The players are always the last to know.
Dropping in on new Washington Wizards Hilton Armstrong and Kevin Seraphin as they signed autographs during a Verizon Center open house on Thursday, a brief conversation with the former revealed that perhaps not all the players have found out that the team will open training camp with Midnight Madness at 12 a.m. on Sept. 28 at Patriot Center.
“I didn’t hear about it,” said Armstrong. “Just like college, that’s how their doing it? It’s fun – as long as there’s a big crowd. I don’t want to do it with like six people there. If it’s a good crowd, then it’ll definitely be fun.”
There is no doubt, however, that the buzz over the rebuilt Wizards has been building throughout the summer. Whether it’s the excitement over the debut of No. 1 overall draft pick John Wall, the revitalization of the franchise under new owner Ted Leonsis, the latest comeback attempt by Gilbert Arenas or even the red-painted stairs at Verizon Center, the anticipation for things to finally get underway is palpable in Chinatown.
“It’s just exciting,” said Armstrong. “I can’t wait. I’ve been waiting all summer since I signed here, and I’m really excited and enthusiastic about just coming here and getting started.”
A breakout season for the 25-year-old, 6-foot-11 Armstrong after spending his first four NBA seasons as a token reserve center averaging just 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds would also be fun. He is nursing a slight left hand injury – he writes with the right – with three knuckles and his index finger taped up but said he’ll be ready for camp.
(Speaking of injuries, Seraphin said his knee was fine, but we’ll have to work on more from him down the road. With my zero-French and Seraphin on the way out the door, it wasn’t the right situation to push through a long interview. Through an interpreter, Seraphin also said he was bummed to miss the FIBA World Championships since they only come around every four years. As for his impressions of the Wizards: “I like this team.”)
“Every season I started, I was in New Orleans, and I had to play backup behind Tyson [Chandler] and whoever else was there,” said Armstrong. “But this year, I’m just coming in and playing hard, and right now, I feel like it’s an open spot for the starting spot. I’m just going to play as hard as I can to get the spot, but even I don’t, I’m still going to play as hard as I can to help the team out, get some wins and try to get to the playoffs.”
After nearly playing his way onto the USA Basketball team, JaVale McGee may have something to say about who should be considered the starter, but Armstrong’s attitude could also represent some of the larger uncertainty over the Wizards lineup. Andray Blatche is penciled in at power forward but hasn’t fully recovered from a broken foot, leaving the door open for Yi Jianlian. Similar with Josh Howard coming off a knee injury at the small forward, a position that multiple guys have their eye on, including Al Thornton or perhaps Nick Young, who also knows this is his year to make a run at one of the two spots on the wing. The only clear starter is Wall at the point, but with 82 games on the docket, Arenas and Kirk Hinrich seem certain to spell the rookie once or twice.
It’s not worth it just yet to examine all the machinations, but whatever group is out there, the Wizards expect to be up-tempo. Washington head coach Flip Saunders is putting his guys through a conditioning test, but there doesn’t seem to be an Albert Haynesworth situation on the horizon.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” said Armstrong. “I beat it by more than I expected to beat it by so – I kept pushing myself even though I knew I was going to pass.”
And while Armstrong may have no clue about the opening of camp itself, the double bottom-line theories of the guy who signs his check are certainly taking hold.
“A lot of new players, a new owner – it’s a new beginning,” said Armstrong, “just coming in and trying to have as much positive impact on everything as possible, whether it’s on the court or off the court.”
