Shelvin Mack knows he has to tread lightly around the two teammates with whom he will share point guard responsibilities for the Wizards this season.
The rookie second-round draft pick thinks he’s the best at video games, even though he won’t admit that to John Wall.
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Last week he watched his alma mater, Butler, get beaten by Jordan Crawford’s alma mater, Xavier, and made sure not to wade into a trash-talking battle with a guy who stood up to Kevin Garnett during the lockout.
“I don’t know what ya’ll talking about,” Mack said after his first official practice with Washington last week, with a smile at the line of questioning.
“I’m blessed to make it this far, to get through the lockout injury free, just be able to compete.”
But don’t mistake a humble approach for a lack of determination from the 21-year-old, who is quick to remind anyone who asks that he handled the ball plenty during two NCAA final runs with Butler, with the under-19 U.S. national team that won a gold medal in 2009 and with the select team that played against the full U.S. national team before the FIBA championships in Turkey.
Since being drafted, the 6-foot-2 Mack has subjected himself more than once to getting swatted from behind by the 6-4 Wall on the fast break, but his winning mentality, workmanlike demeanor and spot-up shooting ability complement Wall’s all-around game and Crawford’s off-the-wall humor.
“We’re pushing each other to different limits,” Mack said. “We’re also spending extra time working on the little things. [Wall] is teaching me things from last year that can help me on the court.”
Wall and Mack were first introduced in Lexington, Ky., Mack’s hometown and Wall’s college destination. Crawford joined them during the lockout at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas as part of an NBA-only camp in September.
“It was fun,” Crawford said. “It wasn’t really structured, but we got to see what people like to do. Shelvin likes to come off screens, pull up a lot. He can shoot real good.”
But while they were together on the floor at points in Vegas — with the 6-4 Crawford stuck in a defensively awkward spot guarding small forwards — in Wizards training camp there often has been only two of them on the floor at a time, a setup in which either could play the point.
With the addition of Roger Mason Jr. and restricted free agent Nick Young still expected to return, Mack’s playing time expectations aren’t great, but he’s still catching on quickly.
“I think all three of them are in good shape,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. “I think of the three, John has been very good, Jordan’s been good and Shelvin has really progressed. There’s no question that playing against John and his speed and quickness, it’s facilitated [Mack’s] progress being able to initiate the offense and vie for some time at that backup point position.”
