Most NBA coaches probably still get out on the court to shoot a couple buckets every now and then. Not to say they go out of their way, but there’s always time before or after a practice, or after working out NBA draft hopefuls. And some, a select few, might even try a behind-the-back, through-the-legs layup, which we wouldn’t mind seeing, even if they missed.

Flip Saunders, Cuyahoga Heights’ Finest, did just that after Wednesday’s Wizards pre-draft workout, something only 50% of the head coaches in the NBA Finals can do  — well, I’m making an assumption based on Phil Jackson’s two hip replacement surgeries and his giant sideline chair.

Flip may struggle with trick shots, but he hasn’t lost the shooting touch that once made him Ohio’s Class-A High School Player of the Year and a pretty good player at the University of Minnesota. Let’s watch the coach in action …

For the record, someone asked Flip if he was going to finish on a miss. He just kinda shrugged his shoulders, laughed it off and said something I couldn’t exactly hear.

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Or maybe you can just ask John Wall if he wants to go to Ben’s Chili Bowl. There’s a sign in the famed D.C. haunt that says the only people who eat free are Bill Cosby and the Obama family. Surely an exception can be made should Wall ever bring an NBA title to Washington.

Oh, the Wizards haven’t even drafted the kid yet? Okay, I’ll hold my horses.

The quintessential Ben’s dish:
a chili half-smoke with mustard and onions, and chili-cheese fries.

By the time John Wall actually wears a Wizards uniform we will have heard just about everyone give their opinion about him being in D.C. — we’re talking some Ouija board channeling Abe Lincoln type stuff. Or at least getting DeShawn Stevenson’s neck tattoo to speak on it.

Already in the month of June we’ve had failed Washington Nationals GM Jim Bowden and failed 6’10″ Washington Bullets point guard Chris Webber elicit verbiage about Wall, courtesy of the DC Sports Bog’s Dan Steinberg.

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The Wizards worked out four players on Wednesday: Jerome Dyson, G, Connecticut, 6’4, 190 lbs.; Devin Ebanks, F, West Virginia, 6’9, 215 lbs.; Magnum Rolle, F/C, Louisiana Tech, 6’11, 225 lbs.; and Devin Sweetney, G, Morgan State, 6’4, 180 lbs..

Ebanks, an early-entry draft candidate after two seasons at West Virginia, was the big name of Wednesday’s group. He’s currently mocked going 23rd overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves by NBADraft.net, 31st overall to the New Jersey Nets by DraftExpress, and is in Chad Ford’s “next five” after the first round.

Many believe Ebanks to be a lottery talent, but his inconsistency, especially on the offensive end and especially in terms of aggression, has kept his stock waning toward the end of the first round to the second round.

Other the other hand, he’s a good defensive player (6’7″ without shoes and a 7’0.25″ wingspan), a nice very nice rebounder, and has the ability to slash to the bucket. Ebanks has been compared to anyone from Rudy Gay, to Shawn Marion, to Jared Jeffries to Corey Brewer.

Maybe he slips to 30 or 35 and the Wizards take him to say, ‘Hey, with Al Thornton at the small forward position and Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young playing two guard, maybe you don’t throw money at the 30-year old Josh Howard and his knee recovery at the SG/SF spot and hope that Ebanks and his 77% free-throw shooting (in ’09-10) can develop into a decent scorer for an NBA small forward.’ … in addition to Ebanks’ diverse defensive skills, something the Wizard always seem to need, especially on the perimeter.

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On Memorial Day the Wizards worked out Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga), Derrick Caracter (UTEP), Raymar Morgan (Michigan State), Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State), and Devin Sweetney (Saint Francis). Darington Hobson (New Mexico) was originally scheduled but was a late scratch. Sweetney was his replacement.

From that workout, I was only able to write about Jarvis Varnado. Below are some leftover interviews of Bouldin, Morgan and Vasquez along with some pictures I took.

Matt Bouldin

Raymar Morgan

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Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado worked out for the Washington Wizards on Memorial Day. Below is a break down of his Chicago Pre-Draft camp measurements and his Wizards post-workout interview.

Jarvis Varnado is a very soft spoken guy. In fact, I’d call him downright shy … at least in terms of his interview demeanor. He’s the anti-Omar Samhan.

Varnado is an especially intriguing prospect to me. Being a Mississippi State alum and someone who worked with the men’s basketball team while there (I left MSU in 2003, Varnado started his four years as a Bulldog in 2006), I’ve followed his career very closely.

Varnado, nicknamed “SWAT”, is most known for his defensive presence. He finished his career with 564 blocked shots, the most in NCAA history, averaging four blocks per game over career. He has natural instinct, usually not leaving his feet to gamble on pump fakes, but also has “quick hops” in his ability to recover on second and third jumps. And as many shots as he blocked, he changed and intimidated a ton more, and often against players who thought they could out-smart him by going into his body. He is an intelligent, disciplined defensive player.

Offense, however, is a glaring weakness for Varnado. I will say that he improved vastly while at Mississippi State, but he started with little to nothing on the offensive end and still has a very long way to go before ever being a halfway decent threat at the NBA level.

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