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[> Re: Gai article -- Stagman, 12:30:26pm 10/18/05 Tue, [1]

Good article. I paste it here for those who don't want to go through the arduous process of registering on the philly.com website.

Gai hopes to capitalize on shot-blocking skills

By PHIL JASNER

jasnerp@phillynews.com

The timeline is eerily similar to one that has gone before: A kid grows up in Sudan, an African country ripped apart by civil war. The kid finds himself growing and growing and growing, and decides to take up basketball.

Searching for a better life, he finds his way to Egypt, and from there to a college in the United States.

In this case, it runs in the family. This time, it is Deng Gai, a 6-9 76ers rookie free agent. In the early 1980s, it was 7-7 Manute Bol, Gai's uncle.

Bol landed at Bridgeport, prepped in the USBL, then became a legendary shot-blocker in the NBA from 1985-86 to a final brief stint in '94-95. Bol's limited background in the game notwithstanding, he finished his career with 2,086 blocks in 624 games.

So, it made perfect sense for Gai to ship his uncle an early tape. From there, the wheels began to turn. Gai ended up at Milford Academy in Connecticut. From there, he earned a scholarship to Fairfield and became a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, recording 444 blocks in 100 games, the 16th player in NCAA Division I history to crack 400.

That got him to the Portsmouth Invitational and the Chicago predraft camp, NBA sanctioned venues for prospective draft choices; he entered his name in 2004, then withdrew. His name wasn't called in either round in June's draft, but the Sixers called shortly afterward. It is the kind of attention a player with a singular skill attracts, however raw he might be otherwise.

"An immensely talented shot-blocker," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said, taking a break from the preparation for tonight's preseason game in New York. "He's got to run the floor a little bit better, he's got to rebound a little bit better, but when he's blocking shots and running the floor and rebounding the ball, he can be a valuable player.

"His timing on shot-blocking is very good. He has probably [some of] the best timing in terms of blocking shots that we have. There's always one skill you have to have to make an NBA team, and he certainly has that skill. You can't underestimate the ability to block a shot, particularly late in a game. Steven Hunter blocked a shot [by Obinna Ekezie] in Cleveland the other day to help us win a game... Right now, having one skill helps you a great deal to be able to do something to be on an NBA team."

It is, if you'll pardon the pun, a great jumping-off point. In the course of the victory over the Cavaliers Friday night, various coaches on the Sixers' bench used every available moment to point out such things to Gai as where to be on the floor, when and where to set a screen, how to react on defense. Even though he went undrafted, he represents an investment for the team, being guaranteed $100,000 and virtually certain to be on the regular-season roster. Luol Deng, a cousin, was the No. 7 overall pick in '04, selected by Phoenix and traded to Chicago. Another cousin, Arek Deng, is a 6-4 senior on the Delaware women's team, a transfer from Maryland.

Gai knows why he is on the team. He is one of only 10 players - including David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal and Emeka Okafor - to finish a Division I career averaging at least four blocks. He led the nation with a 5.5 average as a senior, and had a whopping 13 against Siena.

"It's more like an instinct," Gai said after practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "I've got to use my quickness... You've got to trick [opponents] sometimes, act like you don't see it, react real quick. It's hard to teach, really, how to do something that almost comes naturally."

He began to play basketball at 16, giving up soccer. As did most kids of his generation, he followed the career of Michael Jordan. But he also recalls having a poster of Chris Webber, now his teammate. He likes the idea of getting advice from Webber, but the advice from Cheeks is direct and succinct.

"He hasn't been as consistent as we would like," Cheeks said. "It comes and goes. That's what he has to work on."

Six shots

Allen Iverson did not practice yesterday. Instead, he had an MRI exam of his sore right knee that showed evidence of chrondomalacia, a softening of the cartilage of the kneecap. His availability for tonight's game will be determined after this morning's shootaround... Chris Webber practiced, then had a previously scheduled MRI on his right quadriceps to evaluate the healing process. He will continue to practice, but will not play tonight. "He looked good when he practiced," Maurice Cheeks said... The Sixers waived free-agent forward Herve Lamizana, a former Rutgers star.

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[> Re: Gai article -- Stagman, 12:31:23pm 10/18/05 Tue, [1]

Good article. I paste it here for those who don't want to go through the arduous process of registering on the philly.com website.

Gai hopes to capitalize on shot-blocking skills

By PHIL JASNER

jasnerp@phillynews.com

The timeline is eerily similar to one that has gone before: A kid grows up in Sudan, an African country ripped apart by civil war. The kid finds himself growing and growing and growing, and decides to take up basketball.

Searching for a better life, he finds his way to Egypt, and from there to a college in the United States.

In this case, it runs in the family. This time, it is Deng Gai, a 6-9 76ers rookie free agent. In the early 1980s, it was 7-7 Manute Bol, Gai's uncle.

Bol landed at Bridgeport, prepped in the USBL, then became a legendary shot-blocker in the NBA from 1985-86 to a final brief stint in '94-95. Bol's limited background in the game notwithstanding, he finished his career with 2,086 blocks in 624 games.

So, it made perfect sense for Gai to ship his uncle an early tape. From there, the wheels began to turn. Gai ended up at Milford Academy in Connecticut. From there, he earned a scholarship to Fairfield and became a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, recording 444 blocks in 100 games, the 16th player in NCAA Division I history to crack 400.

That got him to the Portsmouth Invitational and the Chicago predraft camp, NBA sanctioned venues for prospective draft choices; he entered his name in 2004, then withdrew. His name wasn't called in either round in June's draft, but the Sixers called shortly afterward. It is the kind of attention a player with a singular skill attracts, however raw he might be otherwise.

"An immensely talented shot-blocker," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said, taking a break from the preparation for tonight's preseason game in New York. "He's got to run the floor a little bit better, he's got to rebound a little bit better, but when he's blocking shots and running the floor and rebounding the ball, he can be a valuable player.

"His timing on shot-blocking is very good. He has probably [some of] the best timing in terms of blocking shots that we have. There's always one skill you have to have to make an NBA team, and he certainly has that skill. You can't underestimate the ability to block a shot, particularly late in a game. Steven Hunter blocked a shot [by Obinna Ekezie] in Cleveland the other day to help us win a game... Right now, having one skill helps you a great deal to be able to do something to be on an NBA team."

It is, if you'll pardon the pun, a great jumping-off point. In the course of the victory over the Cavaliers Friday night, various coaches on the Sixers' bench used every available moment to point out such things to Gai as where to be on the floor, when and where to set a screen, how to react on defense. Even though he went undrafted, he represents an investment for the team, being guaranteed $100,000 and virtually certain to be on the regular-season roster. Luol Deng, a cousin, was the No. 7 overall pick in '04, selected by Phoenix and traded to Chicago. Another cousin, Arek Deng, is a 6-4 senior on the Delaware women's team, a transfer from Maryland.

Gai knows why he is on the team. He is one of only 10 players - including David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal and Emeka Okafor - to finish a Division I career averaging at least four blocks. He led the nation with a 5.5 average as a senior, and had a whopping 13 against Siena.

"It's more like an instinct," Gai said after practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "I've got to use my quickness... You've got to trick [opponents] sometimes, act like you don't see it, react real quick. It's hard to teach, really, how to do something that almost comes naturally."

He began to play basketball at 16, giving up soccer. As did most kids of his generation, he followed the career of Michael Jordan. But he also recalls having a poster of Chris Webber, now his teammate. He likes the idea of getting advice from Webber, but the advice from Cheeks is direct and succinct.

"He hasn't been as consistent as we would like," Cheeks said. "It comes and goes. That's what he has to work on."

Six shots

Allen Iverson did not practice yesterday. Instead, he had an MRI exam of his sore right knee that showed evidence of chrondomalacia, a softening of the cartilage of the kneecap. His availability for tonight's game will be determined after this morning's shootaround... Chris Webber practiced, then had a previously scheduled MRI on his right quadriceps to evaluate the healing process. He will continue to practice, but will not play tonight. "He looked good when he practiced," Maurice Cheeks said... The Sixers waived free-agent forward Herve Lamizana, a former Rutgers star.

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[> Another Gai article in Philly papers -- JoeStag, 12:41:06pm 10/18/05 Tue, [1]

It must be Deng Gai day in Philly Sports, as both Newspapers had a feature article on him. The link below has a lot more Gai quotes, and is in the Philly Inquirer. Pretty cool that Gai used to have a poster of Chris Weber, and now he is playing with him.

I went out at lundch to see if their was a picture of Gai with the article and it had a big picture of him on page 2 about to block a shot.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/12928230.htm

From both articles, its evident that he has a chance to stick because he can block shots. And it seems that the 76ers and Mo Cheeks do recognize his weaknesses and are willing to work with it. It also helps that Luol is his cousin, and Manute Bol is his uncle. Philly fans love Manute Bol. And the recent success of Samuel Daelembert makes the 76ers the prefect match for Gai

Roster is at 17 right now, and with 7 guards/SF's on guarenteed contracts, there are 5 spots open for PF/C's and 3 more spots for injured reserves. The candidates are:

PF: Chris Webber (guarenteed)
CC: Samuel Daelbert (guarenteed)
PF/CC: Steven Hunter (guarenteed)
PF: Michael Bradley (guarenteed) injured out 3-5 weeks
FF: Jamal Mashburn (guarenteed) injury-retired

PF: James Thomas
PF/C: Deng Gai (partially guarenteed)
PF: Shavlik Randolf (injured) (partially guarenteed)
G: Olu Famutini (played well but cant see 76ers taking another guard)
C: Steve Castleberry

Of those 10 players Mashburn is a definite to go on Injured reserve all season. Bradley will start the season on injured reserve. James Thomas has played well, and will probably get one roster spot as a PF. So it will come down to Gai, Randolph or Castleberry...... with one getting a Roster spot and one getting an injured reserve spot.

Lot of exhibitions still left to decide this. And there is always a possibility of a trade that can alter this.

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[> [> Burlington Times with another Gai article -- JoeStag, 12:53:04pm 10/18/05 Tue, [1]

Sound like the way this works is that the 76ers made Gai available to the media in a press conference..... so 3 papers did a feature stories on him the same day.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/100-10182005-556675.html

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[> [> [> Sixers vs Knicks on MSG TV Tonight -- Stagman, 12:59:33pm 10/18/05 Tue, [1]

Chance to see Gai on TV in the NYC area. Or stop by the Garden and see him!

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[> [> [> [> Also on Comcast Sports Network - Philly -- JoeStag, 01:51:18pm 10/18/05 Tue, [1]

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[> [> [> [> [> Sixers.com - Injuries Bring Opportunities -- JoeStag, 01:57:52pm 10/18/05 Tue, [1]

At the end of practice, assistant coach John Kuester ran through some offensive rebounding drills with Steven Hunter and Deng Gai. Cheeks meanwhile liked what he saw of Gai: "He's an immensely talented shot blocker. He's got to run the floor a little better. He's got to rebound as well. If he can block shots and rebound the ball, he could be a very valuable player."

The 76ers will continue to play through the preseason at less than full strength. However, the opportunities for extended minutes for those further down on the depth chart is invaluable. �The guys who are out on the floor right now, we might need them," Cheeks surmised.

http://www.nba.com/sixers/news/injuries_051017.html

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