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.

    Woke up this morning feeling great about today and tonight. Shootaround went well and the guys were fired up. Unfortunately we got some bad news from the NBA front office after shootaround. The NBA was suspending Darius for tonights game for a foul against LeBron in the last game. Marv Albert said it was a punch, I’m sure that didn’t help. I watched the play a number of times and they were tied up, but it was not a punch. I don’t want to get into this because it made me mad when I found out. The other problem with this is why did the NBA wait until game day to make the announcement. A real letdown followed for sure.

    We had a great first quarter but that was it. We did not make shots and we settled for quick jumpshots. When we drove the ball we had success, we just didn’t drive the ball enough. You have to give props to Cleveland they kicked our butts. LeBron is something else. He plays the game the right way, always looking for his teammates. He is really special.

     It’s hard to believe that the season is over for us. As I look back it was a great year considering all the injuries that we had. I am proud to have been part of it. I cannot say enogh about the coaching staff and the players. I have made many lifelong friends and will have many fond memories of this year.

     After the game I sat and watched Atlanta even up the series against Boston. It is all tied up at 3 games to 3. Sunday game seven in Boston. Sunday we will have our exit interviews with the players. It will be an interesting off season with Gil, Antawn and Roger, being free agents. Stay tuned. Take care and count all of your blessings.

   What a finish last night in Cleveland. We escaped with a one point victory and now come home for game six on Friday night. It was a hard fought game and Caron Butler really stepped up and showed why he is an all star. AD was huge for us, once again pressuring their guards and hitting several big shots during the course of the game. He has been a true professional throughout the year and when he was out we really struggled.  AD is far from 100% but his effort is always 100%. It was a must win for us, as is Friday’s game. I feel good about Friday’s game because I believe that the crowd will have our guys really fired up. Also I am expecting big games from Antawn and Brendan. I think that everyone will play up to their potential and it will result in a Wizards victory.

    Our guys never quit, being down by five with less than two minutes to go and Cleveland had the ball. The Wizards pulled it out like they have done all season. It was a ture team effort. Eddie Jordan has done a remarkable job all year long, with this bunch of guys and the players have never quit or given up. The greatest part of the game was when the final buzzer sounded and the Cleveland crowd was stunned in silence. It amazes me to hear what some of these people say to the coaches and players at the games. I guess fans figure that they spend alot of money for a ticket and that entitles them to say whatever they want to the players and coaches.

    Now we have to get ready for game six in our house. I hope that my wife can make it to that game. She is currently in California on some business. It would be great for her to experience a playoff game. Carole, McKenna and Jess left right before the playoffs to head home to Boothbay Harbor for the summer. They all watch the games with friends and family, rooting for the Wizards. No one roots harder for them than my aunts Jean, Joey and Wezzy. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful family and a great group of friends.

   God Bless, and watch Friday night.

    Delonte West, Delonte West, Delonte West that is what I kept seeing in my sleep hitting a corner three. Was it a bad dream? Unfortunately it was not a dream and I can’t stop seeing it. It must seem like deja vu for Wizard fans as Damon Jones hit one in another series a couple of years ago, if I am not mistaken. Cleveland gets another REBOUND, another REBOUND, another and I am losing my mind and sleep. And we are down three games to one.

 We lost game four at home 100-97. It was a tough loss as they all are. The close games really eat at you because you analyze every possession and try to see what you could have done differently. Then you watch it over and over and every time that you watch it you become sick to your stomach. The crowd was in their WHITE and my brother, his daughter and my two aunts were in the house. They got to see a great game but unfortunately the result is not the one that we were looking for.

    Cleveland pounded us on the boards and they shot the three ball very well. Delonte West hit his shots, none bigger than the one in the fourth that turned out to be the game winner with 5.4 seconds on the clock. We had the last chance and came up short. Gilbert’s three was off the mark. Then you start thinking if only Gil was healthy he would’ve made that shot. Then you think more and wonder what our record would have been if Gil was healthy all year. What if we had Etan, Caron and Antonio for the entire season?Like I said losing eats at you. It makes you think of all sorts of things.

    We will practice today and tomorrow. After tomorrow’s practice we will fly to Cleveland for game five. What we must do to win in game five is REBOUND the ball better and find their shooters and keep LeBron from getting to the hoop. If he does go to the hoop we must wrap him up so he doesn’t get the ball to the basket. That is easier said than done. LeBron is just so big, powerful and strong. I would make him earn his points at the line.

    Wizard fans keep rooting us on, this team has done a great job all year long especially when having our backs against the wall. Until next time. May all your shots hit nothing but the bottom of the net.

   I must say it is always great to be home. See the family and spend some time with them. Carole and Mckenna headed back to Maine on Wednesday, I sure am going to miss them. The place is very quiet without them being around. Just watching game two again and it looks worse every time that I watch it. Have to get ready and focused for game three. We cannot play any worse than we did in game two.

   Being home and having the crowd with us will be a huge lift for us. Coming into shootaround this morning all the seats had on them a white T-shirt for the “WHITE OUT” for tonight’s game. It was pretty impressive. The guys seem ready to go. It is a beautiful day in the nation’s capital. The only thing bothering me is my allergies. Walking around the city today everyone was wishing us the best of luck for tonight’s game.

   My friend Lee Miles from Dundalk is coming to the game tonight. He was my best friend in High School and we had some great times together. After High School we remained very close and we shared many laughs together. I told him that he will  bring our team good luck tonight. I will be looking forward to seeing him after the game.

   Lee brought us the luck and a thirty five point victory. If you were to say that we were going to win by 35 after losing by 30 in Cleveland I would have thought you were crazy. “It’s the league” just when you’ve thought that you’ve seen it all something else happens. Gilbert started and he did a great job of getting everyone involved. He is still not a 100% but having him on the floor gives us another threat. Caron played like the All Star that he is and Antawn was Antawn. Brendan had a very good game and Deshawn played well. Antonio kept pressure on their guards with great defense and Roger came off the bench hitting shots. Andray had his moments too. A much needed win. Now hopefully we can keep the momentum going through Sunday’s game.

     At halftime I always come out to watch our guys get ready for the third quarter and for some reason I look up on the big screen and see my friend Lee up there.  He is all over the jumbo tron screen what seemed like ages. He had no clue that he was up there until his son showed him.The reason that he was up there is because there are 20,000 plus fans at the game and they are all wearing white (the shirts that were on the seats for anyone who did not come in white) and he is one of a half dozen fans not wearing white. My main man Lee, I had to laugh. It was great seeing him and his son Bradley at the game. When I looked up in the crowd and saw my best friend cheering I saw how proud he was for me, I am so glad that he and his son came.

    After the game I got to spend some time with Lee and Bradley, they had a great time. I asked Lee why didn’t he put the shirt on and he said it didn’t fit him. That was true. We sat and talked after the game and I got Bradley a couple of autograph’s. It is hard to believe how quickly the years have gone by. Enjoy every moment of evey day and always cherish your family and friends.

   Thank you Wizards and thank you Lee for making my night a memorable one.

    We are back in DC having lost two in Cleveland. The Cav’s kicked our butts in game two and took care of winning at home. Now we must protect home court as well. Not much to talk about when you lose by thirty. We have to play much better on both ends of the floor. As a matter of fact we have to do everything much better. Until next game.

  The day started out for us with a meeting in coach Jordan’s room. We were putting together our finishing touches on our gameplan versus Cleveland. The meeting was a short one starting at 7:15 am. We put together most of it last night after arriving in Cleveland. We met the team at 8:00 for breakfast and to go over everything. The gameplan is sound, now we have to go out and execute it.

   Wes, Antonio and I headed over to the arena at 9:20 am for the 12:30 tip. This early game is like an AAU tournament. Imagine it is on in LA at 9:30 am. What time would it be on for our fans in Hawaii? Hopefully there are some Wizard fans there. The ballboys were there ready to help us. They are a good bunch of guys who give us some laughs. For some reason it seems like we are always in Cleveland. It must seem like that even more for the coaches and players that have been here for awhile, as the Wizards and Cleveland have been battling in the playoffs for the past two years.

    The crowd was loud and rowdy in their yellow t-shirts. It is PLAYOFF time that’s for sure. It is a great time to still be playing basketball. Fourteen teams are watching from home. It was a good game that we controlled for awhile. In the fourth quarter we couldn’t make shots. We did not score a FG until there was 5:39 left in the quarter. You are not going to win a ny games that way, let alone a playoff game. Hopefully we can play better on Monday night and get a split on the road. We will have to do a better job on both ends of the floor and get to the FT line more.

   Now for the coaches we will meet again at 6:30 pm and watch film and start putting together a game plan for game two and see what adjustments that we have to make. Practice tomorrow morning. I hope Gil’s and CB’s knees are okay.

   My wife and daughter headed up to Baltimore this afternoon to watch the game at my aunt Jean’s house. Jean has become our biggest fan, she watches all the games and even stayed up to watch us when we were on the west coast. I love all of them and miss them too.

   How about Phoenix and San Antonio for a first round matchup? That will be very interesting and is now in double OT as I type this. I hope my old team the Raptors do well and take care of business. Good luck to the coaches Sam, Jay, Alex, Mike and Eric. Also good luck to all the players and staff up there. I miss you all very much and wish nothing but the best for the entire organization.

   I will be blogging after each game. Check out the blog on Tuesday for the latest update on the playoffs. Take care and God Bless.

   We made the playoffs with a win over Miami the other night. Now we have to see what seed we will be. As it stands now we are currently the fifth seed, with Philadelphia and Toronto on our heels. The Sixers have been playing great ball the past couple of months. So down the stretch every game is important to us. There will be no resting of our players. If Cleveland collapses and we win our games we could finish in the fourth spot and that would mean homecourt advantage for us. There is still alot of ball to be played during the regular season.

    How about the playoff race in the West. Imagine some of the teams that will not make the playoffs. It is funny how you play 82 games and everyone of them is important especially for the teams in the playoff hunt.

    It looks like we might be getting healthy at the right time. Gil is back giving us 20-25 minutes off the bench. Imagine having him coming off the bench. Talk about instant offense. Gil has really done a great job of getting everyone else involved with his passing. With him we really get some easy hoops. Caron just bumped his knee in practice the other day but should be okay. It is nothing compared to his hip injury earlier this year. Antawn’s shoulder is better and will continue to get better. Antonio’s wrist is still bothering him and will continue to do so until he can get some time off. He is a pro’s pro. Most guys would have shut it down a long time ago. Deshawn just plays with all of his ailments. How he does it I don’t know. The only person not playing now is Etan. His physical prescence would be invaluable during the playoffs. Another big body and someone that can rebound and defend.

   The team has really done an outstanding job and the coaching staff too. Eddie Jordan is my coach of the year. Every day has been a challenge not knowing who can practice or who can’t due to injury. He has handled it all and he has done a terrific job. I am honored to be part of this coaching staff. I have learned so much about basketball and life from these guys, Eddie Jordan, Mike O’Koren, Randy Ayers, Phil Hubbard, Wes Unseld Jr. and Ed Tapscott. More importantly I have made friends for life with these great guys. I am looking forward to our playoff run.

   Saturday will be a great day. Carole, McKenna and Jessica (the Nanny) will all be home and we have a HUGE game versus the Sixers. The girls have been away too long and it is too quiet at home without them.

   Until next time take care and God Bless.