[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews continue, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. Now, from D.C. to China and back again... That's right... James Singleton. TAI's Ryan Gracia and Adam McGinnis try to deem worthy James' 12 games with the Wizards. -Kyle W.]
[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews continue, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. Now, we could quite possibly be beating a dead horse that could get up and start trotting. That's right... Andray Blatche. TAI's Dan Diamond, Adam McGinnis, Rashad Mobley, and Sam Permutt contemplate the last you may have seen of the bad guy. -Kyle W.]
[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews continue, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. Now, we take a look at Washington's most recent lottery pick in a line of many. That's right... Jan Vesely. TAI's Lukas Kuba, Adam McGinnis, Sam Permutt, and John Converse Townsend take a gander at Jan's rookie campaign. -Kyle W.]
[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews continue, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. Now, we take a look at the knee tendons which have been stretching the ghost of Gilbert Arenas into nonexistence. That's right... Rashard Lewis. Lewis was scheduled to make $21,136,631 last season; prorated over 66 games, that's $17,012,410. Divided by the 729 minutes Lewis played, and you get about $23,336 per basketball minute. Must be nice. TAI's Adam McGinnis, Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie take a look at Rashard's season, if you can call it that. -Kyle W.]
[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews continue, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. Now, we go with the Washington Wizards rookie who is tied with Rasheed Wallace for starting the fifth most games as a rookie with the franchise since 1981-82. That's right... Chris Singleton and his 51 starts in a 66-game season. TAI's Adam McGinnis, Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie take a look at Chris' rookie year. -Kyle W.]
Chris Singleton: DC Council Ratings
In 51 starts with the Wizards: 0.94 average Stars out of 3 (Singleton received 8 of 45 possible ‘sub of the game’ nominations in his 15 games off the bench; To note… D’oh! Rashard Lewis averaged 0.98 Stars out of 3 in his 15 starts for the Wizards.) Best Game:Feb. 28, 2012 – Game 29 at Milwaukee Bucks Worst Game(s):Feb. 22, 2012 – Game 33 vs Sacramento Kings
[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews continue, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. Today, we go with yesterday's replacement, who is today's Jordan Crawford. TAI's Ryan Gracia, Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie take a look at Jordan's sophomore NBA season. -Kyle W.]
[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews continue, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. Today, we go with another former Wizard... because there are always lots and lots of former Wizards, this one being one of eight currently left in the playoffs (also including Caron Butler, Randy Foye, Bobby Simmons, Mike Miller, Juwan Howard, Ronny Turiaf and Steve Blake). That's right... Nick Young. TAI's Ryan Gracia, Adam McGinnis, Sam Permutt, and Kyle Weidie take a look at Nick's last season in Washington. -Kyle W.]
[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews continue, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. Today, we go with the second-highest paid Wizard (perhaps not for long once Rashard Lewis is gone). That's right... the guy the Wizards got for JaVale McGee, Nenê. TAI's Dan Diamond and Kyle Weidie take a look at Nenê's brief season in Washington. -Kyle W.]
[NOTE: Truth About It.net 2011-12 Player Reviews start today, where we take a look at the past, present and future of those players who have touched the Wizards franchise in the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season. And why not begin with a former Wizard who happens to be playing tonight? That's right... JaVale McGee. TAI's Rashad Mobley and John Converse Townsend take a look at Epic Vale's season. -Kyle W.]
[Editor's Note: Lukas Kuba (@Luke_Mellow) has been TAI's go-to for all things Jan Vesely/Czech Republic-related. Today, Lukas provides a translation from one of Vesely's latest self-penned journals for the Czech website Sport.CZ. Enjoy! -Kyle W.]
John Wall GIF to Jan Vesely…
Jan Vesely: ‘Never in my life I lost so many games’
Mean mug? Mug half full? John Wall’s pups are bull-[dog]-ish on the future.
On Monday, six Truth About It.net contributors gauged their optimism about the Washington Wizards. Collectively, we were 65.2% optimistic about the franchise, stemming from the way the team ended the season into the uncertain future. Individually, our optimism broke down like this:
Jan Vesely, after his last rookie game… April 26, 2012:
[Editor's Note: Surely some Wizards fans have mixed feelings about Jan Vesely's rookie season, but none can deny that he really came along toward the end. Is Jan what people "feel" a sixth pick should be? I don't know... Does it matter? He's on the team now. Besides, who would the Wizards have been better off with? Kemba Walker? The Jimmer? Klay Thompson? One of the Morris twins? No thanks, to all of them. Vesely does a lot of things very well; his instinct, willingness and presence makes me want to tear my hair out from the shameful ineptitude of Andray Blatche even more. Thanks, Jan. Otherwise, Vesely doesn't need plays run for him to find ways to score; all he has to do is sprint with John Wall and crash the offensive glass. The Wizards will eventually find guys who can put the ball in the basket, but they need guys like Vesely. Great pick by Ernie Grunfeld and his staff, in my opinion. -Kyle W.]
Vesely recently conducted season-ending interviews with Czech media outlets in Prague — Denik.CZ, Rozhlas.CZ, Sport.CZ, Basket.Idnes.CZ — TAI’s Vesely correspondent, Lukas Kuba (@luke_mellow), translates the highlights:
Jan Vesely on the just-concluded regular season:
Overall, I can say that I’m satisfied with the season. I’m already looking forward to a couple days of free time. While playing for Partizan I started playing better as the season went on, too. We [the Wizards] had a couple of injured players, that’s also why I was getting more opportunities. I tried to go all out, to the maximum of my ability. Coaches were giving me advice so that I played more aggressive and shot more. On one side, it’s a pity [that the regular season ended last week], we finally had some success. But the season was long, and if I remember it correctly, we played two sets of back-to-back-to-backs; we played seven games in nine nights. We landed [somewhere] at night, then we had a game the next day, it was challenging. That’s why I didn’t have time for anything but basketball. In free time, I tried to get as much rest and sleep as possible or I watched movies. Everyone’s glad that the season’s over, and we can rest a bit. If we were fighting for the Playoffs, then it’s something else, but because the end of the season was approaching, we all wanted to finish it off — but to finish on a good wave.
[The Bullets-Wizards have had 15 different 7-footers suit up over the years. Only one appears in this photo. Via SI Vault and B-R.]
Roy Hibbert is a very, very tall man. Seven feet-and-two-inches tall, in fact.
And over on Grantland, there is a really, really good article about Hibbert’s development. How D.C.’s own Big Roy went from Georgetown scrub to NBA All-Star in eight years.
Go read it.
Author Jordan Conn captures the routine — from Hibbert’s pre-game stretching to his mixed martial arts practice — that transformed a 7-foot-2 non-athlete into one of basketball’s best players. But in the sea of detail, there was one data point that jumped out to me. (Bolding is mine.)
Citing data from the Centers for Disease Control, Sports Illustrated estimated that there are fewer than 70 7-footers between the ages of 20 and 40 in the United States. Seventy 7-footers; 30 starting NBA centers.
If you’re Nate Robinson’s height, you need to be an exceptional athlete to make the league. If you’re Hibbert’s, you just have to be pretty good.
[You know what they say about little chairs? Little capacity.]
We just couldn’t let JaVale McGee get away from D.C. without giving him his propers… whatever “propers” means. And actually, “Can’t Say I Do,” the movie (let’s call it a mini-docu-drama, I think), doesn’t give much proper respect to young JaVale. Rather, it aims to convey the story of why he is no longer a Washington Wizard… because he couldn’t say “I do” to willingly understanding the game of basketball like coaches, teammates and fans expected.
All that talent in the world with only JaVale to hold himself back. No need to provide advanced statistics, describe skills and faults, or wax poetic on memories of McGee, because it’s as simple as that. He’s gone and I could [not] care less. It took about three years, eight months and 19 days, but the 18th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft (McGee), along with the 17th pick in 2007 (Nick Young), and a guy whom the Wizards essentially got for free from the New York Knicks last summer (Ronny Turiaf), was finally traded so that Washington could get some competent help at the center position (Nene). Kind of sucks that it took so long, but I’m sure the Wizards will figure it out sooner or later.
[Background: On Leap Day 2012, the Wizards faced the Orlando Magic at home, and JaVale McGee came off the bench for the first time all season. The previous night, in Milwaukee, Randy Wittman benched McGee for the entire second half (with good reason), and after the Wizards lost that game, the coach said, "I’m done with young guys. If they don’t want to play the right way, young guys aren’t going to play. It does us no good." After the Orlando game, which Washington also lost, Wittman said he spoke with McGee (and Nick Young, to an extent), about why they were benched. After that, I asked McGee if he understood the message his coach was trying to send. He could not say that he did, but seemed confident that he would figure it out sooner or later. And now we have a movie to watch...]
Pessimism: it’s often all you got when optimism is all you need. With a season-ending six-game winning streak, things are looking on the up-and-up for the Washington Wizards, or are they? We’ve been down this road before, the path of hope, to the point where actual ‘hope’ has been greatly diluted by dusty roads, cloudy visions, and weary travelers. Still, if Wizards fans can’t find reasons to be hopeful, optimistic, then why are they fans? To gauge the overall optimism of the tired, huddled masses, Truth About It.net asked six different contributors to explain (and rate) their optimism in five key areas which are weighted differently, but come together to total 100 for an Optimism Index on the Washington Wizards franchise. The areas of evaluation are:
Current Players (out of 40); Future Players via draft picks and free agents/cap space (out of 25); Coaching/Player Development (out of 20); Ownership/Team Management (out of 10); and Arena/Atmosphere/Fan Support/Etc. (a catch-all area rated out of 5).
Read through what the collective minds of TAI — Dan Diamond (@ddiamond), Ryan Gracia (@rgracia2378), Rashad Mobley (@Rashad20), Sam Permutt (@SammyVert), John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend), and Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) – have to say about the state of the Wizards and optimism, and then give us your own rating by voting in the polls below.
