[Jan Vesely works on his shooting form with Flip and Ryan Saunders. - photo: K. Weidie]
Many folks are naturally a bit more curious about Jan Vesely than others on this Wizards team, and that includes the likes of John Wall, Jordan Crawford, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee. Reason being, not many have seen the sixth overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft in a setting outside of his role as the “Dunking Ninja” on YouTube. They want to know if he’s up to NBA snuff.
The fair warning is that expectations of Vesely should be immediately tempered. This is not to discourage potential, nor preemptively quell disappointment. It’s just that there are a myriad of factors as to why Vesely’s integration into a pro basketball team in the nation’s capital will take some time. And that’s okay. We might see a bodacious dunk or two early on, but it also might take 10-15 games (about a sixth of this shortened season) before we see Vesely truly comfortable on an NBA court. Until then, feel free to remain confident in the scouting of Vesely performed by team management which led to his draft selection. He’s got the tools, he just needs to learn how to hammer.
Video: Jan Vesely, An Integration Process
Flip Saunders and Roger Mason Jr. talk about Vesely, along with a couple shots of training camp action and comments from Jan himself.
Video: Wall to Vesely Alley-Oop
Other Reads:
- Bullets Forever: “Wizards Training Camp 2011: Jan Vesely Continues To Adjust” by Mike Prada
- Washington Examiner: “Wizards’ Vesely getting ready for his shot” by Craig Stouffer
Nice vids! I’ve kind of accepted that Vesely may not get a lot of burn early on. He seems to be taking his misses too hard in the video. Hopefully he snaps out of that. Painfully reminded me of myself when I start missing shots in rec league games. Next thing you know people start playing you for the pass and its over. On the bright side, I’m loving the Roger Mason signing based on the video. Dude looks like a great teammate and knows his role on this team.