Practice Notes & Quotes
Thunder Coach Scott Brooks put his team through roughly 2 1/2 hours of practice today, the first day of training camp. The team will reconvene Tuesday evening for the second portion of the first two-a-day set.
As promised, the focus was defense. In fact, Brooks said about two hours of the session was dedicated to defense. Not much was done that wasn’t performed last year. But players said afterward that’s a good thing.
“There’s only small changes on the defense so far,” said Thabo Sefolosha. “Most of the stuff is stuff we already know…It’s going to help a lot. I think last year we had success with the defense that the coaches teach. And being able to do it again, I think that’s really going to help us.”
Brooks said he always likes to conclude his training camp practices with some old-fashioned fundamental work. By the time the media was permitted beyond the training facility’s doors that’s precisely what was taking shape on the court. Players drilled on drive-and-kicks, setting screens and ball-handling before ending today’s first session.
“The good thing that I liked is everybody was in shape,” Brooks said. “We went through the practice with a lot of energy and a lot of effort. It was good. Another thing I like is they were able to pick up the things that we’ve taught the last few years pretty quickly. In four or five months you don’t forget everything, but you kind of forget an important part of it here and there. But the guys did a great job of bringing effort and challenging their teammates.”
- Several college coaches attended the first day of camp, watching the Thunder go through drills from a set of bleachers and chairs set up just off the the court’s east sideline. Oklahoma State Coach Travis Ford was in attendance, as well as U-C Irvine Coach Russ Turner, Illinois assistant and former OU assistant Jay Price and former OU assistant Jim Kerwin.
- I asked Jeff Green and Thabo Sefolosha, who are now in their fourth and fifth training camp, respectively, the best and worst part of camp. Sefolosha said “the best part is being back on the court with those guys. The season is right around the corner so just getting ready. There’s really no bad part about it. The legs are sore but it’s part of the deal.” Green told me, “two-a-days. That’s the worst part. But the best part is two-a-days, too.”
- Green said the mental challenge is a bigger obstacle than the physical toll camp takes. “You have to make sure you come focused. It’s a lot of drills. It’s not really a lot of contact so we just got to make sure we come focused.” How does great like to spend his time between sessions? “Sleep. Watch a movie. Kick back and relax.”
- Green also said that there already is a noticeable difference in the talent level of this year’s team versus last year’s squad. “Everybody worked on their game. You can see the improvement in a lot of guys. And when you bring all that talent together, it makes everybody better. It makes everybody step up their game.”
- One thing I was curious about was whether Brooks is more demanding now than he was last year. It’s a potentially telling trait to watch as the preseason moves along. The Thunder now has a pleasant yet potentially perilous mix of lofty expectations and a nine-man rotation that has returned intact along with an upgrade in talent. That can put a lot of pressure on a coach. Should be interesting to see how Brooks manages it going forward. Said Green: “When you’ve got a set of guys who’ve been here a couple of years, you expect the best out of them. He expects us to help him. That’s what we’re here to do. We have a lot of new faces, and we’re trying to get them on the same page as us.”
- A huge smile creased the face of former OU forward Longar Longar as soon as I asked him about participating in training camp some 30 miles south of Norman. “When my agent called me and told me about it he said, “Oklahoma City called you to training camp.’ So I was really excited about it. I’m only 25 minutes away and they told me, “Just come in the next day.’ So I just drove up here and checked in. It was great news and I thank them for a great opportunity to come in and compete with these guys, to be able to just learn some things I don’t know about in the NBA game.”
- Brooks said the team will conduct two-a-days on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. NBA teams are allowed six two-a-day sessions under league rules, with only one session allowed to be a full-contact practice.
-DM-
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[...] Darnell Mayberry with some practice observations: “One thing I was curious about was whether Brooks is more demanding now than he was this year. It’s a potentially telling trait to watch as the preseason moves along. The Thunder now has a pleasant yet potentially perilous mix of lofty expectations and a nine-man rotation that has returned intact along with an upgrade in talent. That can put a lot of pressure on a coach. Should be interesting to see how Brooks manages it going forward. Said Green: “When you’ve got a set of guys who’ve been here a couple of years, you expect the best out of them. He expects us to help him. That’s what we’re here to do. We have a lot of new faces, and we’re trying to get them on the same page as us.” [...]
it’s so nice to read about actual basketball, and not free agent/trade stuff.