Training Camp 2011

[SuperReggie31]

Besides the current team, three NBADL players have been invited to the Indiana Pacers training camps. Jarrid Famous, Darnell Lazare, and Tyren Johnson :

Jarrid Famous

College Team: USF
Current Team: Iowa Energy
Current Bio: 6'11" 250lbs.
Current Stats: 21.0 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 0.8apg

What They Say:

Draft Express:
Famous is a fairly rare specimen from a physical standpoint , standing 6-11, with nice length and a frame that can definitely still fill out. He is a very mobile big man who runs the floor well and is pretty explosive getting off his feet. Simply put, players with Famous' size and athleticism don't grow on trees, and they'll always get the benefit of the doubt in the evaluation process for that reason.

Offensively, Famous is mostly a complimentary piece, the type of player who gets his points in transition, on the offensive glass, and finishing plays created for him by others around the basket. He has the length and explosiveness to play above the rim and will do so impressively at times, but tends to struggle with contact and definitely isn't the most contact-loving big man you'll find. Famous doesn't have much of a post-game for that reason and he struggles putting the ball on the floor.

From the perimeter he is very limited as he possesses little in the ways of a jump shot and only coverts 63% of his free throw attempts. His decision making is fairly poor, recording four turnovers for every assist he dishes out, showing a feel for the game that can't be described as being anything more than average at best.

Famous does get to the free throw line at a solid rate and is capable of making his presence felt on the offensive glass. His quickness causes problems for many of the big men he matches up with at the college basketball level, and is something he can continue to develop into an advantage, particularly with the way he runs the floor.

Defensively, Famous has some excellent tools to work with, as he has great size, length and mobility for his position and could develop into a very effective matchup down the road, especially with his ability to switch on the pick and roll.

Unfortunately that doesn't help him very much right now, as he simply lacks the fundamentals and awareness needed to be effective at the moment, and he's frequently targeted for isolation plays both in the post and on the perimeter by opposing coaches, often with great success. Famous tends to gamble a lot on this end of the floor and clearly isn't as tough or active as you would like to see from a big man with his physical tools, something he needs to improve significantly if he's to have any chance of making the NBA. While he's an above average rebounder offensively, the same can't be said about his production on the defensive end. Getting stronger should help in this regard, but at the same time, Famous must improve his effort level as well."

Links:
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jarrid-Famous-6313/
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... rid-famous
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/j ... index.html

Darnell Lazare

26 yrs. old
College Team: LSU
Current Team: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Current Bio: 6'8" 240lbs.
Current Stats: 19.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0apg

Links:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/d ... l?nav=page
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... ell-lazare

Tyren Johnson

23 yrs. old
College Team: LA Lafayette
Current Team: Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Current Bio: 6'7" 225lbs.
Current Stats: 18.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.7 apg

What They Say:
Draft Express:
A combo forward with nice physical attributes, including decent size (around 6-8), a nice frame, long arms and good athleticism, Johnson is a versatile player who does a little bit of everything.

Offensively, he likes to face the basket, where he shows the ability to make shots with range out to the 3-point line, albeit inconsistently. He has the ability to shoot off the dribble as well, but is streaky here as well, not always really knowing his limitations at this point. Just an average ball-handler, Johnson does a good job operating in transition, but is not particularly effective in the half-court, at times showing poor shot-selection and overall decision making, and in turn being extremely turnover prone. He’s not a particularly experienced player, despite his senior status, being somewhat of a late bloomer who only really started producing consistently at the collegiate level in his final season.

Perhaps the place where he impresses the most is with his passing ability, as he not only averaged a very good number of assists this season, but also showed excellent court vision throughout this camp, whipping some very creative passes to teammates diving to the rim. While he might be a raw player, this part of his game hints at some intriguing potential that could very well still be in store for him down the road.

Defensively, Johnson is interesting, as he showed the ability to guard either forward position at this camp, and contributes to his team by coming up with extra possessions in the form of blocks, steals and rebounds. His awareness isn’t always great and he seems to lose his focus from time to time, but there is plenty of potential to work with here thanks to his hustle and excellent physical tools, and his ability to defend multiple positions (especially against the pick and roll) makes him fairly intriguing.

Players like Johnson are very much en vogue these days, as he’s essentially the prototype for what teams look for in a Josh Smith style face the basket power forward. Still raw around the edges and clearly not a finished product, Johnson will probably get some looks from teams in private workouts and will be someone to keep tabs on in Europe or the D-League over the next few years to see how he progresses."

Links:
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Tyren-Johnson-5845/
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/t ... l?nav=page
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/tyren-johnson

I think the Pacers will take a long-hard look at Famous. Young player with a big body like Magnum Rolle was last year. I think the Pacers realized they messed up by last year by letting him go.

Other News

T.J. Ford--Signed with San Antonio
Mike Dunleavy--Boston, Detroit, Knicks or LAC
Solomon Jones--?????
Jeff Foster--More than likely will re-sign with the Pacers
Josh McBob--Probably gone. Memphis, LAL, or Phoenix has interest.

[Indy2thaWindy]

McBob on PHX. He could start. He would be fun to watch in their system.

[Miller4ever]

Solomon Jones--?????

D-League!

[Indy2thaWindy]

Solomon Jones--?????

D-League!

Wouldn't be surprised if he got the full MLE. I mean if Chandler get $60 million or Nene gets maxed out.

[Pacersike]

The Lakers need a big if the league trades Paul for Pau.

[Grang33r]

Mike Dunleavy to sign with Milwaukee, per Adrian Wojnarowski

[Indy2thaWindy]

Mike Dunleavy to sign with Milwaukee, per Adrian Wojnarowski

Dunleavy will turn into Shane Battier under Skiles.

[Miller4ever]

Like father like son. Daddy Dun found some success as a shooter for the Bucks in the 80's.

[glasket]

We just signed Jeff Pendergraph according to sources. To me he and Jarrid Famous sound very similar type of player.
Ofcourse both of these moves suggest Solomon (100% gone) and McBob are probably not resigned.

I'm actually intrigue by Famous

[Moooose]

We just signed Jeff Pendergraph according to sources. To me he and Jarrid Famous sound very similar type of player.
Ofcourse both of these moves suggest Solomon (100% gone) and McBob are probably not resigned.

I'm actually intrigue by Famous

I liked Pendergraph back in college. And back in my 2009 nbadraft.net mock draft, i put him as the Pacers' 2nd round pick. I like his motor and he's aggressive.
I don't know much about Famous but he's very intriguing. I've seen his college stats and he doesn't block well, even in the DLeague. But he grabs a ton of boards. Why not? He's cheap and ready to prove himself.

[Grang33r]

Interesting note from camp - James Posey did not practice or attend day 1 of camp. The Pacers are looking to deal him.

[Grang33r]

Official Training camp roster -

[Grang33r]

Cliff Brunt's story from Day 1 of camp -

Pacers have high hopes after return to playoffs

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—High expectations have returned to Indiana.

Coach Frank Vogel could barely contain his excitement after running his first practice since getting his interim tag removed over the summer. The Pacers made the playoffs last season, and Pacers president Larry Bird says he wants to add pieces to a solid young core that features Danny Granger, Darren Collison, Roy Hibbert, Paul George, George Hill and Tyler Hansbrough.

With plenty of money to spend in free agency, Indiana could be on the verge of a breakthrough.

“There’s a buzz,” Vogel said. “These guys have a buzz about them. They know this could be a big year for the Pacers and they’re excited to be back. They know what we accomplished last year, and it was good, but not good enough.”

What looked like just a bunch of guys playing a pickup game on Friday was so much more.

“The end portion of practice, about 15 to 20 minutes, I wanted to intentionally not stop it,” he said. “I wanted them going up and down, and I wanted them to push their wind and challenge their conditioning.”

Rest of story- http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-pacers

[Indy2thaWindy]

Coach Frank Vogel could barely contain his excitement after running his first practice since getting his interim tag removed over the summer.

I don't know why, but I can't stop picturing Vogel skipping and prancing around the court after reading this part.

[Miller4ever]

Practice video is up.

Looks like business as usual. Lance does a good job on all the fastbreaks and George Hill airballs a shot?

[76ciology]

How is Paul George looking so far? Will he start for the Pacers at the SG position?

[Pacersike]

Pacers amnesty Posey from Mike Wells twitter.

[glasket]

Anyone have any updates on training camp, aside from that one day 1 video?