During Wizards training camp, head coach Flip Saunders handed out a hard hat to the best player in practice at the end of the day. Where it came from, for the many who pointed out that the Capitals and other teams had done the same thing, didn’t matter.
It appears Saunders has another tradition for games, handing out a bit of loose change to the night’s “game-changer.” Yeah, a “game-changer” coin.
“It’s a big ol’ coin that says, ‘game-changer,’” John Wall said matter-of-factly after the Wizards first win of the season, when it went to rookie and top draft pick Jan Vesely.
The same Jan Vesely who two days before had airballed his first NBA free throw attempt and barely grazed the rim with his second.
On Tuesday, Vesely didn’t get to the free throw line and didn’t take a shot outside the paint. But he did make five steals, grabbed a pair of offensive boards and converted two dunks, one on his own after a steal and fast break – which he finished with a cocked two-handed slam and some gratuitous hanging on the rim – and the other on an alley oop from Shelvin Mack.
“It was first game,” Vesely said of the free throw misses. “I got a little bit nervous so I think I pass it. I hope I will continue in tonight’s plays.”
It may not be complicated English, but it is succinct. Vesely’s humble but he believes in himself and he believes he got the jitters out.
Asked what Vesely brought to the win over the Raptors, Saunders said, “Arms, energy, length, knowing how to play, get rid of the ball at the right time.
“Over the last few days I had a lot of people call just seeing how things were going,” Saunders said. “I talked to couple of NBA coaches and said the hardest thing you really can’t teach is that some guys have the knack of knowing when to pass and when to shoot. He’s got the knack of knowing when to get rid of the ball at the right time at the break to get it to the guard, knows when to keep that extra dribble and let the guard clear and bust out as far as that, as he’s long.”
Funny, those remarks have never been said about the other 7-footer that’s tried to run the Wizards fast break, but we’ll leave that for another time. But Vesely looked very fluid and comfortable as he pushed the ball up the floor and could’ve finished with more than just one assist.
“I’m happy that I showed what I like to do,” Vesely said. “It’s good defense and dunks.”
In fact, all three of Vesely’s NBA baskets so far are exactly that: dunks. Jump shots remain a work in progress, to say the least.
But after the playing in front of a barely half full Verizon Center against Toronto, Nick Young already said he was jealous of the attention and ovations Vesely was getting from the crowd.
“I felt good because I played in Partizan, and I think at Partizan they have the best fans and the loudest fans in Europe,” Vesely said. “I will do my best to get those fans in the gym and show them the team and that we can play good basketball.”
