Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | October 7, 2005
As the Seattle SuperSonics scrimmaged Friday morning, training-camp invitee
Alex Scales delivered the play not just of the day, but of training camp thus far. Getting the ball on the right wing, Scales drove the baseline, encountered traffic and somehow split it with a 360 dunk he finished with his right hand. The move was good enough that admission should have been charged of observers at The Furtado Center, and even the normally staid media contingent gave it up for Scales.
"It was an opportunity for me to go baseline, and I didn't decide what I was going to do with it until I finished it," said Scales, who seemed the least impressed of anyone by his move. That's the kind of attitude that's necessary as Scales battles to make the Sonics roster.
"I know I've got to come out here each and every day, come out here and play good defense," said Scales.
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"I think Alex Scales has been pretty good and consistent. He can knock down the open shot."
Kent Horner/NBAE/Getty
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He's impressed at least one observer so far.
"I think Alex Scales has been pretty good and consistent," said 
Ray Allen, asked which of the invitees had most stood out to him. "He can knock down the open shot. You guys saw today he had a nice move where he dunked on a couple of guys."
Scales earned his invitation to Sonics training camp by playing well for Seattle's entry in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league. Scales was the Sonics leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, shooting 50% from the field and demonstrating the ability to play point guard at times. The Sonics weren't the only team impressed by Scales.
"I had quite a few teams wanting me to come to camp," he said, "but I felt like I played with Seattle, Seattle gave me the opportunity, I had a good relationship with them, so go on with that."
Scales also has a friend on the Sonics roster in fellow Oregon alumnus 
Luke Ridnour. While Ridnour came to Eugene the year after Scales finished his two-year Ducks career, the two guards met on Ridnour's recruiting visit to Oregon.
"I brought Luke in to Oregon when he came down to visit, told him how good of a chance it was," said Scales.
Ridnour and Scales have often stayed after practice this week to shoot together.
Schrempf Talks About Future
Before former Sonics Coach 
Nate McMillan decided to go to Portland, Sonics legend Detlef Schrempf - helping out now during training camp - conversed with McMillan about a possible spot on the Sonics coaching staff. By the time new Coach Bob Weiss had the chance to talk to Schrempf, his staff was complete, but an assistant coaching job remains a possibility for Schrempf in the future - though only in Seattle for the time being.
"I want to see them (my kids) through high school, so moving or anything like that is not an option," said Schrempf. "(Wife Mary) is open to it. Maybe she's gotten tired of me around the house the last four years."
"My staff is full, but if there was ever an opening, he would be a guy I would consider," said Weiss. "He wants to see how much he likes it and what he wants to do from there."
Asked whether helping the Sonics during training camp is a "test run" for being an assistant coach, Schrempf said, "Yes and no.
"I've been coaching for many years. I've been running international camps for adidas since the early 90s, so I've been doing it for a long time. I've always enjoyed that part. It's obviously a little different at the NBA level because of the time commitment and travel and such, but I enjoy working with the guys on the court. We'll go from there."
While Schrempf looks fit enough to suit up should the Sonics be hit by injuries, he said he's played full-court maybe three times in the four years since retiring.
"Every time I think about how I can still play, I know better," he said. "As soon as you reach for the ball, you think, 'Oh, what was that?' It's a great life. How can you not miss it to a certain degree? You play sports and get paid for it, have good meals, stay in good hotels, but I had my time."
The UW alumnus is excited about his alma mater's resurgence.
"I talk to (Husky Coach) Lorenzo (Romar) all the time," Schrempf said. "My best man in my wedding is his assistant coach - Paul Fortier - so I'm very excited about UW, especially them signing (Seattle Prep star) Spencer (Hawes). That's going to be great for them. I've got my season tickets; I'm ready to go."
Focus Still On Defense
The focus in Weiss' first training camp at the helm of the Sonics continues to be on the defensive side of the court.
"We covered a little bit of everything, but I would say the emphasis was again on defense," he said. "We did one 20-minute segment which (consultant/assistant coach) Brendan (Malone) took on defense. Then we went another 15-minute segment on individual defense. Then we were stressing that in our scrimmage, which was a lot of defense against different sets."
Weiss is pleased with his team's development in terms of picking up new team defensive principles which focus on helping a player who is beaten by penetration, than "helping the helper" by rotating quickly.
"So far, I'm thrilled with the way it's going," Weiss said. "They've really taken to it. They're really getting into the team concept, and they seem to have gotten better with even more energy than we've seen in the past."
On the injury front, center 
Vitaly Potapenko (strained left hamstring) did not practice, while 
Vladimir Radmanovic left early for an X-ray after suffering inflammation in his left foot.
"Vitaly had a tight hamstring," said Weiss. "That's something you don't want to turn into a pull, so we told him to be very conservative with it. Once you pull, it's like two weeks and can go a lot longer. He was just being careful.
"Vlade had a pain in the toe or somewhere in his foot that he had to go get checked out."
The good news was that X-rays of 
Rashard Lewis' injured right ring finger turned up negative and Lewis returned to practice yesterday evening. Forward/center 
Danny Fortson continues to be bothered by turf toe and practices until the injury becomes too bothersome to continue.
Weiss gave his players the evening off. Two-a-day practices will conclude over the weekend.
