<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><font size=""1"">MEMPHIS CONNECTION Sixers forward Rodney Carney has been a role model for newly drafted Thaddeus Young. Both have ties to Memphis, Tenn. Carney attended University of Memphis while Young attended Mitchell High School in Memphis. “My junior year of college, he always used to come up to the gym. He always wanted to watch me because I guess he thought I was the best player out there and he wanted to be better,” said Carney. Young discussed his connection with Carney at Saturday’s press conference when he was introduced as one of the new members of the Sixers team. “I talked to Rodney Carney, he’s a Memphis guy, so I’ve been talking to him for a while,” Young said. “I think he kind of had something to do with me getting drafted because he actually hit me right before those guys picked me, so that was a good thing.” Also joining the Sixers from Memphis, Tenn., is Derrick Byars. “Thaddeus I know a lot about, he is from my hometown. He is an incredible player,” said Byars. “I’m familiar with [Rodney] Carney as well, and I’m looking forward to being here with him.”</font> </div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> <font size=""1"">Thaddeus a Fan Favorite Young and other newly drafted teammates Derrick Byars, Herbert Hill and Jason Smith were in attendance at the Phillies-Mets game, Sunday afternoon and were welcomed to Philadelphia with an on-field recognition. Sporting a Phillies Richie Ashburn jersey from the 1950s courtesy of Mitchell & Ness, Young had the honor of throwing the first pitch of the game. He is also giving fans the chance to choose his new player number (check back to Sixers.com this week to cast your vote). Young wore number 33 in college but will have to switch because the number belongs to Sixers teammate Willie Green. Young hopes the fans will love him as much as he loves Philadelphia. “I love this game and I love my teammates, love my coaches, love this city. Everyone’s been treating me really good. I just hope to come out and show a lot of people what I can do and play hard,” Young said.</font></div> Source: 76ers.com We seem to be getting off to a good start this summer. Everyone is in love with the Young pick, our players are bonding with each other, and we have no drama whats so ever around our team. Time for a fresh start! Heck we even have Aaron Mckie back coaching!
All positive signs for the start of the season!!! Cannot wait to see some action during the summer league, especially from the rooks, Carney and Louis Williams if he plays again!!!
T. Young Interview After Minicamp <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Young, who called himself a fast learner and a great listener, doesn't need a crash course on playing in Philadelphia. Current Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt spent five years as an assistant at Villanova in the 90s. "He was just saying it's a great city and everyone's gonna love you, but they're gonna be hard on you,"Young recalled. So can he handle a few boos? "I can take criticism, it's not a big deal," Young said. "Criticism is what I thrive off of. As long as I'm getting criticism I'm gonna keep going and keep going and working on what everyone thinks I need to work on." There's also a chance Young, who turned 19 on June 21, may keep growing. He said he's grown an inch or two in the last year and hopes to become as tall as his 6-foot-11 father, Felton. "I hope to get up to at least 6-11 and be a Dirk Nowitzki type player, but I play defense," Young said, before revealing a sheepish grin when he realized he just took a shot at the reigning NBA MVP. "Dirk's a great player, he plays great defense," Young continued. "But sometimes he tends to slack off a little bit." </div> Link I like what Young has to say, especially taking that shot at Dirk Kind of reminds me of last season, when Bynum said "I'm like Shaq, but I make my freethrows" McKie teaching Young to play defense Carney and Young
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><font size="1">LOU THE LEADER With the addition of 19-year-old Thaddeus Young, Louis Williams is no longer the youngest Sixer. Drafted straight out of high school in 2005, Williams didn’t see consistent playing time until late last season but has impressed head coach Maurice Cheeks with his development. “We want him to build on what he did last year,” said Cheeks. “I thought toward the last 15 or 20 games he was extremely good. I thought he benefited from getting some time out on the floor and I think his maturity is starting to come into play now.” After working his way up, Williams is considered one of the most experienced players on the summer league team. He looks forward to offering his advice and being a leader to the younger players. “The last two years have been great and now this year going into the summer I just want to take everything I’ve learned and transfer it into helping these guys out,” said Williams. “They’re looking at me as their leader, so hopefully I can do everything in my power to make sure everything goes smoothly.</font></div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">DERRICK WITH A ‘D’ <font size="1">In his senior season at Vanderbilt, Derrick Byars established himself as one of the nation’s most well-rounded players. Just a couple days into training camp, the rookie’s defensive effort has already caught the eye of head coach Maurice Cheeks. “He’s a defender,” Cheeks told the media after practice on Tuesday morning. “We’re looking for a guy like that who can defend and make a shot. I like that he can defend ones, twos and threes. We need a guy that’s aggressive on the all and he can do that.” Although he’s known more for his shooting prowess, it clear that Byars takes pride in his defense as well. “I have a knack for anticipating where my guy likes to go and what he likes to do,” Byars said. “That’s what allows me to do good on the defensive end.”</font> </div> Source: 76ers.com Looks like Derrick Byars is turning some heads at training camp with his defensive ability. BTW Young looks pretty ripped (no homo).
Yeah I hear you!!! Young looks like an ATHLETE for real. We are in need of some "D" so good news about Byars (plus Bobby Jones plays mad D too apparently). Cannot wait to see the squad in the Summer League and see how they mesh and run the floor together etc.
