Sophomore guard John Wall brings an element of excitement and intrigue to the Wizards that they desperately needed. The belief is that he is going to carry them to prominence, regardless of what is put around him. Luckily for Wall, there are a lot of serviceable players on the roster right now including some young guys who have the potential to improve significantly just like him. If Jordan Crawford and Jan Vesely blow up, this Wizards team could make a run for one of the final playoff spots out East. However, it’s more likely that they take some lumps during 2011-2012 and help the Wizards out in a much bigger way come next year. Still, this team is on the rise with some good things going for them.

4th Place, Southeast Division

- Yannis Koutroupis

---

 

The Wizards definitely have some nice young pieces, and they’ll be looking for more from Rashard Lewis this season. Still, for them to be markedly better they’re going to need players like John Wall, Nick Young, Jordan Crawford and Andre Blatche to take the next step . . .and maybe even a couple after that. The future looks bright for the Wizards, but the future is still at least a season or two away.

4th Place – Southeast Division

- Bill Ingram

---

 

John Wall is very, very fun to watch, and this looks like the year when everybody really is forced to commit Nick Young’s name to memory, but they didn’t amnesty Rashard Lewis for some reason, and the heart of players like Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, despite their talent, is still a concern. There are some really good rookies in place here—Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton, Shelvin Mack—but the success of this team will come at the same pace of Wall’s development. He’s perhaps the most promising of the up-and-coming point guards, and he’ll need to step up for his team to make any kind of mark this season. I see that being a struggle, no matter how good Wall is.

4th Place, Southeast Division

- Joel Brigham

---

 

The Washington Wizards won’t win a lot of games but the team’s flashy backcourt trio of John Wall, Nick Young and Jordan Crawford will create plenty of havoc for opposing teams all season long. The team will rely on veteran forward Rashard Lewis to serve as leader on and off the court as the young core learns on the fly. Wall entered training camp saying he now knows what it takes to win in the league after a strong rookie campaign. But there’s a difference between knowing what to do as opposed to getting your teammates to do what’s needed. The 2012 season will be one of growth for the Wizards and another year of gaining experience for Washington’s youth movement.

4th Place, Southeast Division

- Lang Greene

---

 

Few players were as active during the lockout as John Wall. The 21-year-old worked out every day and played pick-up games across the country. If he’s able to take his game to the next level this season, the Wizards could surprise some people. Wall gathered his teammates in Las Vegas and had them compete in Impact Basketball’s lockout league, which could give them an edge over other teams after the condensed offseason and preseason. Washington likely won’t compete for a playoff spot with so many talented teams in the East, but they will show improvement and take a step in the right direction.

4th Place, Southeast Division

- Alex Kennedy

“They wanted to get rid of it, and I said, ‘No.’ That’s the goal,” Wall explained, his rat-a-tat patter off the court as swift as his play is on it. “I don’t touch it, though. I don’t want to touch one ‘til I win one.”

Even Wall would concede that isn’t happening this season for the Wizards, who are coming off a 23-59 record and last-place finish in the Southeast Division. They are in the early stages of rebuilding a roster that used to revolve around All-Stars Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Jamison, but now is based on Wall.

“We can sneak up on some people this year, because we’re smarter, and I’m smarter, and learning how to close out games and doing whatever it takes to win down the stretch,” Wall said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And next year, for sure, we’re going to be a team that can surprise a lot of people.”

It’s clear to everyone that Wall is going to be the player that leads the Wizards, wherever they go.

President Ernie Grunfeld and coach Flip Saunders, meanwhile, are holding out hope that players such as power forward Andray Blatche and center JaVale McGee can fulfill the promise each has demonstrated occasionally.

Blatche, in particular, regularly finds himself defending his effort, which is why he announced at the team’s media day: “I told my teammates, ‘I’m going to give y’all 100 percent every game. I’m going to die for this.’ Whatever we do, we’ve got to change this whole atmosphere from losing, and people used to us losing, to winning.”

At 25, he’s older than nine other players expected to be on the roster when Washington opens its regular season next Monday.

Such youth prompted owner Ted Leonsis to use variations on the word “build” more than a dozen times during a recent half-hour news conference. As in: “I’ve been unabashed on what we’re doing. I hope I’ve been honest and transparent, that we were rebuilding the team.”

It all starts with Wall.

Despite dealing with injuries to his right knee and left foot, he averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 assists (tied for sixth in the NBA) and 4.6 rebounds last season, finishing second to Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers in voting for rookie of the year.

“He has such speed and quickness in the open court that you’ve got to get back and proverbially build a wall against Wall, so he’s seeing bodies,” Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins said. “He’d be the equivalent to a guy who sees cracks as a running back who’s got great vision. If you don’t close those down, when he starts running downhill, he puts all sorts of pressure on your team.”

Saunders also referenced Jordan Crawford, a second-year guard who averaged nearly 12 points per game with Washington last season, and Andray Blatche, the enigmatic forward with a game that at times can be as frustrating as it is promising.

“There’s certain players, when you step in the gym and they smell the popcorn, they play at another level,” Saunders said. “Popcorn-type players, so I’m anxious to see tomorrow what players that we have when they walk into that gym that their game goes to a new level. You have some players that play great in practice, and that doesn’t translate as far as into games. Hopefully we don’t have too many of those players.”

The Wizards open the preseason at home against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, and the teams will play again on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center in the final preseason game. By that time, Saunders figures to have a better feel for which veterans are fully committed to what owner Ted Leonsis called a change in culture and which newcomers are the best fit to spur that growth.

At the top of the list following the week-long training camp are rookies Jan Veseley and Chris Singleton. Veseley was the Wizards’ No. 6 pick overall in this year’s NBA draft, and Singleton arrived at No. 18 of the first round.

Veseley is particularly intriguing because of his ability to finish in fast-break and unsettled situations despite being listed at 6 feet 11. Washington last season led the NBA in fast-break opportunities, but too often turnovers or missed shots derailed them.

“He can jump out of the gym,” Blatche said of his new teammate, who played in the Euroleague for Partizan Belgrade before coming stateside.

Singleton, meantime, drew the assignment of defending virtually all of the front-court players during a training camp in which Saunders constantly preached defense and rebounding. That was just fine with Singleton, who was the unanimous ACC defensive player of the year last season with Florida State.

Even though Singleton, Veseley and Shelvin Mack, the 34th overall pick, are rookies, the newest member of the team is Ronny Turiaf, who joined the Wizards from the New York Knicks on Saturday in a multi-team deal. Turiaf has played with the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State and the Knicks over his six years in the NBA.

With a roster comprising many new faces and missing some old ones, most notably free agent Nick Young, Saunders said Friday’s preseason opener wasn’t so much about winning as making sure everyone gets involved.

“We’ve got to play a lot of people. We’ve got three rookies in there who’ve never played, point-blank,” Saunders said. “Those guys, you’ve got to get their feet wet if you expect them to play when you start [the regular season] on Dec. 26, so you’ve got to try to blend them in with the right players. I don’t know if I want to put all three rookies in there together.”

One thing’s for certain, though, and that’s Wall will be heavily involved regardless of who else is on the court. The face of the franchise immediately after being drafted, Wall averaged 8.3 assists per game last season, leading rookies in total assists. He also led rookies in steals.

If there was a deficiency in Wall’s game, it was shooting, so the MVP of last year’s rookie challenge spent a good portion of the offseason as well as training camp working on his form. Wall shot 41 percent last season and just below 30 percent from three-point range.

“I became a better shooter,” Wall said emphatically. “Throughout training camp I’ve been working on going under screens, and I’ve just been making jump shots. That’s the main thing I’ve been working on throughout the whole summer to make sure I’m prepared for the season.”

LEXINGTON — John Wall was one of the top rookies in the NBA last season after the Washington Wizards made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft following his freshman season at the University of Kentucky.
He averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 assists and 4.6 assists per game despite battling injuries part of the season. Now he’s fully recovered and during a recent charity game in Winston-Salem, N.C., he tossed a ball off the wall and dunked, whirled the ball behind his back for another jam and did a two-handed 360-degree dunk. He’s also announced he wouldn’t mind entering the NBA slam dunk contest if given the opportunity.
Wall was back in Lexington for the Big Blue All-Stars vs. The Villains exhibition game Monday but did not play. After the game, he talked about the NBA lockout, why he didn’t play in the game, his UK¿experiences and not winning a national title:

Question: Do you still think about not winning the national championship in 2010 when UK¿lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight?
Wall: “Yes, I think about it every day. I will think about it until I am off this earth. That’s one thing I wanted to do was win (the national title). It’s tough to think about and see that you had a chance to really do it. I¿have a long way to think about it and will never stop thinking about it.”

Question: How is life for you right now with no real basketball to play because of the NBA lockout?
Wall: “Life is good. Not playing in the regular season and just enjoying playing different communities and different events and basically giving back to the fans.”

Question: Why did you not play in this game?
Wall: “I got here late. Plus, just resting and taking some time off. I¿have played in a lot of summer league games, so just taking the time off to rest and keep working out to get stronger and things like that. But it was a perfect opportunity to come down to Kentucky. I love being here and coming back and giving back. For me not to play and everybody thought I was, just for all the fans that were here and the guys playing I wanted to show my support and go out there and do the Y and show what it meant to them.”

Question: Has it been a good idea for UK¿players to go across the state playing and also have these exhibition games in Rupp Arena?
Wall: “It is great because a lot of those fans don’t have the opportunity to go see NBA games. I feel like it is great for us to give back to them and let them enjoy it.”

Question: Do you truly miss not playing basketball right now or is the break, something you have not had for years, actually nice?
Wall: “It is good to have a break, but our break should have been over a long time ago. It’s time to get back to playing basketball, something I love to play. All I want to do is hoop. I’ve not really thought about going overseas to play, but I guess if this keeps going, that is something I¿might have to at least look at too because I want to play.”

Question: What have you been working on during the offseason to improve your game?
Wall: “I didn’t have to shoot jump shots when I was in high school because I just went past everybody and dunked. All summer that’s all I’m working on is my jump shot. To be an all-star, that’s my goal this year, so I know I¿have got to have a better jump shot.”

Question: Did just being here and watching bring back any memories for you?
Wall: “Every time you come into Kentucky and step into Rupp Arena just to watch a game or be in a game brings back a lot of memories. Stuff you miss that you only enjoyed for one year.”

Question: Even though you only played one year at Kentucky, haven’t you basically made this your home away from home?
Wall: “That is what I¿want to do. Throughout my career and when my career is over, I want to have a place here to be back in this tradition of basketball where it is the best of anywhere. Basketball is what it is, but it is like a family. They love you for basketball, but they also love you to be a great person. I want to be a great role model to these kids and fans. That is all it really is. Everybody is being nice to me.”

Question: Have you adjusted to how much your life has changed in just over two years since you first arrived at Kentucky?
Wall: “It is still amazing. I don’t believe it to this day. You sit back and count your blessings and thank God as much as possible and be hungry and humble. That’s all you really can do. To be in the situation I¿am, I am very thankful.”

Question: Is it easy to adjust when your life changes so dramatically after being the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft?
Wall: “Man, it changes so many different ways. But basically you just give credit to God for putting the basketball in my hands. He blessed me with my talent and you credit Kentucky for giving me the opportunity to come play basketball. It’s always great to play here with the great tradition and when coach Cal came here, it’s just going to keep getting better and better. Hopefully they can win it all this year.”