| Former Pacer ready for his opportunity |
Primoz Brezec is trying to establish himself with expansion Charlotte.
By Sekou Smith
SALT LAKE CITY -- Primoz Brezec spent what seemed like an eternity on the Indiana Pacers bench the past three seasons, dreaming of what he would do if given the opportunity to play meaningful minutes for an NBA team.
His vision was altered last month, when the Charlotte Bobcats selected him in the NBA expansion draft.
But as was the case before, Brezec is guaranteed nothing but his spot on the team. He has a plan, though, to win over his new coaches and earn more playing time. By taking the best of what he learned from the Pacers and his former coaches -- he played for Isiah Thomas and Rick Carlisle in Indiana -- about winning and playing defense, he figures he'll be just fine.
"I'm grateful for everything I got with the Pacers, even though I didn't play as much as I wanted," said Brezec, who will face his former team -- and his replacement, David Harrison -- for the first time tonight when the Bobcats play the Pacers at the Rocky Mountain Revue. "This is obviously a huge change for me. It's what I wanted though. And I know what it takes to win because I watched the way we did it in Indiana.
"I just have to make it work with the Bobcats now." Brezec made his Bobcats debut Friday, having returned to his native Slovenia after the Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs. He missed the Bobcats' summer league stint in Minneapolis last week, where they went 5-0, because of national team commitments back home.
He returned this week at the urging of the Bobcats, who have to sort through a deep roster of frontcourt players to find a rotation.
Brezec is one of several unproven players -- Emeka Okafor, Jahidi White, Loren Woods, Jamal Sampson, Melvin Ely and Predrag Drobnjak are the others -- fighting for position on Charlotte's roster.
He was a bit tentative in his debut here, committing seven fouls (no one fouls out in summer league play) and scoring just four points and grabbing two rebounds in 22 minutes. But that was with just three days of practice with his new teammates.
He made quite an impression Sunday, however, collecting 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in a 85-63 win over Seattle. He played a team-high 30 minutes in that game, earning praise from his former employer.
"He looked pretty good out there," said Pacers director of player development Mel Daniels. "He played well."
Charlotte coaches envision a similar workload. "He has to get out there and play, and that's what we want to do with him," Charlotte assistant coach Jeff Capel said. "He really hasn't had that opportunity yet, to see how he responds when he's playing increased minutes. We feel like if given that chance he can do some things in this league. It's our job to continue his development."
Brezec, the Pacers' first-round pick (No. 27) in the 2000 draft, played in just 18 games last season, averaging 1.6 points. He was not on the playoff roster.
Despite his limited role, the Pacers struggled with the decision to place Brezec on the expansion draft list. They knew a 7-1 center with a short contract -- Brezec has one year remaining on his rookie contract -- would be a logical pick up for the Bobcats.
"He'll get a chance to play now," Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. "I'm pretty sure he can become a pretty good high-post center. We'll have to see. I think he's got a chance to be a good player."
Brezec vows to make good on Walsh's statements. "I think things have worked out pretty good for me," Brezec said. "I've got an opportunity. That's all I ever wanted was a chance to show that I can play with these guys."
Used courtesy of: Indianapolis Star |
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