SB Nation User Blog: Wizards

ESPN: Gilbert fully participating in practices.

Wizards — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:50:13 -0000

ESPN: Gilbert fully participating in practices.

Holy cow. Why aren't we all over this? This is even better news.

ESPN: Gilbert, Brendan take part in non-contact drills.

Wizards — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:40:08 -0000

ESPN: Gilbert, Brendan take part in non-contact drills.

This is probably some of the happiest news I've heard in a long time. I cannot wait for our team to be healthy again.

Taser with the #4 highlight! (I won't even comment on the AD rejection at #1.)

Wizards — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:02:27 -0000

Taser with the #4 highlight! (I won't even comment on the AD rejection at #1.)

McGee is fourth on the Wiz in scoring (9.3), third in rebounding (6.3) and first in blocked shots...

Wizards — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:06:08 -0000

McGee is fourth on the Wiz in scoring (9.3), third in rebounding (6.3) and first in blocked shots (1.2) despite averaging just 20 minutes per game. He had looked like a one-year or two-year project on draft day, but he now projects as a starter in this league.

ESPN Rookie Rankings: JaVale #10!

JaVale McGee cracks the NBA Top 10 at number 5!

Wizards — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:01:12 -0000

JaVale McGee cracks the NBA Top 10 at number 5!

Wizards down one, 9.2 seconds to play, must-win game. What's the play? Wizznutzz: There's a...

Wizards — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:19:53 -0000

Wizards down one, 9.2 seconds to play, must-win game. What's the play?

Wizznutzz:

There's a play Eddie Jordan loves to run called "ISO Giant," and it goes like this:

Dixon inbounds to McGee. McGee dunks the ball in his own basket. Wizards now down three. Dixon inbounds to Muresan, who has been summoned from VIP lounge, where he runs the executive nacho dispenser. Muresan swings to Jamison in the corner. Defense rotates, but Arenas anticipates the shift, positions wheelchair behind the defender and yanks his shorts down. Jamison drops 3-point finger roll at the buzzer. Analyst Doug Collins screams "Kiss me, Michael!" and stabs DeShawn Stevenson. Wizards make technical free throw, win game.

• TrueHoop, ESPN's NBA blog

Wizznutzz Response to a Truehoop Question

Charlotte's shopping Raymond Felton

Wizards — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:48:09 -0000

According to Chad Ford on ESPN, Charlotte is shopping Raymond Felton. Could the Wizards make a play for him and would he fit?

9	Charlotte	D.J. Augustin	6-0	172	PG	Texas
A little bit of a surprise. We've been hearing all day that the Bobcats are shopping Raymond Felton. I guess this confirms it. They passed on a need (Brook Lopez) to get Augustin. He's an upgrade over Felton, so it's hard to criticize the Bobcats. Augustin has a chance to be special. The Blazers and Kings wanted him and have to be crushed right now.

Chard Ford's Draft Analysis

Chad Ford Mock Draft v6.0

Wizards — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:53:58 -0000

Chad Ford Mock Draft v6.0

Chad Ford recently has us picking 2 PFs in his latest mock draft. We're going for talent instead of need?

I was looking through some older Maryland Terps basketball footage on Youtube and came across this...

Wizards — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:18:50 -0000

I was looking through some older Maryland Terps basketball footage on Youtube and came across this game against UVA. Roger Mason was a stud in the game with 29 points, but lost as Maryland made a great comeback.

A Sports Chronicle: From MLB to the Wizards and the NBA

Wizards — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:37:31 -0000

[Promoted from the diaries. Check out this awesome FanPost from Wizards (yes, that's his username) on how he became a Wizards fan. -Jake]

This is mainly for my own record, but please feel free to take a gander. It chronicles a boy who didn't have a hometown team growing up and realized it was time to make a commitment.

As a child, my family moved around a lot from job to job. My father wasn't in the military so it was always odd answering the "why?" question because my father was a minister. That brought many blank stares as they try to reconcile the two in their brains before they spoke. Our family moved from Missouri (my birthplace) to Oklahoma to Ohio to Montana to Ohio to Delaware and finally to Maryland where I reside. I eventually got used to all the moving and the questions, but that's a different story entirely.

We're a very athletic family and everyone played their own sport and to be honest, we were all pretty good. My father (before seminary) played baseball and soccer and could've gone to college with a full ride in either sport. My mother was a fitness-phile and excelled in anything from aerobics (oh yeah!), spinning, running in races, to just about everything else. My father brought up my brother and I in each of his sports so it was fitting when we both chose one of his two sports. My brother took soccer (went on to play in college) and I took baseball (had a good career in high school and decided to stop there). How does this fit in with basketball? Just wait, I'm getting there.

Throughout my baseball career I learned through imitation. I was an avid Cardinals fan since my father was from the area. Looking at all the places we moved to, it was a bit hard to choose a favorite team from any of the other leagues. We spent the most time in Montana and really, there is nothing there for miles all around. We could've been big supporters of the Northwest teams, the Colorado teams, the Minnesota teams... but nothing seemed to stick. Ohio teams were one hundred percent out of the question. That is/was the worst state to live in for me. Getting back on track, I learned by watching the pros. I imitated their swings, their defensive positioning, how to read pitches, etc. It brought me a well-rounded knowledge of the game.

Then we ended up moving to the east coast. I loved baseball and that's really all I watched until I realized that the teams where I lived were not very good. It first started out with the Orioles. There could be essays written and published about how bad they are/were and can't get out of the bottom of the American League East and that created a bit of resentment in me because the Cardinals (still my team) wouldn't allow that kind of thing to happen to their city. So after about ten years or so of local baseball mediocrity, I started looking for other sports to satisfy my local craving.

I naturally was drawn to basketball because when I was younger in Montana, John Stockton came to a town near me and had a basketball camp. That's where I learned to shoot a basketball. Fast forward some fifteen years and here I am watching Michael Jordan come back to the NBA with the Wizards. I wasn't too involved in watching many games or keeping track of where MJ lead the team, but the Wizards were entertaining and unfortunately not too good. My interest kept growing because I went to the University of Maryland and when the Wizards drafted Juan Dixon, I knew I'd be watching more games because I was invested in Juan (and Steve Blake). However, it was the 2005-2006 season where the Wizards became a staple in my sports landscape.

Following the team that year was exciting. Everything from meeting the TV announcers (Steve and Phil) to watching young players develop, it was new and fresh to me. The Wizards have again opened the doors of learning a sport for me as I started learning the angles, situational entry passes, floor spacing and even the very hard to understand illegal defense calls. Well, I'm still working on that one. Not only that, but the Wizards are a fun team to watch. They play a precise Princeton style that can bog down occasionally, but when executed perfectly, it's a thing of beauty.

A couple years later, I got married and I started the long road of getting my wife to enjoy the game as much as I do. We're not quite there, but we're close. It also helps when the star on your team is good looking. As the playoffs loom large, it will be great to stick it to a state I'm not very fond of and I'm proud to say I'm a Washington Wizards fan and will be no matter where I live. Baseball will always hold a special place in my history, but I've moved on. Basketball is where I'll be.

Thank you Washington for a great team!

-Formerly known as Craig, now Wizards.