ACC players' combine numbers

There has been a lot of talk lately about some of the measurements seen in the lottery picks.

Michael Beasley has been called 6'10 all season long, but he measures 6'7 barefooted. What's he wearing, platform shoes?

Since the ACC has NOBODY worthy of a lottery pick, there isn't any mention of the conference at all through your typical media outlets (ESPN, Sports South, magazines, newspapers). Luckily there is me.

Here are some stats from the five ACC players who participated in the Orlando camp last month. It doesn't include J.J. Hickson of N.C. State because he was dumb enough to refuse to play. Yeah, that's what a borderline first-round pick should do -- hide away so teams can't get a look at him.

Player Height(no shoes) Height(shoes) Weight Wingspan StandingReach Body Fat %

James Gist 6' 7" 6' 8.5" 220.0 7' 4" 8' 11.5" 4.8
James Mays 6' 6.75" 6' 7.75" 227.0 7' 1.75" 8' 9" 8.8
DeMarcus Nelson 6' 1" 6' 2.25" 198.0 6' 10" 8' 2.5" 4.5
Sean Singletary 5' 11" 6' 0" 183.8 6' 4.5" 7' 11" 4.2
Deron Washington 6' 5.25" 6' 6.25" 198.5 6' 9" 8' 6.5" 7.2

DeMarcus Nelson has a freakishly wide wingspan. Yet, surprisingly, he doesn't have great standing reach. He's more than 2 inches taller than Sean, yet his standing reach is only 3.5 inches. I would have thought his arms would have given him better height.

If you'd named these five guys and asked me to list them in terms of increasing body fat, I would have said James Gist (skinniest), Deron Washington, James Mayes, Sean Singletary and DeMarcus Nelson (fatest). Boy was I ever wrong! The list is almost the opposite of that. James Mays is the chubbiest? But he looks so slender! And Gist is so fat-free, every muscle on him shows; I was sure he was the slimmest.

Player	No-Step Vertical	Max Vertical	Bench Press	Lane Agility	3/4 court sprint
James Gist	30.5	35.0	5 reps (185 lbs.)	11.37 sec.	3.14 sec
James Mays	29.5	35.0	13	11.23	3.19
DeMarcus Nelson	34.5	38.5	19	10.54	3.13
Sean Singletary	26.0	N/A	18	N/A	N/A
Deron Washington	34.0	40.0	7	11.03	3.09

Only 14 players out of the 79 at the camp ran the sprint in less than 3.1 seconds, so Deron was in elite company. He was also one of only 6 players to reach 40 inches in the maximum vertical. He, Derrick Rose and Eric Gordon were the only three players to do both.

Eric Gordon? But he has such a chubby face. He looks like he needs to lose 10-15 pounds, so how in the world did he put up such numbers? His body fat index was 8.2 -- high for a guard.

Only five players bench-pressed 185 20 or more times, so DeMarcus and Sean were in elite company with their high reps. More impressive is that they are guards and the others are almost entirely post players. In fact, Stanley Burrell (6-2 from Xavier) is the only other guard with at least 18 reps.

Gist only managed 5 reps, so his slender arms hurt him a little. Hard to imagine him battling with the likes of Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire at the PF spot at his size.

So, are you wondering how the UNC trio would have stacked up?

Wayne Ellington had a max vertical of 34 inches and Tywon Lawson was at 34.5. Danny Green had a sprained ankle, but we all know he's better than both. If you need a reminder, think back to Greg Paulus have a little "green tea."

Even though he also had a sore elbow and hairline fracture in his wrist, Green did perform in the bench press and had 14 reps. Tywon also had 14, while Ellington managed only 7.

With his own ankle to think about, Ty didn't compete in the running drills along with Green. Ellington did with numbers of 12.05 in the lane agility and 3.20 in the sprint.

Umm, slow-footed PF Brian Butch was faster in the lane agility test. So were PF Darrell Arthur of Kansas and Gary Forbes.

Gary who? He played his first two years at Virginia, but wasn't getting any love. So he transfers to UMass, becomes the star of the team and puts up big numbers his senior year. Yet, people say he won't get drafted until midway through the second round because of his lack of athleticism.

Forbes, who is the same height as Ellington, had a vertical leap of 33.5, only half an inch less than Wayne. His sprint times were 11.45 and 3.25. So he was more than half a second faster in the agility run and just 5-hundredths of a second slower in the 3/4 court sprint. Sounds pretty good to me.

Now Forbes is no 3-point threat (29%), but he isn't afraid of a little contact -- he averaged 7.5 boards a game to go with his 19.4 pts., and still had 3 assists.

I can't see how anyone would doubt Forbes's athleticism and not question Ellington, too.

Since I'm talking about local players, I gotta mention my boy at High Point University. That's right, I've been taking evening classes at the school and have been highly impressed with a 6-5 forward who battles night in and night out against power forwards despite his build which is more suited to SG.

Arizona Reid. Somebody ought to bring this guy in for a workout. He could be the next Greg Buckner. Buckner was a good player at Clemson, but wasn't given any shot at an NBA career. But he plays hard and often is called on to guard taller small forwards despite being 6-4.

Look at A.Z.'s stats:

24 pts., 11 boards, 2.4 assists, a positive assist-to-TO ratio (which is amazing for such a scorer), and 1.7 steals. He shot 37.8% on 3's and 53.2% overall, which is remarkable considering he was the only legit scoring threat on the team and was often double-teamed.

The knock against him might be that he played in the tiny Big South conference, but he held his own against the likes of Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough.

In the 2006-2007 season, the two teams met, and Roy Williams got his 500th win. But Reid had 26 pts. (13-23 FGs), 8 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals.

"They had more height, but I think I just had more heart," Reid said afterward.

Back on Jan. 2 of this year, he played Florida and put up 22 pts. and 9 boards, with 3 steals and a blocked shot.

Come on, NBA. Give this guy a shot!!!

An ACC draft shutout?

Could it be possible? Is there a chance that not a single ACC basketball player will be picked in the first round next week?

Sho'nuff.

In fact, we are looking at probably only four players being picked in the second round.

That would make this one of the worst drafts ever for ACC players. And considering that Miami, B.C. and Virginia Tech weren't around back in those past weak days, then this is probably the single worst showing ever for the conference.

Part of the blame must fall on UNC since they have two sure first-rounders on board next year with Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson. And then there are Ellington and Green to consider.

But the rest of the league? WTF, mate?

Here is my list of the players likely to be picked in the second round -- in my own order of importance.

J.J. Hickson, N.C. State
James Gist, Md.
Sean Singletary, Va.
DeMarcus Nelson, Duke

On the bubble: James Mays, Clemson

Hickson hurt himself by refusing to take part in the Orlando workouts -- and by the poor chemistry that affected the N.C. State team thanks to his arrival.

Yep, I said it.

He could have increased his visibility by playing well in the Orlando games, but was cocky enough to think he didn't need to play.

And he would have gotten more exposure in the NCAA tourney if he hadn't been one of the two biggest reasons the Wolfpack flopped so bad this year (the first was the huge absence of Engin Atsur -- one of the all-time underrated players in the ACC).

Yep, Hickson got the starting nod ahead of Ben McCauley, then got all the touches, too. Ben and Brandan Costner fell into a funk when they were being ignored.

The two Jameses (Gist and Mays) each has made a living off hard-nosed defense and out-of-zone rebounding. Both of those are needed traits at the next level, but Mays has the harder task because of his more limited reach and scoring ability.

Gist has a nice standing reach of 8' 11.5", plus he scored 16 pts. on 49.6% shooting and 74% FTs.

Mays gets putbacks and breakaways. He's about half an inch shorter and 2.5 inches less on standing reach, too. And he's as terrible at the free throw line as another former Tiger, Dale Davis.

DeMarcus Nelson is shorter than expected, but his long reach, tough defense and gritty offensive style could make him a good role player. Like Lindsay Hunter coming in for Chauncey Billups. I can see DeMarcus being a Lindsay-type of player. Not worthy of a 1st round pick, but a solid bench player.

Sean Singletary arrived at University Hall with lots of fanfare. Fans were telling each other to enjoy it while it lasts because he'll be gone in a year. Well, maybe after his sophomore year. Could he really be coming back for his senior year???

Sean never became the superstar type everyone expected, but he knows how to play one-on-one. What I've never been impressed with is his ability to make his whole team better.

Sure, he hasn't had good teammates, but his playmaking is at its best when he's doing the finishing, so is he really a good fit for a lot of teams? Maybe, maybe not. There could be a team looking for a spark off the bench who would like him.

Sean scored 41 pts. in a game against Miami, but only had 3 assists. He must have heard grumblings from his teammates or NBA scouts because after that he passed more. He had 6 or more assists in six of the next seven games to finish the season -- an average of 7.3 per game.
That's the kind of production I'd like to see out of him.

So, if he can pass and shoot, then why do I have him last of the five players?
Well, look at his body. He's short and doesn't have a great vertical leap.
He is 5'11" barefooted and only jumped 26 inches on the standing vertical.
He could have been hurt -- he didn't participate in the running vertical jump or in the two sprints -- but that doesn't help his chances.

By comparison, Ty Lawson is 5'11, too, but jumped 28.5" and a more impressive 34.5" with a running start. DeMarcus Nelson was even better at 34.5" and 38.5". All three guards showed their great strength by benching 185 lbs. at least 14 times.

Look Out for the Heels!

If you heard a loud ruckus Monday afternoon that sounded like the Brooklyn Bridge slumping under heavy weight, don't worry. It's just the rest of the ACC groaning after hearing that UNC would be getting all three of its players back from the diving board that is the NBA draft.

Rising senior Danny Green and juniors Wayne Ellington and Tywon Lawson will be back for one more spin on the merry-go-round. None of them were too pleased with the comments they were getting from the NBA teams.

Danny Green was too banged up to show his potential, and scouts want to see him take on a greater role for his team.

Ellington has been pretty mum, but it seemed from what few comments given to various newspapers that he had a better opinion of his workouts than the teams did.

Ty Lawson looked like a sure thing to leave. He said he wanted to go in the Top 20, but must not have gotten that assurance.

The weakest position on the Heels' roster has just been solidified. UNC was very close to not only starting a rookie PG, but playing Larry Drew huge minutes. Now they can bring him along more slowly. And the team doesn't have to rush Bobby Frasor back from knee surgery. I doubt we'll see Bobby on the court until the second semester.

Truthfully, I'm a little surprised Ty didn't go. Sure, you get a lot less money being drafted 30th instead of 20th, but you get to play for a quality team. So what if you come off the bench? You get to learn the position from a pro starter and have a strong chance of making the playoffs.

As for money, consider this. Michael Redd has scored a ton of points in his career, but a whole lot of people just don't know him because not only does he play in a smaller market (Milwaukee), but his team hasn't had any success in years.

Charlotte is a small market, too, but plenty of people knew who Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning were when the team was winning 50 games a year.

So, my point is this: getting your face on TV enhances your exposure, which in turn enhances your value to a team. David Beckham isn't the player he once was, but he created a real stir by coming here to play soccer.

Even if you're not star quality like that, exposure helps. Think Bruce Bowen would get so much attention (and still be playing at 37) if he weren't getting all the playoff coverage? Or Robert Horry getting the nickname Big Shot Rob?

It's good to be on a winning team -- and it can even pay off (literally) down the road.

That said, I'm a Heels fan, so Welcome Back, Boys!

NBA Draft for ACC players

Boy this is a down year for ACC star power.

Three years ago, UNC had four players taken in the top 16 spots: Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Sean May.

This year, the entire 12-team Atlantic Coast Conference has only nine players even considered for drafting in the 60 picks, and only Ty Lawson is considered a lock for the first round.

The others are (in alphabetical order):

• Wayne Ellington, UNC
• James Gist, Md.
• Danny Green, UNC
• J.J. Hickson, N.C. State
• James Mays, Clemson
• DeMarcus Nelson, Duke
• Sean Singletary, Va.
• Deron Washington, Va. Tech

I'm basing this list not on my own merit, but on who was invited to be measured at the draft combine in Orlando recently.

By the way, there were some interesting observations from these measurements.

Ty Lawson is indeed 5-11. Some wondered if he might have been measured that way in shoes, but he's really that tall, so he's not like 5-9 Nate Robinson. However, he did have the shortest wingspan and the shortest standing reach (which is more telling than just regular height because it gives a clearer picture of how far you can stretch up to get a rebound).

DeMarcus Nelson is shorter than listed in media guides, but has freakishly long arms.
Generally speaking, a person's wing span is very similar to his standing height.
I, for example, am exactly the same. I stand 5 feet 10 1/2 inches tall, and my wingspan is exactly the same.
DeMarcus, on the other hand, stands 6'1" (not 6'3 or 6'4 like he's been listed on various websites and TV pregame shows) but has a wingspan of 6'10. Say what??? His span is NINE INCHES longer than his height???

Think about that. When he drops into a defensive crouch and spreads his arms out to contest an entry pass, he covers 4 inches wider PER SIDE than Ty Lawson -- even though he's just 2 inches taller.

J.J. Hickson was invited to take part in Orlando games, but he didn't want to play. He told the NBA he'd come down to be measured, and the league said basically, "Well then, don't bother."

I'll put up the combine numbers in my next post.

UNC draft trio Part Three

I feel for Danny Green. I really do.

He seems like a nice enough fellow. He plays the game with energy and enthusiasm. He isn't afraid to perform an embarrassing dance before tipoff just to get his teammates loose.

His father went to jail under circumstances that raise suspicion -- was he just associated with some bad dudes or was he really involved in dirty dealings?

His dad got out of prison partway through the 2007-08 season and likely is far behind on paying bills and having a nice place to stay.

When a son has athletic ability and dreams of stardom, the idea of making a lot of money to support the whole family must seem like a godsend.

But now is not the time, Danny.

When you're thinking about a pro prospect, you must consider what his specialty will be. What will he do on a consistent basis to merit a roster spot?

Danny's best ability is an odd one for a man just slightly under 6'5 barefooted.
Danny is a great shot-blocker. The best I have ever seen under 6'6.
Maybe my experience isn't as vast as someone else's, maybe there is another who is better, but I haven't seen that man play yet.

He averaged 1.2 blocks per game, which sounds just so-so, but consider that (A) he played only 22 minutes a game; and (B) many of his blocks came on running down a play from behind. Some shotblockers pad their stats because they are long and just have to hold their arms up. Danny does his work with hustle and great leaping ability.

How high exactly can he jump? I'd like to tell you, but Green wasn't able to work out at the draft combine in Orlando. He was nursing a sprained ankle that came a couple of weeks earlier during a pickup game.

He played in the camp games, but admitted he was slowed by a laundry list of problems: the ankle, a sore hip, sore elbow and a hairline fracture in his wrist.

And he played with all that going on? See my earlier post on Ty Lawson ...

Danny said he would try to go through a few workouts with teams, but if he continued to be slowed by injuries, he would pull out of the draft and return to school.

Look, I know he's frustrated. He wants to help his family. He wants to show everyone what he's capable of doing after spending three years coming off the bench. He wants to get out from under the 6-9 shadow of Tyler Hansbrough.
I can understand all of that.
But he needs to show everyone what he can do in a starting role.

If Ellington stays in the draft -- which looks like a good possibility -- then Danny becomes a starter with Marcus Ginyard sliding over to the SG spot. And then he and Marcus could hear Dickie V screaming some more about how much he loves the G-and-G boys.
What better stage to showcase your skills than on a team that will be on TV repeatedly next season?

Will it happen? Probably not. If money is really such a big deal, Danny may just opt to play in Europe next year to show what he can do.

UNC draft trio Part Two

Tywon Lawson

hu-boy. Where to begin ...

Well, let's start with the arrest. He was in Chapel Hill a few days ago. Had a beer or two and then got in his Caddy with the music blasting full tilt.

Now it's 2:30 a.m., and you're 20 years old (too young to drink in N.C.). Do you sneak on home and hope you don't get caught, or do you crank up the music so loud that you invite a traffic stop?
No, wait. Don't tell me. Umm ... loud music???

Now, does this hamper his draft hopes? Not if it's the Portland Jailblazers or the NFL's Oakland Raiders, but wouldn't other teams be put off by this?

Headline reads: Director of NBA scouting says Lawson's draft status unaffected by incident

Marty Blake, younger brother of Methuselah, projects Lawson as a first-round pick, and his arrest for drinking and then driving won’t affect that.

“It’s not going to make any difference. I think this is an isolated case,” Blake said.

Wait, wait. No it's not. Sure, this is the first time he's been arrested for underage drinking, but police reports show he's been pulled over for excessive speeding three times in the past year. 80 in a 65 zone, 70 in a 55 zone, and 68 in a 45 zone.

And it's not just that he "feels the need for speed" to paraphrase Top Gun, but that he missed his court dates on all three. He had his license taken away because of his repeated failures to appear.

Now this goes beyond a little college naughty-naughty. He's shown an open disregard for authority. Do you think THAT is going to get better when he's pulling down a million a year?


Okay, there are worse thugs out there. Duke center Sheldon Williams was one of five high school players named by police as taking part in a gang rape of a 20-year-old woman in Jan. 2002. The woman refused to testify even though there were other witnesses.

Somehow Sheldon was never charged, and Coach K welcomed him to school with open arms. Hmm, interesting isn't it? Never showed that side of Duke basketball in Coach K's American Express commercials.

I also have this vague recollection of Sheldon being accused of assault for grabbing his girlfriend by the neck, but my attempts to discover that via Google have failed.


So, does Tywon deserve to be drafted midway through the first round?

Not so fast. More harmful than his police file is his health. Is he really fragile or is he wimpy?
ACC fans were wondering that for the second half of the ACC season.

Okay, the guy rolls his ankle. No broken bones, but a solid ankle sprain.

Been there, done that. In fact, I've done it at least three times to each ankle. One was a partial tear of either a tendon or a ligament (I forget which -- it was 15 years ago), and my foot turned purple from blood pooling up from the tear. So when I say I know sprained ankles, you can believe me.

Now, no one called Tywon's injury a "high ankle sprain" which is worse and takes several weeks to heal. His was an ordinary sprain, which hurts to walk on for about three days and hurts to run on for a few days more. Now, making quick cuts like you'd do on a basketball court takes a couple of weeks of healing. Three at most. But Lawson missed a full month.

Coach Roy Williams spoke a little too honestly to the press, and I bet that ticked off the whole Lawson family, but the truth is the truth. Ole Roy said that some young players who have never been injured just don't know how to handle the pain. They think they have to be completely pain-free before they can resume practice.

Ouch! The truth can be painful at times, and the truth is that Lawson should have come back sooner, but either he was worried about returning too soon and risking his NBA draft status, or he is the type of person who simply heals slower.

Lawson told one sports reporter that he played the second half of the season hurt. That's pretty troubling to me if I'm an NBA general manager. Is this guy gonna be watching from the bench like Greg Oden?

He only played in one game at the Orlando pre-draft games. He claimed a hip pointer, though some thought he was just sitting it out after one solid performance.

Then during workouts for individual teams, he sprained his ankle again and had to skip a trip.


And let's not forget that the guy is only 5'11 barefoot, which makes it harder for him to cover those 6'2 and 6'3 PGs that line many NBA rosters. Sure, he's quick and has great leaping ability, but he has short arms, which means he can't reach up or out to the sides as far as other PGs when trying to prevent entry passes to the post.

How short are his arms? Well, I'll save that for a later post, but let's just say they were the shortest of all the players measured.


I wish Tywon well because I know he won't return to college for his junior year. I wish he would though, and not just because I root for the Heels. He has yet to show me that he can really run an offense. He blew by defenders in the open court, but he is quite inaccurate with his passes. So many times this past year I've watched Ellington and Green curl around a screen to receive a pass, but the ball is just enough offline that the catch-and-shoot are thrown off-rhythm.

UNC's draft trio Part One

Am I just crazy or have all the UNC players lost their freakin' minds?!?

Okay, I do happen to be a Tar Heel fan, so my remarks might be a little biased no matter how hard I try not to let them.

6-4 SG Wayne Ellington went to the predraft camp and promptly went 3-10 shooting with zero assists and 6 TOs. One writer said his was the worst performance of the day.

Ellington recovered to have a couple of average days, but nothing that would make you think he's better than the huge number of perimeter players ahead of him like O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon, Brandon Rush, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Chase Budinger and Courtney Lee -- and possibly Shan Foster, Lester Hudson, J.R. Giddens, Jamont Gordon, Sonny Weems and Bryce Taylor.

One mock draft I saw had Kyle Weaver ahead of Ellington. Umm, was anyone watching the NCAA tourney when UNC beat Washington State? Weaver went 3-13, plus 0-3 from deep. Weaver put up 5 assists, which was good -- there is talk that perhaps he would be better suited as a 6-6 point guard since he only shot 36% on 3's.

Any way, back to Ellington. The guy was scoring well through the ACC season, shooting better than 40% on 3's. He was essential to winning the ACC tourney with 10-13 shooting and 24 points.

He continued that play for the first two blowout games of the NCAAs, averaging 18 pts. on 14-22 shooting (63.6%) and 4-8 downtown.

Then the competition got tougher, the pressure was tighter, and Ellington either started to crack under the pressure or picked a really inopportune time for a slump.

Over the last three games, he scored 14.7 pts., but needed a lot of shots to get there.
17-48 = 35.4% overall, 17.6% on 3's.

Plus he was a factor in his team losing to Kansas with his inability to stop whomever he was guarding -- Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins went a combined 9-19 for 22 pts.

Now despite all this, Wayne still thinks he's in good position to be a first-round draft pick.

When I see Wayne play, I'm reminded of Hubert Davis -- and he bounced around a few teams just because of his 3-point shooting. And that's all Hubert did, standing perfectly still and waiting for a pass.

Sheesh, go back to school and work on some power moves and defensive fundamentals, Wayne. Show me a power dunk or a back-down move. Prove to me that you're tough enough for the league.

No Blame When You Win

When the Celtics were struggling their way through the early playoff games, a lot of people were looking to point fingers.

Some people -- including The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons -- pointed out Kevin Garnett's lack of production in crunch time. As Bill wrote, the big guy just didn't take over the game the way a top-five power forward should.

I've read a lot of stories about the first two games of the series, but I see very little criticism of Garnett right now. A little winning cleans off the slate.

And yet, late in Game 1, he missed 9 straight shots as the Lakers kept hanging around despite missing a lot of jumpers.

In Game 2, the team was falling apart offensively and defensively down the stretch, and Garnett was invisible. I saw Vujacic nail two 3's and Radmanovic and Fisher hit one each. I saw Pierce trying to carry the team himself. But where was Garnett?

His numbers look okay. 17 pts. and 14 boards. But those numbers didn't come when it counted most, so I reserve the right to say Garnett could cost this team a game or two before it's all over.

*****

Look, I know the NBA doesn't call traveling on layups very often, but Radmanovic took not two, not three, but four steps on the way to his dunk in the fourth quarter.

C'mon, I know it was electrifying to see the lead disappear, but let's try to call the game accurately, okay???

Okay, now seems like a great time to gripe about one of my pet peeves: letting media coverage get in the way of player safety.

Do you remember Roy Williams being upset in the regionals when his Tar Heels were slipping on the NCAA floor decals? One of his guys could have sprained an ankle or twisted a knee because of that decal.

During the NBA Finals opener Thursday night, I watched a few players hitting the deck under the basket and for at least the 100th time wondered why the photographers are so close to the action.

For example, twice in the third quarter Rajon Rondo drove toward the basket and was fouled. Both times he stayed on his feet, but needed a little more room to slow down. He ended up stumbling over the cameramen's legs. Neither time was he hurt, but how many near-misses like that can you have before the league takes notice?

I recall Shaq breaking a video camera by ploughing through the media guys while diving for a loose ball. I sure wouldn't have wanted to be the one on the receiving end.

And I nearly was once. But more on that in a minute.

I once worked at a small-town newspaper and spent some time shooting local sporting events, including basketball. For college and NBA games, there is a line drawn on the floor to let the media know how close they can get. At some places, the line is painted on the floor. Others just have masking tape.

Last night during the game, I looked to see where that line was, but I couldn't because the guys were sitting on it with their legs extended out in front of them. These people were 2 feet and 3 feet beyond the line! That's just ridiculous!

Now, having been on the sidelines (especially when I covered the NFL's Carolina Panthers), I know WHY the guys keep edging forward. You are fighting for space just like guys on the free throw line. And just like how players keep jumping in a little sooner and a little sooner on the shot, the photogs slide further forward to get the best position for a photo.

But, let's say the Celtics moved the line back some before the next game. The photogs would still be fighting for space -- and erasing the line like a baseball player scratching out the back line of the batter's box -- but they would be 4 or 5 feet further away at the start.

And, the media has no excuse whatsoever for needing to be so close, except for the video guy who tries his best to hide next to the goal support.
Have you seen the size of the lens on any one of their cameras??? They are longer than Andrew Bynum's shoes!
They can get closeup shots of the far end of the court, so I don't buy any complaints they might raise.

As for my previous allusion of danger:

Back around 1998 or 1999, I was kneeling on the sideline of a Panthers game against the Falcons.
I was using my zoom to try to get a closeup of the running back on a swing play to the right.

I suddenly realized that the reason it was so hard to get the focus right was because the HB was coming straight at me at a high rate of speed. Okay, no big deal. He's gonna turn the corner.

So, I give a little peek to the right and see two Panthers players taking an angle to cut him off.
I just so happened to be standing at the intersection of where these three players would meet.

I stood up quickly, and just before MLB Michael Barrow and one of the safeties crunched the HB, I jumped backward out of the way.

Kneeling next to me had been a rather rotund fellow with a much more expensive camera than I was using. He saw what was about to happen, too, but couldn't move his bulk in time.

All three players hit together and ricocheted directly into this poor man, who did a complete roll backwards. As I was thinking to myself "weebles wobble but they don't fall down," I noticed pieces of black plastic zooming past my head. I closed my eyes and turned away as chunks of the cameraman's very expensive lens went flying by.

At least that day, the players were wearing protective gear. Rajon didn't have any Thursday night.

Breaking It In

Here we go, starting off a new blog site. Plenty of opinions and so little time.