Re: Corey Hightower and more on Primoz Brezec

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Bezec is an intriguing pick for someone drafting between 20 and 
40.
Ray

Thndrblt31@aol.com wrote:
> 
> June 3, 2000
> 
> Hopeful thinks he can step right in and contribute
> 
> by Phil Jasner
> Daily News Sports Writer
> 
>  In his own way, Cory Hightower feels as ready and as experienced as anyone
> to step into the NBA.
> 
> "I really think I have God-given talent and I'm willing to listen," said the
> 6-8 Hightower, who opted for the draft after two seasons at Indian Hills
> (Iowa) Community College and auditioned for the 76ers yesterday with
> Vanderbilt senior Dan Langhi and Ohio State junior Michael Redd.
> 
> "I feel I have as much talent or more than maybe both of these guys I worked
> out with today. Naturally, experience counts, but neither of these guys has
> experience in the NBA, so we'll all be coming in as rookies. With a good
> coach and solid people around, I'll be able to [make it]."
> 
> Hightower, who prepped at prestigious Mount Zion in North Carolina, averaged
> 22.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 4.4 assists and 1.1 blocks this
> season. The 6-10 Langhi was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year
> and the first Commodore to lead the league in scoring (22.1) since former
> Sixer Clyde Lee in 1965. The 6-6 Redd, a junior, is the first Ohio State
> player to enter the draft early since ex-Sixer Jim Jackson in 1992.
> 
> But Hightower didn't seem nearly as concerned with anyone else's resume as
> his own.
> 
> "I really believe I have pro talent, a pro game," he said softly. "That's
> what I went to school for, to provide for my family. [In high school] we had
> a lot of cameras, a lot of media, did a lot of traveling. I do have
> experience in those things. I've been doing it since I was 16. We did as much
> traveling at Mount Zion as we did in college, caught as many flights, were on
> as many road trips. It's really been like four years for me. I really believe
> I should be in the top 20."
> 
> The Sixers hold the No. 20 pick in the first round of the June 28 draft.
> 
> WHO IS THIS GUY?
> 
>  Primoz Brezec, 20, spent this season with B.C. Olimpija Ljubljana, a club
> team in Slovenia where he was a teammate of onetime Sixers draft choice Mark
> Milic. Thursday, as the 7-1 player worked out for the Sixers, was the 20th
> day of Brezec's first visit to the United States.
> 
> "At 20, to have that kind of feel and ability, it's pretty remarkable,"
> Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "Those are the ones you hope stay in college a
> little while, get to mature, get to play.
> 
> "Watching a kid work out is a lot different than watching him play, but
> passing, catching, his ability to shoot and as quickly as he learned things,
> I think all that's in his favor. At 20 years, 4 months, that's [the
> equivalent of] going into his sophomore year in college. You can't make kids
> taller; he certainly has size."
> 
> SIX SHOTS
> 
>  Dan Langhi finished No. 7 in Vanderbilt history with 138 three-pointers, but
> Larry Brown said that wasn't necessarily a skill he was looking for. "We got
> Toni Kukoc and he never got the ball, so what does that matter?" Brown said.
> . .What is Brown looking for in the draft? "I want to get a kid who's
> versatile and athletic and wants to get better," he said. "He could be 7 feet
> or 5-10, it doesn't really matter". . .Brown, general manager Billy King,
> director of player personnel Tony DiLeo and the coaching staff will be at the
> league's predraft camp in Chicago Tuesday through Friday. Brown also hopes to
> have his end-of-the-season meeting with Kukoc during that time. Kukoc was
> unable to attend the May 19 closeout meetings because he was driving to his
> home in the Chicago area.
>