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Friday, April 11 Duany's odyssey from Big Easy to tough road By Andy Katz ESPN.com |
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PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- Kueth Duany couldn't believe that he had to be in Portsmouth, ducking out of torrential rain, so that he could get in front of NBA personnel instead of the adoring Syracuse fans. "But this is reality," the Syracuse senior guard said. "I have to do it." Duany hit the harsh reality of trying to make the NBA on Thursday. Two days earlier, the media was interviewing Duany in the Syracuse locker room as he clutched the NCAA national championship trophy with one of the Superdome nets draped around the plaque.
He went home with the team and was greeted by the throngs of Orangemen faithful Tuesday, but he had to leave Thursday for the Portsmouth Invitational, the first step for NBA hopefuls. Duany isn't a lock for the NBA draft, let alone the Chicago pre-draft camp, so Duany had to go through Portsmouth to get into the exclusive June camp. The price Duany paid was missing Thursday's celebration in the Carrier Dome. He won't be at Saturday's party in downtown Syracuse, either. "It's not fair," Duany said. "But I have to do this because I wasn't guaranteed a spot in Chicago." Duany made the most of his situation. During his first game, he flushed a thunderous dunk by slicing through the middle of the lane. He made his only 3-pointer and finished with a team-high 12 shots, making five of them. He scored 12 points, blocked one shot and had one assist in 25 minutes to help his team (named the Portsmouth Sports Club) to a 96-74 victory over the Norfolk Sports Club at Churchland High School. Duany was a role player for the Orangemen but he was their spirited leader as the only contributing senior. He took charge Thursday night and tried to assert himself on a team loaded with name guys from college like Arizona's Rick Anderson, Indiana's Tom Coverdale and Ohio's Brandon Hunter. Duany was demonstrative and was a constant worker. His defensive intensity was probably his best asset throughout the game, as he quickly got back on D and went into a wide and active stance. Autograph seekers mobbed him following the game. "But this is toned down 100 times from Monday night," Duany said of the nearly 56,000 fans who watched Syracuse win the national title. "It's been a whirlwind this week but you have to do this if you want to make the league."
War not scaring scouts The war in Iraq has forced them to be even more careful, and some of them said their wives aren't too thrilled with them traveling overseas. But that doesn't mean they won't go. From the Sonics to the Knicks to the Raptors to the Celtics and everyone else, teams are sending scouts and GMs back and forth to continue to check out talent. A number of them went in December and January but prospects have evolved to the point where a second look is needed. Also, with the college season over, there is a feeling that scouts and GMs need to see more players because they're not satisfied with what will be available.
Too good for Portsmouth? The names on the NBA's list of players who blew off Portsmouth and could feel Marty Blake's wrath are:
Bernard King, Texas A&M Jason Gardner, Arizona Luke Walton, Arizona Ruben Douglas, New Mexico Steve Blake, Maryland Keith Bogans, Kentucky Jason Kapono, UCLA Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh Matt Bonner, Florida Marvin Stone, Louisville Uche Nsonwu-Amadi, Wyoming Joe Shipp, Cal Marquis Daniels, Auburn Marcus Banks, UNLV Oklahoma's Ebi Ere and Hollis Price were injured and weren't expected to be here. Utah's Britton Johnsen is still recovering from mononucleosis. Butler's Joel Cornette got injured this week and so did Indiana's Jeffrey Newton. Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. |
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