A New York vacation turns into a dream NBA coverage (Part II)

Part of the schedule for all members of the media given credentials for the 2013 NBA Draft was a Media Availability session at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 26 June 2013, with thirteen (13) potential high draft picks available for interviews. Invited by the NBA to sit down and share their thoughts with us were Steven Adams (Pittsburgh), Anthony Bennett (UNLV), Trey Burke (Michigan), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Georgia), Michael Carter-Williams (Syracuse), Sergey Karasev (Russia), Alex Len (Maryland), C.J. McCollum (Lehigh), Ben McLemore (Kansas), Nerlens Noel (Kentucky), Victor Oladipo (Indiana), Otto Porter (Georgetown), and Cody Zeller (Indiana). The venue was at the Majestic Ballroom on the 5th Floor of the Westin New York at Times Square.

READ ALSO: A New York vacation turns into a dream NBA coverage (Part I)

I arrived in Manhattan at about 11:00 a.m., after traveling by bus for about an hour and a half from where I was staying, and immediately made my way to the Westin to pick up my media accreditation ID. There were many reporters and their crews (cameramen and/or photographers) from all over, with many familiar publications and websites represented, as could be seen from the IDs most of them already had on. I claimed my ID, proudly put it on, and stepped out to grab some lunch before the interview sessions started, and returned a little before 12:30 p.m., to find my place in the crowded room.

Six tables, each with a few chairs, were set up, and at each table was a place card with a name. As explained earlier by Mr Mike Perrelli of NBA Communications, there would be two groups of players, each group staying for half an hour. The first group would be composed of Bennett, Porter, Burke, Zeller, Noels and McCollum, and the second, Adams, Caldwell-Pope, Carter-Williams, Len, McLemore and Oladipo. Karasev would not be able to attend the session as he was reportedly flying in from Russia later that day or sometime the next day, Draft Day.

While waiting, I was able to meet my Yahoo! Sports (U.S.) colleague Marc J. Spears, whose articles I had regularly read in the past. While I engaged him in some chit-chat after asking him to pose for a photo, the first group came in, and immediately their presence was felt. Zeller (7’0) and Noels (6’11) towered over everyone else, and Noels, whom many were predicting to be the number one pick the day after, made a fashion statement with a light coat, black shirt, copper(ish) tie and khaki pants. Burke (6’1) was the smallest of the group. They sat at their designated tables and, immediately, crowds gathered around each of them and the questions started pouring in.

The biggest crowd was gathered around Noels, but each potential draftee attracted his own share of curious reporters. I went from table to table to try and gather tidbits at every stop. Zeller bragged about his range and wished he would not be sitting down too long before his name was called the next evening. He talked about how competitive he and his elder brother, Tyler of the Cleveland Cavaliers, would be and that they were “always fighting.” He said he didn’t care what team picked him and that he did not have any preferences.

Bennett was proud to be another Canadian coming into the NBA and said he spoke with other Canadians in the NBA like Steve Nash, Tristan Thompson, and Cory Joseph, who all told him to keep working hard. He felt that he was versatile and the most “pro-ready” player in the Draft. He knew he had to make the transition from power forward to small forward, but he was up to the challenge.

Porter smiled as he told us that he was going to be picked at number 1, then immediately recanted by saying he realistically expected to be picked at number 3, but would not be surprised if he was not. Like the others, he said it would be alright “anywhere I go.” Burke said he is the type of player that can make plays and who has “winning on his mind”. His favorite part in the entire Draft process was the chance to travel to so many different places like Orlando and Indiana, and that the whole thing was such a great experience.

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McCollum, to me, stood out among those in the first group. He had a different demeanor to him, a more serious manner and tone of voice, and a confidence that seemed to eclipse the others. He was, after all, the only senior among the twelve available players that day, and his age and maturity showed.

While transferring from table to table, I suddenly found myself standing beside Craig Sager, the colorful NBA on TNT personality, who conducts the courtside interviews during game coverage wearing standout suits with mesmerizing colors. I approached him to introduce myself and we spoke for a while. He was wearing a plain white collared shirt, with banana yellow colored pants, tame by his standards.

Thirty minutes went by quickly, as NBA personnel announced “one more question” at each table, after which the six men stood up and walked back to the holding room at the end of the hall outside the ballroom. Waiting there were the other six, who quickly replaced the first group at each of the designated tables.

Adams, the big man from New Zealand, appreciated that one reporter was from Australia, and they quickly engaged in some talk about life down under. He wondered why people don’t know much about New Zealand and think it’s in Europe Asked who would be with him on Draft night, he said two of his brothers (among his seventeen siblings) would be there while the rest of his family would wait at home. Len (7’1), from the Ukraine, was very serious when he said that he does not compare himself to any other big man and that he was ready to play against all the NBA centers. He said he should be picked first over Noel, but that he knew he did not have any control over where he would end up. He said he spoke to former NBA players, fellow Ukrainian Vitaly Potapenko, as well as Lithuanian Zydrunas Ilgauskas, to ask for advice. He mentioned that at Maryland, the team would watch the Len Bias story at the start of every year, probably to remind everybody that they had to be responsible in living their lives.

Local favorite Carter-Williams of Syracuse, who up close looked like the youngest of the bunch, expressed pride about having played at a school with a great winning tradition, under Hall of Fame Coach Jim Boeheim. He said he could “knock down shots” and “create for others”. The biggest crowd in the second group was gathered around Oladipo, a native of Nigeria, who was enjoying this “crazy dream” that would mean the world to his family, including his twin who is a lawyer.

Caldwell-Pope felt he had become more consistent between his freshman and sophomore years, enough to lift his stock. McLemore confidently talked about his abilities and stood out in group two fashion-wise, with his light blue coat over a white shirt, punctuated with red pants.

Just like that, an hour had gone by and the session was over. The young players present, soon-to-be millionaires and, perhaps, NBA stars, conducted themselves very well and patiently answered questions that had probably been asked of them time and again as the months had progressed leading up to the Draft proper. The recurring themes among all of them were that they know they have to keep working hard and that they have to believe in themselves. They all acknowledged that they were truly blessed to be in their present positions and that they were excited that their dreams were about to come true. They were also very anxious to know where they would be picked the next evening during the 2013 NBA Draft, which was scheduled to be held at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets, and said that they probably would not get any sleep on the eve of the big day. Excited for the Draft, I knew I probably wouldn’t get any sleep as well.

(To be continued.)

You can follow Charlie on Twitter, @CharlieC

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.