Tag: Orlando Magic

Duncan mentors young Hornets during recent visit

For a group of young, hungry players, there probably couldn’t be a better mentor than a future Hall of Famer like Tim Duncan. So when Hurricane Isaac forced the New Orleans Hornets to relocate their volunteer workouts to San Antonio for a couple of days, they jumped at the opportunity to work with one of the NBA’s grand masters. (Or, as the Wu-Tang Clan might call Timmy, a battle-scarred shogun.)

recounted their experience yesterday, in which nine players — including top draft picks Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers — went through a battery of informal workouts and drills at San Antonio’s practice facility. Even Ryan Anderson, a grizzled vet compared to his teenage teammates, said it was a thrill to work with Duncan.

“Obviously, Tim was around, and there’s not a better guy to learn from,’’ said Anderson, a 6-foot-10 forward whom the Hornets acquired in a sign-and-trade deal from the Orlando Magic in July. “He is such a great leader and just talking with him was a positive experience in San Antonio.’’

Davis, who asked for restaurant guidance on Twitter during his visit, couldn’t be reached for comment in the story. But one can only imagine what the top pick in the draft soaked up from Duncan, even in just a few days. Should make for an interesting sidebar when the two teams meet in New Orleans on Oct. 31 for the season opener.

Magic won’t shave until their playoff run ends

Taking a cue from their counterparts in the NHL, members of the Orlando Magic are opting to stop shaving until the end of the NBA playoffs as a show of team unity.

It was Orlando forward Quentin Richardson’s idea to put away the razors for the next few weeks.

“It’s one of those team things,” Richardson told the Orlando Sentinel. “Togetherness. It’s something fun at the same time. It’s going to definitely look funny, I know.”

The team considered different options before deciding on the facial adornments, All-Star center Dwight Howard told the Sentinel.

“We thought about the bald heads, but some of us — myself — don’t look right with a bald head,” Howard said. “Then we thought about letting our hair grow out; then [we realized] we’ve got a lot of guys who are going bald, so [it would] look funny with just patches in their head.

“So the beard is the only way to go. It’ll be tough for me and the young guys to really get it going, but we’re all in this together.”

Hedo Turkoglu already has a head start on the rest of the team. How much more unkempt can he really become?

I’ll be curious about how Howard looks and handles the facial growth. Considering his well-known self-interest – or vanity — in himself, it will be interesting to see if he really will join his teammates  in this endeavor.

And I’ll wonder if Coach Stan Van Gundy joins them in this as well. Van Gundy with a beard could look like one of those beatnik poets back from th early 1960s.