The Battle for Position

Most of the time, I have at least some idea what to expect when I cover an event. Today, I really had none.

I mean, I knew that all of the best college basketball players in the country would be assembled in one room for one extended session with the media. But what would the atmosphere be like? Would there be autograph hounds hovering around the hotel? Would there be a press conference for each player? Or an every-man-for-himself battle to get quotes?

Turns out, it was a battle. And a fierce one at that.

When the doors to the fifth-floor ballroom were first opened at around 12:30, reporters immediately raced to the table reserved for Greg Oden, the former Ohio State center and projected No. 1 pick.

Oden, of course, wasn’t even there yet so it was kind of an odd sight to see reporters line up five-deep around a table, jockeying for position and glaring at anyone who got in front of them. But I guess that’s what its like with sportswriters at a buffet, too.

Meanwhile, at the table right next to Oden’s, the one reserved for Kansas' Julian Wright, there was just one woman sitting down. And she kind of looked she was stopping during a long walk to get a pebble out of her shoe. Poor Julian.

Let me just say I’ve never been too good at jockeying for position. So when the players first arrived, I was caught in the center of the room, in virtual no-mans land. I felt like Eli Manning with cameras in front of him. This was bad.

But after a quick glance around the room, I managed to squeeze my way next to Florida forward Al Horford, who is likely to go either No. 3 or No. 4 tomorrow. He was well-spoken, humble and looked fashionable in a yellow sweater vest. Seemed like an all-around good guy.

Then in walked his Florida teammate, Joakim Noah, who is, for lack of a better word, interesting. Apparently, Noah didn’t get the memo that you were supposed to dress up for the event because the eccentric Gators forward sported a white t-shirt and plaid shorts. I really can’t wait to see the guy’s outfit tomorrow. Short of a suit with ducks and clowns on it, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point.

But the crowd around Noah was almost as big as it was for Oden, so I went over to Mike Conley’s table just as the former Ohio State freshman guard was arriving. New York was a little bit too big and crazy for him, he said as he first sat down. Is that Isiah Thomas' excuse, too?

Next to Conley was Spencer Hawes, the Washington center who is projected as a top 10 pick. Many people didn’t see too much of him in college since he played on the West Coast and was hurt for a while, but I really think he’s going to be a great big man. From what I saw, he really has a solid offensive game – one which actually includes a mid-range jump shot. “Draft the big man first,” Hawes said, talking about Oden. Or maybe he was talking about himself. I’m not sure.

Soon, I found myself in a groove, going from table to table, waiting for an opening and diving in for quotes. This should really be a sport. I’d like to know the reporter who got in the most questions in to the most players. I’d support the accomplishment with a plaque.

Just then, however, I heard the announcement that there were only two minutes left before they bring in the next group of players. Ok, so it’s a two-minute drill. Crunch time, baby. Hopefully I’ll manage this better than Herm Edwards.

So with the time dwindling down, I decided to make a last-ditch effort to talk to Oden, or at least listen to him. But the crowd around him was still exceptionally large. As I walked over, I think I saw one cameraman propped on Julian Wrights’ head for a better view.

But I wiggled in there, just in time to see Oden grip a Spalding basketball for a photoshoot and tell the crowd he has really dry hands. Nice. Maybe I’ll lead my newspaper story with that.

As the first group of players left, I vowed to be more aggressive for the next group. But unfortunately, there were already a mob of people at Kevin Durant’s table. This was going to be interesting.

Find out how I did and what the rest of the players were talking about when I come back in a bit.

--Dave Zeitlin