Fazekas thinks he has shot to make it
Confident Nevada forward compares game to Nowitzki's
By BERNARD FERNANDEZ
fernanb@phillynews.com
IF IT'S TUESDAY, it must be Philadelphia. So tell us, Nick Fazekas, what do you think of the place?
"I like Philadelphia from what I've seen," the 6-11 power forward from the University of Nevada said yesterday. "It's a good city."
Not that Fazekas' critique is based on extensive research. The sweet-shooting forward, a native of Arvada, Colo., is on a whirlwind, 13-city tour, working out for NBA teams considering drafting him on June 28. All the three-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year saw here were the airport, whatever sights there were on the drive to his hotel, and the 76ers' practice facility at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Today, Fazekas is in North Jersey to audition for the Nets, the fifth stop on his crowded itinerary.
"Mentally, it's hard to go city to city, to check into different hotels," Fazekas acknowledged. "Physically, it's not very tough. You get a day off here, a day off there."
Besides, as he might have noted, baskets everywhere are 10 feet high. And when he's rising to launch a jump shot, anyplace feels like home for Fazekas.
"It's a very big selling point," Fazekas said of his sure stroke and extended range. "I feel like I can shoot as good as almost anyone in the NBA. That's the way I feel - especially [compared with] the 4s [power forwards] and 5s [centers].
"Once I get in the NBA, I can be about the best shooting big [man] that there is."
Also working out for the Sixers yesterday were Boston College forward Jared Dudley, California center DeVon Hardin, Wake Forest center Kyle Visser, Russian forward/center Artem Zabelin, Providence forward/center Herbert Hill, Penn forward Mark Zoller and Villanova forward Will Sheridan.
Dudley, the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, and Zoller were the shortest, each at 6-7, while the pencil-thin Zabelin was the lightest, listed at 215 pounds.
"Today was impressive - a lot of big guys,'' Sixers president Billy King said. "That's one of our weaknesses, mainly for the factor of not knowing the status of Joe [Smith], whether we'll be able to re-sign him. [Shavlik Randolph] is coming off an injury, and Alan [Henderson] is a free agent."
But if most of the tall timber that passed through for this round of inspection is of the standard, body-banging, low-post variety, Fazekas is intriguing. His game, in some respects, is reminiscent of another big guy who can step out and bury the jumper - perennial All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks' superstar voted Most Valuable Player this season.
"Dirk can really play off the dribble and do certain things a little better than me," Fazekas said. "But as far as spot shooting, it's no problem for me. I'm a little like Dirk that way."
Of course, being a little like Dirk is not the same as being a lot like Dirk, or else he would be in line to fill a very high draft slot.
Asked to list areas in which Fazekas compares to Nowitzki, King said: "Shooting the ball. That's about the only thing. And that's not a knock. Comparing him to Nowitzki, that's unfair.
"I think Fazekas can shoot the ball as well as Nowitzki, but Nowitzki has more of a perimeter game. Fazekas is not as athletic and not as skilled at handling the basketball. I think his post game will come. But you don't want to take away what he does best."
Fazekas proudly points out that he scored 2,464 points during his 4-year college career, and not nearly all of them were from the outside. This past season, he averaged 20.4 points and 11.1 rebounds.
"I don't want to get rapped to where it comes down, 'OK, Nick can only shoot,' " Fazekas said. "I scored nearly 2,500 points in college. It wasn't very often I got to step out. A lot of my points came in the paint. I don't want anyone to get mixed up about that."
King said there's no need for Fazekas to be defensive about some of his skills.
"Usually, when you draft a guy, there's something he needs to work on," King said. "Don't look at what a guy can't do. You have to look at what he does well. You can always find negatives . . . In this league, we can develop other parts of your game once you get in."
Six shots
Spencer Hawes, the University of Washington's 7-foot freshman center, gets a solo workout today, which is interesting, because several mock drafts have him going to the Sixers at No. 12. Hawes is the nephew of Steve Hawes, who played in the NBA. "I've been working on my perimeter game, my shooting; stuff that doesn't always come through in games, you should be able to do in workouts," he said during the NBA predraft camp in Orlando . . . Mark Zoller and Will Sheridan probably received courtesy calls from the Sixers, but have options outside the NBA - the NBA Development League, Europe and lives beyond basketball, where they can utilize their education. Sheridan, in fact, already is interning at a Wall Street firm. "Wall Street is all about numbers," he said. "It's competitive, it's fast-paced. Everybody is trying to get theirs. That's what it is out here on the court" . . . Jared Dudley was described as an "undersized power forward," but, he added, "there have been guys who have been successful in this league who have been that size." *
, the University of Washington's 7-foot freshman center, gets a solo workout today, which is interesting, because several mock drafts have him going to the Sixers at No. 12. Hawes is the nephew of who played in the NBA. "I've been working on my perimeter game, my shooting; stuff that doesn't always come through in games, you should be able to do in workouts," he said during the NBA predraft camp in Orlando . . . and probably received courtesy calls from the Sixers, but have options outside the NBA - the NBA Development League, Europe and lives beyond basketball, where they can utilize their education. Sheridan, in fact, already is interning at a Wall Street firm. "Wall Street is all about numbers," he said. "It's competitive, it's fast-paced. Everybody is trying to get theirs. That's what it is out here on the court" . . . was described as an "undersized power forward," but, he added, "there have been guys who have been successful in this league who have been that size." *