Rolle makes strong first impression on O'Brien
July 2, 2010
Paul George had the highlight plays of Friday's scrimmage – a steal leading to a 360 slam and a sweet step-back jumper from the top of the key as the shot-clock buzzer sounded – but second-round pick Magnum Rolle has been the star of the show in Coach Jim O'Brien's eyes through two days of the Pacers' rookie and free agent camp at Conseco Fieldhouse.
"He's by far I think been the best player in camp by a large margin," said O'Brien. " … He has dominated everything. He has scored, he has rebounded, he has defended well. He has a surprisingly high basketball IQ. I was a little concerned coming from kind of a mid-major where he'd be from a standpoint of picking things up but he's been fantastic.
"He shoots it really well, pursues every offensive rebound. I'd bet in a half of basketball that he had eight offensive rebounds against some big NBA-type of bodies."
A slender but athletic 6-11 forward from Louisiana Tech, Rolle was drafted No. 51 by Oklahoma City but acquired by the Pacers on draft night in exchange for the No. 57 pick and cash. He made a strong impression in his workout for the team on June 18, faring well against eventual lottery selections Ekpe Udoh (No. 6, Golden State) and Greg Monroe (No. 7, Detroit) and has continued his strong play in the early phases of camp.
As a second-rounder, though, Rolle knows he's a long way from accomplishing his goal of securing a spot on the roster, even with the praise from O'Brien.
"I feel proud to hear that because normally coaches don't say you're doing a good job or whatever. They like to let you sweat," he said. "For him to say that is good. That means I've got to step it up for myself more now. …
"It makes me feel good but I can only enjoy it for a short moment. Now that I'm aware of it that means coach has high expectations for me and it's up to me to take it up another level to meet that."
Rolle competed against Fresno State's George in the Western Athletic Conference. In fact, their teams were rivals in the same league that produced Pacers' star Danny Granger, so the top pick is fully aware of what Rolle brings to the equation.
"I know Magnum well so I know what he's fully capable of and I think he'll be great at this game," said George. "He's big, he's long, I think he can play sort of like a K.G. (Kevin Garnett), work towards that. He can knock down shots from about 15, 17 feet and he's real athletic. He has a quick jump and he can keep getting up in the air as fast as anybody.
"I'm glad he's on my team now. I don't have to worry about getting shots blocked by him or him making me force different or weird shots."
Though second-round pick Lance Stephenson is sidelined with a foot injury, O'Brien has been generally pleased with the overall level of play in camp.
"I thought Paul had a terrific scrimmage, which was a half of basketball and did a lot of very, very good things. Lance Stephenson is hurt right now so he missed the last two practices. And Josh McRoberts also played extremely well in the scrimmage so we're very pleased with what we're getting out of them," said O'Brien. "For the second day of practice, this group that we have together is very advanced, terrific basketball IQ. We played two quarters and the tempo was great, they didn't foul as much as I thought they would, they took care of the basketball. The group is coming together."
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"He's by far I think been the best player in camp by a large margin," said O'Brien. " … He has dominated everything. He has scored, he has rebounded, he has defended well. He has a surprisingly high basketball IQ. I was a little concerned coming from kind of a mid-major where he'd be from a standpoint of picking things up but he's been fantastic.
"He shoots it really well, pursues every offensive rebound. I'd bet in a half of basketball that he had eight offensive rebounds against some big NBA-type of bodies."
A slender but athletic 6-11 forward from Louisiana Tech, Rolle was drafted No. 51 by Oklahoma City but acquired by the Pacers on draft night in exchange for the No. 57 pick and cash. He made a strong impression in his workout for the team on June 18, faring well against eventual lottery selections Ekpe Udoh (No. 6, Golden State) and Greg Monroe (No. 7, Detroit) and has continued his strong play in the early phases of camp.
As a second-rounder, though, Rolle knows he's a long way from accomplishing his goal of securing a spot on the roster, even with the praise from O'Brien.
"I feel proud to hear that because normally coaches don't say you're doing a good job or whatever. They like to let you sweat," he said. "For him to say that is good. That means I've got to step it up for myself more now. …
"It makes me feel good but I can only enjoy it for a short moment. Now that I'm aware of it that means coach has high expectations for me and it's up to me to take it up another level to meet that."
Rolle competed against Fresno State's George in the Western Athletic Conference. In fact, their teams were rivals in the same league that produced Pacers' star Danny Granger, so the top pick is fully aware of what Rolle brings to the equation.
"I know Magnum well so I know what he's fully capable of and I think he'll be great at this game," said George. "He's big, he's long, I think he can play sort of like a K.G. (Kevin Garnett), work towards that. He can knock down shots from about 15, 17 feet and he's real athletic. He has a quick jump and he can keep getting up in the air as fast as anybody.
"I'm glad he's on my team now. I don't have to worry about getting shots blocked by him or him making me force different or weird shots."
Though second-round pick Lance Stephenson is sidelined with a foot injury, O'Brien has been generally pleased with the overall level of play in camp.
"I thought Paul had a terrific scrimmage, which was a half of basketball and did a lot of very, very good things. Lance Stephenson is hurt right now so he missed the last two practices. And Josh McRoberts also played extremely well in the scrimmage so we're very pleased with what we're getting out of them," said O'Brien. "For the second day of practice, this group that we have together is very advanced, terrific basketball IQ. We played two quarters and the tempo was great, they didn't foul as much as I thought they would, they took care of the basketball. The group is coming together."
