Oct 5, 2008
Brandon Rush couldn't stand still. On the day before his first NBA training camp was to open, it was pointless to try to mask his obvious emotions.
"This is as nervous as I've ever been in my life right now – other than draft night," he said. "I'm new to the team, there's a lot of new players. Who knows what's going to happen?"
He could've been speaking for just about everyone involved with the Pacers. There is so much newness that brings so much uncertainty. And so much of the team's ultimate success, for the first time in decades, depends on the two prized rookies: Rush and Roy Hibbert.
The last time the Pacers had two first-round rookies in camp was 1999, when Jonathan Bender (No. 5) and Jeff Foster (No. 21) were the fresh faces. Like Rush and Hibbert, both had been acquired in trades (Bender from Toronto for Antonio Davis, Foster from Golden State for Vonteego Cummings). But the similarities end there. Foster and Bender joined a deep, experienced team that would reach the NBA Finals that season and neither was needed to play much of a role.
Full article and related video here:
http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5700022086
