The trainer, Idan Ravin, has slowly been establishing himself as one of the best teachers in the country through his coaching each year with a select clientele base that he works with year-round. Weve been meaning to get out to DC to watch him in action for quite some time now. Hes the lone trainer who can claim to have trained three of the past five draft prospects who ended up winning Rookie of the Year honors after working with him; Chris Paul, Steve Francis and Elton Brand. Other players hes helped prepare for the draft or trained before or during the NBA season include Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas, Mike James, Josh Howard, Marquis Daniels and many others. His reputation appears to be well deserved, as the emphasis on and personal instruction through stern and encouraging motivational techniques was evident throughout the workout.
The session started the way most NBA workouts do, with warm-ups and a series of full-court ball-handling drills. The players worked on the type of basic skills theyll be tested on in the next few weeks, in and outs, crossovers, between the legs, behind the back, spins and other standard ball-handling moves. Mid-range pull-ups, step-backs, and finishing around the basket in a variety of ways was mixed in with a series of other skill oriented drills. 3-point shooting was practiced both from stand-still and off the dribble, and one on one half-court and full-court matchups brought out the competitive side of the prospects in attendance and taught us all we wanted to know about their individual skills.
Player Evaluations
Rudy Gay, 6-9, Sophomore, Small Forward, UConn
Its not every day that we get to watch a potential top 5 draft pick train for the NBA draft in front of our own eyes for an hour and a half, and it was immediately evident to us why Gay is held in such high regard.
In terms of physical attributes, there is no doubt that Gay is the absolute prototype for what a modern day NBA wing should look and move like. He is every bit the 6-9 he is listed at, but possesses the type of wingspan that youd normally expect from a 6-11 power forward. His hands are huge and his are fingertips freakishly long. Gay has an excellent frame and looks to have already added a bit of weight to it in the few weeks hes been here preparing for the draft.
As far as his athleticism goes, Gay came as advertised, executing a few moves in the workout that only a select number of current NBA players can. He runs the floor fluidly, like a 6-3 guard, elevates gracefully and instantly off the floor, and has an incredibly smooth vertical leap.
In terms of skills, there wasnt anything that could be hidden in this type of setting due to the nature of the drills they were put through. Gay got his shot off whenever he pleased thanks to the terrific separation he can create at any point in time from his defender, and looked absolutely terrific pulling up from mid-range. He not only elevates instantaneously off the floor to create space between him and his defender, but also possesses a high release point on his shot to compliment the already beautiful arc he puts on it. Certain drills here worked on moving off the ball and utilizing screens, and this appeared to be a part of his game where hell have success in the NBA almost right off the bat. This also appeared to be something that was more difficult to evaluate in him in college due to the shorter 3-point line and lack of spacing that UConn at times suffered from. The NBA 3-point line is four feet further back than the college line, and this is a part of the floor in which Gays strengths will be better utilized because of the sheer ease in which he can get his shot off.
When attacking the basket, his long strides allow him to get to the hoop from the 3-point line off of one short dribble. He showed quite a bit of craftiness getting his shot off in many different ways, particularly with a sweet-looking jump-hook shot that we probably didnt see enough of at UConn. When focused on attacking the basket and finishing strong, Gay was virtually unstoppable, as his length and explosiveness almost make things unfair on the player who is guarding him. Things just come that easy for him. Defensively, he was extremely disruptive at times thanks to his wingspan and outstanding lateral quickness. As he matures physically and gains more experience, he is likely to develop into an absolute terror on this end of the floor.
The biggest revelation to come out of this workout revolved around his mental toughness and intensity. Gay has been described at times as being a soft player, but that certainly did not look to be the case in this workout. He was highly competitive almost throughout and was visibly displeased by every shot he missed. His work ethic seemed top-notch, and it was impossible not to notice the kind of excellent shape he was in. Talking to him and watching him play, its obvious that the intense criticism hes received over the past season has forced him to develop a bit of a chip on his shoulder, and he seems to be all the more motivated now to prove his doubters wrong. He might never be as good as people want him to be because of the fact that he looks like such a stud and there always seems to be something more that he might be able to do, but thats not really his fault.
In terms of negatives, there were definitely some that came out due to the extremely intense nature of this workout. In the ball-handling drills and one on one, it became evident that Gay will have to work much harder on this part of his game than most 6-6 or 6-7 wing players do due to his freakishly long wingspan. Its just that much more difficult for a player with his size and length to have complete control over the ball from when the ball hits the floor and bounces back into his hand, due the sheer physics involved. This is something hell have to continue to work hard on.
In terms of creating his own shot, Gay is yet to truly master the art of establishing separation from defenders with change of speeds and directions, hesitation moves, jab-steps, freeze fakes and other crafty tricks that all veteran shot-creators have and need in their arsenal. He is a bit too upright when driving towards the hoop, and might have some problems taking advantage of smaller defenders until he becomes more flexible in terms of getting his body low to the ground as he slashes his way towards the basket. This certain reluctance to expose the ball causes him to settle for jump-shots more than youd like to see a player with his physical gifts do. His release point and therefore his overall shooting accuracy is still a bit inconsistent since he has a tendency at times to snap his hand violently on the follow through, but this is something that can easily be tweaked once he gets into training camp.
When he did take the ball to the basket, he doesnt always go up that strong, which prompted Ravin to encourage him to play big and be more of a mother------, but always in a heartening manner and not by depreciating him. When having his buttons pushed correctly, Gay responded emphatically, making the exact adjustments that he was encouraged to and indeed playing up to his strengths better in the possessions that followed.
All in all this was an excellent setting to evaluate Gays strengths and weaknesses. The things he does well on the court are clearly the type of virtues that are innate and cannot be taught, while the things he doesnt do particularly well at this point generally seem to be weaknesses that can be worked on and he should improve upon as he matures and adds more polish to his game. The biggest question is, how soon will the lightbulb come on?
Gay would be best served landing on a team like Charlotte, Toronto or Minnesota who will not ask him to be their go-to player right off the bat. Its obvious that his potential is absolutely off the charts, but at the same time the team that drafts him will need to be patient and realize that he is still only 19 years. Its been our opinion all year that if he focuses on playing a role similar to the one Shawn Marion plays in Phoenix as opposed to trying to be a Tracy McGrady type offensive player, he will find greater success in the league sooner and potentially become an all-star down the road.
Gays first private NBA workout is scheduled for May 31st for the team that might fit him best, the Charlotte Bobcats. According to what we were told, he will not be taking the Gerald Green route and will be playing competitively against the top players who are willing to match up with him. In an interview youll read in the next few days, he singled out Adam Morrison, Tyrus Thomas and Brandon Roy as three players he would like to go up against in the next few weeks. He still has his heart set on going #1 in the draft, and is quietly looking forward to proving those whove doubted him along the way wrong.