Kevin Pritchard seems to have a way of finding players that other teams just overlook (see Fernandez, Rudy and Batum, Nicolas). It’s too early to tell if Dante Cunningham can be added to that list, but the young man from Villanova is impressive nonetheless. Cunningham is extremely comfortable in a media smorgasbord environment, and he comes away looking and sounding like a seasoned veteran. Dante’s fellow rookie and new buddy Jeff Pendergraph is currently sidelined by a hip injury, but has a ton of potential and seems beyond his years maturity-wise.
On the other end of the spectrum lie Ime Udoka and Juwan Howard. These two NBA elder-statesmen bring a ton of experience to a young Blazer squad. This is of course provided that Udoka earns the 15th spot in training camp, which I think he will. But hey, what do I know?
All four Blazers were ready, willing and able to answer questions on Media Day.
Cunningham Is Comfortable In All Settings
Dante Cunningham:
- Cunningham is still super excited to be a professional. “This whole experience is new…the road trips, four different cities in a week, I can’t wait.”
- Head Coach Nate McMillan already praised Cunningham and said he would see playing time (McMillan made similar comments about former Florida Gator Taurean Green, but this feels different). Cunningham is optimistic he’ll be a productive rookie: “I definitely hope so. He’s saying that I have a good opportunity, a good chance, but I’m going to go out there and continue to work like I have no time on the clock. That’s my goal. That’s my plan.”
- Cunningham is very self-aware. He knows his strengths and what he brings to the court: “Defense, rebounding, shooting the mid-range jumper.” He says he plans on honing those abilities then expanding his game as time goes on.
- Cunningham says the scrimmages have been pretty exciting and competitive at the practice facility, and the guys don’t like to lose. Even in pickup games.
- How many times has Oden blocked his shot thus far? “A lot, a few, I stopped counting after 10.” He says Oden has thrown down on him a few times and given him a look like, “Hey rook,” and then laughed.
- On Brandon Roy: “He’s just so fundamentally sound, how he gets around you and how he uses his body. It’s really fun to watch.”
- Cunningham loved Roy’s humility. He recalled their first meeting when Roy went out of his way to say hello and ask him to work out.
- He says any game on the East Coast is one he circled on the calendar.
- Cunningham says he’s definitely staying close to Maurice Lucas at the practice facility (click here for audio).
Pendergraph Is Recovering From Surgery
Jeff Pendergraph:
- When Pendergraph sat down, he had a big smile on his face, despite entering on crutches. He looked happy to be there as he addressed a small group of tape recorders and notepads.
- Jeff said his recovery from hip impingement surgery was “coming along nice.” He said his day consists of riding the bike, doing “hip mobilization exercises” and a pool workout.
- Pendergraph said his doctor told him that he would be doing on-court workouts by December or January, and he estimates he’ll be back playing by February.
- Jeff described the team as a “tight-knit squad” and said that the team has been welcoming of both himself and fellow rookie Dante Cunningham.
- On who has surprised him during scrimmages: “Martell, actually. I didn’t know he could shoot like that. He’s been shooting the lights out [of] the ball. Brandon is Brandon. Greg is doing good. He’s really aggressive in the post. He’s worked on his post moves a lot.”
- On observing the team during training camp: “I don’t want to be the guy who just shows up to do my own thing and then leaves. I want to be there watching to try to learn stuff and still be there for my team to show them I’m there to be with them.”
- On rookie teammate Dante Cunningham: “Me and Dante hung out a bunch. That’s my boy. Every time we talk, we just talk like, ‘I can’t believe we’re here. We’re in the NBA, man. That’s nuts.’”
Ime Udoka Is Excited To Return To PDX
Ime Udoka:
- Udoka isn’t guaranteed the final spot on the Blazer roster. However, the Portland native talked a lot about his connections to the Blazer regime. He said the opportunity to come back to Portland isn’t a new idea. “It’s kinda something Nate talked to me over the last few years about. He always joked when my two years were up in San Antonio he was going to get me back.”
- Udoka says his approach is the same regardless of if he’s guaranteed a roster spot. He said “it’s not the ideal situation” having to earn his way onto a roster again. But Udoka’s initial success story was predicated on busting butt through lesser known leagues across the globe. He is confident he can make another roster.
- Ime says he gained experience in San Antonio that will help the Blazers. But it comes back to his old-standby: “Shooting the ball, defending, the safe stuff that got me here.”
- He’s been working out with Roy and the rest of the Blazers for a couple weeks. Udoka says they joked about his return to Portland. It’s clear Udoka has strong ties to Roy, Aldridge and the franchise (click here for audio)
- Udoka says watching the team from afar, the players’ development, growth and talent level is readily apparent. He says he was proud of the team for making the playoffs, and he rooted for the Blazers all year long.
- Udoka said Roy and Aldridge were hot topics in the Spurs locker room (click here for audio)
- He said coming back to the team a second time is “a totally different feeling” and he says it’s a blessing to return to Portland.
- Udoka talked about watching Nicolas Batum improve, and his task bestowed from McMillan: mentor the younger players (click here for audio).
Howard Is One Happy Veteran
Juwan Howard:
- At the risk of sounding like a teenage girl from 1986 who just met Kirk Cameron, I have to comment frankly on meeting Juwan Howard. He is impressive. Everything about him, from his physical size to his candid expressions and responses to his genuine smile and laughter just screamed “this guy is going to be unbelievably important to this team.” He may not get a ton (or even any) minutes this year, but he absolutely commands respect, and that is going to translate into a more disciplined ball-club.
- Juwan described the team as talented and the city as pretty.
- Howard said he saw his role as one of adding depth and leadership to a “versatile” front-court. While describing how he would fit in as a post, he made sure to mention and compliment every single big man on the squad, even Jarron Collins, who hasn’t even made the team yet. This is one of the reasons why I think Howard is going to be so important this year.
- When asked whether he thought he could help alleviate the Blazers’ image as “soft,” Howard asked who had given the team that label in the first place: “Was it players on other teams that call them soft? That’s the most important thing right there. I haven’t heard that [from players on other teams]. So I think that’s a myth.”
- “We’ve got to let the other teams that come into this building and want to play us know that they’re in for a dogfight, night in and night out.”
- “If you want to be a very good team in this league, you’ve got to win on the road. If you want to win in the playoffs, you’ve got to win road games in the playoffs.”
- On interacting with teammates: “Coaches say they have an open-door policy. Well, I have an open-door policy when it comes to any of my teammates. If they ever want to lean on me for any information or soak up any information, they can be a sponge and do that. I think we’ve all got to be ready to help each other. I think we’ve got to hold each other accountable. We’ve got to prepare ourselves, take care of our bodies, work hard in practice, because it’s not going to be given to us.”
- Howard said he learned how to approach each game and take care of his body when he was a young player from Washington Bullet veterans, including former Blazer Harvey Grant. He also named Mitch Richmond as a vet who showed him a trick to accelerating post-game recovery: “He’d take great care of his body, and he’d get in a cold tub. I told him he was crazy, because I couldn’t handle a cold tub. He said, ‘young fella, in due time, this is going to become your best friend if you want to last in this league.’ So now I live and die by the cold tub.”
- The next question is suddenly so clear: how long until Juwan throws LaMarcus into a vat of ice water? My money is on sooner rather than later.