Z-Bo and Jack in the ATL
posted: 7/24/2006 at 7:49 PM
Greetings from Atlanta.
We arrived in the early afternoon in Atlanta, and, as I explained yesterday, are here to get a first-hand look at Zach Randolph and Jarrett Jack. Trail Blazers player development/assistant coach Bill Bayno is down here, as is strength coach Bobby Medina. We just saw Zach for a few minutes today, and are getting set to attend tomorrow's (Tuesday's) workout sessions with the players.
I did talk to Bayno when I arrived today. He arrived a few hours before we did, on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles. He went right from the airport to Georgia Tech and put Zach through an intense workout. They had a chance to workout for a few days together in Las Vegas, when Randolph arrived for the final days of summer league.
I've known Bill for a couple of years now, and he's not the kind of guy to blow smoke. I had to keep reminding myself of this as I listened to him rave about the progress of Zach. This has been the first time Bayno has worked with Z-Bo and the first thing he did is call Zach an "absolute gem of a person." He said Zach is embracing this opportunity and has a hunger that makes him very easy to coach. This was, obviously, great to hear. Bayno is one of the best player development coaches around and he's a huge addition to this staff. He's willing to go wherever the players are, and work with them as long as they can take it. He's intense, and pushes these players to make themselves better. It's so vital to have a guy like this on the coaching staff.
Bayno talked about his goals, concerning Randolph this summer. He told me this afternoon he "wants to be in Zach's head" and wants to "push him" and says Zach is one of his biggest priorities right now. He talked about how good Zach has looked in the post, and even said he hasn't really bothered to spend much time in there with him, at least with the left hand, because he's already got that down. Bayno said they're not spending any time working on Zach's left, but instead are concentrating almost solely on getting better with his weak hand, his right.
I talked to Zach in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and asked him what kind of shape he was in. He was honest, and said "so so." I told Bayno that today, and he told me that where they are at now is "night and day" compared to where Zach was in Vegas. Randolph worked in Vegas, and now has had two workouts a day in six of the last eight days. The workouts are long and hard and they're pounding away at full-court, game-situation stuff.
As for Jack, I'm happy to tell you he has been cleared for play. Jarrett has been working out, but now trainer Jay Jensen has cleared him for full-court games. Jack says the surgically-repaired ankle is feeling great, and says he's suprised at how quickly he's recovered. He originally told me he thought he'd be cleared some time in late August, so we're ahead of schedule by almost a month. I know it was killing Jarrett not to be able to play in the summer league games in Vegas, but that would have been pushing it.
Both Zach and Jarrett will play pick-up games with some of the NBA players who spend their summers in Atlanta. The best games in the summer are in Houston and Atlanta, and that's always been the case. They'll compete tomorrow night, and Wednesday, and possibly the rest of the week as well. I'll be here until Wednesday, and will have a much more complete update on their progress following the workouts tomorrow.
As I mentioned yesterday, Blazers TV producer Scott Zachry, and photographer Jeff Curtin are with me in Atlanta, and we'll have video for you on the web site as soon as we get home, so you can see for yourself.
I joined Brian Wheeler and Mike Rice last night on Courtside Monday Night, presented by L.A. Weight Loss, our weekly radio show. Wheels did his usual great job of sitting in the hosts chair.
It was a huge night on the show, as the guys were joined by Raef LaFrentz, who talked about being traded to Portland from Boston on draft night. Raef is currently looking for a home in Portland and says he is totally re-locating to the area. He also mentioned that is the toughest part of being traded, as you can imagine. He also mentioned that he is going to wear number 9 for the Blazers, as I reported to you about a month ago. Our radio producer "The Captain" Rich Patterson reminded Raef that Danny Ainge, the guy who just traded LaFrentz from Boston to Portland, also wore number 9 when he was in Portland. LaFrentz laughed, and was very suprised at the irony there. Yes, he's still going to wear 9.
Click here to hear the interview with LaFrentz.
Mike Kahn, from Fox Sports.com was also on the radio show. Kahn has covered the Sonics for years, and gave us his thoughts on the Seattle situation. He's very close to it and had some interesting thoughts.
Click here to listen to the interview with Kahn.
Nate McMillan, who is in Las Vegas with Team USA, gave us a sneak peak at what the travelling roster will be for the trip to the World Championships in Japan, when he joined the show. He also talked about how fun it has been to coach guys like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Click here for the Nate McMillan interview.We'll have much more from the workouts with Zach and Jarrett Tuesday, right here on trailblazers.com.
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As always, thanks for the great info. Your blogs provide us with inside info that we cant get anywhere else!
Great to read that Zbo is working hard and has the desire to improve. This is a big season for Zach. He needs to step it up and prove to Trail Blazer nation that he wants to be a part of the future of this team and become a leader. Trail Blazer fans hope he returns to the 20 & 10 guy we all loved a few years ago.
Good news about Zach. I have been more than a little skeptical about him, but I haven't given up hope. With Jarrett and Martell maturing, Blake, Joel, Raef, and Brian each providing a solid and professional veteran presence, the addition of Brandon and LaMarcus, and your reports of his off-season progress, it's getting easier and easier to believe in the possibility of Zach having a monster year.
If you see Tim while you're there, tell him The Wookie says "hello."
And you can delete this part if you like before publishing my comment: It struck me that generally speaking, using the words "red-eye" and "Zach" in the same blog entry, no matter the context, may be ill-advised, lol...
A steady stream of positive news continues... thanks, Mike.
However, I have found one negative that makes this is a sad day in Blazerland, I'm afraid. I don't see Desiree on the new Blazer Dancers roster! Time-out entertainment will never be the same!
Thanks Mike for the updates. The interview with Raef was good and with Nate even better. Good to hear of Zach's work ethic. Jarrett has his priorities right to get his college degree. I hope LaMarcus is paying attention!
Wondering though - Nate is the defense coach for the USA team and not one question about our defense for him on Courtside?
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