Graydon and I wanted to create a space to dump some of our leftover notes and anecdotes from the Combine, which seemed like as good a reason as any for a long list of bullets. So, without further ado…

Tim’s Notes:

• Greivis Vasquez gave a good interview. During our talk he repeated the story he had told the Washington Post about Manu Ginobili approaching him with an encouraging word after his workout in San Antonio. In his mind, Ginobili was “just like the whole organization. Humble, professional, no one thinks he is better than anyone else.” Regarding his current training Vasquez said, “I’m working on using my size more on defense. I want to do a better job with that. So I’m learning how to use my body on defense. I’m also doing a lot of stretching to improve quickness and flexibility on defense.”
• Rodrigue Beaubois didn’t say anything striking, but his enthusiasm about playing defense was notable. “When I was younger I didn’t really think about defense. Now it feels so good to stop the other player. I enjoy it.” Now read his words again, but imagine a big smile and an exceedingly cheerful tone.
• Jack McClinton compared his game to Eddie House and Mo Williams. Regarding his workout with San Antonio (he was part of a six man group that included Josh Shipp, Ben Woodside, Courtney Fells, Marcus Thornton, and Robert Vaden) McClinton said that they ask their prospects to shoot more than other teams, expecting each one to make 100 3s prior to leaving the floor. Other than that, they push the guys to play hard in 1 on 1 and 3 on 3 scrimmages.
• Of all the guys I spoke with in Chicago, either Danny Green or Omri Casspi left the deepest impression, and for different reasons. Maybe it’s because he’s been through this process before, but Green appeared more relaxed than most of the players. I wouldn’t say he had a swagger, but he definitely projects an aloof confidence. It’s hard to know how to take him at first. But then in conversation he opposes your expectations by readily admitting to weaknesses in his game. If I had to slap him with a cliched label, I’d say Green was confident but not cocky. He’s auditioned for San Antonio two years running, but said they’ve changed their workout regiment from last year. The 2009 version of their workout included increased attention to measurables: sprint speed, vertical leap, etc… Danny Green sees himself as more of a 2-3 than 3-2, and is hearing the same thing. He’s worked out with Toronto, OKC, Chicago, San Antonio, Detroit and Miami. His San Antonio workout was with Damion James, Alonzo Gee, Wayne Ellington, Greivis Vasquez,  Nick Calathas, whom Green dubbed “a funny little dude.”
• The player I left the Combine wanting to learn more about was Joe Ingles. Intelligent, articulate, comfortable. You could tell he’s played professionally for a few years. Although he said he was a 2, he has the size to play 3 and–so he says–is enough of a ballhandler to play point if his team is in a pinch. I immediately began to imagine him in terms of Brent Barry. As a second round pick, he seems like a safe bet to make someone’s roster. Put differently, if I could draft Chase Budinger at 25 or Joe Ingles at 45, I’m not sure I wouldn’t choose the Aussie in order to free up my first round pick on another player. It’s all about value.
• Austin Daye models himself after Rashard Lewis and talked to me about becoming a player who creates match up problems for opposing teams by stretching the court. My notes on this conversation are chicken scratch, but he did offer up a lucid 2 minute breakdown of the Magic/Cavs series complete with notes on how much opportunity existed in the NBA for players of his skill set. He’s all kinds of skinny, but seems to have it together upstairs. And that 7′ 2.75” wingspan is legit.
• Obviously, Blake Griffin is not on the Spurs’ radar. But Graydon and I both had seperate opportunities to speak with him and were united in our assessment: gracious, good humored, humble. He just smacks off a player you’d want as the face of an organization. Griffin and I sat across from one another for about 90 minutes, typing from behind our monitors. He was busy trying to accomplish something on his Mac, but didn’t show the slightest sign of annoyance at the approach of a journalist or fan. Always a smile and warmly delivered nice to meet you before returning to his work. He couldn’t carry himself better.
• Hasheem Thabeet is quiet. It’s hard to read too much into these things, and it’s hardly fair to transfer one’s personality traits to the basketball court, whether 1:1 or at all. But a few people commented that he was difficult to understand because of his soft-spoken demeanor. “He’s either shy or disinterested” is how one person put it. If I were his agent, I’d coach a little bravado into his interviews.  For a player who does not assert himself on offense–that’s the popular sentiment regarding Thabeet–it couldn’t hurt if he became more assertive in person. Again, the connection between off the court personality and on the court performance is more spurious than sure. Thabeet is a great player, clearly. But you know what they say about perception.
• Josh Heytvelt told me that he had been incredibly frank about past mistakes in his interviews. Although, he didn’t say, I assume he meant his arrest for possessing marijuana and shrooms. It goes without saying that teams spent more time with the players than I did, but from my standpoint it’s a non-issue. He gave every indication of being a guy who had made a dumb mistake, nothing more or less. I suspect most teams see it the same way. Heytvelt interviewed with the Spurs last Wednesday.
• Jeff Pendergraph has enormous, strong hands. He nearly crushed my tiny little paw in his grip. “I’m trying to be as skilled as Tim Duncan and as intense as Kevin Garnett. The biggest thing for me is energy–I try to play with high energy whenever I’m on the court,” Pendergraph said. “Energy” was spoken of as a skill by a lot of players. For the record, Pendergraph had not interviewed or worked out with San Antonio.
• Darren Collison sold himself as an articulate, defense-first point guard. I asked him about moving into a predominately screen and roll league, and he fired back with all sorts of scenarios, and options off those scenarios, that he has in the high screen and roll. Then he started to talk about side screen roll options before I interrupted him with an “I believe you, I believe you.”  DraftExpress says “Collison looks like an awesome back up point guard.” What their eyes see, my ears heard.
• Jerel McNeal interviewed with San Antonio last Thursday.
• Dante Cunningham and I talked about new wave stats, and whether, as a player, he pays much attention to them. He admitted that he was only recently becoming acquainted with the different tools available to evaluate performance, but proved a quick study. For example, I was explaining rebound rate and before I could finish my explanation he said, “Yeah that makes sense. Can’t get a rebound if you’re not on the floor.”  It didn’t me long to figure out that Cunningham was a smart kid. He’s worked out for Miami and San Antonio.
• I’m sitting on a fun anecdote from Chase Budinger, so you’ll have to wait for more than this: he interviewed with the Spurs.
• After years of reading their stuff, I met Jonathan Givony and Chad Ford. Both are great in their own way. I’ve known Jonathan some through email and phone conversations, so meeting him was more about making the acquaintance proper. Givony is encyclopedic. It’s his job, I know, but he really knows his stuff. Some people need to step away from a frenzy in order to collect themselves and others find peace by marching into the maelstrom. He’s part of the latter group. It was fun to watch him in his element. Chad Ford comes across as more of an ambassador, dignified and diplomatic but completely unassuming in a pair of frumpy jeans. I’ve always suspected that Ford was a 24/7 non-stop. Anyone who holds down a full-time teaching position and a full-time gig with ESPN–while dedicating untold hours to Peace Players International–has to be.  His every minute is a fruit-bearing one.
• I would be remiss not to thank Joanna Shapiro for all her assistance. She was terrific. Thanks, Joanna.

Graydon’s Notes:

• My impression of Danny Green was less positive than Tim’s. “Confident but not cocky” seems too kind. I found him to be disinterested, sometimes to the point of being disrespectful (at points he was texting while being interviewed).  But, as Tim noted, he was also unexpectedly frank. He openly admitted his workout with the Spurs went “OK” and said he didn’t have the footspeed to be an elite defender. Mediocre workouts and inability on the defensive end is a common thread that runs throughout many of the prospects, but few addressed them as directly as Green.
• While interviewing Dionte Christmas, I asked him if he had any funny stories from his pre-draft travels. He said nothing particularly funny had happened but did have an interesting story about Sam Young. While measuring his vertical at a private team workout (I forget which one), Young came down on a piece of metal that was jutting out from the measurement pole. The piece of metal became lodged in his bicep. Everyone else began freaking out but supposedly Young hardly reacted at all. Christmas said he saw Young a week or so later at another workout and he was practicing just as hard as anyone.
• I also had a chance to speak with Rodrigue Beaubois, but my interview didn’t go very well. This is not because Beaubois is a bad guy; he seemed perfectly nice. But he does not speak English particularly well and he was my first interviewee of the day. Put those two together and it makes for one unproductive and pretty awkward conversation.
• I spoke with Damion James (who has worked out with the Spurs) but our conversation quickly drifted away from basketball. Damion and I share a mutual friend, Ian Mooney, who used to be Damion’s teammate at the University of Texas. Ian is getting married to a very close friend of mine, Mary Grace McClendon. We spent most of our time talking about the wedding and telling old stories about the couple. On that note, Congratulations to Ian and Mary Grace.
• I’m a UT fan so I have every reason in the world to dislike Blake Griffin. And on television, I always found him to be smug (then again, in my eyes, that OU crimson makes everyone look smug). But when I met him in person, I found him to be professional, humble, and actually, rather witty. I’m writing a piece for Clipperblog about my interview with him, so I’ll save the details for that.
• Speaking of Griffin: After I had finished interviewing Blake, I found myself standing in the corner with him and Hasheem Thabeet. When I shook Thabeet’s hand, it enveloped mine entirely. Have someone hold out two fingers and then shake them. That’s what it looked like. I was so completely caught off guard by his height (before this moment I had only spoken to them while we all were sitting) and grip that I blurted out, “Holy s***, I feel like I’m 12 years old.” We all laughed and, feeling somewhat embarassed, I quickly changed the subject.
• I spoke briefly with Coach Mike Woodson of the Atlanta Hawks. I asked him about Josh Childress’ situation and, if Childress were to sign with the Hawks again, would they be willing to trade him. Bearing a tremendously large grin, Woodson said, “All options are open.” Translation: If Childress returns to the NBA, he will most likely not be suiting up for Atlanta.
• As Tim said, Austin Daye comes across as bright. He is acutely aware of his build (or lack thereof) and seems focused on getting stronger. He also said that, given his current size, his “process is slower than some.” He recognizes that he might not be as immediately productive as players with an NBA-ready body. But of all the players I met, I felt he had one of the more fully developed conceptions of his own game.
• While in a sandwich shop across the street, I overheard a few players (I recognized them but I couldn’t remember their names) joking about how they couldn’t imagine “Hasheem up in da club.” Fair enough. I too cannot imagine what Hasheem Thabeet would be like while at a club, although the word awkward does come to mind.