On Monday, June 21, Solomon Alabi (C, Florida State, 7’1, 251 lbs.) worked out for the Washington Wizards along with Magnum Rolle (F/C, Louisiana Tech, 6’11, 225 lbs.), Devan Downey (G, South Carolina, 5’9, 175 lbs.), A.J. Ogilvy (C, Vanderbilt, 6’11, 250 lbs.), Samardo Samuels (F, Louisville, 6’9, 260 lbs.) and Bobby Maze (G, Tennessee, 6′3″, 195). Read about Alabi below…

Florida State’s Solomon Alabi has an NBA body, no question. Measuring 6’11.5″ without shoes and 237 lbs. with a 7’5″ wingspan, a 9’5″ standing reach and 5-percent body fat (tied for the 7th lowest measure in Chicago), it’s easy to see why Alabi has been present in the first round of most mock drafts (#26 – Slam, #19 – DraftExpress, #19 – ESPN/Chad Ford), despite being a relative newbie when it comes to the game of basketball.

Solomon tried playing soccer as a young boy in his home country of Nigeria, but says that his friends would make fun of him trying to play at his height. Among the other sports he grew up playing, tennis, volleyball, table-tennis, field hockey and handball, basketball became the obvious choice, especially when NBA scouts discovered Solomon and told him that he could potentially earn a scholarship playing college ball in the United States.

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On Monday, June 21, Magnum Rolle (F/C, Louisiana Tech, 6’11, 225 lbs.) worked out for the Washington Wizards along with Solomon Alabi (C, Florida State, 7’1, 251 lbs.), Devan Downey (G, South Carolina, 5’9, 175 lbs.), A.J. Ogilvy (C, Vanderbilt, 6’11, 250 lbs.), Samardo Samuels (F, Louisville, 6’9, 260 lbs.) and Bobby Maze (G, Tennessee, 6’3″, 195). Read about Magnum below …

Magnum Rolle, a 6’10″ big with high athleticism and perimeter skills but with a thin frame, first worked out for the Washington Wizards on June 2nd with Jerome Dyson, Devin Ebanks and Devin Sweetney. I subsequently wrote an in-depth piece on the Bahamian’s basketball career and his prospects for the draft.

Today, he was back in Washington for a second workout, also hoping to provide a better showing for the coaching staff since his last workout with the team was hindered by a hip flexor strain.

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Dexter Pittman is a big body with soft hands. The Wizards could certainly use a post man who can take up space and Pittman, along with Derrick Caracter, might be options … perhaps not necessarily at 30 or 35, but a possibility should the Wizards acquire a late second round pick. Pittman worked out for the Wizards last Thursday, June 17th. Here’s a bullet point run-down on Dexter along with his post-workout media interview video:

• Pittman says he left high school for Texas weighing 388, dropped that to 366 before enrolling in June 2006, and got his weight down to a listed 290 by his senior year.
• Below I’ve embedded a video of a good ESPN feature that chronicles the transformation Pittman went through at UT, a school with a renowned strength and conditioning program.
• Pittman weighed in at 303 in Chicago, said he was “probably around 300″ on his day working out with the Wizards, and that his ideal playing weight is around 270-280.
• He had the highest percentage of body fat, 20.8%, of those measured in Chicago. DeMarcus Cousins was second at 16.4%.
• The website of Pittman’s foundation, DexterPittman.org, says that he once weight 402 pounds.
• His foundation sponsors the ‘Get Fit With Big Pitt Challenge‘ to help fight youth obesity.
• He had to unfortunately leave the Chicago pre-draft combine early because his younger brother was murdered.
• NBADraft.net compares him to Stanley Roberts.
• Pittman measures 6’9.5″ without shoes with a 7’6″ wingspan, almost six inches longer than Caracter’s wingspan.
• Pittman also had the biggest hands of the Chicago measurements with a length of 10.5 inches. Sure, these are just measurements, but I’m loving the new hand measurement stat. Some of the greatest players, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Rajon Rondo, and many that I’m surely missing, have had some of the biggest, strongest hands. Kwame Brown was said to have small hands. Enough said.
• Pittman made Academic All-Big 12 his sophomore and junior years.
• In an interview, he said one of his nicknames is “Sexy Dexy,” given to him by the Texas women’s basketball team his freshman year.
• He also said that he “loves phones like women love shoes” and that he’s a big fan of Wal-mart.
• His Twitter account is @Big_Pitt.
• Charles Barkley has noticed Pittman’s work ethic.
• He had an impressive workout with the Timberwolves, where he compared himself to DeJuan Blair and Big Baby Davis, but with 3 or 4 more inches in height, says T-Wolves GM David Khan.
• In the scouting report video embedded below, I was impressed by Pittman’s footwork/agility when guarding the pick-and-roll on the perimeter.
• Says he would’ve been disappointed if Texas went to the Pac-10 because the Big 12 stands for being “big and physical” while the Pac-10 is known for “premature point guards” who don’t want to get hit in the paint.

Post Wizards Workout Interview:

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Just a rundown of rather random thoughts, with pictures, after watching John Wall’s workout with the Washington Wizards and being there to interview him.

Wall is one strong kid-looking dude.

I turn 30 the day after the NBA Draft. Not old, but it still feels kinda weird calling a 19-year old who’s about to be the first overall pick a “kid” at my age (although, I’ve been comfortable calling people two years my junior “kid” before, somewhat facetiously though) … but “kid” more in a sense of seeing Wall’s built-for-basketball body while coming to grips that it’s way beyond where he is mentally. He’s just a lil’ guy, except not so little. Not sure any of this makes much sense.

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It’s pretty rare to find someone from the DMV area, one who has played basketball at high levels, admit that they were a fan of the Washington Bullets growing up. It’s usually the Bulls, the Bulls, the Bulls, or whomever. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride … the Bullets/Wizards usually are.

Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds is the exception. Reynolds spent a good chunk of his life growing up in Virginia, playing for Herndon High School where he was named a McDonald’s All-American as a senior in 2006. Reynolds moved on to suit up for the Wildcats and after a stellar 4-year career, was named a 2010 AP 1st Team All-American.

As a combo guard, Reynolds doesn’t have the highest prospects for the NBA Draft. ESPN projects him as someone who could go in the second round or undrafted, and both DraftExpress and NBADraft.net do not list him in their respective two-round mocks. This past Tuesday, Reynolds worked out with his hometown Washington Wizards.

Which brings me to why, assuming you are a Wizards/Bullets fan, you should root for Scottie Reynolds … because he is a fan just like you. When asked how much he followed the Wizards (Bullets) growing up, Reynolds opened up the floodgates. He said he was at the very last game played at the USAir Arena, a loss to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls on November 29, 1997; he kept both his ticket and t-shirt giveaway from the game. He also attended the second game at the MCI (now Verizon) Center, a win against Mitch Richmond and the Sacramento Kings. Reynolds then started running off names of players he rooted for — Tracy Murray, Chris Whitney, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tim Legler — saying it’d be a “dream come true” to play for the organization.

Below, check out Reynolds’ post workout interview video, where he talks about the Bullets and calls Randy Foye his “big brother,”  and footage from him on the Wizards practice court … courtesy of Adam Douglas.

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John Wall, Ernie Grunfeld, Andray Blatche and Comcast’s Chris Miller

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Thanks to TAI media guru Adam Douglas for shooting Wall’s interview footage.

John Wall’s workout for the Washington Wizards, his first and likely only with an NBA team, was a whirlwind. Partially because of the amount of attention it got and the anxiousness in the air from all who came to see him. It was “the” exclusive event in the DMV area on Thursday afternoon.

Members of the media, some who haven’t sniffed the Verizon Center for months, and eager interns from said media mainstream media organizations … rich white men in suits … the recently married Steve Buckhantz with other dignitaries looking down from the section of the Green Turtle restaurant with a window to the Wizards’ practice court … the recently married Mike Wise carrying the conversation in the media room while the masses waited in anticipation for young Wall to speak … even Andray Blatche was on the premises with his little brother in tow.

All came to see him … even if it was just to catch a glimpse. And a glimpse it was. Wall’s workout started around the 11 am scheduled start time and the media was allowed to enter not too long after 11:20. It was a much more brief workout than the usual hour-plus reserved for other players. And honestly, Wall looked kind of winded by the time we saw him. He would later divulge in his interview that his back had tightened up on him, but that he thought the workout went well.

None of this means anything by the way. D.C., despite the mysterious charade surrounding will they or won’t they take him first overall, John Wall is ours. For now, check out the video from his workout below — couple nice dunks in there, despite the stiff back — more to come, including Wall’s post-workout interview …

Five players worked out for the Wizards on Tuesday, highlighted by former Iowa State standout Craig Brackins and Villanova star Scottie Reynolds.

When it comes to making the decision to turn pro, the media routinely hypes up two outcomes: when a kid stays in school and improves his draft status, and when a kid leaves too early and doesn’t get drafted, wasting his remaining college eligibility.  The third scenario, one the media often downplays, is when the player’s draft fortunes decline by staying in school an extra year, costing him NBA millions in the process. This is what transpired with Brackins.

During a monster sophomore campaign (2008-09) for the Cyclones, Brackins averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. He was was named first team All-Big 12, honorable mention All-American and  tallied up a career-high 42 points in a contest against powerhouse Kansas. Mocks of the 2009 NBA Draft had Brackins going anywhere from late lottery to mid-20s. He was pretty much a lock for the first round and thus, awarding him the coveted financial security a second round selection does not provide.  Brackins tested the waters and ultimately decided to return for his junior year because he felt he was personally not ready yet.

The 2009-10 Cyclones opened the season with great expectations and some thought they could be a conference sleeper like 2008-9 Missouri. However, injuries, player defections and hard luck contributed to a disappointing 15-16 record. Brackins underachieved, struggled with consistency and his numbers dipped to 16.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg.

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[Editor's note: TAI media guy Adam Douglas attended the Wizards pre-draft workout on June 14th, his report is below.]

The Wizards worked out six players on Monday, highlighted by Luke Harangody from Notre Dame and Trevor Booker from Clemson, and including Marqus Blakley (Vermont), Marquis Gilstrap (Iowa State), Trevon Hughes (Wisconsin) and Jeremy Wise (D-League), as the entire coaching staff , several personnel employees and team president Ernie Grunfeld closely watched. Below are some video interviews, pertinent draft info and pictures from the “job interview”, a concept Flip Saunders drilled into the heads of these professional basketball applicants after the workout.

Trevor Booker – Clemson, Sr.

Chicago Measurements: 6’6.25″ without shoes, 236 lbs., 6’6.75″ wingspan
Age: 22 (11/25/1987)

Draft Express Profile (Feb. 19, 2010): Read more »