<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">RALEIGH -- Shavlik Randolph's dream of playing in the NBA now rests with the Philadelphia 76ers. Randolph, who will forgo his final year of college eligibility at Duke to play professional basketball, left Wednesday for Philadelphia, his father said. "Shav will be working out this summer with the Sixers," Kenny Randolph said. "He's very excited about the opportunity. In the last three or four weeks, he has worked as hard as I've ever seen him work. "Shav's passion and desire [have] reminded me of the old days, when we'd be working on rebounding in the gym at 1 in the morning." The Sixers aren't fielding a team in any of the NBA summer leagues this year. Randolph will work out with the Sixers' staff in hopes of obtaining a free-agent contract. Under NBA rules, such contracts can't be signed until July 22. Tony DiLeo, assistant general manager for the Sixers, said Randolph worked out for the team before the draft and did enough things well to impress the staff. "We liked his skill level and athleticism," DiLeo said. "It looks as if he's finally healthy. We thought it was worth taking a chance. "We'll see how he develops. If we like his development, we'll invite him to the veterans' camp."</div> Source
I think this kid is anything special. He wasn't that great at Duke what in the hell is he going to the pros for? It's just a pitty thing Billy King has for a player from is Alma Mater.
Lol... Shavlik really doesn't amount to much. He wasn't even a solid player at Duke. Why did he skip his senior season... Although, maybe he could turn out to be a big hustle player who takes charges and dives for loose balls... who knows.
Hey, the 76er staff said they were impressed with his workout, so maybe this guy could be a decent backup down the road.
I don't know what he brings to the table since I don't follow college ball, but who knows? He is on the summer squad, but we'll see if he actually gets past that stage.
Randolph <div class="quote_poster">Quoting B-22:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't know what he brings to the table since I don't follow college ball, but who knows? He is on the summer squad, but we'll see if he actually gets past that stage.</div> I have seen worse players taken in the first round many times because somebody got sold on a player's potential. Here's a young man who had his choice of colleges and handled and shot the ball like a more coachable Pete Maravich. But the psyche is an amazingly large part of how successful someone is in most of our endeavors. No one but Randolph, his family, the Duke coaches and players know for sure what happened. Being a Raleigh native and knowing of the family and acquainted with some of their friends, I have heard for at least 2 or 3 years rumors about his struggles at Duke; but they are just rumors. It is probably true that he would not choose Duke again, that he was not in the best situation for him and he had some bad luck (health). But I just saw the commercial with AI talking about his "jump shot" and I have no doubt Randolph can shoot a pure jump shot just as well (I think part of the problem was that teammate J. J. Reddick is one of the top ten shooters in the country- college or pro- and he got to shoot while Randolph had to play under the basket). Reddick got all the accolades, Randolph had a bum hip, and meanwhile Duke was bringing in the newest and latest bball superstars from around the country (e.g. Luol Deng) around whom the offense hummed. So, why not bring in Randolph, give him a couple of months to prove he can both defend and shoot facing the basket and forcing opponents to bring their PF or C out of the paint. When that happens great things can happen for great guards like AI.
