors were not down. The VCU crew will have them in place later today.

    It is a great ime of the year. Baseball is winding down and the playoffs are around the corner. Pro and College Football have started up. Hockey is being played and we are getting ready to tip off.

    I am in San Antonio at the moment working out Antonio Daniels. He makes his home here. San Antonio is a great city. I love it here and the people are all so friendly. I fell in love with this city from the first time I was here. That was when Utah lost to Kentucky in the Final Four. Antonio and I have been working out at the Spurs practice facility. WHAT A GYM!!!! It has everything there for the players. Why would anyone want to leave. Two full courts, state of the art weight room with all the bells and whistles. Outside they have a swimming pool, sand track and an incline to run up. The incline looks like a ski slope.

   Everyone at the facility treated me so well. I would just like to thank the entire Spurs organization for all of their help, hospitality and use of their facility. I am already looking forward to returning and I haven’t even left yet. Hopefully I will get out of town before Hurrican Ike arrives.

   Antonio is a true professional. He is always in great shape and always takes care of his body. He has been working out at the Spurs facility all summer long and looks like he could play forty minutes a night. He has been very impressive in our workouts. We go twice a day. First workout is at 6:30 am and we go for about two hours, working on form shooting, shooting off the bounce, as well as catch and shoot. Then we are back at it at 7:30 pm. During this workout we have been concentrating on his three point shot. We need him to shoot it like he did in his fourth year when he knocked down 40% from there.

    At the facility I was fortunate to run into  some former campers. Brian Morrison, Juan Dixon, Salim Stoudamire and Desmond Farmar. They were all there working out or being invited to the Spurs camp. I wish them all the best of luck and the best of health.

    I have been so fortunate working out our veterans this summer. My trips to Charlotte to see Antawn, Brendan and Darius are always a joy. These three guys come in and really work. Antonio is no different. Looking forward to getting back to DC and work with our younger guys. It will be interesting to see the improvement of Andray, Dominic and Nick. We need for them to step it up this season.

    Camp starts up for us on the 26th of September at Virginia Commonwealth University. I will keep everyone posted as to what is happening in Richmond. Take care and God Bless.

    Everyone say a prayer for the friends and families of 9/11. It is so hard to believe that it was seven years ago.

   It is hard to believe that Labor day is coming so soon and that marks the end of the summer. Where did it go? This summer went by so quickly I can hardly remember what went on. Let’s review the summer. Memorial Day I was in Denver doing my shooting camp for Mark Sharpley. The camp is always sold out. (Have I really been doing this   camp for ten years) Talk about time flying. Let’s not talk about flying at all, why ruin anyone’s day. From Denver I went over to China and the NIKE All Asia Camp. NIKE runs a great camp no matter where it is. After returning stateside I was in DC doing workouts for the upcoming draft. We brought in alot of players and got to see them both on and off the floor. Then it was off to India for Basketball without Borders. India was an experience that will never be forgotten. We don’t know how lucky we have it here in this country. Once stateside I was back in DC for our mini camp for the summer league. Once we broke camp we left for Vegas. Interesting having the summer league there. After Vegas I got home for a few days to spend time with my wife and daughter. Maine is beautiful. Got to spend some time with Carole and McKenna over a weekend that was work for me. We spent some time at the CT STARTERS CAMP and I got to see all of my close friends there. I have no idea how long I have been doing this camp. Afterwards we were off to the Cape and another camp.Then I went to Charlotte to work with Antawn and Brendan. It is a joy and a pleasure to work them out. They work hard and they listen. What more can you ask of them. Off to Vegas again for the camp that Tim Grguvich runs. I was very excited to work his camp and after working it, I realized it was much better than I expected and I expected it to be GREAT. Coach Grguvich is the best, Thank you so much for letting me work it and I look forward to returning every year. Got home for a couple of days and now I am back here in Charlotte with Antawn, Brendan and Darius. They are all working hard. So that is a little capsule of my summer. Hope everyone had a pleasurable one. Enjoy the remainder of it.

   I would like to thank everyone for reading my blog. I really didn’t think that there would be much interest, but I have received alot of feedback from people that read it. I promise them I will try to write more often.

   Take care and God Bless everyone and their families.

   Sitting here in the US Airways club room. They weren’t going to let me sit in there without paying for a membership. It seems the airlines are charging for everything these days. I just paid two dollars for a coke on the flight from Portland, ME to Philadephia. The flight was delayed leaving ME, so I missed my connection and they want two dollars for a coke. At check in it now costs fifteen dollars for the first bag and $25 for the second. That is each way. So in addition to paying close to $1,800 for a ticket they nickel and dime you to death.

   Now that I missed my connection I will not get into Vegas on time to Tim Grguvich’s camp. I HATE BEING LATE!!!!! No longer in a first class seat but a middle seat. Is this deja’ vu again. Just the other week on US AIRWAYS the same thing happened. Flight was canceled in DC then took a bus to Philly. First class to middle seat in coach. Then last week from Charlotte to Portland the flight was 3 hours late. I haven’t had much luck flying on this airline. What’s the sense of paying for a first class ticket and then get a middle seat. No one seems to care, or are they willing to try and do something about it. I have flown alot of airlines and this one may be the worst.

   In the past I always tried to fly CONTINENTAL and I just acheived my million miles flown on that airline. I know this because they sent me a tag saying so. CONTINENTAL was the best at one time, but they have fallen in the customer service department as well. CONTINENTAL has gone down hill ever since the new guy took over for them. I had been a platinum memeber for years and in 2007 I flew 72,500 miles up until September. I only needed 2,500 miles to maintain my platinum status but I didn’t reach as I joined the Wizards and stopped flying. Never heard a word, email, letter to see why I stopped flying. Nineteen years I was a loyal CONTINENTAL flyer. Now I get elite status the rest of my life. SILVER ELITE which is like not flying at all. Thank you CONTINENTAL what a great gift to give a millionmile flyer. How touching. (I am being sarcastic.) Can’t wait for my next flight with you guys.

    It seems to me nobody cares any longer. People are treated poorly and the airlines don’t care. Flying is a hassle and if I never fly again that would be alright with me. It seems like everyone has had their full of the airlines, but what do you do if you have to travel. My word to travelers is good luck. As I am blogging I hear people on their phones talking about their flying experiences and none of them are positive.

    Now that is off my chest, sorry to vent to my readers all two of them. (Brian and Pringle)

    I am actually surprised that people log on to the site to read what I have to say. To them a GREAT BIG THANK YOU. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I enjoy writing it.

    Now if I only could get to Vegas on time. I even tried to see if I could get out of Boston. I was willing to drive down there from Portalnd but no luck there either. I tried to see if other airlines would work, other routes, etc…. no luck, so now I am stuck.

    I am looking forward to working camp and see what players will be there. I will write from Vegas, if I ever get there. Happy traveling. The thing that always gets me mad is that the airlines never compensate you for your time that is lost and can never be retrieved. I wish that I could get all of my time back and spend it with my wife and daughter. Remember this, that our time is precious and so is everyone else’s.

  It is hard to believe that July is coming to an end. It has been a very busy July starting with the trip to India with the NBA Basketball without Borders. Coming home and going right to mini camp for summer league in DC. We practiced for a few days and went right to Vegas afterwards. We stayed in Vegas until the 20th and took the red eye home. Arrived in Baltimore and ran into a couple of college coaches heading to Vegas for all the AAU tournaments. I started thinking of how hectic my summers used to be doing two, three, four and and sometimes five camps in a day. All of the running around tha I did for close to 20 years. Without doing the camps I would not be where I am today. I would like to thank everyone that has ever had me come into their camp and let me do my thing.

    Now I am in Charlotte, NC working out Antawn and Brendan. They are a joy to be with, they both listen and work very hard. I only wish everyone was as coachable as these two professionals. They do the right things as far as their off season workouts go. They work on their bodies and don’t get out of shape and then they work on their games. I am happy that the Wizards have re signed Antawn and Gilbert. Now we have to stay healthy. It will be interesting to see who we will pick up to replace Roger Mason.

   July was a month that I did the most camps and it is also the month that I took the most shots and it is the month that I always had my best shooting percentage. Note the more you shoot the better you become. Miss all of my friends at Eastern Invitational and the West Coast All Star camps. These camps have turned out a number of big time players and continue to do so. It was exciting for me to speak in front of all the talented kids and coaches at these camps.

   Hope everyone is having a safe, fun and healthy summer. Take care and God Bless. I will be blogging again from Las Vegas as I am heading out there once agian to work Tim Grugvich’s camp. I am looking forward to working his camp and spending time with the palyers and coaches. Before heading there I will get home to Maine and spend a couple of days with my wife Carole and daughter McKenna. I am blessed to have them in my life.

  We had a few practices in Washington DC before heading to Las Vegas. We have several of our players going this year. Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and of course our number one pick Jevale McGee. JeVale is long and athletic with some skills. He needs to gain some weight and get stronger. That will come as he gets older. Then we have Dee Brown who we just picked up. Also at point guard we have Dontaye Draper and Jonathan Wallace. At the two spot we have Gary Forbes. The forward spots are Vladimir Veremenko (VV), Frank Elegar, Taj McCullough and Oleksiy Pecherov. Pech is injured again, hopefully he will see some action before the end of the week.

   Our flight out to Vegas was cancelled on Sunday evening, so everyone had to meet at the Verizon Center at 5:30 am on Monday to bus up to Philadelphia for a flight out at 11:30am. Got up to Philly with no problems. Had to sit and wait for three hours before boarding the plane. We had to fly coach as there were no first class seats. I feel sorry for the big guys sitting in coach. Our flight was an hour late leaving. We finally arrived in Vegas at 2:00pm got our bags, checked into the hotel and left for the game. I told the rookies welcome to the NBA. Where nothing surprises me anymore.

   We played sloppy which was expected considering the circumstances. A lot of fouls and turnovers. Have to execute better in our half court sets and do a better job of defending off the dribble.

   Carole and McKenna have been in Vegas since Friday along with our babysitter Chelsea. It was great to see them.  They will be here until Wednesday morning. At least I get to see them and spend some time with them.

   Yesterday we had a scrimmage at Durango High School. We played a half against the Nuggets and a half against the Raptors. It was great seeing all of my friends from Toronto. BC, Sam, Keith, Kevin, Micah, Paul, Rory, Scott, Joey Graham, Jay, Alex, Eric. I hope I didn’t leave anyone out.

   Today on our way to shootaround for tonights game versus the 76ers the bus broke down. Amazing things happen in the NBA. What else can go wrong on this trip for the Wizards. Keep reading the blog for updates.

  Take care and God Bless. Tell those that you love, that you love them.

  Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I just returned from India with the NBA’s Basketball without Borders. Trying to adjust to the time difference. I had a wonderful time over in India because of the great job done by the NBA. Everyone that was involved with the camp did an excellent job. It was my first Basketball w/o Borders in what I hope will be the first of many more to come. 

   This was also my first trip to India. My wife and I were both looking forward to this trip. We arrived in India and the heat and humidity hit us immediately. At the airport the chaos began. Most airports are chaotic, but in India it is a little more so. Leaving the airport I found out that the lines on the road are there for decoration. The horn is used more than anything else and the cars do not use blinkers. Every car no matter how old or new has dents and scratches, not to mention being covered in dust as well.

  The hotel was very nice and so was the staff. The rooms were a nice size and the food was very good. They had some very good restaurants there at the hotel. Outside the hotel grounds there was alot of poverty. India has alot of poverty throughout the country. On the way to the Taj it was nothing but mile after mile of poverty and garbage, waste, etc… Cows running around the streets, people sleeping wherever they can on the sidewalks, somewhere there is shade. Kids with no shoes or shirts. It was a very disturbing trip to the Taj seeing all of the people out on the streets with nothing to do or anywhere to go, no purpose in life, no jobs.

   The Taj is an unbelievable building.  Being on the grounds of the Taj, it is easy to forget about the poor and all of the poverty. After the tour we were met outside the grounds of the Taj by the poor once again. There is no escaping poverty in India. Also the flys were out in full force. Now I know why you have to get your shots before going to India and then you have to take Malarone for Malaria.

   It was a trip of a life time and I am glad that I went. I cannot thank the NBA for this wondrful opportunity and I cannot thank everyone that was on the trip for their hospitality and friendship.

   I will be blogging about the summer league. It’s great to be home in the greatest country in the world.

   This is the second week of workouts and they are going well. The players are all playing hard and pushing one another. The mix of players has been usually four bigs and two guards. This week however we have had a group of four guards and two bigs. Another day we had two points, two shooting guards and two small forwards.

   The workouts are great for the kids that are in college it gives them a feel to where they are and what they need to work on. It also gives them the experience to have gone thru an NBA workout and it will only help them in the future. The player has to be realistic about his game and decide whether his game is ready for the pro’s or would another year of college do him some good. Hopefully his coach does his homework and gives the kid the right advice.

    I feel sorry for some of the kids that have hired an agent and they don’t have a chance of getting drafted. Now they can’t go back to school and then they don’t have the NBA. Europe is always an option. I wonder how many undrafted underclassmen go overseas and I wonder how many stay and are successful? I know college is not for everyone, but you have to do the math and see how many people have declared for the draft, how many foriegn players are in the draft and then how many seniors will be in the draft. There are only thirty spots in the first round and they are the only ones that will be getting guaranteed money. Too often these kids listen to their friends, agents and hanger ons and they all tell them the same thing. “Man you are going to be in the league and be an ALL STAR.” The kids should be listening to someone who tells them, “this is what you need to do to get better and what if you don’t have basketball. What are you going to do if you don’t make it? What are you going to do if you get hurt? What are your plans when your career is over.”

   Think of how many guys that have had short careers in the NBA? It is tough to do and there are alot of them. However they are soon forgot because they didn’t stick.

   Have a great weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all of the Dad’s.

    It’s great to be back in the gym. We have the 18th and 48th picks this year. Workouts started yesterday and we brought in six guys to workout, had another six today. On both days we have had four bigs and two smalls. We take the bigs at one basket and put the smalls at another. They do skill work for their positions. The workouts consisted of shooting, footwork, one on one and some three on three. The players on both days have done a very good job of working hard and playing hard. In reality they are interviewing for a job. Their interview is done in front of a number of people. First of all they are with their peers, then you have the front office people, scouts, coaches, media etc…

    On Monday we will bring in another six guys. we have to bring in alot of players because alot can happen at our draft position. Players move up and down the mock draft ladder each day. As a team you need to have all of your bases covered. The workouts will continue for the next two weeks and then the draft is on the 26th of June.

    Ran into Gil, Caron and Andray today at the Verizon Center, they were getting some work done in the weight room. It is good to see that our guys are staying in shape and workin on their bodies. Now I need to work on mine.

     It was great seeing all the coaches. Once we were together it was like we’ve never been apart. Some of the guys went to Orlando to watch the pre draft camp. Now everyone is here for the workouts and then we will have to get ready for the summer league. Our roster will consist of our draft picks, free agents and then some of our roster players. So far Nick, Dominic, Pech and Andray want to play.

     Stay tuned for more off season stuff.

  I have enjoyed my time off with my wife and daughter, it is always cherished and it seems like McKenna is growing up too fast. The weather in Maine has been beautiful. I left yesterday for Denver. Every year I do a shooting camp with Mark Sharpley of JAM. He does a great job of getting kids. This year is another sellout. Today camp went well as it always does in Colorado. I started camp off with my shooting demo. It is my first of the summer and I finished up 261 for 263. I was pleased with that as I have been spending time with the family and have not been shooting as much as I have in the past.

   Camp continues tomorrow and will end at 3:00 pm. Then I have some time to kill before flying out at 9:00 pm. I fly from Denver to San Francisco and then from SF to China. I am looking forward to the All Asia Camp as NIKE does everything first class. The players are getting better every year throughout the world. It should be interesting as I get into China around 10:30 on Tuesday  morning and then I will do my shooting demo for the players and coaches later that evening. It will be a real challenge as I will be fighting  jet lag.

   I am looking forward to seeing my main man Rich Sheubrooks. Rich I have known since his days with the Strength Shoe. The years have flown by and I have had some laughs with Rich as well as many, many fond memories of our time together working and sightseeing. He has brought me into every event that he is involved with. Rich has helped me see the world. I have done clinics all over Europe with Rich and every camp is better than the last. Now Rich has brought me to Asia. We have done this camp for the past several years. It won’t be the same without Mike Hackman, but it will still be an unforgettable camp.

   JT will be there as well. JT is none other than Jim Todd who is one of my best friends. Last year he was instrumental in bringing me up to Toronto. JT tried to hire me when he was the head coach of the Clippers. He has always been in my corner trying to get me into the NBA. I am sure that he will be a fine addition to the staff at the All Asia Camp. JT’s knowledge of the game and skill development is second to none.

   I am also looking forward to once again working with Rob Beveridge (He comes from the land down under), Bill Peterson of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jaron Akanna, Blair Donovan and meeting JB Bickerstaff. It will be interesting to see who the next NBA player from the camp will be.

  Stay tuned and I will let everyone know how it goes in China.