Wizards training camp finally went a little looney tunes on Thursday night.
I’ve already relayed news about Al Thornton getting hit by a car while walking on the George Mason campus, and John Wall told his version of events on Friday.
“He said he was walking, and some girl was going like 15-20 miles per hour,” said Wall. “She didn’t see him, and she nipped his leg and he jumped. He had to jump on the car. If he didn’t jump on the car, he might be injured.
“It’s crazy. I didn’t know nothing like that was going to happen. He was on Twitter, like ‘I just got hit by a car. I don’t believe it.’ We had to call him, like, ‘You alright?’ His phone was off, so we think he was in the hospital. It was funny.”
Then it was Wall and the rest of the rookies – Trevor Booker, Kevin Palmer, Hamady N’Diaye and Kevin Seraphin – who performed to their teammates’ delight at dinner on Thursday night.
“They were very good,” said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders. “In fact, some of the best think that there should be a command performance in front of more people so I don’t know.”
Apparently, assistant trainer Koichi Sato was the best, but the players’ songs were each memorable for different reasons.
Seraphin went back to his Guyana roots and put the audience through its paces with a lengthy and involved rap in his native language.
“I didn’t know what he was saying, but he was singing real good,” said Lester Hudson.
“Kevin did maybe the longest song in the history of rookie reviews,” said Saunders. “I think it was seven minutes, all in Creole, so we didn’t know what he was saying, but he was dancing, he was singing and he was sweating. He had all three things going.”
“It was in his own language,” added Wall. “But he was getting into it. He was sweating like he was in a basketball game, out there dancing. But Koichi got the best though. He did it in Japanese, had his own music playing and got everybody clapping.”
Wall, Palmer and Booker did a rendition of TLC’s “No Scrubs.”
“’Scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me, hanging out the passenger side of his best friend’s ride, trying to holler at me,’ Wall gave up without hesitation after practice. The kid really is absolutely over himself, and every day there is a little more proof that he is exactly who he comes across to be – it’s seems to be genuine. “Yo, we put on a show last night.”
(A quick aside – on Wednesday, Wall was asked about hazing, with one question specifically mentioning Gilbert Arenas and his penchant for pranks. Crazy, considering how his last “prank” went down, but still. And as he’s done so gracefully thus far, Wall brushed the question aside with ease.
“I’m worried about all of [the players],” he said. “All of them have their tricks. Most of the two year, three year guys that ain’t had a chance to get anybody yet. They’re trying to going after the rookies because they got it last year… It’s going to come pretty soon. I bet you when the season comes more stuff is going to start coming, but right now they are just letting us get through training camp.” Anyway…)
N’Diaye performed “Queen to be,” from the movie Coming to America, which also got rave reviews.
“H was funny,” said Andray Blatche. “Had a good delivery to it, a story behind it. It was good.”
Ah, bonding. It make sound hokey or hilarious, but it means a great deal to a young group like the Wizards have. Saunders has employed various methods, too, during the week with Earl Monroe talking to the guys on Thursday along with a member of the Army’s Delta Force. The dinner, however, struck a real chord.
“That’s one of the best things,” said Wall. “You can go out to dinner with a teammate, having a good time. The coaches have said one of things they like about the team is that we all get along. We all having a good time, and that’s the key thing. That’s the main thing that starts everything off the court, and you keep the same thing going on the court. You might have an argument here and there, and you’re close enough that you can settle it to the side and keep playing basketball.”
