The Jazz begin Summer League practices with all eyes on Grayson Allen

Back in a gym, back in a jersey. No autographs. No posterboard of his own smiling face.

This, Grayson Allen said Friday, is more like it.

“It feels real now that I’m out there,” Allen said, “wearing the jersey.”

The first-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz looked a little relieved to be getting to work as the team began its practices for Utah Summer League, which opens on Monday. Allen will be one of the most-watched (and possibly scrutinized) players as the new guy in town, a four-year player at Duke who will want to show off his shooting ability.

But still, it’s only Allen’s first day in the gym: As much as he wants to show his basketball chops next week in Vivint Smart Home Arena, he also needs some time for even more basic things — like learning his teammates’ names.

“I’m not really trying to prove anything, just want to play with them, form a relationship with them, become good teammates,” Allen said. “You get some chemistry going, get to talking. It’s a lot different talking off the court than when you’re playing with each other, encouraging each other and you learn each other’s personalities better out there.”

Allen’s also getting accustomed to the Jazz playbook, which will run him in different actions and sets than at Duke. In college, he was often a ball-dominant player, but that’s less likely in the NBA — an adjustment Allen said he’s looking forward to, but may still take some time to learn.

Assistant Mike Wells, who is coaching the Jazz Summer League Team next week, said Allen has the right tools, including maturity, to handle everything being thrown at him.

“He’s a mature player for a rookie,” he said. “He’s been in so many big games and so many big situations. He’s a really smart player. He’s learning on the fly just like the rest of the players here.”

For some, the learning curve is much shorter: Tony Bradley, Georges Niang, Erik McCree and Naz Mitrou-Long all have Jazz experience from last season. Wells said the coaching staff is seeking improvement from that group, which could be competing for roster spots this fall.



from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/2IFKS59

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

U.S. nuns demand action to end ‘culture of silence’ on abuse

Vatican City • The largest U.S. association of Roman Catholic nuns urged its members Monday to report any sexual abuse of religious sisters by clergy and demanded that church authorities “take action to end a culture of silence, hold abusers accountable and provide support to those abused.” The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the U.S., issued a statement Monday in response to an Associated Press report about several sisters coming forward recently to denounce assaults by priests and bishops. The LCWR said it didn’t have data on incidents in the U.S. but thanked the sisters for speaking out. “We understand that reporting abuse requires courage and fortitude. However, bringing this horrific practice to light may be the only way that sexual abuse by those in positions of trust in the church community will be put to an end,” the association’s statement said. The conference has about 1,300 members in 300 orders. LCWR s...
Read more

Latter-day Saint women can ‘remove prejudice’ and improve the world, Eubank says

Image
Highlights from Saturday evening’s women’s session of the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 6:30 p.m.: Jesus heals our brokenness, says Primary leader (Photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Cristina B. Franco, second counselor in the general presidency of the children’s Primary, speaks during the women's meeting Oct. 3, 2020. Cristina B. Franco, second counselor in the general presidency of the children’s Primary, discussed the healing power of Jesus Christ. She told about getting a new piano that fell off a hand truck during delivery and was damaged. The manager offered to give Franco and her husband, Rudy, a new piano, but Rudy would not hear of it. He wanted the broken one back. “Sisters and brothers, aren’t we all like this piano, a little broken, cracked and damaged, feeling like we will never be the same again?” Franco asked. But Jesus Christ can “heal brokenness,” when people have faith, repent and seek...
Read more