Tue, Jul 24th 2007, 18:26
I took the red-eye flight out of Vegas on Sunday night and got into Orlando yesterday morning at 630 AM. Needless to say- I’m a little tired.
Overall, I thought my experience with the US National Team was very positive. The Friday and Saturday practices were very competitive and it was great for me to play against guys like Kobe Bryant, Michael Redd, and Mike Miller. As a young NBA player there is no better competition for me to face. I thought I played well both days of practice (I hit four threes in a 5 on 5 scrimmage on Saturday) and that definitely gave me some added confidence. One of the best things I got out of the weekend was watching the way elite players approach practice and games. For example, I shot after practice with Kobe on Friday and seeing how hard he works (even though he’s already the best player in the world) was unbelievable. Jason Kidd is another guy that impressed me a lot. He’s constantly talking and leading his team. He’s an incredible point guard.
The intrasquad game on Sunday was a lot of fun. It was cool to see everyone playing so hard even though it was just a scrimmage. Everyone wanted to win so bad- especially Kobe. The last few minutes of the game he simply would not let our team lose. For me, it was good to get a little bit of run in the game (it was hard to steal any minutes from Kobe haha). As far as I know, I’ve been invited back for training camp in August. Realistically, I probably won’t make the team but this entire experience will only benefit my career in the long run. I’m definitely excited about it.
I had a chance to hang out with a couple of my buddies during the course of the weekend- Shav Randolph and Sean May. Shav was in Vegas for Chris Webber’s annual celebrity weekend and Sean was in town with a couple of our mutual friends. As I’ve said before, I always enjoy seeing former teammates and opponents. It’s a well-known fact that Shav and me are boys but a lot of people don’t know me and Sean are friends. Even though he went to Carolina, we’re good buddies and I’ve know the guy since we were 15 years old when we met at a Nike AAU tournament.
I’m headed up to North Carolina tonight to help coach in the Coach K Academy at Duke. This will be my first summer doing the fantasy camp and from what I hear it’s a blast. I’d say the guy I’m most looking forward to seeing is Sean Dockery. I haven’t seen Sean since graduation weekend last May.
After K Academy I have a vacation planned with some of my family members. My summer has been so busy and this vacation can’t get here soon enough. After that I’ll resume training for USA Basketball and the upcoming season with the Orlando Magic.
Some of you have been asking on my Myspace page if I got a new tattoo. The answer is yes. I have the word “faith” tattooed in cursive on the inside of left wrist. I got the tattoo three days after my rookie season ended. The reason I got it was to remind myself to have faith in God’s plan. It was an interesting year for me (my DUI last summer, my injuries, and struggling through my rookie campaign) and I never want to lose sight of my trust in God.
Another thing that you guys have been asking about is the upcoming Duke season. I know we have a lot of Duke fans that visit this site as well as jjredick.net. In my opinion, Duke will be an elite team this season. As far as I know, everyone should be healthy by the time the season rolls around. We don’t have a lot of depth in the frontcourt this year but the guys we have down there are very good. My best wishes go out to Zoubek and Markie as they recover from their injuries. We have the best medical staff at Duke and I’m sure those guys will make a full recovery.
Aight, I have to run some errands and pack before my flight tonight so I’m going to go to it. Everyone have a great week.
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good…to give you a future and a hope.”- Jeremiah 29:11