Time for Round 2

Corey Brewer. That’s the player whose table I decided to sit at when Round 2 of the marathon media session tipped off. (Wow, I think I just managed to use metaphors for three different sports. I know you’re impressed.)

I wanted to be in prime position for at least one player, so Brewer seemed as good a choice as any. Like everyone else, I was blown away by his abilities during the NCAA Tournament last March. And, it turns out, I like him as a person, too. He answered all the questions with a big smile, said what was on his mind and talked wistfully about the two national titles at Florida. And when asked about the comparisons that are being drawn to Scottie Pippen, Brewer said simply, “I like them.”

The crowd seemed a little bit smaller for this group so after a couple of minutes with Brewer, I listened to what Georgetown’s Jeff Green and Texas A&M’s Acie Law IV had to say. But almost right from the start, nearly the entire room shifted its attention to one man: Yi Jianlian.

Yi may have gotten more attention than even Oden or Durant. The Chinese prodigy who will likely be a top 5 selection tomorrow was hounded by Asian reporters and photographers, Ichiro style. And the most epic performance from the afternoon had to come from Yi’s translator, who had the Herculean job of interpreting inane, as well as some insane, questions for the big man. As Yi later left the room, a few photographers actually ran into each other trying to get shots of him walking. I’ve seen the Ichiro treatment on TV all the time, but it was definitely interesting to watch the circus live.

After fighting to get quotes from Yi’s translator, I bounced around from table to table for a little bit, making stops to hear everyone talk -- except for Rodney Stuckey. (Sorry, Rodney!) At one point, I got to Law when virtually no one else was there so I took the opportunity to ask him some questions. People forget that Law was easily one of the most talented, clutch and entertaining college players in recent memory. Remember the game in Texas when he went shot-for-shot with Durant and made two impossible 3-pointers to force two overtimes? I asked him about that, of course, and he told me all about how great it was and how fun it was to go against a player of Durant’s caliber. After careful consideration, I decided not to chastise him for knocking my Penn Quakers out of the tourney.

Towards the end, I was able to get some quotes from Durant, who is not as gregarious as the always-joking Oden but seemed pretty comfortable all the same. And he showed some flashes of self-deprecation when someone asked him why he struggled with his off-the-court strength tests. “It’s not that I never lifted at Texas,” he said. “It’s just that I couldn’t lift 185 pounds.”

Anyway, as the session ended, I realized how lucky I was to see some of the greatest college players assembled in one room a day before one of the most anticipated and important NBA drafts in league history. It really was a thrill. But enough with the gushy stuff. Let me sign off with a couple of entirely useless nuggets that I learned:

Most irrelevant piece of information: If Spencer Hawes were a car, he’d be a Range Rover.

Most random moment: When Corey Brewer was asked to pose for a picture while holding an Asian magazine that had Steve Nash on the cover.

Weirdest moment: When a reporter from Finland asked me if I knew anything about Petteri Koponen and if I wanted to be quoted for his paper. (I didn’t know anything. In fact, I had to just to look up his name now. He’s projected as a late first-rounder, if you’re curious.)

Best quote:
“What??”
--Greg Oden, when asked if he could guarantee that he’d be a better No. 1 overall pick than Michael Olowokandi

Well, that’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed the chronicles from a fun afternoon with the draftees. And, as always, make sure to pick up a copy of the Daily Local for more info. Back tomorrow for Draft Day!

--Dave Zeitlin